Re: ADHD and FATIGUE

[Anonymous]

I was officially diagnosed as having ADHD combined subtype on September 30th and was prescribed Concerta. I took 18mg of Concerta in the morning, before 9 am, and began noticing an improved ability to ignore that “I’ll do it later” attitude and my mood swings pretty much disappeared. I also noticed a big improvement with my ability to schedule my day and I have been getting many things done around the house.

This past Friday, after a week of taking the initial dose, I began taking two 18mg pills before 9 am, as per my doctor, and I didn’t notice that much of an improvement in symptoms over the one 18mg pill I was taking before. I did notice a slight improvement with my energy levels but I noticed that it still took a while to get going in the morning. It seems as though I feel “normal” between 11am and about 2-3pm on both the 18mg and 36mg of Concerta. After 3pm, however, I feel an overwhelming ‘crash’ and I’m back to my old pre-ADHD diagnosed self (drowsy, fatigued, foggy-minded, sluggish).

I should mention I’m taking 40mg of Fluoxetine (generic Prozac) and I believe that the Fluoxetine is interacting in some way with the Concerta and causing that horrible drop in energy in the mid-afternoon . I am also sweating A LOT. I am thinking of working with my doctor to drop the Fluoxetine to 20mg.

I wanted to get some input from those of you who are taking Concerta on:

1. How many pills you take on a daily basis and at what times?

2. Do you ‘crash’ at a particular time of day?

3. What do you do to overcome that ‘crash’?

4. What has been your experience with SSRIs and Concerta?

If Dr. J could weigh in or any of you guys taking Concerta with SSRIs that would be great.

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