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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by shefast on November 7, 2004, at 0:42:47
i am almost 40, recently diagnosed with adhd. my health plan (public through the county) is telling me i have to try strattera for two months, then only if that doesn't work can i go to stimulants. i don't want to take strattera - can they force me into this? please help.
Posted by linkadge on November 7, 2004, at 11:06:16
In reply to strattera pushed on me - please help, posted by shefast on November 7, 2004, at 0:42:47
I would suggest getting the prescription, trying it for as long as you need to determine that it doesn't work (or does) and then wait the remainder of the two months out (you don't have to take it for the full two months)
I think a health plan can prioritize medications in this way, but you do not have to force yourself to take the med for the full two months if it is not working/intolerable.
This is strange cause straterra is the more expensive med (I think !?)
Best of luck,
Linkadge
Posted by shefast on November 7, 2004, at 12:57:15
In reply to Re: strattera pushed on me - please help, posted by linkadge on November 7, 2004, at 11:06:16
i do not want to take this drug, period. i am not going to take it. why should i be forced to wait two months to be treated because i won't take what they say i have to? i'm willing to pay for the prescription myself, but the county wouldn't even tell me if the doctor is allowed to prescribe it outside of their plan. ?? i have to call back tomorrow when the pharmacy director is there and ask her - i guess no patient has ever told them they wouldn't take a med?
stimulants are very well researched and have been in use for a long time. the same cannot be said of strattera. why should i be a guinea pig? i went through a terrible experience with effexor and i'm not feeling very "experimental" about my meds. also i am on wellbutrin and can't find any info on combining strattera and wellbutrin. nor can i find anyone who has taken strattera over a long period of time and discontinued it. if anyone has info, i'd love to know!
thanks!
Posted by zeugma on November 7, 2004, at 13:29:01
In reply to Re: strattera pushed on me - please help, posted by shefast on November 7, 2004, at 12:57:15
I took Strattera for a year and discontinued it abruptly. There was no withdrawal.
Much of the research in the period since Strattera's release has focused not on Strattera's efficacy, but on its lack of abuse potential relative to stimulants. Numerous experiments have confirmed that monkeys are reluctant to intra-cranially inject themselves with atomoxetine, in contrast to Ritalin or Adderall.
You don't have to take a drug that is prescribed for you, or even fill the prescription. But I have never heard of a health plan telling their doctors what they can or cannot prescribe.
-z
Posted by shefast on November 7, 2004, at 21:17:13
In reply to Re: strattera pushed on me - please help » shefast, posted by zeugma on November 7, 2004, at 13:29:01
thanks - i am curious, why did you stop taking it?
i am receiving benefits from the county i live in because i am flat broke and have no insurance. i have been informed that it is their "policy" that a new adhd patient must try wellbutrin for two months and if that doesn't work they go to strattera for two months. then if the strattera doesn't work they can go to stimulants. i've already been on wellbutrin, so that obviously doesn't work, thus i got to skip the first 2 months. i will not take strattera, but it remains to be seen how the county will deal with that.
i don't know if the doctor is allowed to prescribe stimulants anyway, but i have to pay for them? or do they permit patients who object to a certain medication to "skip it"? (i should get answers from them tomorrow)
almost everything i have read states that stimulants are considered first-line treatment for adhd, and strattera is a fallback if you can't tolerate stims. i have not found much touting strattera as a first treatment.
also, i am still on wellbutrin and can't find any info on the potential reaction between strattera and wellbutrin...
> I took Strattera for a year and discontinued it abruptly. There was no withdrawal.
>
> Much of the research in the period since Strattera's release has focused not on Strattera's efficacy, but on its lack of abuse potential relative to stimulants. Numerous experiments have confirmed that monkeys are reluctant to intra-cranially inject themselves with atomoxetine, in contrast to Ritalin or Adderall.
>
> You don't have to take a drug that is prescribed for you, or even fill the prescription. But I have never heard of a health plan telling their doctors what they can or cannot prescribe.
>
> -z
>
Posted by Bill LL on November 8, 2004, at 9:59:19
In reply to strattera pushed on me - please help, posted by shefast on November 7, 2004, at 0:42:47
In terms of cost, I'm not sure which is cheaper. Ritalin is much cheaper than Strattera, but in the U.S. you have to go to the doctor's office each month to get a refill prescription. Strattera does not require monthly trips to the doc's office.
If someone has a history of drug abuse, I think that Strattera would be prescribed before Ritalin.
I have been on Strattera (along with Lexapro) for a long time and am doing very well on it. But I can't compare it with Ritalin since I have never tried it.
If you really want to go on Ritalin right away, ask your doc if he will give you the prescription for it and you will pay for it. It's not a very expensive drug and I think it has a generic version. Target has very low prescription drug prices.
Posted by King Vultan on November 8, 2004, at 17:03:56
In reply to Re: strattera pushed on me - please help, posted by shefast on November 7, 2004, at 12:57:15
>
> stimulants are very well researched and have been in use for a long time. the same cannot be said of strattera. why should i be a guinea pig? i went through a terrible experience with effexor and i'm not feeling very "experimental" about my meds. also i am on wellbutrin and can't find any info on combining strattera and wellbutrin. nor can i find anyone who has taken strattera over a long period of time and discontinued it. if anyone has info, i'd love to know!
>
> thanks!
Wellbutrin will tend to increase blood plasma levels of Strattera, and ideally, this should be taken into account and the Strattera dosage reduced somewhat from what it would be if it were taken by itself. This is not necessarily bad; it is just something to be aware of. Strattera isn't a dangerous drug in the sense that a tricyclic AD can be if blood plasma levels get too high; a person would probably just experience more side effects in the worst case.Generic versions of the stimulants are available that are a lot cheaper than the Strattera. My own health plan has a high copay on Strattera to try to induce people to go with the stimulants instead.
Todd
Posted by xanablu on November 8, 2004, at 18:05:25
In reply to Re: strattera pushed on me - please help, posted by shefast on November 7, 2004, at 21:17:13
> thanks - i am curious, why did you stop taking it?
>
> i am receiving benefits from the county i live in because i am flat broke and have no insurance. i have been informed that it is their "policy" that a new adhd patient must try wellbutrin for two months and if that doesn't work they go to strattera for two months. then if the strattera doesn't work they can go to stimulants. i've already been on wellbutrin, so that obviously doesn't work, thus i got to skip the first 2 months. i will not take strattera, but it remains to be seen how the county will deal with that.
>
> i don't know if the doctor is allowed to prescribe stimulants anyway, but i have to pay for them? or do they permit patients who object to a certain medication to "skip it"? (i should get answers from them tomorrow)
>
> almost everything i have read states that stimulants are considered first-line treatment for adhd, and strattera is a fallback if you can't tolerate stims. i have not found much touting strattera as a first treatment.
>
> also, i am still on wellbutrin and can't find any info on the potential reaction between strattera and wellbutrin...
>
> > I took Strattera for a year and discontinued it abruptly. There was no withdrawal.
> >
> > Much of the research in the period since Strattera's release has focused not on Strattera's efficacy, but on its lack of abuse potential relative to stimulants. Numerous experiments have confirmed that monkeys are reluctant to intra-cranially inject themselves with atomoxetine, in contrast to Ritalin or Adderall.
> >
> > You don't have to take a drug that is prescribed for you, or even fill the prescription. But I have never heard of a health plan telling their doctors what they can or cannot prescribe.
> >
> > -z
> >
>
Ya know, considering how long it took me to get a private psych ( or rather find one) who was open-minded about adult ADD (we're talking years of my life lost to confusion and depression as a result) my advice, but a month, say it doesn't agree with you, and go thru the hoops. Myself, I would at least try it, briefly, but not to the point that it made me unwell. We are not the docs or the system, we are the bodies and souls.
I just don't want you to lose your chance at financial help in this super-critical area of your life even if you have a good point. Choose your battles, but don't lose this 'war'. It will be yours (and mine) forever. Just a thought-I'm right w/u on knowing my own body 10 x's better than any doc and I have suffered thru innumerable drug trials. But any doctor I've ever tried to armwrestle, has always had the power to put me down. We, as patients, must be clever, informed, subtle, gracious, and educated--even whn the powers that be are not. GOOD LUCK!!!
xanablu
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