I have been on ADD meds since the 7th grade.
Stratera has a large chance of making you soft if your an adult (that's what happened to me)...and I'm talking about COMPLETELY soft. However, for the few people who do not get any side effects it is supposed to be fantastic. I tried it in the 7th grade and it made me lose a ton of weight and was ok but I just felt like trying something stronger.
How do you know what do you want??? Everyone reacts completely differently and a lot of people SWEAR by XR. However, I hate XR with a passion because not a single XR medication (concerta/vyvance) has worked for me.
Adderall is an extremely rough drug in my opinion, some people like its potency and its "super motivational" qualities other people like me think that levoamphetamine is just plain counterproductive and makes me feel like shit. Adderall is just Dexedrine with added levoamphetamine.
I just started taking dexedrine a month ago and I SWEAR by it and I have actually converted adderall user to it. It is an extremely old drug so most doctors discount it. This is mostly due to the fact that Shire who is a major player in Dex is trying to promote its XR version of Dex...vyvanse.
Honestly DO NOT ask your doctor for a drug by name for your very first med because the doctor will not trust you. After you have tried a couple of the drugs he gives you can start requesting drugs like I did with Dex.
Not to mention that the internet doesn't know shit about you. Vyvanse, adderall, and concerta wouldn't be around if they didn't work for a lot of people.
Let him give you Stratera and try it for your own sake and then come back the next month and ask him for something else.
Remember most doctors, especially adult psychiatrist do not like hearing that you are doing your own research about ADD Meds early on.
All ADD meds (Besides Stratera) are the highest level of prescribable controlled drugs as they are Schedule II. Amphetamines are just as controlled as the most powerful opiods such as Vicodin, percacet, morphine, etc.
However, you can slightly get around this by talking to your doctor with codes like "adderall gives me anxiety", "XR meds give me a huge crash", etc. But you have to try those meds first in order to be able to say that even if it just for 2 weeks or a month.
Good Luck,
Add is a BIIIIITCH!
PS: If your looking to treat your ADD but also give yourself a little buzz I think dex is a good choice. Even though I use it for medical reasons...it is the only add med that actually makes me feel good.
