A side effect of Strattera can be drowsiness. My son was taking it at night also and was having no problems. His prescription got switched from 40 mg to 60 mg. Now he can't get to sleep either. His doctor told me to switch to giving it in the AM. We have been doing this for a week and he is still having a problem sleeping. Apparently as with all meds it affects different people in different ways. If the speeplessness doesn't stop I am going to have his Strattera put back to 40 mg.
Strattera is supposed to be a 24 hour medication but I have heard others say that the effectiveness seems to wear off and they take a booster in the afternoon.
When my son was on Adderall - and Adderall XR- I used to suppliment him with shakes.
Carnation instant breakfast- milk and ice cream in the blender. I was able to keep his weight normal. Whenever he would miss a meal I would make him a shake. He never ate at school during the day so when I picked him up from school I would bring a shake for him. It helped a lot. It also seemed that by 330 pm he was more willing to take the shake. If I missed the hour when he was open to eat- it would pass and then he wouldn't eat anything until very late at night- usually way past bed time (which ended up interfering with sleep time).
Good Luck...
My kids have the eating/weight problems, also. My 6 yr old daughter takes 18 mg in AM and my 5 yr old son takes 25 mg in AM. My son has been on it for 15 months. He used to be a average height and weight, he slipped to his 14 percentile last year and this last check up he was at 5 percent. I encourage eating whenever I can, he usually refuses. I talked to the doctors about it and they pretty much blow me off and say it is not a KNOWN side effect of Strattera. My daughter has been on Strattera for 8 months. She was always on the higher end for her age group in height and weight, and now I can see her ribs. She seems to eat the same amount of food but she doesnt grow. Almost as if her body is burning it right off (I dont know)I am switching from Ritalin to Strattera. My doctor said to take it before bed, but that just doesn't make any sense to me. I have a problem getting to sleep and when I asked her about that she simply gave me sleeping medication. I need to focus during the day, not at night when I am sleeping. I tried it last night and was up most of the night. Do any of you know if I should continue to take it at night or during the day, when I need it to focus.
My child is on Strattera and dose good in tha sleep area but eating is where we see to have trouble she is very small and won't gain weight has anyone had any trouble with this