Titrated up to 30 mg Daily: Bug-Eyed & Poopy

So last Friday I met with my family doctor after having been on 20 mg daily of Strattera for a month. We chatted and he asked me how I was doing. I told him that I was beginning to notice positive effects which I assume are a result of the medication. I related how I am hardly ever finding myself in a room asking myself "Now, what the heck did I come here for? What was it I was trying to do?". I also reported that I am finding that my concentration is improving dramatically.

For example, I was able to pay attention to virtually all of the sessions in the management course I attended last week. I guess I find it strange that this is a big surprise - but when I think back on my life, I don't really ever remember being able to concentrate fully for very long. But like the goldfish in the bowl that doesn't know it is surrounded by water - because it has always been surrounded by water - I guess it never occurred to me that not being able to pay attention for more than a few minutes was a problem per se. It was just how things were.

At the end of the appointment he wrote me a prescription to titrate my dose to 30 mg daily.

"If you are beginning a trial of a stimulant medication (or an NRI in the case of Strattera), the doctor will likely start with an initial low dose and carefully adjust the dose upwards to adequate levels. This process is called titration. Titration helps the body adapt to the medication and often reduces common side effects that can occur when one begins the medication. Titration also helps you and your doctor find the optimal dose to improve daily functioning. Your doctor will increase the dose slowly to the highest tolerable dose. If you begin to see no more improvement in symptoms as the dosage increases, the doctor will lower the dose to the previous one. Also, if you find that a higher dose produces too many side effects, the dosage will be lowered."

It has been 5 days now on the increased dose, and - yes, you've reached that part in my post when I am about to describe some awkward physical symptoms so you may now switch to another page if you are at all squeamish.

"One day you were walking down the street and it was raining a little bit. You were just strolling along and came across a sewage grate that was blocked with some little sticks and leaves and such. A pool of rainwater had built up behind this dam. Being a curious and exploring type of person, you decided to shove the debris and detritus aside with your shoe. All of a sudden the dam broke and a torrent of liquid and debris was released into the grate."

Anyway, hope you get the drift. Diarrhea. Diarrhea. Diarrhea.

And the other thing is that I have noticed that I am doing things rapidly - like typing this post, responding to e-mails, talking, and getting things done. Not manically. I don't have thoughts racing around, in fact, I feel very focused and calm. But there is a slight 'electricity' to it all, I almost feel like I ought to have some buzzing in my ears, and that my eyes should be bugging out a little. I take both of these as side-effects, and imagine that in a few days they will resolve themselves (not the 'getting things done' part!).



Hope you are having a great day,

Cheers,

Mungo

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