Hello everyone. This is my fifth month taking atomoxetine, and my third month with a 100 mg dose. I can say that life is better with medication than without medication, but not everything changed for the better.
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My impulsivity has been reduced. I ponder about this or that choice before taking it, although some days I feel myself more impulsive than others. But in general, that’s really good.
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My racing thoughts slowed down noticeably. I feel my head more silent than during the time I was not diagnosed. It’s not silent, and I “listen to” music non-stop, but I have way less voices and intrusive thoughts.
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I think I can engage in conversations more easily. I’m not in my mind world the way I was when I was not diagnosed. The negative note is that I also have ASD, so it’s still a struggle sometimes, but better to have one disorder tamed than unleashed.
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I can manage my time more efficiently. I still can be a bit impatient, depending on the day and the situation, but it’s more under control.
I only can notice two bad things:
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My executive dysfunction is still non existent. I want to do things, but I’m not able to make my thoughts into actions. And it sucks. I have responsibilities, and I don’t take care of them, no matter how much I think about taking care of them.
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Dysgeusia is a real pain, especially when you need to stop eating something you like because its taste feels disgusting somehow. I stopped taking soy milk, cow milk, milkshakes and apple juice over time. I found that eating peanut butter with atomoxetine can hide that side effect, but I would rather prefer not to have that side effect.
Anyway, this 8th of August I have my next appointment with my psychiatrist. I’m not sure whether continuing with this treatment or changing to guanfacine, considering those two negative points (especially the executive dysfunction). I’m not allowed to take stimulants, and in my country only atomoxetine and guanfacine are available specifically for ADHD.
What about you? Any tips, advice, positive experiences…?
Can I ask of there is there a particular reason you’re not allowed stimulants?
The psychiatrist of the national health system from my country (Spain) said that, as I was diagnosed being an adult, I’m not allowed to take any stimulant for ADHD because it’s illegal. If I was diagnosed being a child or a teenager and was prescribed stimulants back then, it would be different.
Have you actually read the law yourself? I would question if that is actually true or they are just trying to prevent drug seekers by lying.
When I was on it I found it helped with distraction, but not task initiation, and the various dosages made no difference. Given that and some of the side effects I ended up going off it.
Guanfacine handled the task initiation for me, but not the distraction.
It would be interesting to take both pills in that case. But I don’t think things work that way.
It was really helpful to me when i took it. All the loud thoughts running at once got quiet and I felt like I could focus on one thing at a time, however, you still need to practice discipline and priorities to get it right. I could get distracted on the wrong thing without a thought of needing to pivot. Stopped taking it due to some allergy issues and we had to rule out everything.
I’m at 80mg right now and besides the persistent dry mouth, I feel a bit better than baseline. My job will be getting tougher in the coming months so we’ll see whether it keeps up.
My psych isn’t keen on stimulants, and I’m considering getting a full evaluation at a different doctor over an hour away just to keep options open to make sure I’m getting the right care rather than just atomoxatine because my current doctor erroneously thinks stimulants are equivalent to hard drugs like meth.
I was on Concerta until March. But it turns out that if you were diagnosed during your adulthood, it’s illegal to prescribe stimulants to you. My former private psychiatrist didn’t know and didn’t care, but my psychiatrist in the public health system told me that. So, no stimulants for me.
What country? (US here, so I’ve got my own issues with this whole process)
My wife was taking it for a while and it impacted her life in a negative manner.
She felt more anxious, restless, and depressed.
This was confusing for her and since reuptake inhibitors are new to her, she didn’t put the two together.
I recommended to her that she should bring these symptoms up to her physician and explain that the severity is likely a result of her taking this medication, specifically because it had already been several weeks into the prescription.
She came back and said her physician said that not every medication for specific mental issues work for every person’s situation and that a different medication may be better; I was expecting this but I don’t have any formal medical background so I’m glad something I’ve learned was of use.
I’m sorry that this isn’t a positive experience like you were hoping for and I’m sure you’ve spoken to your physician at great length but just for the odd chance that you haven’t brought these feelings up with them, please do.
Edit: I should also note that my wife and I suspect she may have ASD to some degree as well but it has not been diagnosed.
As I said, my next appointment is next week. I’ll talk to her about those struggles I still have. Those benefits I experience are really good, but they’re not very useful when I can’t start doing my tasks and taking care of my responsibilities. That, and the damn dysgeusia.
