When should I take 2nd dose/first time on meds

[Anonymous]

Hi all, I was just finally diagnosed w/ AD/HD a couple of weeks ago and I will be taking my 1st dose of Ritalin tomorrow. My prescription says to take 1 10mg tablet 2X/day. If I take my first dose at 7am what time would I take my 2nd dose? It seems like other places I have read that people take it around noon. Any advice would be helpful. Thank you!!

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[Scattybird]

Hi loristeve39

Is it the fast release kind? Sounds like it from the dose?

Everyone is different and I only have experience of the fast release Ritalin so this won’t apply to the slow release stuff.

I personally found that one 10 mg pill lasts for around 3 hours. I also found it depends on the brand name of the drug. My previous form of methylphenidate lasted for 3 hours and when it left my system it made me really tired. So I had to take it 4 times a day so I could go to bed when I crashed out of it – alternatively – had a coffee when the last one wore off.

I have now moved onto the brand name Ritalin and it it much smoother than the last version of it so I can get away with taking fewer doses.

When you take your second dose will depend on what the day has in store for you – indeed that applies to your first dose too. Assume it will last for 3 to 4 hours. You need to take it to hit when you need to get the benefit.

So I generally want to function at work from around 9.30 so I take my first dose at 9.00. Then my second at around 12.00 to 12.30. But that only gets me to mid to late afternoon. I usually take another dose then but not always, it depends on what I am doing.

It’s OK to adjust the timings of the fast release stuff to fit your day. (Unless your doctor has said otherwise of course, but normally it’s OK to do that with fast release Ritalin.)

You will get some side effects for the first few days but they should disappear when you get used to it. Also the first time you take it you might think it’s fantastic and everything is clearer. That wore off with me quite quickly but it continues to work but it’s not so obvious…until I stop taking it!

Good luck – I hope it does the trick for you.

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