It took finding six different psychologists over the span of six years, and countless sessions where I tried to explain how sudden my decision can be, how I always get distracted, how eccentric that makes me and how flappy my whole life is and has been, and all the underlying issues, until I finally met one who understood me and had expertise in the field.
Tomorrow, I will starting with a dose 18 mg of Concerta.
It really sucks it has to be this way. This really is true.
I now feel like I can put down my heavy armor, my sword and my shield.
Congrats! Hope it helps, I’m on a stratera generic and I think it might he having some effect, but I’m still having concentration issues. Only recently started it, going on a bit over a week right now
Like an SSRI, Straterra takes a bit to build up and start having an effect. I titrated up to 80mg over the course of either 6 or 8 weeks, increasing dosage every 2 weeks. It was about a month before I really started to feel any difference.
Im doing 105mg at the moment, and supposed to up to 130mg. Its just I am fighting to get a part of the cost covered by state before I up the dosage (3 months into that process…). Got also a hybrid prescription of concerta since the strattera (atomoxitine) alone is not helping much with concentration, and I have it on hand in case I need it. Atomoxetine has blown away most of my anxiety though, but I can tell the extra 25mg oomph might be needed still.
Hell yeah. How’s the first day of Concerta?
I felt an effect! I felt more focused and didn’t spiral in my thoughts too much! What the shit!
Yeah it’s quite an experience. Some of the effects fade with time and others appear (positive ones).
How is it going 2 weeks later?
Hey there, thanks for responding two weeks later.
So I al doing this trial run where I will find my dosage. It has been mostly great! My thoughts are still not spiralling as they used to.
I’ve been experiencing the negative side where I get trouble sleeping. And I feel a bit of, not really full on headache as I know it, but a “cousin symptom” of it?
The negative effects occured at the same time I increased dosage from 18 mg + 18 mg morning- afternoon to 36 mg + 18 mg. I have a scheduled follow up meeting in the middle of April but I asked them yesterday to get back to me with an earlier time to discuss dosage, side effects, etc. The idea with the test run is for me to go up to 36 morning + 36 afternoon tomorrow, but I am reluctant ATM because I want to handle sleep better
Oh wow that’s a high dose I think. And short-release (if you’re taking two?).
Hopefully the headaches go away after a bit. Just make sure to drink lots of extra water.
In terms of sleep loss, some people swear by taking magnesium supplements in the evenings. The medication supposedly can cause you have a deficiency, which can affect sleep. Obviously chat to your doctor before taking supplements at the same time though. I am after all just a person on the internet.
And like I said in my previous message, a lot of the effects (and side effects) can change as your body adapts to the medication.
Congratulations on getting here!
Please keep in mind that medication does have negative side effects you’ll need to manage. It’s not a golden bullet. But it’s very, very, very helpful to those of us it helps (I’m one)! I hope you get the results you’re looking for!
Thank you.
What side effects did you feel?
Some crankiness in the afternoons, very thirsty in the mornings, and on some of them waking up very early and not being able to get back to sleep.
Also I don’t get hungry any more. Just low blood sugar. So I have to be strict on meal times.
