Side Effects of Ritalin

[dennis123]

So after 38 years of self diagosed ADD and without medication I had some tests at the psych that confirmed it and she prescribed me 10mg Ritalin twice a day.

Well this is the first day that I took my second dosage, after lunch as recommended and I can sure feel it kicking in, yesterday I took a single dosage and felt a little.

But now today after the 2nd dose it feels very similar to speed.

Sweating hands, increased senses, high in the head, shaking with my leg (I do that myself, can stop it but urge to do), I can even sense the smell of speed, for the record the last time that I took drugs was when I was 20 years old in my own country so its all very recognizable. I didn't expect this stuff to be so strong in such tiny doses of 2*10mg.

I'm sure it quickly wears off again and that I will build up some tolerance for it but I think I sure underestimated the strength of this medicine, it definitely makes me a different person and pretty sure I will have to get a doctors certificate soon as I think I might start to test positive for drugs in case I ever run into some police check, sure in Thailand no problem as I can let them call the hospital of course but...

Some questions:

- Will this little amount of amfetamine/ritalin show in drug tests performed by the police?

- Will I have to care my medication with me at all times so I can immidiately show them that I'm on medication in case they stop me?

- Will I get locked up a night before they're prepared to call the hospital or believe me?

I really feel like a druggy right now, can't describe it in any other way, think I'll space out some more time between doses next time.

What about other people who have ADD, do you use Ritalin? Did you also feel like a druggy when starting? Anything else?

It's that I'm familar with the feeling, otherwise I might've felt very uncomfortable, now it feels like is this for real, a hospital prescribing something that I can only describe as hard drugs.

[Fatboi]

It is an amphetamine pure and simple. You must decide for yourself whether the benefits outweigh the side effects as there's no free lunch in nature, what goes up must come down. My advice would be just to take it until you get your act together as it's not a good idea to take amphetamines long term.

[dennis123]

It is an amphetamine pure and simple. You must decide for yourself whether the benefits outweigh the side effects as there's no free lunch in nature, what goes up must come down. My advice would be just to take it until you get your act together as it's not a good idea to take amphetamines long term.

I will do that for sure yes, once business starts growing again I quickly quit, and I will also use lower dosages than prescribed as this is a little more heavy then anticipated. I think I won't even take it on daily base, only when I have some serious work to do I likely take 10mg and leave it at that as it's a little too extreme for my likings.

[dennis123]

Interesting post I just read from someone else on aonother forum, I feel exactly the same lol:

My husband just started taking Ritalin on Friday. He said he can focus a little better but it is making him more physically restless and it's driving me CRAZY. He can't sit still and is constantly moving something...his leg, his hands, tapping his feet, etc. I could barely stand to sit next to him at the movies this weekend or out to lunch yesterday. I thought Ritalin would make him focus and calm him down but it's made him even more hyper than usual . I can't be around him if he's going to be like that all the time.

[nkg]

Yes, it would be a good idea to carry a sample of your medication with you, and any paperwork that you got.

Yes, Ritalin can feel very strong when you start the medication. From my experience, you quickly build up a tolerance to it, and you get used to the effects. If it feels too strong, stop taking it and go back to your doctor.

Be careful when driving!

[dennis123]

Yes, it would be a good idea to carry a sample of your medication with you, and any paperwork that you got.

Yes, Ritalin can feel very strong when you start the medication. From my experience, you quickly build up a tolerance to it, and you get used to the effects. If it feels too strong, stop taking it and go back to your doctor.

Be careful when driving!

Ah ok, today I didn't take it, but tomorrow I'll start again and just take one for a few days in a row instead of two, unless I feel in a party mood lol.

[jcisco]

Lay off it and find a doctor willing to work the underlying problems, this medication long term not good on the health. Though you are coming to it rather late, so maybe it will be less likely to lead to making some things less workable.

It shows on drug tests but is not confused with illicit drugs, if a test comes up positive request for it to be confirmed as illicit and present the prescription from your doctor and a supporting letter. Usually puts that process to rest.

[dennis123]

Got the letter this week so I can even take it abroad, have to make a visa trip soon.

Side effects disappeared, I only take 10mg a day btw, it's good for me to focus on work, moved a ton the last 2-3 weeks.

Right now I already feel the effect is getting a lot less though, build up tolerance, so to really get an energy + focus kick from it I would have to increase dosage, which sounds silly to me so likely I quit taking it in a few weeks.

[Fatboi]

Are you sleeping okay? Insomnia is usually a good sign you're taking too much. Otherwise, rock on

[dennis123]

Are you sleeping okay? Insomnia is usually a good sign you're taking too much. Otherwise, rock on

I returned the Ritalin, only increased my anxiety, not worth it.

[Fatboi]

If you've got anxiety and you're doctor prescribed you Ritalin it's possible your doctor may not be a doctor..

[Fatboi]

PS just out of curiosity how does one 'return Ritalin'?

[Sheryl]

If you've got anxiety and you're doctor prescribed you Ritalin it's possible your doctor may not be a doctor..

Or just not a very good one. But from other threads the OP had running, he went to the doctor absolutely determined to obtain Ritalin, insisted on being tested for ADD (which he had self-diagnosed) and deliberately slanted his answers on the test to conform with that diagnosis, all in order to get this drug which he was totally convinced would solve his problems. So in the the face of that level of pressure and even subterfuge, can't totally blame the doctor.

Needless to say it did not meet his expectations and made his problems worse, but it seems he needed to find that out for himself.

[dennis123]

Deliberately slanted? Lol whatever.

Actually the Ritalin did work to some degree but I wasn't happy with the side effects.

Anyhow I'm glad I tried multiple combinations and the outcome is that Stablon elevates my mood in a good way without nasty side effects and sometimes I add a beta blocker to deal with physical symptoms, that has always proven to work well.

Edited October 25, 2015 by dennis123

[dennis123]

PS just out of curiosity how does one 'return Ritalin'?

Just give it back to the doctor. I also returned the Paxil and when they supplied me with Stablon they compensated the price difference, didn't expect that really but didn't want to leave the meds at home either.

[dennis123]

If you've got anxiety and you're doctor prescribed you Ritalin it's possible your doctor may not be a doctor..

It's a trade off, have anxiety and ADD, seems current medicines can't fix both at the same time and the anxiety bothers me most so that's why I cancelled the Ritalin.

[canuckamuck]

I returned to Ritalin for a time when I was still in university. Needed it to get through art history (ZZZZZ). I did not notice any increase in hyperactivity, in fact the opposite was true, it did calm and helped me to focus. Having said that, I quit the Ritalin because of other side effects. Namely emotional swings, particularly sadness, and also dry mouth and increased body odor. I decided to drop some art history instead. (still got the fine arts degree ha ha).

[Fatboi]

PS just out of curiosity how does one 'return Ritalin'?

Just give it back to the doctor. I also returned the Paxil and when they supplied me with Stablon they compensated the price difference, didn't expect that really but didn't want to leave the meds at home either.

Makes sense. Not had much to do with the medical community here (knock wood) so wasn't sure how things worked.

You may be the first person to have ever had a return accepted in Thailand though so make a wish

Edited October 25, 2015 by Fatboi

[dennis123]

PS just out of curiosity how does one 'return Ritalin'?

Just give it back to the doctor. I also returned the Paxil and when they supplied me with Stablon they compensated the price difference, didn't expect that really but didn't want to leave the meds at home either.

Makes sense. Not had much to do with the medical community here (knock wood) so wasn't sure how things worked.

You may be the first person to have ever had a return accepted in Thailand though so make a wish

Lol could be, thing is I had a 6 week dosage which costed me 6k baht (consult included) so maybe that's why she made an exception for me. I didn't request any compensation though, just dropped the meds at her desk and said I was done with it and that I wanted to try the Stablon again due to some initial misjudgement by myself. Hard to say what works when taking two medicines at the same time and no prior experience with any of them.

Quite happy with the Stablon now, been taken for five days now and it improves my mood a bit, makes me sleep well and motivates decent enough for work, however I've done so much work in the last weeks that I don't have so much to do now so instead I went out again to the bars (not good for anxiety) but <deleted> it, I work so I can have fun.

ps: Stablon works decent for hangovers as well so it's a huge win-win!

[Fatboi]

Interesting, not heard of Stablon before will have to look into it. Great to hear it's working out for you

[jcisco]

How is the mood modification working for you, and curious, are you having days without use. Or just running on it all the time?