My Experience Taking Strattera for 1.5 Years and Intuniv for 2 Months

I have ADHD, and I’ve been taking Strattera for about a year and a half, and Intuniv for the past two months.

In this article, I’ll share my personal experience, how each medication affected me, and what I actually felt while taking them.This is purely my personal experience. I am not trying to prove effectiveness or recommend any medication.
All adjustments to my medication have been made in consultation with my doctor. Self-adjustment is not recommended.

Effects of Strattera

Strattera worked well for me.

My brain is usually like a nonstop rapid association game—constantly jumping from one thought to another.
But after I started taking Strattera, that mental noise calmed down a bit, and my head felt clearer.
(Though, to be fair, it’s still pretty busy.)

Looking back, I think the reason I kept making mistakes at work was because I was easily distracted by unrelated thoughts and couldn’t focus properly.

After starting Strattera, I didn’t suddenly become “normal,” but I definitely made fewer mistakes than before.

I also used to have occasional suicidal thoughts and negative emotions, but I noticed that I became much less pessimistic overall.

Another big change was action.
Before, even when I wanted to do something, I often couldn’t get myself to start. I always felt mentally heavy.

But after taking Strattera, I found it much easier to take action.
I felt noticeably more agile and able to move.

Strattera increases norepinephrine, which activates the prefrontal cortex—the part of the brain responsible for rational thinking and control.
I think that’s what led to these positive changes.

Effects of Intuniv

About a year later, I ended up completely burned out from extreme fatigue and stress, and I had to quit my job.

After that, my sleep became shallow, I couldn’t recover from fatigue, and I became extremely irritable over small things.

When I talked to my doctor about this, Intuniv was added to my treatment.

While Strattera stabilizes the brain by maintaining alertness, Intuniv works by calming the brain, reducing hyperactivity and impulsivity.
It’s also said to help with irritability and sleep issues.

Because of PTSD, I think my sympathetic nervous system is usually overactive.

That might be why even a small dose of Strattera worked strongly for me.
(Caffeine and coffee also affect me easily.)

On the other hand, when I first started Intuniv at a low dose, I didn’t feel much difference.

I think staying tense is actually easier than truly relaxing.
People who struggle mentally are often described as serious and hardworking.

But for people like that, suddenly “relaxing” isn’t easy at all.

We’re constantly told to “try harder,” but rarely told to “stop trying.”
So it’s no surprise that so many people burn out from pushing themselves too hard.

Stopping Strattera

I felt that continuing to stimulate my system might be counterproductive, so I stopped taking Strattera a few days ago.

A year ago, it worked well for me, but now my condition and situation have changed.
Maybe it just stopped fitting me.

So far, I haven’t noticed any dramatic changes after stopping.
It feels like it had already stopped being effective—neither helping nor hurting.

The night after I stopped, I felt unusually exhausted, but I’m not sure if that was related.

I can still do daily tasks and light exercise, but overall, I don’t feel great.
It’s like my condition is stuck at a low baseline.

Current Situation

I’ve been taking 3 mg of Intuniv for about two months now.

Before starting it, I had frequent dreams, woke up during the night, and even after 7 hours of sleep, I didn’t feel rested at all.

Now, I have fewer dreams and wake up less often, so I think it’s helping to some extent.
But it’s still far from what I would call “good sleep.”

Maybe 3 mg isn’t enough.

Since Intuniv was originally developed as a blood pressure medication, increasing the dose carries a risk of low blood pressure.

So far, I haven’t experienced any symptoms of low blood pressure, so there may still be room to increase the dose.

For adults over 50 kg (110 lb), the maximum dose is said to be 6 mg.
I probably won’t be prescribed that much right away, but it might be worth trying.

Or maybe I should try a different medication altogether.

At the end of the day, this is something you only really understand by experimenting on your own body.

Summary of Effects

Strattera
→ Helped organize my thoughts, improved my ability to take action, and reduced negative thinking
→ However, it may stop working depending on your condition

Intuniv
→ Some improvement in sleep quality and irritability
→ Effects are mild, and adjustment seems necessary

Right now, it feels like calming my system works better for me than stimulating it.

I’m planning to visit my doctor again soon, so I’ll discuss this with them.
If anything changes, I’ll update this again.