Focalin and Insomnia: What Users Say

• Bio...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• March 26, 2020

For ADHD "To start off, I would not recommend taking this drug Focalin unless absolutely necessary. It definitely helped me pay attention in school, and there was a noticeable difference between days I did take it and days I did not. However, for me at least, the side-effects outweighed the benefits. I'd been on it from the ages of 7-17, and throughout those years, I noticed a complete change in behavior. Muted emotions, loss of appetite, depression, insomnia. I paid more attention in school, sure, but all of those years I'd lost important emotional development time. It's only after being off of this drug for 5 years that I realize just how emotionally stunted it had made me over the years. I'm in college now, and admittedly it would help me get better grades. But I wouldn't take it again if someone paid me to do it."

• Sno...
• November 15, 2016

For ADHD "I am 20 years old and I've been taking Focalin for a year now. I have been on every ADHD medication under the sun since I was in second grade, and this is the only medication that helped me get on track right away. The only adverse side effects I experience are a faster heart rate (most ADHD meds do that) and trouble sleeping. If you are having trouble sleeping on this drug, here's what you do and here's what I did: prior to now, I was taking my medication at 11 am or 10 am. Often I would spend nights awake and panicky, just begging for sleep to come. This is a simple fix. Just wake yourself up at like 6 am every day to take it, and you shouldn't have any problem sleeping. That's what I did, and I sleep very soundly."

• Mom...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 1, 2020

For ADHD "I am a mom of 2 kids with ADHD. They used to take Vyvanse, it worked awesome for a while, but then they couldn't sleep at night, and it started making their ADHD worse. They can't even watch a five-minute show. They are fighting in public, they'd run off, hit me, scream, have tantrums, and one of my sons broke a vase at Walmart. Now one takes Focalin, the other Ritalin, and the son on Focalin is a lot nicer. I can rest now, I can manage them. If they don't take it, it's a hard day for all of us."

• mom...
• August 7, 2008

For ADHD "My daughter (6 years old) has been on Focalin for 30 days now to control her ADHD. This is our wonder drug. It gives her the control she needs without making her experience ups and downs. She hasn't experienced any problems with sleep, and we can see the medicine leave her after about 6 hours."

• Iha...
• August 4, 2016

For ADHD "I'm 17 years old and I've taken Focalin XR 30 mg for most of my life, and as much as it helps in school, I would not recommend taking this at all. Like most people with ADHD, I am pretty good socially, and when I'm on Focalin, I become very panicky. You can't eat, and for me, I feel like puking if I try to eat. My body becomes achy, and my mouth gets really dry and mucusy. Sleeping is a nightmare. I have tried to make this work, even took it every single day to build up a tolerance, but it's always the same thing. Sure, I managed to sit down and get my work done, but when the work is done, and school is done for the day, you feel strange, like not in your own skin. A tutor is the best thing that has happened to me, along with B12 vitamins."

• liz...
• October 28, 2007

For ADHD "I just started taking Focalin, 5 mg, the long-acting type a week ago for ADHD. My doctor assures me that the drug should be out of my system within 6-7 hours, if that, and I should have no problem falling asleep. I take the medication at 7:30 in the morning and don't try to fall asleep until 11 pm that night, but to no avail, I can't sleep. This is definitely scaring me. I feel I'm developing insomnia...maybe I should discontinue use even though it helps with my ADHD."

• nat...
• April 12, 2016

For ADHD "I have struggled with ADHD for 10 years, and finally my doc did something about it. :) However, I did have sleeping problems for the first few weeks, but that was expected with it being a stimulant. But after a month or so, my sleeping is back to normal and my mind is not spinning out of control, so thanks, doc!"

• To1...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 5, 2023

For ADHD "Had to use Focalin temporarily when dextroamphetamine salts were backordered. I felt terrible - I had GI upset and difficulty sleeping. Wasn’t as effective for focus and had a longer onset, and felt pounding in the evening 14 hours after taking it. Initially started on 5 mg IR bid, and half the time couldn’t remember the second dose. Eventually was put on 5 mg ER. It unfortunately didn’t work for me."

• Rya...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 29, 2020

For ADHD "I'm on Focalin 10 mg twice a day. I'm shaky and cold after I take it, my appetite is down, and my heart is beating way too fast. I feel relatively blank, I'm tired, but have a hard time sleeping. I used to sleep between 9 or 10 pm then wake up around 7-8 am, now if I'm lucky I go to sleep at 11 pm or 12 pm and wake up at 6 am. I rarely sleep through the night, and I'm anxious and agitated all the time. I'm also on Prozac (20 mg), and maybe they're clashing. It does help with paying attention, I can focus on things long enough for them to register, but I feel worse than I did before I started it."

• Dak...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 30, 2021

For ADHD "Honestly, I like the effects of I'm on 20 mg Focalin. When I was on 5 and 10, it didn't seem to do much of anything at all. But on 20 mg, my dysthymia has gone away. I've been dysthymic for as long as I can remember, and being on this medicine totally motivates me to get work done and be genuinely happy. However, this motivation comes with the effect of hyperactivity, which can kind of translate to anxiety. I can't rest as well as I used to, as I'm just thinking about the things I still need to do. I also cannot sleep as easily, and I wake up once or twice during the night. I've always had a low appetite, so I'm not sure how much the medication is affecting my appetite versus my own brain. Despite these side effects, I prefer my mental state when I'm on the medication over my mental state when I'm off. It's helped me get so much stuff done and not just lay down thinking about it and feeling crappy."