About 3 weeks ago I was diagnosed with ADHD. I am 20 year old college student, and have a short history of drug abuse from high school, but have not abused a drug in well over 1 year. My doctor prescribed me strattera because it is non-stimulant and there is less chance of addiction.

I realize that I have been taking it for a short time, but i am constantly falling asleep in the middle of the day. This is very odd for me if I have been awake for at least 30 minutes. I have found very little or no improvement in my ability to focus, and is of no help to me with my schooling. IF ANYTHING it has been hurting me because i will doz off in the middle of lecture.

Heres my REAL problem. I am afraid to go to my doctor and tell her these things because of my history. I feel if I come back to her with these results, she will simply think that I am trying to get a stimulant medication out of her and that IS NOT the case. On top of that, I have a $50 copay through my insurance, it just doesn't seem to add up in the end

Has anybody else had, or heard of, an experience like this? I am somewhat desperate for a little guidance. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

uhmm, alx21 i can understand the old drug abuse i did that in my early twentys, but hers the clue, don't talk to your doc, talk to a pyschiatrist..tell them that you haven't been abusing drugs, make sure that you have the suport to call on, family, or girlfriend to back up what you say..Then its up to the speciallist, to make the call of what you need, and make sure you tell them what has been happening, and what it is doing to you? then its all about the finding whats right for you! meds, councilling, or just being able to cope...

thats all i can say.. If you think somthing isn't working, then say something..its for your own benifit.

I take Adderall XR...20mg in the morning and 10mg at midday. I can say that Adderall XR is NOT addictive. I have to set my alarm on my phone to remember to take my midday dose. I doubt drug addicts have to set an alarm...

Plus, untreated ADHD can often lead to drug abuse...

This is a well known side-effect of Strattera, so your doctor might not be surprised to hear this.

Here is wikipedia:
The most common side effect in adults is drowsiness. This can be counteracted in some patients by measures as simple as a cup of coffee, or breathing exercises, while others become exhausted a short while after taking the pills, and can sleep for up to 10+ hours. Some patients tend to feel lightheaded, dizzy, or "buzzed" as a minor side effect along with the drowsiness. To diminish these side effects, which can interfere with daytime work, study, etc., dosing time is sometimes changed to just before bed; as Strattera is long-acting, it does not "wear off" overnight. Maybe suggest Wellbutrin if Strattera doesn't work out for you. Wellbutrin is very similar to stimulants. Just take it slowly, maybe 75mg Immediate Release doses instead of the minimum XL dose of 150mg. The side effects can suck (see loss of short-term memory thread on the Wellbutrin forum), but it has a lot of potential in my experience.

My SO is an addiction doctor (among other things), so I've learned a lot about addiction.

Key Question: Do you have an actual addiction history to STIMULANTS? (e.g. wound up in Rehab, etc), or was it that you experimented with drugs (a diagnostic feature common to ADDers)?

If you are not at stimulant craver/have stimulant abuse history, you *probably* deserve a trial of stimulant medication as equally as the next person.

Some docs are "addiction phobes", and their patients suffer because of their ignorance.

Ideas:

An alternate solution is to take the Strattera earlier in the evening than you are taking it. (You ARE taking it at bedtime, right?)

It takes awhile for Strattera to kick in - I didn't really start seeing results until 6 weeks. And I had that same exhaustion you do, about an hour and a half after taking it I would want to just go to sleep and could hardly do anything else. That tapered off after a couple of months (I know, it's a long time to wait!) but in the meantime I just drank an energy drink right around the time that I knew the sleepiness would be hitting me. Some days I needed two! :p

One suggestion for you - call your insurance company and see if they cover you for mail-order medications. That gives you 90 days of medication for ONE copay. I just heard about that and called my insurance company (Regence, in case that's what you have) last week, and they do it. That would save you a LOT of money!

PS just a heads up... if you were thinking about taking it at bedtime, think twice - it acts completely the opposite during the nighttime. If it makes you tired during the day, it will keep you up at night. I tried that. :D

my dr. was a complete stimulants-phoboic kinda sucked bc i told him id fall asleep feel sick all the side effects. id go to a new DR. bc there are ALOT of other medication for ADD and the fact that they dont want to try it is messed up bc there suppose to help you.