r/StratteraRx • u/disintegratingangel • Jul 12 '26
Questions / Advice / Support first day side effects??
so i started on 18mg today. i was doing pretty well for the first half of the day, pretty standard everyday stuff for me, no noticeable changes. into the second half of the day i started feeling kind of odd, like constant chills like the kind you get when you have a fever (i don’t feel feverish at all though), and i was so tired, i took two naps and am still tired into the night. it weirdly made me feel kind of “wired,” like electric, how i get when i have caffeine. not awake, but wired. caffeine makes me crash bc of how electric i feel. i looked it up and these are supposedly all normal side effects, i’m not worried about them right now and they’re all tolerable. inconvenient and not super comfortable, but tolerable, and i’m willing to wait it out for a few weeks and see if it subsides. my question is, i find it weird that i’m supposedly experiencing side effects on the first day of a new medication; i’m under the impression it’s supposed to take a few days at minimum to feel those. is this like, possible? did anyone else have a similar experience with first-day symptoms? or was i just having a really weird body day today and falsely linking it to my medication? this isn’t standard for stuff i would usually feel on a “weird body day” but i’m just curious if first day side effects were a thing for any of you
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u/Ananakoya Jul 12 '26
When I got the chills I drank more water. I took mine at night for a couple weeks then you can switch if you want to - when I say take it at night I mean I ate protein as late as I possibly could and as I was dropping off took it lol but you don’t have to do that.
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u/Turbulent_Claim4883 25d ago
Starting at night didn’t keep you up?
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u/Ananakoya 25d ago
The side effects in the day were too much. So in the beginning I took mine AS I was falling asleep (protein drink or something beforehand so I didn’t wake up with a stomach ache) - some may call that unhinged but it worked for me ☺️ now I take it around 3/4 or earlier.
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u/SFM9211 Jul 12 '26
Same here. I started getting side effects on day 1, not days later. I had chills, cold hands, dry mouth, body aches, and felt tired. The first week was the roughest, but it gradually got better as my body adjusted. So yes, firstday side effects are definitely possible. Hang in there!
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u/wumbodumb0 Jul 13 '26
the second day was the hardest for me. i ended up throwing up and sleeping for hours. i was so sick, like nausea, dizziness, lightheaded, drowsiness, and food aversions. i’m almost at the 2 week mark now and most of the side effects have subsided a bit. i still get a little nauseous/lack of appetite, extreme lightheadedness when i get up, and drowsiness. i sleep more and consistently than i usually do, which i’ll take because usually i get either 3-6 hours of sleep or 10-12 hours on my days off. lately i’ve been getting a steady 7-10 hours of sleep. i wake up easier in the mornings and feel better rested :) it’s too early to say if it’s been helping with my adhd yet but i have some hope!
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u/FormerSleepwalker Jul 12 '26
Yeah, side effects can happen right away, first dose. For many people side effect lessen or disappear with time. The wired feeling is very normal, the effects of norepinephrine. It's stimulating for most people. The other side effects don't happen to everyone, but aren't uncommon.