Sleepless on Strattera | ADHD Information

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I have been able to take a 30 minute power nap between 12:00 and 4:00 PM.  At night I am usually up until past 1AM and from there, I sleep sporadically for around two hours at a time between 1 and 9 AM.  I cannot recall the last time I actually slept through the night.  My dosage was raised to 100mg today from 80mg.  I am a 6'0" male and weigh 230 lbs.  That's out of specs, I know, but I am not fat.

I have been on Straterra for around 2 months now with limited results.  I am most pleased with my increased ability to focus while reading text and to retain what I have read.  Other areas of ADD have not been addressed to any satisfactory degree.

Given the marked diminishment of all other side effects from this medication, I cannot imagine that my sleeplessness is caused by Straterra.  Many have written that part of ADD is the sleeplessness brought on by 1) the constant hyperactivity of thought going on inside our minds and 2) the aversion to being in a situation where one is left alone to consider the constant flow of activity going on inside our minds.

I recommend (as always) Scattered, by Mate.  He explains the symptom a lot better that I ever could.  Good luck!

 

My sons dose of Strattera was upped from 40 mg to 60 mg.  Where he didn't have any problems sleeping before he started having problems with this new dosage.  We reduced back to 40 mg but he continued to have difficulties getting to sleep.  I have switched my son from taking the Strattera at night to in the morning.  It seems to have made some difference.  He is getting easier to get to sleep.  I Hope taking it in the morning works for you.  -Gettingagrip-I know a common side effect is insomnia on Strattera, but how long should I expect this to go on?  I called the doc and she reduced the dose from 80 to 40 to see if it helped.  I've been on it for twelve days now taking it all in the morning.  Just worried at such a reduction in meds that it won't work and I'll be a mess.  I can be a real ___________ (insert word of choice) I'm suppose to wait until Monday to see how it goes.  Has anyone else done something similar?  Did it help?  Any other advice? Hoping for a good night's sleep.  I've even tried melatonex  (melatonin) but it didn't help.  Anyway - any advice?  I actually slept worse at 20 mg than I do at 40.   And worse if I take my last dose with supper than if I take 20 at breakfasst and 20 after lunch.

Strattera made me a genuine insomniac. I'd be up all night, every night. It reminded me of Ritalin in that way.

Strattera worked but sometimes it seemed that the bad outweighed the good.

Cheeky

strattera makes me nauseous like nothing else, but that only happens to me if I forget to take my dose for a couple of days.  When I am on it I sometimes feel nauseous in the monrnings but it goes away after 10-15 minutes.

Straterra had me waking up with strange dreams and something close to a panic attack. I felt like I was starting to freak out a little bit.

I just stopped taking it yesterday. Not worth it to me any more.

itsyouhere,

Unfortunately there are a lot of people who would just say they have ADHD to get the stimulants.  The rules are in place for a reason.  Sometimes rules and regulations can be problems when they keep people from getting treated for a medical condition.  What I find extremely interesting is "they" know that ADHD can cause people to abuse drugs looking for something to help.  Then when you finally find out what the problem is because you have been medicating yourself they won't prescribe the drugs that could be the solution.

Why don't you just give the Strattera a try?  You don't really have anything to lose but alot to gain.  If you do get side effects there is nothing to say you can't stop taking it.  Because of your past/present drug use and your reaction to the suggestion you take Strattera and not a stimulant you haven't given your psychiatrist much trust in the fact that you don't want stimulants for other purposes.  Maybe you need to build trust with this Doctor then they can see that  you might need the stimulants if the Strattera doesn't work for you.

I hope you find peace.

-Gettingagrip-

uhhhh, what? I stopped paying attention. Speak for yourself 'its you here." Out of your whole paragraph I couldn't concentrate long enough to figure out what you were trying to say.

I've lived with enough bad labels. I don't need "addict" thrown in there. I'm not about to go to the streets just to get adderall. If I was very severe ADD and very desparate, it may cross my mind but it would probably be too expensive and not worth the hassle. Also, Strattera works better for some than for others. For some, there are almost no side effects and they feel great. Adderall also doesn't work for some.

As for marijuana, the risk of cancer is supposedly similar to smoking cigarettes if not more so. I choose ADHD over cancer.

Just my opinion and my ADHD seems to make me very opinionated. On Strattera it was like I had no opinion at all. (I was probably just much less passionately engaged so it seemed like that.)

Cheekydeeky

yo. one word answer here "marijuana"

does wonders for nasuea of all kinds (esp nasty med. stomach probs) and sleeplessness.

at the very least... if you can't sleep and it's a serious problem. and don't like the nasty morning after (esp. if you can't sleep like 12 hours or so) effects of sleepig pills. hit up a bowl of dro when you want to go to sleep. even if tht doesn't put you to sleep. watch a movie and when you come down in about two hours BABY SLEEP TIME.

i'm n ew. this is my first post. i've been meaning to register for a while (i bet you haven't heard that one before).

I went to my GP and tried to get some meds for some ADHD style sh*t (after i'd been going to a psychologist for a while). The nurse tried to put me on straterra and i told her to f**k off and got pissed. hahaha. man. :-( they don't give out any kind of stimulants. and i really don't want to start off with straterra.

esp. cuz my shrink  said "you're best bet would be to hit up some adderal or ritalin (something immediate acting) for a week and see what the effects are". which I totally agree with.

from all I've read about straterra i'm not really interested in it at this point. right or wrong it's my life anyway. why should some asshole be able to tell me what I can and can't put in my body? Especially when all I'm trying to do is help myself.

i even went to ehe psychiatrist my psychologist (who i don't really like anyway and i'm done with) recommended. and ignorantly i told him the 100% truth.  i probably dropped more info on this dude in 40 minutes than most people would in three months worth of visits.

i basically told him everything about me. my drug use history. making sure to explain how trying dif. drugs has become almost a search for something to feel better. and if I get high and NEED to do it. it's not even for the fun. it's just to slow my sh*t down some when i get real pissed and frustrated. but i dno't really like it too much cuz it makes me feel stupid. obviously to me this all makes sense. i kinda just explained my entire deal. trying to adderal/concerta whatever outta the dude. because i really think it will help my life out tremendously.

that's what I get for thinking honesty works. this guy starts talking sh*t about how he can't give it to me now because of my past drug history (i guess mentioning that i love painpills/opiates *but don't partake often/ NO heroin* with no real remorse wasn't a good thing*. and blahblah.

he even said some stupid sh*t about how i could develop psychosis due to them.

whatever. i almost just wnat to find a friend who slangs ADDERAL or something. but then i'd have to drop for a few days worth vs. for a months script.

i'm gonna try and go to another one. and this time just lie. it kinda sucks. cuz i'd really like to be honest and really figure my sh*t out and fix it. but i'd rather get a script.  it's like i'm back to square one again. waisted like 6 or 7 visits to some psych. didn't learn a damn thing. didn't hear anything new.

i hate this red tape world we live in. i know what I want/need, but first I have to convince someone else I do too. sh*t is frustrating.
I just have dry mouth on strattera, no sleep problems but also on Prozac so maybe that is why I don't have issues at night falling asleep. Strattera has helped me focus more during the work day. [QUOTE=cheekydeeky]

uhhhh, what? I stopped paying attention. Speak for yourself 'its you here." Out of your whole paragraph I couldn't concentrate long enough to figure out what you were trying to say.

I've lived with enough bad labels. I don't need "addict" thrown in there. I'm not about to go to the streets just to get adderall. If I was very severe ADD and very desparate, it may cross my mind but it would probably be too expensive and not worth the hassle. Also, Strattera works better for some than for others. For some, there are almost no side effects and they feel great. Adderall also doesn't work for some.

As for marijuana, the risk of cancer is supposedly similar to smoking cigarettes if not more so. I choose ADHD over cancer.

Just my opinion and my ADHD seems to make me very opinionated. On Strattera it was like I had no opinion at all. (I was probably just much less passionately engaged so it seemed like that.)

Cheekydeeky

[/QUOTE]

addict is a  subjective word.

it's not even worth arguing about. none of it is. you do what you want. keep your ADHD and live a frustrating life. and i'll die from cancer when i'm 80. and at that point who really cares?

i win :-)