Posted by Lasagne on August 29, 2003, at 14:59:56
In reply to Strattera and fatigue: AM or PM dose?, posted by Trixie on August 29, 2003, at 14:25:13
> I started Strattera 40 mg in the AM a week ago and am experiencing a tremendous degree of fatigue. I'm exhausted by noon and if left to my own devices, would sleep for the rest of the afternoon. I am also experiencing insomnia; I can fall asleep if I take an Ambien but as soon it wears off, around 4 am, I cannot get back to sleep.
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> I can't tolerate this for much longer b/c it is destroying my ability to perform at work.. .I was wondering whether anyone has been able to overcome this side effect through evening or night dosing, and whether anyone has had this side effect resolve in time.
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> This is my first posting here - I was recently diagnosed with ADD and this is the first ADD med I have tried.
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> Thanks.
>Response to above:
Hi: I began the Strattera in the morning and I experienced the same as you are. The doctor advised me to switch to the evening. It helped resolve the daytime sleepiness, but after about a week or so I began having several wakeful periods in the middle of the night. It seems like every two hours I would awaken instead of just sleeping all the way through the night. My doctor then put me on a small dose of Flexeril 10 mgs (a muscle relaxer) at bedtime. That resolved the sleep issues. After about 5-6 weeks on the Strattera most of the obnoxious side effects reduced or completely went away. I can understand your frustration especially if you have to work a full time job. Luckily when I started the Strattera I was a stay at home mom and had flexibility with my schedule. I didn't seem to get much done during the foginess, nausea, lethargic period, but now I do get a lot accomplished and I can go without a nap more often than before my ADD treatment. So all I can say is be patient. If the Ambien doesn't do the trick for you, then you might want to consider a small dose of a muscle relaxer. It really makes a huge difference in how I sleep.
Good luck, Lasagna
poster:Lasagne
thread:133458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030828/msgs/255361.html