Posted by JohnnyB on February 25, 2003, at 20:32:26
In reply to Straterra approval., posted by scoper on December 28, 2002, at 2:19:34
I started reading messages at the beginning of this thread, 12/28/02, and haven't managed to wade through them all yet, so if any points or questions in this message are addressed in previous postings, please post a reply with links. I will catch up.
I am a 47 y/o male, 6', 180#. I am my doc's first patient on Strattera, her "guinea pig". For ADHD, Inattentive, she started me
on 40 mg. x 1 per day, increasing to 40 mg. x 2 per day after seven days, as per the medical newsletter she subscribes to.
On night one, I slept 3 hrs. On night two, I slept 2 hrs. On night three,
I slept 3 - 4 hrs. Last night I slept around 4 hrs. Each of these nights,
I fell asleep O.K., but then woke right around 2:00 A.M. Eli Lilly says
some adults in the clinical trials had insomnia and it went away. They said
to start with a lower dose. The pharmacist says to cut back to a lower dose.
My doc left town for two weeks, but another doc in her practice says cut
back and will write another script.I'm trying to get a sense of what sorts of start-up regimens different
adults are using. I am finding some talk of dosages on some message boards,
but was wondering how your doc started you on it. From the message boards,
it seems like many adults are starting 18 mg. x 1 for a week, then 18 x 2
for a week, then .......I'd like to report to you other effects, but being this sleep deprived, I
can't really tell about mood, focus, etc. It's all pretty bad right now.
I'm a little short tempered, but otherwise feeling stretched quite thin.
One other side effect hit yesterday and was pretty bizarre. My testicles
started aching like I was wearing pants that were way too tight. I didn't
take another 40 mg. this morning and the testicle thing has passed by now.
About two hours after taking a 40 mg. pill, the inside of my chest feels
tense and I can feel my carotid pulse without palpating with my fingers.
Pulse rate is good and blood pressure is only slightly higher than normal. While the drug was at it's peak effect (I guess), my eyes were taking longer then normal to focus when looking up at distant objects after focussing close in for awhile. That could be from a lack of sleep. No dry eyes, mouth, etc. and I live in arid Colorado. Peeing seems normal.
Since starting this message, I got a script called in and picked up 18 mg. caps to last for 14 days @ 1/day , then the docs says I'll go up to 40 mg. again, if all is well. I'll wait till tomorrow A.M. to take the first 18 mg. Maybe I can sleep past 2:00 A.M. this time.I'm thinking I am a poor metabolizer, which I take to mean that I don't get
rid of the drug as fast as good metabolizers, therefore needing less of it
for the same effect. ??????????It's been helpful to read all these postings.
Thanks,
John
poster:JohnnyB
thread:133458
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030224/msgs/203834.html