Were you Ritalinized?

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Hi fellow WP members

I have often wondered what my school years would have been like had I not been forced to use Ritalin on a daily basis as a kid in an attempt to treat what the medical authorities in the 1970's didn't know what to name except to admit that they hadn't come across a similar case before...

Ritalin appears to have been discredited now although prescribed for kids with ADHD - a term which I never heard from any of my doctors as a child either...

http://www.ritalindeath.com/

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-truth-rital ... -5530.html

http://rense.com/general63/thin.htm

I was never given ANY name for my condition as a child and was only diagnosed with Aspergers 4 years ago.

I think the doctors are too quick to prescribe drugs for children.

They put me on it but I got my mom to take me off it because I told her it made me "feel like zombie". And I was hardly eating and I was already pretty skinny kid. Whether or not she got approval to do so, I do not know. And since i was in special classes with aspie kids and the like, my behavior off it didn't stick out as much.

No, but sometimes I wish I had been. All my life I have had a terrible time focusing on and finishing assignments and projects. I don't just mean in the occasional kind of way that most people do; I mean on a consistent basis and to an extreme degree, so much so that my parents and teachers had to make frequent special arrangements for me every single year because it always happened, and yet everyone always acted so surprised. I hated it. It wasn't because I wasn't intelligent or anything. I just couldn't reign in my thought processes to do productive things. It has ruined my life.

A few months ago, I was able to "acquire" six tablets of Adderall which I used to self-medicate over the course of a week or so. The difference was like day and night. I had an unprecedented clarity of thought that actually allowed me to get things done in a timely matter. I could focus on a single task for more than two or three minutes at a time. I got caught up on some of my overdue assignments for university. It was precisely what I needed. Unfortunately, I was no longer able to acquire any more tablets after that and things fell apart again.

I want to get a prescription for ADHD medication so that I can take it properly and under the guidance of a medical professional, but I am afraid to bring up the subject with any doctor because of the stigma of self-diagnoses and even ADHD itself (e.g., people who think it is just a made up disorder to sell drugs to the parents of hyperactive kids). It's so frustrating that society has made it so difficult to have these conversations.

They put me on a really low dose (a quarter pill of the lowest dose in mg that they prescribed) and then took me off after 2 weeks because I was really sensitive to it and had a bad reaction-it made me really agitated. I was officially diagnosed with ADD when it was prescribed for me.

I was on Ritalin for a few years (age 10-13 or so). I don't remember any issues with it; neither helped nor hurt, that I know of. That was a few years after I was first misdiagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia at age 9, and locked up in a hospital for 7 months, at which time they tried all kinds of drug cocktails (Navane in shots and pills, Thorazine, Elevil, Lithium, Sinequan), and all kinds of other drugs to counteract the side effects. So many drugs that I lost control of my bladder for a few weeks. When they finally figured out that I did not have paranoid schizophrenia, they said they had no clue, and just told my mother to "wait and see", and put me in a private school for those with Down Syndrome. Of course I didn't have anything remotely like that either, but it was all the state would pay for as public education. It was around that time that I took Ritalin. The Ritalin was so tame as compared to those other hard drugs, that I guess it didn't do anything for me/to me. It wasn't until recently (age 43), that I finally got properly diagnosed with high-functioning autism, and am now on a low dose of Adderall (a cousin of Ritalin), and a low dose of Prozac to combat OCD as associated with autism.

Charles

What made them think you had paranoid schizophrenia? Did they misinterpret something you said or did? It just seems that there would be a very thorough examination to determine that you definitely have schizophrenia before putting you on such hard drugs at such a young age. I ask out of genuine interest, your post has made me very curious.

They mistakenly diagnosed me "hyperactive" and proscribed Ritalin in the early 80s. I think I was on it for several years until I just refused to take it - around 12. I never had ADHD. Back then schools just threw these pills at any kids that were troublesome. My mother said that she was essentially corned in a meeting with the principal and teachers saying that they'd throw me out of grade school if I did not start taking the medicine. I have reviewed the medical records and the "diagnosis" was about two sentences.

Anyway - I don't think there are any long term effects - at least that I am aware of.

I do remember that my mother insisted on not giving the Ritalin over the weekends and after school - so I could "be myself".

My oldest son was on Ritalin when he was in grammar school. It helped his ADHD so much, but we ended up taking him off of it because he had trouble sleeping, his heart rate was so rapid and he didn't eat much of anything while on it. The pro's did not outweigh the con's. He noticed a difference and was glad to be on it because he said it helped him, but I wasn't willing for him to have to deal with those physical symptoms just to help with ADHD. I thought the side effects were just too unpleasant for him to have to deal with unless it was something he was taking to treat a potentially serious health problem, not so much a behavior based one.

My youngest son (18) is on Vyvanse and he loves it. It works great for him and he can't even feel any effects. We had tried Adderall for him and he freaked right out after taking it because he felt the speedy buzz. He can't stand that kind of feeling and said he wouldn't take it. It made him very nervous. The Vyvanse doesn't do that at all and he doesn't even feel anything. I give it to him in the morning and he goes back to sleep. I dose him that early because it works for about 15 hours. He can eat on it and trust me, he does eat. He can also sleep at night or even take a nap during the day without a problem. His pulse isn't rapid, he doesn't shake or sweat, and it's like he hasn't taken any kind of amphetamine at all. It's absolutely perfect for him.

From what I understand, Ritalin is very harsh feeling compared to the newer ADHD meds. Of course, it was the only thing around a long time ago, so it was either that or nothing.

My son was on adderall for extreme hyperactivity, impulsivity, and intrusiveness from ages 7-10. I took him off to see how he would do and his hyperactivity was gone and he was able to manage without it. He is now having significant problems with focus and attention (he's 11.5 now) and we will likely try it again. He feels it helps him a lot, as long as he is on the right dosage. When his dose was too high, he seemed disconnected and had a very flat affect. On the right dose, though, it was probably about as close to a miracle as you could imagine. I just worry about longterm affects, which is why I tried him off of it for awhile. But if he needs it, he needs it. He is struggling way too much at school right now, which isn't fair to him.

I was prescribed it but they weren't administered by the school nurse or anything, and I had to remember to take it on my own. Yeah, right. A 7-year-old with ADD remembering to take a pill every day.

Since I wasn't being given it in the office with a little cup of water and I can't swallow dry--not even the tiniest pill--I usually wound up trying to take it at the water fountain. It would fall out of my mouth when I leaned forward to take a drink and get washed down the drain before I could catch it.

I guess they thought I was taking it and it wasn't working.

Yes.

Ritalinized
Adderallized
Dexedrinized

But it didn't help much. Made me feel euphoric and warm. Didn't help me focus.

So, does anyone feel like there were any long term side effects after stopping? I certainly would have to say NO- I did not. I think I took 10 mg twice a day during that time.

Tangent: I did notice that I pretty much starting smoking around the time I stopped taking Ritalin. Later, when I quit smoking, I started drinking a lot of coffee. I still do that.

Honestly, everyone asks that; particularly doctors who review old records. There were two reasons that I believe caused it: First, the the state must receive a diagnosis of some kind of mental illness of certain criteria, in order to fund the placement of a child into a special class or school. That diagnosis had to be supported by a theory of "dangerous to self or those around", which they wrote, although I had never had any kind of violence, nor ever hurt any living things, so I have no idea where they got that other than "needing to write it" to get the funding. Second, I think my earlier therapists and doctors, misunderstood or outright disbelieved me regarding my accounts of other kids following me and bullying, and hiding in trees to throw things at me, etc. I guess they thought I was imagining that stuff . If I had been imagining it all, then I could see a paranoid schizophrenia diagnosis. But the kids who were doing that, were in fact real live, breathing kids; not figments of my imagination. I also had an imaginary friend, which probably was interpreted as a split personality. In fact it was just an imaginary friend because I had none in real life. As I got older, and I developed friendships, the imaginary friend disappeared as of about age 10, but again, I can see that being misunderstood at the time.

Charles

I can actually see how they might have thought that.

Aspies are not able to read the non-verbal cues of most people and are often surprised by whatever reactions do come - especially at a younger age when a lot of this is not figured out yet. Most of these reactions are also in the negative. Put the two together and you have what could look like paranoia to the NT: an irrational concern and fear about what other people's reactions might be to what appears innocuous. In other words an aspie child has literally NO IDEA what the reactions to many things they say and do might be and they grow increasingly concerned about potential outcomes that the NT would not seem feasible.

I have certainly experienced this in my life. Thankfully I would rarely express my concerns.

Now that I think of it I think of it - it's mentioned in Attwood's Complete Guide in a few sections most notably starting of page 118.

I got put on ritalin a few months ago to help with my ADD. It has helped me tremendously. Before I took it I would have a small problem of not being able to pay attention, couldn't focus that well and would always start to daydream, light, sound, smells, etc bothered me a lot and would always come home mentally exhausted and close to a meltdown, and would a lot of times go to my school consolers center. When I take it I am able to pay attention and focus and rarely daydream, I can now stand light, sound, smells, etc a lot better and am not so mentally exhausted and not close to meltdowns, and I rarely have to go to the councilors office. I also am in the mood to do something (usually creative) and if I had a horrible night sleep, I am not tired while it's in my system. It has really made school a lot better and my mom even says I'm like I was when I was younger before my aspergers started to show.

I was on ritalin for years, but it never seemed to affect me any. My mom would periodically ask me if I thought the pills were helping, and I'd just sort of shrug and tell her I never noticed a difference between being on it and off it. This was the early-to-mid 1990's, when I was a kid, and they diagnosed me with ADHD. I've since been diagnosed with ASD.

I really worry about my ability to focus and stay on task; if it's not something that deeply interests me, I just can't keep my head in the game. Smart as I am, the only academic areas I excel in are my pet subjects -- language, theology, literature. Anybody have any tips?