Strattera and mid day tiredness | ADHD Information

When I was on Strattera I would sleep way too much. I was at a point where I would sleep about 12 hours twice a week if I planned on being awake all day for the rest of the week. Now that I am on Concerta I only have a mild problem with evening drowsiness. Daily our son slept on this. Not so good.

Just wondering how many have the mid day schlump thing on Strattera.   I was having it really bad then I started thinking it was because I was taking too much.  (120mg)  So I cut my dose in half and voila, schlump was gone.  I onlly had about 1/2-3/4  of my focus but I didn't have the needing a nap schlump. 

Just thought I would share.

 

Yep, my daughter fell asleep in school twice when we switched from giving her two smaller daily doses to one big dose in the morning. Not good...at least she wasn't driving!! One of strattera's biggest side effects is sleepiness.

One way to beat this is to split the dose - i.e. take some in the morning, and some at night.

Also, some may benefit from taking less - as you have.

Some may benefit from taking strattera with a low dose (or full dose) stimulant as well.

As strattera and the stimulants work in different ways, they complement one another and there are no drug interactions between them.

Talk to your doctor about what may help you.

Kenny

I looked up the side effects of Trileptal (an anti-seizure med) and depression is one of the side effects.  Unless he is taking it for seizures then it seems odd that he would be taking an anti-depressant and a depressant type med at the same time. 

From Medline:

More common

;  Change in vision;  change in walking or balance;  clumsiness or unsteadiness ;  cough, fever, sneezing, or sore throat;  crying;  dizziness ;  double vision;  false sense of well-being;  feeling of constant movement of self or surroundings;  mental depression;  sensation of spinning ;  uncontrolled back-and-forth and/or rolling eye movements 
Less common Agitation;  awkwardness;  bloody or cloudy urine;  blurred vision ;  bruising;  confusion;  congestion;  convulsions (seizures);  decreased urination;  difficulty in focusing eyes;  disorientation;  faintness or light-headedness when getting up from a lying or sitting position;  fast or irregular heartbeat;  frequent falls;  frequent urge to urinate;  general feeling of illness;  headache ;  hoarseness;  increased thirst;  itching of the vagina, with or without white vaginal discharge ;  loss of consciousness ;  memory loss;  muscle cramps ;  pain or burning while urinating;  pain or tenderness around eyes or cheekbones;  poor control in body movements—for example, when reaching or stepping;  problems with coordination;  shaking or trembling of arms, legs, hands, and feet;  shortness of breath;  skin rash;  stuffy or runny nose;  tightness in chest;  trouble in walking ;  troubled breathing;  unusual feelings;  unusual tiredness or weakness;  wheezing 
Rare Anxiety;  bleeding or crusting sores on lips;  burning feeling in chest or stomach;  chest pain;  chills;  decreased response to stimulation;  hives or itching ;  irritability;  joint pain ;  muscle pain or weakness;  nervousness;  purple spots on skin;  rectal bleeding;  redness, blistering, peeling, or loosening of skin;  restlessness;  sores, ulcers, or white spots in mouth or on lips;  stomach upset;  swelling of legs;  swollen glands 

My son is taking Strattera, Wellbutrin, and Trileptal and had a big problem with sleeping in class. The doctor switched the Strattera from 40mg a.m. and p.m. to just 80 mg p.m.  It helped a little but he still has a hard time staying awake and it's a BIG problem at school, enough that they want to send him to an "alternative" school because he just isn't doing anything during class but sleeping.

I've asked the doctor a number of times if the meds were causing sleepiness and he said no. I'm thinking of switching back to stimulants to counteract this (as well as addressing his irritability, moodiness, and generally being a very hard person to live with).