[Philabuster]

Well, so far I have taken the methylphenidate for 6 days now. Still no issues like I had with Concerta.

It still looks like I am ramped up on speed when I take it though. Breaks? What are those? “Phil, take a break!” “In a minute, I gotta finish this…”

The urgency to get things done ramps up and down proportional to the medication in my body. Timing is obviously everything with fast acting meds. I sometimes forget to take it at lunchtime, but not a big deal. I still forget to take a lunch though. I am not loosing weight or going hungry.

Funny side effect–someone mentioned in another thread about how his focus was 360° in all directions, but as the med kicked in, his focus would slowly narrow to what is directly infront of him. I feel like this medication gives me the same effect. It feels like I have tunnel vision. I can walk by something and it will not attract my attention as before.

The lack of focus in all directions feels almost spooky–almost like my peripheral vision is gone, but in reality, my tendency to get attracted to random stuff is diminished. The worst place I get this feeling is driving a vehicle. I have to check my surroundings much more (mirrors, etc), because it feels like I am not paying attention or looking out for other vehicles, pedestrians and such. Safe driver though–never had an accident in my 20+ years of driving. Driving to work in the morning (no meds) does feel different than driving home on the med.

The point about the “kiddie cocaine” was somewhat humorous, but Ritalin is classified a schedule II drug–same category as cocaine. I have never taken or smoked any illegal / recreational drugs, but I am wondering if taking this med is really any different except for a prescription.

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[Philabuster]

The doc gave me a prescription for Genuine Concerta with no substitutions permitted as she printed a coupon for Concerta. The pharmacy filled it as such. I will not take that again. Feeling extremely pissed off for 7 hours straight is not a good thing. My girlfriend even commented that she had not seen me that pissed off in several years. Again, this was not a coincidence.

Update…

I went ahead and bought the generic Ritalin medication (methylphenidate) out of pocket because it takes a while for insurance approval. 10mg two times a day. I felt it would be a waste of time to get approval for a medication only to find out that it does not work.

I was hesitant to take the first dose because of what happened with the Concerta. I told my friend at work about the Concerta side effects and asked him to watch me closely for any abnormal behavior–good or bad.

I have taken the methylphenidate for two days now–both the morning and noon doses. No issues with irritability or anger. The med seemed to really kick my ass into gear and get me motivated to just do something. We are allowed two breaks at work plus lunch. I usually take them, but today, I did not even stop to think about a break. I just wanted to hurry up with lunch the first day so I could get back to my project at work. It was like lunch and breaks just got in the way. I almost looked like a tweaker running around getting shit done as fast as possible.

I reminded myself of one of Dr J’s videos as I was working very hard on a minor detail of a large project. I had to mentally stop myself and focus my enthusiasm on more productive tasks. No headaches or side effects that I have seen so far.

Tonight, I Googled ‘Ritalin’ and one of the street terms from a .gov website for the drug is ‘Kiddie Cocaine’. Not sure taking this medication is a good thing.

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[Philabuster]

Side effects of Concerta was the same as I previously read–irritability–only my irritability was more than I have ever experienced.

The only way to accurately explain it was like someone kept poking me and would not stop. It was like I was constantly being bombarded with frustration no matter what I was doing. Extreme feeling of pissed off but no way to stop it.

Still waiting on Ritalin prescription to be filled. Need pre-authorization for adult ADD meds. The Concerta was a coupon so it did not go through insurance.

I will talk to doc about Dexedrine as a few other medications. I have a feeling it will be trial and error for a while…

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[Philabuster]

To Moka,

I was on one particular antibiotic and one of the side effects for me was my sense of smell heightened like a bloodhound. I could smell everything and it was not a good thing. I could now smell bad breath on 50% of people I spoke to when I was standing 3 feet away from them. I would walk up to a particular machine and get knocked over by the smell of the hydraulic oils leaking from it. I could not wash or gargle enough to make myself get rid of even my own smells. Having a sensitive sniffer sucks.

My sniffer went back to normal about 3 weeks after stopping the antibiotic. Point is, yes, certain pills can make you smell things –real or imagined.

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[Philabuster]

Well, saw the doc today. I gave her back the Concerta. She prescribed the old stand by Ritalin. I will give it a shot even though I know it is the same active ingredient. I can at least cross it off the list if it does not work. My doc said we will try Strattera next if the Ritalin does not work.

I initially considered taking medication because of the Totally ADD documentary and reading lots of posts here about positive things people have to say when they find the right med. Problem is I am starting to feel very discouraged in the process…

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[Philabuster]

mp3 player and earbuds will drown out the co-worker chatter nicely. Actually, I get more things done when I have my favorite music playing. Mp3 good, but listening to the radio–and the commercials just get me irritated. Mp3 makes me much more productive.

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[Philabuster]

I like the forums, but there is room for improvement.

This is an international forum. People are sharing medical knowledge but depending what country you are in matters. We need to have our LOCATION listed under our screen name. It can be as generic (USA, Canada, etc) or as specific (my hometown, and state) as the poster wants it, but it really needs to be there.

Emoticons are a big part of effective forum communication. I can make a statement have several different meanings depending on which emoticon I put next to it. Conversely, the reader can also interpret my post through his eyes and he may not get my intent without a little additional facial clues the icons convey.

Search would be nice, but not mandatory as Google can work for that.

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[Philabuster]

Damn. I am guilty of a lot of these nervous fidgeting behaviors you all mentioned: Nail, fingertip, and cuticle biting; mustache hair pulling ( I have no mustache–just when the whiskers get long enough to pull with my teeth); nose picking is not bad, but it is there; eyebrow hair pulling, I used to pull eyelashes, but thankfully I stopped that one; zits are a given, but in my late 30s, so not many of those to go around; scab pulling is a given when I do get them.

Speaking of biting, somehow it is a soothing sensation. I always chew on plastic to get the same sensation as when chewing on my fingernails–pens, straws, whatever is around. People have even commented many times over the years, “He chews on things just like a puppy.”

I am constantly reminded by my girlfriend when I am chewing my nails, but during times of high stress (very high now), she doesn’t say much because it is rather pointless.

Someone told me that you will stop chewing your nails if you become a plumber. Might not be a bad idea. Plumbers make good money.

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[Philabuster]

I almost always have 5 or more tabs open 15 minutes after I open Firefox. I never save tabs though–just close and next time I open Firefox, I am looking for something else anyway.

I do love the Bookmark toolbar in Firefox. To date, I have 49 different items in there. Things have gotten so crowded, in order to make more room, I delete the name and just have the individual icons instead. Totally ADD has a small, light blue icon that is instantly recognizable with no need for a description.

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[Philabuster]

For pocket clutter, a plastic bin (with a lid) next to the door has been a big help for me. I can accumulate only as much crap as it will hold and still shut the lid. Any more than that and it needs to go somewhere else.

For papers, the absolute coolest thing I ever bought was a high capacity paper shredder.

File the needed paperwork and shred the outdated info. The shredder gets rid of the paper mess in a hurry, but once it goes in there, it’s gone. I get the strangest high feeling when I shred a bunch of paper and clean up my desk.

One time, I spent HOURS watching Youtube videos of industrial shredders in action.

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[Philabuster]

I took the test twice. First time I said I was not impulsive and it skipped that portion, but it did not show the questions.

Second time, I said I was impulsive just to see the questions. Funny thing is although I said I was not impulsive, the questions did not seem like they were impulse questions and I answered yes to most of them.

Does slow service frustrate you? YES!

Does waiting in a line or traffic drive you nuts? YES!

I endure these things, but they did not seem like impulse questions to me. Impulse questions seem more like buying a car on impulse as Patrick said he did in the video.

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[Philabuster]

It is available in the Shop area:

http://totallyadd.com/shop/add-loving-it-documentary/

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