One of the main features of adult adhd seems to be mood swings.
These are very rapid and can occur up to 2-3 times a day or a particular mood will last up to several days, not more. This is in contrast to Bipolar disorder where the moods (depressed or elated) last weeks or months at a time.
The mood in adhd is both reactive, in response to the environment around you and spontaneous, just coming out of nowhere. People with the adhd seem to be hyperreactive to their environment, so things that would only alter mood slightly for those without adhd, can make massive differences to someone with adhd. E.G. An adhd person may get quite elated in the presence of a member of the opposite sex they are attracted to or have sudden crashes in their mood after negative comments are made about them.
Also in adhd, moods (such as elation or depression) can come completely out of the blue with no reason at all. A sudden wave of elation or a crashing depression can just occur within the mind from nowhere.
As opposed to borderline personality disorder, when low, someone with adhd can feel suicidal but the mood does not stay low long enough for them to do it (of course there are exceptions). Borderline personality disordered people have rapid mood swings as well, but these are usually different levels of depression and they don't often feel normal.
Resting mood state may not be normal in adhd, so it can be on the elated side or the depressed side and swing from this resting position in either direction.
The important thing that distinguishes the mood swings in adhd from bipolar is not only the length of time in the swing (shorter for adhd) but also that in adhd it is not severe. There may be rapid speech in adhd, with rhyming, talking off the point and singing, but when elated there are no grandiose delusions (the person does not think they are special). in fact they may be showing off, but it will tongue-in-cheek and when questioned at a deeper level, they will admit they are joking and low self-esteem is nearly always present in adhd regardless of the mood.
The other complicating factor in all this, if this wasn't bad enough as it is, is that independent of the adhd, someone with adhd, may also be suffereing with bipolar (about 10% of bipolars) or maybe suffering with borderline personality disorder or even all 3. Depressive episodes may also be superimposed on an adhd background, which will need treatment in their own right with antidepressants.
Here's more:
But, here's what has happened: I had the usual side effects, slightly upset stomach, dry mouth, insomnia ... these were mild, but noticeable, and they did go away very slowly. I was just about done feeling the side effects at the one month mark but I have noticed a BIG difference in my IRRITABILITY levels. It took me a while to finally figure out that it was the Strattera, and not just me, or PMS or the moon or whatever. I would have something occur that would make me feel irritable, and my normal response is to let it pass naturally and it does. Very quickly.
However, on the Strattera, I have been feeling irritable almost DAILY and it DOES NOT PASS quickly! In fact just the past three days, whenever I have come across these irritable feelings they hang on for a LONG time and actually tend to become almost RAGEFUL in strength, which is NOT me except for years ago when I was first diagnosed with depression and had never been on any meds. The rage feeling is so overwhelming that soon my eyes tear up and want to cry. It took me about 4 of these daily events before I realized that it was the Strattera! I am not willing to see if this goes away; it is too disruptive and I have a fairly stressful life at this time, which does NOT need any extra factors. I also have two young boys and I don't like to be irritable with them any more than we are used to! HA! I think that ANY med needs to be given a good month to adjust to -- the worst side effects are generally in the beginning two weeks and gradually decrease over time. I think that my particular metabolism is a bit slower than most and it takes me a month to get the full effect of any side effects that I might have. That has been the case with the Strattera as well. As for any BENEFITS with the drug in my experience, I would say that I didn't notice any but then I was on the lower of the doses my doctor recommended. I won't know if it would have addressed the ADD. I won't wait through the irritability to see!
Long story short . . . I'm very moody, depressed, irritable. I cried for hours last night thinking about my mom who passed away 4 years ago.
My husband and I rarely fight and we've gotten into 3 fights since I've been on the med.
I've snapped at people at work for no reason and I just feel miserable.
And at first I was feeling great benefits from the med, focus, concentration, motivation, etc. Now - about the only benefit I'm seeing is I'm able to pay attention to conversations and not interrupt people.
I see my shrink on Tuesday. I'm telling her I won't be taking this crap anymore. :)
What gets me is that my therapist seems to think I am nuts for reacting this way. I tried to hang in there because I wanted so much to improve my focus and organization -- and I think it might have helped some -- but the price of having a Mr. Hyde personality definitely was not worth it.
I still can't believe the words from the posts I've read here -- they describe precisely what happened to me on Straterra. And the more I read about it and how quickly it went to market to simply provide a non-controlled substance for ADHDers, the more frightening it becomes. If it really helps some people, fine, but how will people know about the side effects with so many medical personnel so certain of Lily's good intentions (ha!) and so unwilling to listen to their patients who, of course, do not speak with the authority of controlled scientific studies.
I hate to imagine what this drug may be doing to children who must have a harder time articulating feeling "different" and not themselves -- not to mention that a drug could make them angry and mean.
I'm the type of person that constantly goes out of their way to help others, I've coached soccer (recreational.- travel) for 13+ years, I've been the Cookie Dad for my daughters Brownie Troops, Assistant Pack Leader for my sons Cub Scout Pack, joined the Navy Reserves 2 years ago (because I felt I needed to help in any way I could after 9/11) and assist several other volunteer groups. Now I'm currently separated from my wife, have been banned for LIFE from volunteer work in my community, lost two of my kids to my ex-wife (which took me 7 years and $20,000.00 in legal bills to get full custody of them), have been put in jail overnight (first and last time I hope), drained my savings to stay alive (homeless currently) and it's possible I could be going back to jail and or have a conviction on my record after my court case next week. A conviction as you might be aware would destroy my future ability to secure a good job, ban me from ever working as a volunteer with kids again and be dropped from the Navy (only after they get their chance to rip into me too - because the military then charges you for the same offense(s) that the civilian courts do - double jeopardy).
To make it short my life has become a living nightmare beyond imagination … All because of the anger that took me over after being on Strattera. I truly became a modern day Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and now all I am is scared and alone.
Four months ago, after being switched to Strattera I informed my wife that I couldn't feel any difference (with regards to positive effects), but she saw the negatives. I became irritable, and completely not like myself, for one thing I didn't mind entertaining the verbal battles that occurred in our marriage and plunged recklessly into ripping her apart verbally (please note I love my wife with all my heart and soul - she's truly my soul mate and my best friend). Well these verbal assaults, regardless the fact that we both knew were the medication talking and not me took their toll and started to systematically destroy our marriage and our friendship. On top of this, we have a merged family (like the Brady Bunch) I brought in two kids and she brought in two kids into the marriage. Blended families are already tough, now place in a grown man with medically induced anger problem. (3rd week on Strattera) On my wife's BIRTHDAY I dropped her off at her favorite hair saloon to have them pamper her, plus since I needed the extra bonus points for being such a jerk to her, I hauled all the kids to the local car rental agency. Well I rented her a brand new, completely optioned out Suburban, so that we could do a fun family trip the following day. While I was in the office my biological son (12 years old) came to me and told me that my 6 year old step son was being a problem - I went out there to find that he was using permanent marker to draw on the seats of our Minivan and throwing video cassettes into the heads of the other kids in the Minivan. I could feel my anger going throw the roof (still the sane side of me was saying he's just a 6 year old kid being a kid) so I yelled at him to behave and to sit still for 5 more minutes, giving me time to get the keys to the Suburban. I turned around and saw him (with complete anger on his face) kick the back of my biological daughters head (he thought she took one of his toys) not once but twice before I could get to him. I reached into the back seat and PUNCHED this little 6 year old in the SHOULDER (left no marks or bruises) 3 times and yelled at him. Naturally as soon as we picked up my wife, I was told on by the kids - now our relationship was hitting all new lows. (She was screaming you hit my son on my BIRTHDAY!!!)
(4th week on Strattera) This week my biological son for some reason only known to him, started tormenting my 6 year old step son. This not only got me angry, but sent my wife straight into new levels of frustration, where she was using foul language and telling me that I was very close to being homeless. After dinner one night my wife and I got up and went to watch a little TV while the kids finished their dinner. Not five minutes later, my 6 year old came running into the room with spaghetti all over his face. My son had gotten out of his chair and on the way to rinsing off his plate, he grabbed the back of the 6 year olds head and pushed it into his full plate of spaghetti, thinking it was funny. I could feel my anger growing (again the sane side of me was saying they're just kids being kids) so I yelled at him to go to his room and explained that he would be in there for the rest of the night. My wife lost it at this point (as anyone would) and ran up the stares after him and sent him back down to me yelling all the while at the top of her voice to "TAKE CARE OF IT" - she inserted several words I wont repeat within the process. My medically induced mind is telling me that she wants me to spank him, but somewhere inside me was yelling please don't hurt him (my anger was growing again). I slowly took two steps towards him and he turned to walk away from me, I stopped his escape by pushing him into the nearest wall (which he dented with his shoulder), I grabbed his shoulder and slowly pushed him to the ground, where I then held his head to the carpet and yelled at him to recognize that this is what he was doing to his little brother (left no marks or bruises). The absolute fear in his eyes woke me up and I immediately let him up and sent him back to his room. At this point my wife has completely lost it and runs up the stars after him, telling him she never meant for that to happen - I just sat back down in the chair thinking "God please let me wake up". (5th week on Strattera) - I QUIT TAKING IT My wife calls my kids school and tells them what happened (at this point she's scared for the kids and wants me to get help), so the counties local Social Service office sends personnel to do a report (which their STILL writing today) and has me sign something stating that I would never touch my kids in anger again (which I signed immediately). Then they found out through my wife and kids what happened when I punched my 6 year old. At that point they requested an interview with me at the local Sheriffs office, because one of there investigator needed to speak with me and had a few questions about what happened. I told them what had happened and was promptly placed under arrest, read my rights, snuggly fitted in the investigators hand-cuffs, handed two counts of "Assault on a Child" and placed in a cell.
Now that I'm off Strattera I beg for forgiveness and promise to make things better. But can anyone tell me how to take fear out of loved ones that lived with a grown man who was under the control of Medically Induced Anger. Even now after loosing my two kids (I was highly recommended to relinquish my parental responsibilities to my ex-wife), being forced to drop all coaching and volunteer responsibilities (my arrest was in the local papers), social services told my wife that if I was still living in the home with the remaining two children that they would charge her with Criminal Child Neglect and place her kids in Foster Care. Now I'm homeless and looking at a going to court next week, possibly to do more jail time and a conviction that will void the rest of my life.
"God - please let me wake up"
Strattera only needs 4 weeks to destroy your life … I'm the proof
U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA) PHONE: General info on Strattera and other drugs: 1 (888) 463-6332 or 1 (888) INFO - FDA Report problems with Strattera: 1 (800) 332-1088 WEB: General info on Strattera: http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2002/ANS01177.HTML Report problems with Strattera: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/
At any rate, after years of being treated for depression and anxiety my doctor brought up ADHD. We discussed it and I agreed to give Straterra a shot. After the first month I thought I'd found the cure. I felt focused and determined. My anxiety seemed to dissipate substantially.
Somewhere along the line, not too long after the first month, I started noticing sudden mood swings. Since then it seems to have gotten worse. I can go from being perfectly happy and content to utterly miserable in a flash. It happened to me last weekend at a wedding. I was having a great time at the reception and then all of the sudden I wanted to leave. I started a horrible argument with my girlfriend when we left and I still don't know why I did. I've never been one to start arguments.
Last night it happened again. It's just such a sudden thing that I start to feel enraged for no particular reason. I can feel my heart racing. It's like I go through these spells of anger or rage and after it passes I feel extremely depressed. I'm believe I'd be better off just dealing with anxiety, lack of focus, and depression from a cognitive approach versus using medications.
My 9 year old son started Strattera on August 1st after having no response to the stimulant medications. He is ADHD, ODD and Dyslexic (all mild). On the low dosage of 20mg and 25mg, he responded well to the Strattera and had no side effects except for decreased appetite. His poor social skills improved, as well as his impulsivity, his grades became all A's, he dropped 2/3 of his tutoring, and his defiance and non-compliance were much better. Everything changed two weeks after the October 15th dosage increase to 30mg. He became over-emotional, cried over the smallest things, and became depressed and started talking about being unhappy and wanting to kill himself. It scared my husband and I to see our son so despondent, when he is typically a happy kid. The doctor had my son stop Strattera cold-turkey, and about 6 days later he returned to normal after most of the Strattera left his system. We plan to restart and re-try the Strattera again, this time sticking to the low dosage of 20 or 25mg, which was very successful. I think Strattera was a good drug for my son when he uses a low dosage.
He has been on Strattera/Valproic acid combo for almost a year and we are convinced we are seeing much improvement in his behavior. And for the record, he was on Strattera solo for about a month when we just flat could not get the Valproic Acid syrup into him at all. And it was an ugly sight!
I have just left a message for my son's doctor to discuss this very topic. He has been on 40 mg of Strattera since September and I have noticed over the last month or so that his frustration level has elevated dramatically. He is usually a very compassionate and loving boy and has recently began throwing fits, mouthing off, slamming doors, etc. I am not convinced at this point that it is the Strattera, but it is the only thing that I can come up with at this point.
Yes, as a mother of a 16 year old who has been taking Strattera for about 1 year, the mood swings, anger and irritability became worse on her reduced dose of 40 mg. She was previously on 80 mg. We have taken her off of Strattera and the withdrawal was horrible requiring hospitalization. Now that she is 5 days post stopping the Strattera her behavior, moods, attitude are wonderful. She is pleasant, polite, happy, (and hyper). I will never allow my daughter to take Strattera again and intend to notify the FDA of the extent of the mood swings, irritability and anger this drug causes. Good luck to you. While Ritalin is not long acting, my research shows that it is the safest drug out there and has been used for about 50 years. The long term effects of Strattera, Concerta, Adderal and other newer meds are not known. I hope to keep my daughter off all of these medications and work on other ways for her to expend her energy.
My son, 12 years old, has been on Strattera for a little past 5 months. He started with 30 days of 25 mg. and then increased to 40 mg per day thereafere. He battled the most prevalent of side effects, such as headache, nausea, insomnia and now doesn't experience those. We did switch his time of medication from morning to night to help him with the sleepiness during the day and the insomnia at night. However, During the past month, we all have noticed his mood swings being more intense. He slams doors and gets overwelmed very easily to the point of tears, and feelings of "not wanting to be here anymore" His grades in school have not improved, either. He has complained of feeling like his heart was going to beat out of his chest due to the pace and intensity as well. He also in the past week or so has become more aggressive in his "playing" behavior. Hitting friends hard, throwing things at people and being unwilling to stop when asked to. I am so alarmed with these newly seen symptoms that we have an appointment with his doctor today to discuss weining him off the Strattera. I would rather find other ways to help him deal with his ADHD than to risk further damaging his mental health with side effects from this drug. I have been researching alternative methods of treatment such as beCALM'd, Flavay, and ATTEND. These are natural dietary supplements of nutrients/vitamins and so forth. They have no side effects and can also nuture his health in other ways such as better circulation, antioxidant, collegen building, tissue rebuilding. So in response to your question, if you consider 40 mg to be a small dose, then YES I believe his mood swings are being caused by Strattera. He was not like this before starting this medication.
Reading the posts on this question I see that Strattera has paradoxical effects in different people. Several people have suffered mood swings and irritation.
My experience has been the opposite. I am calmer, more even-tempered. No big anxiety spikes. No flare-ups of anger. Less intensity overall.
I'm sure I am more focused and less ditzy, better able to give sustained attention to a task. But curiously I also find that when I do get stuff mixed up (lose things, do things backwards, walk off without my cellphone, etc.) I now can sort of laugh it off like a normal person. In my accustomed state (non-Strattera) these experiences could trigger feelings of great distress and anxiety.
Yes, strattera does cause "new" unwanted mood changes. I am 24 and have recently started taking strattera (40mg) and have noticed a change in my mood. I do seem to be more irritable and feel sleepy after an hour or so after the dose. Anyway, here is my exp with ADHD medicine. Ritalin was no good, the "crashing" effect was so bad i discontinued use. Aderrall "feels" just like strattera during the first hour. Feelings of energy and feeling more calm. But with adderall, there is no "sleepy" feeling, no "irritable" feeling, no mood change at all, and the "crash" feeling is very easy. They say Strattera is "non-stimulant" but at least with the "stimulants" there is no adverse side-effects that would make you want to discontinue use. I have recently stopped taking Aderrall to try Strattera, and im thinking of going back to Adderrall. I like it a lot better. Although I feel it is still necessary to take something like Lexapro along with it. That's probably the only good thing Strattera has to offer, is that it is an SNRI. Strattera in my opinion, is just another one of those anti-depressants.
At 41 years old, I have been prescribed Strattera (60 mg) to treat Adult ADD. Into my third week on on the medication, I have weathered the awful nausea, but have accomplished more projects (actually COMPLETED them) than the last six months combined! My husband, however, insists he sees a change in my mood. The only thing I notice is that I don't seem to laugh as much as I did before. Could it be that I was too busy and focused to find humor in things lately... or could the drug be the cause?
Anyone have similar symptoms?
In my experience with Strattera, I find it to be a rediculous drug to treat ADD and/or ADHD. I've been on Strattera now for about a week and it makes me cry for no reason, makes me more irritable with little things that people do than before (when I didn't care), it somewhat makes me concentrate in school, but barely, and my angry level gets so intense that I have to leave the room and go to my room and be alone to settle down. Today I am going to my doctor for a follow up and I'm going to have to tell her that I can't stay on this, and from reading others information, I hope she doesn't try to increase the dosage because if I'm on 18mg as of right now and it makes me feel this way, I can only imagine what 20, 30, 40, and so on would make me feel like. Thanks...
My 8 year old daughter is currently taking 30mg of strattera. She has started participating more at school and seems happier and more relaxed in social situations. She does however have melt downs at home over homework, especially math. My quiet child is all of a sudden very frustrated that school is hard for her and for the first time verbally expressing it, as opposed to shutting down and crying about headaches and stomach aches. The strattera has caused mood swings, but only in regards to school.
We did try concerta and adderall, but it made her depressed.
My to this question 'does s. cause severe mood swings? has to be yes. Definitely, at least for me. I began taking strattera for depression/adhd around march of 2005. I had to back off the orig. dose the doctor prescribed because of sleeping and irritability issues but i kept with it because it helped me concentrate. I kept attributing evening irritability to the fact that i was taking so long to get to the maximum dose possible, yet as i increased dosage i still continued to have these problems and they only increased in fact, to the point that i was having episodes that made me think i was bipolar. My mood swings were so severe and so constant these last six weeks i began to think i was going to go crazy. At this point i was still in denial about strattera actually causing the problem for me (i was blaming it on perimenopause by this time). But the last straw came this month after suffering a third SEVERE SEVERE SEVERE depressive episode. It was so bad i actually had what i might call a brief psychotic episode also. I went off cold turkey three days ago. (not a good idea i realize but we were out of town and the depression was so severe i felt suicidal. I thought i'd chance the withdrawal in the hopes that it couldn't be any worse.) I had heart palpitations and was shaky, weepy, and mildly depressed for a day or so but it seems that every hour gets better. I don't feel that weird, horrific depression AT ALL. At the moment i feel like a regular normal human being again. Reasonably calm and plain old normal. Very pleasant. I will definitely not go back on strattera. not to say that it can't help other people, but boy oh boy BE HONEST with your doctor about side effects. I was not, because i wanted to concentrate so badly (and i liked the initial weight loss) and i was afraid she'd take me off the strattera if i admitted to the side effects i was having). I hope i have grown up from this experience and if i ever think i do need medication again i will not do it without continued counseling and lots of honesty with myself and the doctor.
In order to offer a more objective response:
For the typical patient, Strattera will not cause mood swings. If you find you or your child are having extreme mood swings on Strattera, you might want to revisit your psychiatrist to be evaluated for a bipolar disorder. It has been well-documented that stimulants and even the non-stimulant, Strattera, will make bipolar worse, with rapid cycling of moods.
Bipolar disorder and ADHD share a lot of the same symptoms, so a misdiagnosis is easy. Even my own doctor said "We'll treat you for ADHD first and if the treatment doesn't work, then it is possible you have bipolar." Since Strattera is working marvelously for me, we have been able to rule out bipolar for me.
Finally, if you have been prescribed Strattera for depression, get a second opinion. Strattera was initially meant to be a new antidepressant, but CLINICAL TRIALS showed it had NO effect on depression so the FDA would not approve it to treat depression. It did show an effect on ADHD, though, which is why it was remarketed for ADHD and approved by the FDA for ADHD.
So basically if you are using Strattera for depression, you are being told to use it in a non-FDA-approved away, so get a second opinion.
Basically, Strattera is a Norepinepherine Reuptake Inhibitor. This class of drug is also used to TREAT depression, Strattera wasn't proven as effective as placebo but did however relieve symptoms of ADHD. If you read on wikipedia, it says that it is actually a good addition to your normal medication. For example, I take prisitq, an SNRI (effexor basically). With normal dosages, I would say strattera would be of your benefit.
have been on strattera for several months and have had no depression until just lately, . went off strattera and was just fine. as soon as i started back on it, i noticed how my mood took a definite dip.
Yes...definitely.
I have been on Strattera for 6 months, and if I go on too high a dose now, it makes me feel horrible - I become lethargic, depressed, I don't want to be around anyone, and I feel like I weigh 1000 lbs (serious gravity issues). As soon as I lower my dose again, these feelings are GONE! Those on Strattera should be warned to watch for this.
i don't know about getting mood swings but i am really hyper right now and i have also stoped taking lexapro
This drug is dangerous, and should be pulled from the shelves.
It has helped alot of people, and has hurt alot of people.
Yes because you get a high from Adderall. It puts you in a good mood when your at your high and your in a bad mood when u have your low. it happens to me everyday
Yes; in some cases Strattera can cause mood swings. Consult your physician immediately and discontinue use.
Yup. A mood swing is a mood swing.
It is very normal to have mood swings during your period.
Mood swings are a symptom of bipolar; but that does not definitively mean you are bipolar; your best bet is to go to a doctor. There are times when you may have symptoms but not the disease.
Yes it does. It can make you tired and docile.
Mood swings in french is sautes d'humeur or changements d'humeur
Wild Mood Swings was created on 1996-05-06.
Mercurial is mood swings: The mercurial patient had mood swings frequently.
Yes this is very normal. Usually when adderall is wearing off it can result in headache, mood swings, loss of appetite. and sleepiness just to name a few.
Mood swings can be stopped by medicines called 'mood stabilizers'. Examples- lamotrigine, lithium, sodium valproate, carbamazepine.
"To know what is relevant to your mood swings you should probably talk with your doctor. There can be many different things that cause mood swings, and a doctor can help you find out what is relevant to your case or not."
That's different for everyone- some people don't go through mood swings.
Yes, animals have mood swings. Humans have mood swings, but other animals like dogs, cats, and the like have mood swings with grumpiness, snarling, and growling. They can also have periods of random happiness up behind the grumpiness like licking, snuggling, cuddling, and other verbal cues.