Strattera VS. Adderall for ADHD
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About a year ago I wrote an article about how I had just gotten medicated for my ADHD for the first time in my life and how it was going. Then I switched from using Adderall to Strattera. This is how it went.
My psychiatrist encouraged me to try a non-stimulant to medicate my ADHD because of my anxiety. When you have anxiety, uppers just make you that much more anxious.
At the time, I thought why not? They’re the experts. Not to mention the ongoing Adderall shortage, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to try something new.
The thing that I didn’t realize, is that my ADHD was being treated so well by the Adderall that I forgot just how bad and debilitating of a disorder it really is.
Strattera, takes several weeks to kick in and potentially even longer to actually notice the effects. If you even notice them at all. It’s not like Adderall where you know its gonna kick after you take it and there’s a clear difference, with Strattera, I could never really feel if it was actually working.
I stayed on Strattera for about two months. It was not a good two months and all of my former ADHD symptoms came right back. Suddenly I had projects piling up, a giant list of things I needed to do but for some reason just couldn’t do them, and even those feelings of depression and anxiety that come along with just not being able to function in this world we live in.
I missed my Adderall. I did my best to stick it out, but why mess with a good thing? I was put on Strattera to help alleviate my anxiety but because my ADHD was no longer being treated as well, it actually ended up making my anxiety worse because I had about a thousand projects to do but not the mental capacity to be able to even start them. That’s pretty anxiety inducing.
