methylphenidate (ritalin, concerta)

[Anonymous]

hi.

i’m in the process of an add diagnosis, in my country the only approved drug is methylphenidate, and i have a few weeks to think about it before i see my psychiatrist again and talk about it in depth.

i am looking for feedback from those who take or wanted to take the drug ONLY AT THE WORKPLACE, and that are fine with themselves outside.

what i am interested to hear is :

-do you notice unwanted side effects (like a “down” or withdrawal syndrome, bad mood, reduced interest ion your usual leisure activities etc) when not on the drug? (eg in the evening at home, on weekends, etc)

-are you able to control the drug. ie, if you know that for some reason today your job will be exciting enough for you to be efficient, can you decide to skip the medication and stick to your commitment?

-i’ve read the effect for ritalin lasts 4 hours. is it possible to have only half a day on ritalin, get the “boring” part of your job done in those hours, and leave the rest of your work day for those tasks that you could already handle well without medication? Or the “down” phase is so bad that you wouldn’t handle the second half of the day?

-over long periods of time, do you build tolerance? (you need more and more for the same effect)

-did you intend to use methylphenidate only to work and ended up taking it also outside your working hours? if yes, why?

-if a non-adhd (or non-diagnosed adhd) wanted to take methylphenidate or a close drug as a performance-enhancher at a turning point in their career, would you give positive or negative advice? (outside of any moral judgement)

thank you

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[trashman]

hi , ghisno the concerta I take was to last 12 hours it last me 6 so my doctor gave me half a dose im the pm it is working great.

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[Anonymous]

trashman, i have no doubts that “it works”. I expect it to work and i trus my doctor on this point, if not i wouldn’t be interested in it, at all.

my issue is, i won’t take any psychotropic without full information and being aware of how to “be in control” of the substance rather than being controlled/driven by it, so i want to know as much as possible on the “bad” sides…

that has been/is my approach to recreational drugs and it’s not gonna change just because the drug is legal, prescribed by a doctor and the purpose isn’t “recreational”.

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[Saffron]

@ghisino, I think what trashman is saying is that he has solved the “letdown” problem of methylphenidate by taking a later, lower, overlapping dose. I was going to say the same thing, since I do that as well. We both use the longer-acting version (Concerta).

The answers to your questions are yes; yes; yes if you allow time for the washout; some people seem to do so; no, I needed it both for work and generally; and I would strongly advise someone whose prefrontal cortex already cycles at normal speed and consistency to stay away from stimulants. It might make them ill-tempered, for one thing.

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[trashman]

Thank you ,saffrom for making my thoughts clear on this form.

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[Anonymous]

A lot depends on what you do for work. My main issues are attention and impulsivity which get me in trouble at work all the time. There are days where I have back to back meetings when I definitely need the medication but if I am heads down on a project I can do without it.

I couldn’t tolerate the long-acting versions of Ritalin or Concerta due to side effects but I take the regular Ritalin for work only and it’s great. The only issue is that the short acting version wears off so I need to time it correctly to last the main part of the day.

I was (and still am) resistant to relying on medication but I have learned through trial and error the minimum that works for me that I can tolerate both physically and emotionally. Everyone is different so go with your gut and really collaborate with your doctor to find the best solution that works for you.

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[Anonymous]

My main problem with methylphenidate is the letdown. Reading these posts has helped me see there is a solution. I’ll approach my psychiatrist about a half dose later in the afternoon. Thanks for the hope!

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