Children On Strattera

My son is 10 years old and his doctor wants him to start taking Strattera. I am not to sure about giving it to him. Has it helped anyone's child out there? Also have you noticed any side affects?

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Has he been on other medications such as Ritailn? If so have they been uneffective?

Different drugs have different effects on different people (whew hard to say). I have heard so many different things about this drug, that it is bad to take, that it is good to take, but nobody seems to make up their minds.

I have heard of people becoming really weak and physically tired after being on Strattera, and that it does not kick in lick Ritalin. Instead it is a more gradual effect.

Sorry I couldn't give any more details. I hope you can find the info you're looking for !

Mary

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I am 19 years old and I was prescribed Strattera last year and became very zombie-like and ill on it. It destroyed my personality while I was taking it and I would vomit every night. Not a fun drug.

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Thank you both Mary and T Roy for your input on this drug. My son has never been on any other drug before this. I am so confused his problem is that he just zones out sometimes he is not a problem child he is not hyper he is more or less a quiet child he gets good grades in school except for math he seems to have a hard time with that. but yet he stills manages to pass. I hope I am doing the right thing with this drug. Thanks again for your help.

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Barbara,

I'm not trying to tell you how to parent your child but it is my opinion that prescribing a drug regimen for anybody (especially a 10 year old) should be carefully considered.

I would make sure that:

a) Your son has been offered several activities our outlets for creativity. It might be possible that he is not feeling stimulated or challenged enought, and zones out of boredom. Martial arts, sports, instruments, basically any extracurricular activities?

b) Growing up can be a hard thing; Does he have several good friends to play with? Any brothers or sisters? Social interaction goes along with the whole stimulation concept. Perhaps consider if he has experienced any emotional pain or anything else which needs healing.

Unless there have been recent physical or psychological developments to make the doctor want to put him on Strattera, if he gets good grades in school and is a smart kid, then maybe it is a matter of lifestyle change more than medicine. By NO MEANS am I a qualified professional here, I'm just trying to share with you some heart felt ideas. Obviously everybody wants to avoid medications whenever possible, just trying to throw some ideas out there.

Finally, I think it would be most important if you follow your gut feelings with this. If you are having a hunch about going one way or another, then I would abandon what anybody else says and follow your own hunch. Yes, doctors may be much smarter than us regular people over medical concerns, but the fact is, he is YOUR son. Please follow your motherly instincts and do what feels right as a mother.

May God Bless You,

Nigel

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Heck, I zone out all the time, but it's really just part of my personality. If it isn't affecting his grades or his social life, then I am of the opinion that it is not worth giving your child a potentially dangerous drug like ritalin - which has been shown to cause DNA damage, or strattera - which hasn't been out on the market long enough to see long-term risks. These are Central Nervous System enhancers, meaning they directly affect your brain and the way it works. Unless he is debilitatingly zoning out, I wouldn't worry about it - I think it's just because he's human, and that maybe he is very thoughtful. My most creative and insightful periods in my life are when I just zone out into my own world.

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Thank you Nigel and T Roy, for your insight on my problem. You both seem more in tune and understanding where I am coming from. I've read quite a few books on ADD and I am looking for ways of helping him without giving him medication. He is just going into the 6th grade and his reading level is closer to 8th grade, He is great at science and history. The subject he has problems with is math and this I have read in all the books. I guess his teachers want him to excel in everyway he can. But I think he is ok the way he is. I play soft music for him while he does his homework and it seems to help. I had taken him to two doctors and right away they say medication with no mention of trying to help him by doing other things with him and for him. No one seems to want to take the time to listen to me, so far two doctors said to put him on meds, they don't even know him. Ok I am just rattling on and on maybe I should be on meds ha. thanks again for your kind words and I will give everything you both said alot of thought, you both made more sense then the doctors....Barbara

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Barbara, e-mail me at t/r/6/1/6/7/0/@/hotmail.com (but take out the slashes) and we can talk more about this. I have had a very similar, difficult experience to him (high reading level, low math level). It's a tough life, but there are realizations that I have made around my ADD to make it easier.

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my daughter who was 10 at the time started this medication for ADD. after about 5 weeks of this medication we had to take her off because she was loosing so much weight. she lost 11 lbs in 4 weeks.

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barbara, it concerns me so much that the doctor is automatically medicating your child versus looking into other options. I'm against medication unless all other outlets have been visited and proven ineffective. I am really concerned when a doctor whips out his RX book before really exploring every other aspect. We don't want our kids on drugs if we can help it, so my advice is to seek all non drug options before relying on chemicals to balance our children and potentially addicting them to prescription drugs for a lifetime. Hope this helps!

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Sounds to me that he is not causing distubances because of behavior, so I don't understand the need to medicate him. As far as the zoning out have you had him to a neurologist? He could possibly be having focal seizures. My 5 yr. old daughter has these, and she is NOT ADD nor ADHD. My advice would be a thorough physical that explores him mentally (so to speak) as well as physically.

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