Posted by HADD Enough on February 28, 2003, at 11:59:14
In reply to I repeat, sleep wanted, please respond, posted by JohnnyB on February 26, 2003, at 17:49:19
Now 4 weeks, 1st week at 40mg/day in AM, next 3 at 60mg/day in AM. Most of the side effects have gone away except for these...dry skin, especially around my knuckles and heels...fixed with moisturizing lotion. Weight loss...NOT! a problem for me. :-D I've lost about 8lbs. since I started Strattera and need to lose about 15 more. Suppressed appetite...related to the weight loss I'm sure. D'oh! It's kind of like I can eat if I choose, but if I don't, it's no big deal from a physical standpoint. I told my pdoc that I have to consciously CHOOSE to eat. Again, not a terribly bad thing to cope with for me, especially in light of the lousy weight GAIN situation with most of the SSRIs. These appetite/weight loss issues are very similar to the ones I was getting with Ritalin/Concerta. Sleep is an interesting deal...I can fall asleep very easily in the evening, but I tend to wake up after about 6 or 7 hours. To put this in perspective, I used to sleep 9 to 11 hours a night prior to Strattera, so from my and my wife's perspective this is a good thing.
Aside from these issues, the good effects contnue. I'm much better able to focus, my task completion quotient is much higher, I'm not as prone to "drift off" during conversations or tasks that need focus, and I can tolerate frustration more easily. My wife notes that I'm not as quick to anger as I was prior to Strattera, and there has been a very pleasant positive synergy between my wife and I. Our relationship is much better than it was a month ago! She is not as tense waiting for my next outburst and so she is more relaxed and receptive to me.
I'm going to try going to 80mg/day within the next week or so just to see what will happen. If the side effects get worse with no appreciable gain in the positive effects, I'll drop back to 60.
All in all, I'd rate Strattera a solid 9 out of 10 for me.
I'm a 50 year old male 175lbs. diagnosed with severe ADD and my pdoc is following me very closely as I am his "guinea pig" for Strattera. He is beginning to talk about going to Strattera as his 1st line drug of choice for ADD/ADHD instead of stims if my and his other early Strattera adopters continue to do well. Maybe it's time to buy stock in Lilly! :-D
Cheers,
HADD Enough
poster:HADD Enough
thread:133458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030224/msgs/204656.html