[yellowfrog268]

Sorry if this has already been asked or discussed but I need to hear from people who have experience with being on Strattera.

A few days ago I was official re-diagnosed with adult ADD. I say re-diagnosed because I had been diagnosed as a child but taken off Ritalin after two years on it and never put on anything else. For most of my adulthood I've been unable to afford psych treatment or meds.

My pdoc gave me a Strattera starter pack. I'm on week one which begins with 25 mg for five days then up to 40 mg for another five and the doses keep increasing until I reach 80 mg. It is basically a 30 day ramp up.

My problem is this, after only two days on the stuff I'm finding it hard to cope with the sedative effect. My pdoc said to take it in the a.m. but then I spend all day feeling a sort of mental fuzz. It last for about 12 hours and then, just as I'm about to go to bed, my energy and clarity return. I'm thinking about taking it at night around 7 p.m. so that when I awake at 7:30 a.m. 12 hours will have passed and I'll be a little more clear headed.

I know that ultimately it's up to my pdoc to approve or disapprove of this but I wanted to hear from people who've had similar experiences with this drug and how they handled it.

[sunrise]

I work at a psych hospital. If a patient is having trouble with Strattera causing sleepiness, we do a few things. 1) wait a week or two from first starting the med, as the sedation side effect may go away with time. 2) split the dose and take half in the AM, half in the PM (but do not try to cut the capsule--instead you would take a lesser dose capsule twice a day; your pdoc will prescribe this if necessary). 3) take the entire dose in the PM before bed.

Also, some adults only need 40 mg/day so you may not need to go up to 80. If your ADHD symptoms are well controlled on less than 80 mg, check in with your pdoc as maybe you won't need to go up to 80. Good luck.