As far as I'm aware Strattera releases four bursts of meds covering 16 hours total (not 24 like everyone says. my impression) so you should be medicated during dreams and for the first half of the day. What is the last half of your day like? Do you find any differences in things like mood or attention span or even the look on your face?

I started taking it this week (40 mg this week, and I move up to 60 mg next week) and I take it a couple of hours before I go to bed (the doc said this would be good to avoid to two big side effects - stomach ache (which you get taking it on an empty stomach) and drowsiness (which won't matter if I'm about to go to sleep anyway).

The main thing I've noticed with it is that when I take it at night (say 9 pm) and then go to bed at 11-12, it usually takes time to fall asleep. And I may not get that much sleep either (insomnia I guess) like maybe 5-6 hours (finally fall asleep at 2am and then have to wake up at 7am).

The biggest (positive) difference is that before, if I did something like that, I'd wake up and feel like ****. Groggy, sleep deprived, etc. (you can imagine how hard it is to pay attention when you're sleepy).

Strattera though makes me feel very weird (but good) in that when I get up at 7 am after only having a couple of hours of sleep...I feel REFRESHED. Like I'm ready to start the day - no grogginess or anything - it's like that feeling you get when you wake up from a nap - when I wake up in the morning I'm full of energy, and I have a class I go to (a Spanish class at local college) and I can pay attention quite well (which in itself isn't such a big deal - it's a small class after all - maybe 12 people at most) but the fact that I can be so alert and focused so EARLY in the morning is like WOW.

However, the side effects (so far) are pretty intense. In the afternoons I usually get this feeling of boredom/irritability/tiredness. And the urological stuff (I'm a male) is absolutely HORRIBLE. Urinary flow is bad (I feel like an old man) and so are sexual side effects - impotency/erectile dysfunction, pain in the genitals (especially after orgasm/ejaculation), etc. I've also noticed that my appetite is starting to disappear (I used to get real hungry; now I find myself having to remind myself - "hey, you should probably eat something")

Hopefully the side effects will go away eventually (I did start out at 40 mg, and some say that is a high dosage - maybe my body is taking time to adjust...) but I will say this - if they don't go away, I'm just going to switch to a stimulant like Adderall or Dexodrine because while Strattera helps, it's not worth it if it's giving me these kinds of side effects (and it costs a LOT)

I've been on Strattera for over 3 years and have tried many combinations and schedules.

The best for me is 40mg (25mg x 2) in the AM and another 40mg at around 2PM. I also take 10mg of Adderall XR and 10mg of Lexapro with the AM Strattera dose. If I didn't take my PM dose I would get sleepy and yawn a lot.

The side-effects will go away. I noticed when I was taking 50mg of Strattera in the AM and my bladder was full, I had a rough time starting the unine flow. Now that I am on 40mg in the AM, it's not much of an issue. The other side-effects will go away too. Hang in there for a couple months, if you are really getting benefits.

One side-effect that has not gone away is the sweating about 1 hour after taking my AM dose. Were talking dripping armpits. :D Even as I type it's running down my arm. Sorry for the TMI (too much information). "DRIP,DRIP,DRIP"<DRIP,DRIP,DRIP>

I tried 80mg all at one time and it was a nightmare. :faint: I also tried taking 40mg before I went to bed and had sleep issues.

One cool side-effect is the vivid dreams. Almost real or movie like. :)

I could not take a 60mg capsule, it was over the limit for my system. Talk to your doctor about splitting your doseage. Unfortunately, this is the number one reason why people stop taking Strattera.

Good luck and keep us posted. "DRIP"<DRIP>

hmmm we're getting some interesting feedback about Strattera here. I'm still a little bit confused about what time of the day to take it. I was having sleep problems for a week or so 3-4 hrs. light sleep a night, that was when I was taking a morning dose (around 9am) One night I tried to take it at bedtime and I felt like I was buzzing all night plus the insomnia. So I stopped all together for a few days. Then I saw the doc. and all he said was to try it at different times of the day.

I'm sticking to what I've said before, that It really does work in terms of mental clarity, mood stabilizer, focus and follow through, but If I can't get the doseage and timing right then I don't know if I can stay on this drug.

I find that if I take the am dose around then at 3 or 4 pm I start to feel really jittery, irritable and I have absolutely no patience. It's supposed to give you round the clock effectiveness (right?) but I definitely notice a huge change in the afternoon.

I really would like to work this out because I believe it to be an effective medication.

Good Luck and keep us posted

It certainly does keep me alert, focused, etc. but IMHO being like that 24 hrs is just NOT good for me. I like it during the day when I'm at school, work, etc. but when I get home I want to be my 'normal' self. Strattera is 24hrs though, so I always feel that subtle state of alertness (that is one thing about it, the effects are VERY subtle - not so intense like stimulants) which can affect my going to sleep sometimes and it just makes me feel irritable that I can't really...I don't know - relax? I find myself doing things that I don't normally do - like biting my fingernails, rocking back and forth in my chair, etc.

BUT, I don't want to quit because they say when you quit Strattera for just a day or two, it completely resets - and so when you take it again you get all of the bad startup side effects over again...

Just an observation from being a member of the forums and watching the Strattera posts, but a lot of general practice doctors seem to strictly follow the manufacture's dosage instructions (40mg for the first week and then 80mg the folllowing week). If the patient experiences bad side-effects then they switch to something else.

Strattera takes time to get to the target dose. We're talking months. :faint:

If the doctor gives out samples, then the patient could slowly increase the dosage level.

For example:

Week 1 - 10mg
Week 2 - 25mg
Week 3 - 40mg
Week 4 - 40mg AM / 25mg PM
Week 5 - 40mg AM / 40mg PM (Target Dose)

Then another 2 to 3 weeks at the Target Dose to see the full benefits. That's 2 months to allow your system to adjust to the medication.

If anyone is experiencing the major side-effects while starting Strattera, I recommend discussing this type of option with your doctor.

I am not a doctor, but I speak from my experience and the observations from these forums.

BUT, I don't want to quit because they say when you quit Strattera for just a day or two, it completely resets - and so when you take it again you get all of the bad startup side effects over again...
Unfortunately that is true

Unfortunately that is trueYeah, and that's a real bummer.:( Strattera does (for me anyway) what its supposed to do. The main issues I have with it is that it takes so long to kick in, it's round the clock (sometimes I only want 12 hour relief;) ), it costs a LOT, and the side effects are...heavy. Honestly, they aren't joking about side effects - I've gotten nearly all of the *listed* side effects and many of the ones that Eli Lily seems to be hiding from us but that we all know exist (like the urological stuff:( in males).