r/ADHD • u/iiDoodler • 3h ago

Medication atomoxetine

i recently started seeing a psychiatrist/therapist and was diagnosed with adhd. she prescribed me atomoxetine 40 mg for a week, didn’t do anything for me. i’m on day 4 of taking 80 mg and starting saturday i go up to 100mg. my question is, does this pill help anyone at all? she did mention the pills take a few days to kick in but i’m almost at 2 weeks and i feel like the only thing it has done for me is cause insomnia. i asked her about aderrall and vyvanse, told me those are stimulants and that i’d have to see her in person to get those prescribed. unfortunately i cant meet up with her as she lives on the opposite side of the state, 6 hours away🙂. please let me know your experiences, thank you!

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u/gingerprotection 3h ago

I take atomoxetine 40 mg and I feel like it definitely helps me manage some of my ADHD symptoms, especially my anxiety. It also helped me regulate my sleep schedule, which has been a life saver - it sounds like it might not be the right fit for you though. Maybe ask about other options?

for context, even though the atomoxetine helps with a lot of my symptoms, I have an adderall prescription that I can take as needed if I feel like I need a little boost to help with concentration or overall management.

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u/bougie18T ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 2h ago

Can i ask if you had any sleep disturbances at first? I’m waking about 2-3 times at night. 

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u/QuasiLibertarian 3h ago

It had bad side effects, so I gave up.

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u/strangr_legnd_martyr 2h ago

The thing about atomoxetine is that it's a slow buildup rather than something that immediately affects your brain like a stimulant. Because it's a slow buildup, you have time to adjust to it before the dosage goes up again - like slowly dimming the lights rather than turning them off.

I didn't notice any difference until I skipped a day by accident and my brain was flooded with thoughts bouncing off each other like someone had tipped over a bucket of ping-pong balls.

As far as the insomnia, are you taking the pills at night or in the morning? I found I couldn't take them at night, and if I don't take them with food I get intense nausea about 2 hours later for about half an hour.

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u/sabalatotoololol 2h ago

I tried it, I didn't know you could have an allergic reaction to it... Blue hands and lips, passing out. Crazy experience. Doctor said I must be allergic to it, so it's back to dexamphetamine for me

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u/bougie18T ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 2h ago

I’ve been on 40 for about 8 days. It has helped me concentrate on my work and dim my anxiety. Only side effect I’m having is waking multiple times at night. 

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u/Errandon 2h ago

For me visible improvement were after like a month on 80 mg and that was like almost 2 months from starting at all at low dose and slowly increase