ADHD Questions
Is Strattera a stimulant or a depressant?
December 6, 2022
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Unlike Adderall and Ritalin, Strattera is not a stimulant or a depressant.
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It acts on a chemical imbalance found in some patients with ADHD.
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By selectively increasing norepinephrine, Strattera can improve ADHD symptoms.
Adderall and Ritalin are first-line treatments for ADHD.
Both are stimulant medications that increase activity in your body and mind. This leads to certain side effects found in both treatments. It’s also responsible for their addictive qualities.
How Strattera works
Strattera, on the other hand, treats ADHD without functioning as a stimulant.
Scientists still aren’t sure exactly how it works.
The leading theory is that Strattera increases the amount of norepinephrine in your nerves.
Norepinephrine is a neurotransmitter, a chemical used by nerves to communicate and coordinate.
Some patients with ADHD may have an imbalance in norepinephrine, which Strattera can help correct.
Your brain relies on chemicals to send signals and process thoughts. Strattera blocks the clean-up of Norepinephrine, causing a traffic jam that increases the signal. This can counteract the chemical imbalance behind ADHD and improve symptoms
Side Effects of Strattera
Because Strattera isn’t a stimulant, it leads to a slightly different side effect profile than Adderall or Ritalin.
Advantages of Strattera
Strattera can be a treatment option for patients who don’t tolerate stimulants or who don’t improve on stimulants.
For example, one of the leading side effects of stimulants is anxiety. Strattera on the other hand can improve anxiety symptoms as well as ADHD symptoms in some patients:
A small clinical trial found that Strattera could help reduce anxiety symptoms in those with ADHD.
Since it’s not a stimulant, Strattera also doesn’t have the same addictive qualities as Adderall or Ritalin.
It’s been specifically tested and shown to work in chronic drinkers with ADHD:
