Dr_Nik

You may have read that backwards. I'm on Stratera and about the other ADHD medications which are all versions of stimulants.

Stratera, also known as Atomoxetine, is a norepinephrine re-uptake inhibitor. What does that mean? Ever have that clarity of mind and focus (and calm) when there is a crisis? That's norepinephrine. It seems ADHD brains tend to absorb it quickly so while most people can stay calm and focused normally, it takes a huge crisis (and huge release of norepinephrine) for ADHDers to have that feeling. If we slow down the re-uptake then it helps us feel calm and focused.

Dosage was a bitch for a bit though: they started me on the "normal" adult dose (40mg), which left me feeling like an emotionless robot and very productive. The typical advice is to go up in dose but I asked to go down to a child's dose (10mg) which has me feeling productive, calm, and frankly great. I'm still me now, but things that would normally set me off just don't anymore. I can provide compassion and be the voice of reason, or be the firm without being mean.

Drop caffeine. Seriously, that took me from reacting like the hulk to just getting flushed in the face (in most cases...I still flew off the handle sometimes, but like less than 20% compared to before). Next step that helped then was getting a non stimulant medication for ADHD, but that may not be needed for you.

Same (and I learned this because my latest batch of pills seems to have been messed up, possibly missing the actual active ingredient)...

So my experience was with Stratera, but talk to your doctor about reducing your dose to try it out. I started on 40 mg and was completely numb. I had no desires at all even though I could get shit done (I knew what was expected of me and I did it). I hated it and when it started to wear off I broke down in tears because I did not want to live like that. I spoke to my doctor and he reduced my dose to 10 mg and that did the trick. I'm so much more in control of my emotions/impulses, I can easily task switch, my memory has gotten a lot better, and I don't have any of the weird floating through life feelings I had on 40 mg.

Sometimes just going higher is not the solution.

It surprises me that Nintendo would think enough people would pay for this, but considering the tech in it, I doubt it could sell for cheaper at a profit. What people don't realize is that there is a full on radar based health monitoring system in there that drives the price up. I expect this is a test bed for a future product that someone is trying to make back the R&D money.

I waited 7 months for my first appointment for screening, then another month for an in person assessment that took 3 hours. It's been almost 2 months since then and no response except for the $1000 bill. I'm about to call a lawyer (if I can ever get around to it...)

Tarken would have hated that. Remember the fact that the storm troopers missed so much is BECAUSE TARKEN ORDERED THE STORM TROOPERS TO MISS TO LET THE HEROS GET AWAY SO TARKIN COULD FIND THE LOCATION OF THE REBEL BASE! Leia even says so.

Yes thank you! Edited my comment to correct it.

This sort of thing is already being done with many commercial devices. See www.powercastco.com for one of the companies.

This was such a fun game! I still have my copy on Sega CD!

Yes, and honestly that's how I coped for a long time. It leads to stress and burnout and major crashing. Not a good long term solution.