The Forums › Forums › Medication › Is the effect of caffeine similar to a stimulant medication? › Re: Is the effect of caffeine similar to a stimulant medication?
I guess if he does take Ritalin or some other stimulant he might be brought up respecting the drug and the therapeutic aspects which might make him less likely to experiment when he’s older? I can only talk from my own experience, but I wasn’t diagnosed until last November at the grand old age (or so it feels sometimes) of 49.
Looking back over my life I have always been aware of being ‘different’ and needing something to get me going and/or to calm me down. Looking back, I self-medicated for many years, particularly as I got older; but I wasn’t really aware that that was what I was doing. So I have smoked (given up), taken pot briefly to get me over a bad time (given up) and finally hit the Red Bull like there was no tomorrow to help me to just function on a daily basis. None of these things really helped – although the Red Bull did in terms of energy but not in terms of emotional regulation. It should be noted that this is how I felt and my symptoms are mild compared to others.
Subconsciously I knew I had a problem and was trying to fix it without understanding what it was. Now I have been diagnosed the ‘penny dropped’ and I am taking Ritalin. I no longer feel the urge to take anything else – I don’t even crave coffee anymore. I haven’t had a red Bull in ages and nor do I ‘need’ one.
So I think the point I am making, is if your son needs medication, it might be better he has it and learns to handle it so that he doesn’t feel the need to ‘self-medicate’ when he gets older.
It’s difficult and I guess you really must be guided by his doctors. It sounds like you’re not going to have an easy ride raising him, but a loving home is the best medication of all and it sounds like that’s what he has now.
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