I was diagnosed about three months ago, in my mid 30s, then started on atomoxetine a month ago after getting a psych appointment. I paid out of pocket with GoodRx since it was cheaper than the expected insurance coverage. So I put in my refill for atomoxetine on Friday, pharmacy called Saturday morning and let me know that my insurance requires a prior authorization for and ADHD meds if your over 18 (because clearly an arbitrary age would just make ADHD not a problem anymore…). Checked GoodRx and it’s like 4x the price of insurance. Told them to start the PA. Got confirmation from my psych office they put it in on Saturday. With the holiday though it’s take a while to get anything from my insurance company. I only have one dose left for tomorrow and it looks like it may be a few more days at least before I can get my refill filled.
That is all to ask, what are the side effects of missing doses? I expect I’ll have the same side effects when I start up again (which were tolerable but not fun), but anything I need to watch out for as it wears down?
When I was on Atomoxine, my experience was that if I missed a dose my ADHD felt more pronounced and I was a little bit more dysfunctional for a couple days than I would have been if I was unmedicated. Hard to tell how much of that was just the contrast of not being on it, vs an effect of coming off it, but it felt like more than just not having the meds’ help
Wish you the best!
Same (and I learned this because my latest batch of pills seems to have been messed up, possibly missing the actual active ingredient)…
Slightly reduced effect for a short while after resuming normalcy. Take your next dose as soon as possible and resume as normal.
Source: My 10 year old son is on atomoxetine. According to the doctor, missing a dose isn’t that bad, just take it ASAP- atomoxetine works by having a certain buildup over time.
Thanks, I guess my real concern is it may be a few days/a week before my insurance decides to grace me with their decision on if they will cover my medication. I plan to talk to my doctor about it during my appointment tomorrow but wanted to be prepared (because anxiety of the unknown and all that).
I asked the doctor once about pausing the meds, and she was against it, because the side effects could come, even some that weren’t present before. It was better to stay on them constantly.
MY conclusion is therefore that it is probably better to stretch your meds (consistent lower dosage for a period) to avoid a complete cutoff. Note: I’m an IT dude and a random person on the internet, and have no medical qualifications.
From my own personal experience, a few days are OK, after that I start getting really emotional and the brain shocks start. Everyone responds to these drugs differently though.
