Sunosi and Irritability: What Users Say

• Edd...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 16, 2019

For Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome "First day took half of 75 mg. Went home and took a nap. Woke up and took the other half, still went to bed a few hours later. Medicine had no effect on me. Got up the next morning, took a whole 75 mg in the morning. Felt sleepy on my way to work an hour later. Felt okay through the morning at work, but when the afternoon came, it all changed. I got sleepy and very agitated. I felt like I hadn’t slept in 3 days, but my eyes were forced open. I felt terrible and was very angry and bothered. Tried a whole again the next morning. Here I am laying on the couch ready to take a nap 5 hours later. I feel like the medicine has no effect whatsoever other than annoying me and keeping my eyes open when my body desperately wants sleep."

• zor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 3, 2020

For Narcolepsy "Sunosi is very disappointing so far. Disturbing my husband's sleep more, as he is having more awakenings. Not seeing much difference after taking, except more irritable. Also, cannot seem to stay awake for long at all during the day, and when he is awake, no motivation, fatigued. So far, does not look like the drug for him. Better on older stimulants."

• Ang...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 25, 2021

For Narcolepsy "I have been reading these other reviews, and other than the people with allergic reactions, I don’t feel that most of them are giving the medicine enough time to work. I have been on Sunosi for three months now, and the side effects have changed over time. Everyone knows it can take your body some time to adjust to medication. I have been diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea with excessive daytime sleepiness, but my neurologist thinks I do have narcolepsy, too. He started me out on 75 mg, but I didn’t notice any difference, and after two weeks, he doubled it to 150 mg. One side effect I had at first was agitation, but I rode it out, and after a while, I noticed that I wasn’t feeling agitated anymore. Also, the way my body reacted to the drug changed over time. At first, I would crash around lunchtime and early afternoon, but wake up during the evening. Now, the afternoon crash is a lot better. This is a great medication, but you’ve got to give your body time to adjust."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 26, 2023

"Initially, it worked okay. The brain fog was gone, I had energy and was not tired all day. Now it is not consistent at all. Sometimes I take it, and it does nothing. One thing I have found is it affects my mood pretty badly. I will get really agitated and angry and then end up depressed. Don't think it's worth taking if it doesn't always work and affects my mood to this extent. Wonder if I'm the only one having depressive episodes with it."

• Nik...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 5, 2023

For Narcolepsy "I have severe narcolepsy, cataplexy, fibromyalgia, and migraine (they all feed off narcolepsy). I have had these disorders since I was a teenager, although I was only recently diagnosed properly. I have tried multiple stimulants, antidepressants, and pain medications with little to no relief of symptoms. I tried Sunosi at 75 mg for a few months before increasing to 150 mg. I have been on the larger dose for about a year before my heart rate and blood pressure raised. I ended up having multiple seizures due to a sudden severe spike in blood pressure for no reason at all. I no longer take this medication and will be trying Zyrem. The theory is that the medication stored too much adrenaline in my brain, overdosing my body and causing near-death seizures. Please monitor your blood pressure regularly, even if you feel fine. It will hit out of nowhere. Otherwise, the medication helped quite a bit with agitation, increased heart rate, and insomnia being the noticeable side effects."

• Rob...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 10, 2022

For Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome "Excessive daytime fatigue. I tried armodafinil 150 mg first, and it worked well by the second week, then energy uptake stopped, and I suffered through pounding heart, restlessness, anxiety, and nausea. Next was Sunosi 75 mg. It skipped the ‘energy’ part and went straight to all the awful side effects. I held on to it for about 10 days before it was intolerable. Now taking Adderall, 10-15 mg, once a day. I experience a window of energy for about 2 hours (nothing excessive, just alert like after a good night's sleep, which I haven’t had for 2 years). Sometimes with the med, I experience a ‘crash’ of agitation and exasperated cervical dystonia, but that was pre-existing and is usually non-existent because of treatment therapy. The side effects of the non-amphetamine drugs were too much to tolerate, with little relief. I will stick to the occasional Adderall, which I take every 2-3 days, when my responsibilities become backlogged due to my inertia."

• Jus...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 3, 2021

For Obstructive Sleep Apnea/Hypopnea Syndrome "Sunosi was not my friend. Did help me stay alert, gave me an internal feeling of agitation. I appeared anxious but never felt any anxiety. At the end of the day, I always had a crash effect but never felt any type of kick-in effect after taking it in the morning. My hands would twitch, and I would type incorrectly on the keyboard while working, and the mouse would fly. All extremities had tremors. My sleep was only 3-4 hours a night. This was the only medication that ever gave me a single-digit score on a sleep questionnaire with my doctor, but the side effects were horrible. I’m now taking something else."