Stimulants

Common names include:

• Methylphenidate (Ritalin)
• Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine)
• Mazindol (Mazanor, Sanorex)
• Modafinil (Provigil)
• Armodafinil (Nuvigil)

Stimulants can help you be more alert and awake. While using stimulant medicines, you should take the following precautions:

• To avoid difficulty sleeping at night, ask your doctor about taking your last dose before 6:00 pm.
• Do not suddenly stop taking a stimulant drug.
• Have your doctor approve any other medicines you take while you are using stimulant medicines. Stimulants can interact with a number of over-the-counter medicines.
• If you are taking sustained-release tablets, never crush or chew them.
• If you have a history of seizures, tell your doctor. Your medicines will have to be carefully chosen.

You may experience the following side effects:

• Decreased appetite with potential weight loss
• Insomnia
• High blood pressure
• Increased agitation, anxiety, jitteriness, or jumpiness
• Vomiting, nausea, decreased appetite
• Increased heart rate and arrhythmia
• Lightheadedness, drowsiness, or blurred vision
• Serious rash

Note: You may notice these things when you first begin taking a stimulant medication. Until you know how the medicine will affect you, you should avoid driving, operating machinery, and doing hazardous activities.

Tricyclic Antidepressants

Common names include:

• Imipramine (Tofranil)
• Desipramine (Norpramin)
• Clomipramine (Anafranil)
• Protriptyline (Vivactil)

You may be given a tricyclic antidepressant if you have symptoms, such as attacks of weakness, hallucinations as sleep begins, or sleep paralysis. To avoid stomach upset, take your tricyclic antidepressants with food, unless your doctor has told you otherwise.

Possible side effects include:

• Dry mouth
• Lightheadedness, drowsiness, or blurred vision
• Low or high blood pressure
• Constipation
• Increased effects from alcohol, sleeping pills, tranquilizers, or sedatives
• Sensitivity to sun
• Blood sugar changes in people with diabetes
• Hyperthermia—elevated body temperature
• Risk of severe mood and behavior changes, including suicidal thoughts in some patients. Young adults may be at a higher risk for this side effect.

Anticataplexy Medication

• Sodium oxybate (Xyrem)

Sodium oxybate is used to treat cataplexy. It is a drug that can be abused, so it is a controlled substance. Abuse can cause serious problems, such as trouble breathing, seizures, loss of consciousness, coma, and death. Abuse can also lead to dependence, craving, and withdrawal symptoms. If you are prescribed sodium oxybate, you will have to get the medicine from one central pharmacy. It is not available anywhere else.

Sodium oxybate can reduce the number of cataplexy attacks. But, it must be taken exactly as prescribed. The medicine works very fast, so you need to take it only when you are ready to fall asleep. Sodium oxybate must be taken in two doses each night. The first dose is taken right at bedtime and the second dose is taken 2-1/2 to 4 hours later. You will probably need to wake yourself up to take the second dose. The most common side effects are nausea, lightheadedness, headache, sleep problems, confusion, vomiting, and bed-wetting.

Do not engage in activities that require alertness, such as driving, for six hours after taking the medicine. Do not use alcohol or other sedatives while taking this medicine. Your doctor must instruct you in the safe and effective use of this medicine.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

Common names include:

• Fluoxetine (Prozac)
• Paroxetine (Paxil)
• Sertraline (Zoloft)

You may be given an SSRI to treat weakness, hallucinations as sleep begins, or sleep paralysis. If this medicine upsets your stomach, you can take it with food.

Do not take MAO inhibitors:

• During SSRI therapy
• For two weeks prior to starting SSRI therapy
• For five weeks after stopping SSRI therapy

Serious side effects of SSRI antidepressants include:

• Anxiety
• Mania
• Serious weight loss
• Weight gain
• Seizures
• Low blood sugar in people with diabetes
• Lightheadedness, drowsiness, or blurred vision
• Arrhythmia
• Risk of severe mood and behavior changes, including suicidal thoughts in some patients. Young adults may be at a higher risk for this side effect.

Note: You may notice these symptoms when you first begin taking a medication. Until you know how the medication will affect you, you should avoid driving, operating machinery, and doing hazardous activities.