Ritalin decision

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addforums.net is a good forum to read about actual adult experiences with Ritalin and other ADHD meds, not the scaremongering you may see elsewhere on the Internet. The good news about Ritalin is that it is out of your system within hours, so it is easy to stop if you do experience side effects.

Have you been prescribed this by a psychiatrist or just going to ask them if you can take this? I would discuss your concerns with them if they prescribed it. I personally wouldn't take it because I'm not for medicine unless you're suicidal. It sounds like you can hold a job and get by in life quite well (you just want to do your dream job) but I wouldn't say medication will get you your dream job, only YOU, yourself, can accomplish that. Try some therapy and get some tips and skills on how to help yourself get your dream job without medication.

I'm trying to make the same decision too. When I had taken Ritalin a few years ago, it made me more prone to anger or anxiety, so I stopped taking it. I have a tics, so it is still very tempting to do it, but... I'm just as confused as you are.

Thank you Zette, will check it out.


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Hi Soccer

My psychiatrist has prescribed it for me. I feel he has his perspective on the drugs. He is aware of the risks but I feel he downplays them. If I were a parent I wouldn't allow a child of mine go on Ritalin until all non drug related therapies had been used. That is why I am looking for adults with experiences on Ritalin that never had it as a child.

Yes I do get by in life okay, but on a scale of 1-10, probably a 6. I feel fortunate that I am better off than most, but to reach ones full potential is something I would like to achieve. Early adult life was because I had strong family support, even though I was not diagnosed with anything. Was unemployed and employed a few hours on casual basis for some time. For the past three years I have held a full time job and the 7 years before that had Part-time work (20 hours and built that up before getting full-time work). It just gets so frustrating that I don't have the ability at my age to pursue a career. Just go to a job. I really don't know what to say, but knowing I can discuss my situation here with no judgement is really helpful.

I really get frustrated when people ask, "what the hell are you working here for?." I am sure they are not trying to demean me, as I think what they are trying to say is that you can do a hell of a lot better than this. It is a continuous reminder though that I can't seem to manage to do it.

when I had to stop taking Strattera [cause group death stopped covering it] I experienced no withdrawal symptoms, just a gradual descent into my pre-Strattera fog.

The experience my brother had with Ritalin was that he did have a huge growth spurt and I think increased blood pressure, so he had to be regularly monitored by a specialist (who wasn't involved until later). But he was on a high dose and they was able to reduce his dose. But I do think it would be a good idea to for you to talk to someone who knows the ins and outs of this if you can, as your GP might not.

I have been taking a similar drug for about a year now. (Adderall)

At first it was amazing. I was more outgoing and could actually pass for friendly, which is a big deal since I work in retail/customer service. It made me HAPPY for once. It's like, all that anxiety over the little things shifted into prospective and I could focus on all the good things in life. It was like this buzzing happiness. I'd get twice as much work accomplished because I could ease up on my 'rituals' at work. (Ie: It didn't matter to me as much if I only had 3 paper towels to wipe down something instead of 4. If something came up and I was behind schedule I wouldn't jump to the task I should be on and hope I could finish the other one later. I could finish each task as they came up fully before starting the next. I had energy and I was happy for once. I felt like adderall saved my life.

A year later I'm not so sure that's true. It's become a dependency. I no longer feel that 'buzzing happiness.' My boss now expects a certain output of work from me, and yet I feel myself slowly sliding back down that hill into chaos. My doctor wants to up my dose. I've refused because really what's the point of trying to suppress who you are? In another year I'd just have to up the dose again, and then what? I can see how easily taking drugs like this can snowball out of control. It's a huge decision to make, but I hope you keep what I wrote in mind. Taking adderall improved my quality of life for a short time. Is it worth it? That's a personal decision that will take a lot of self reflection and even experience taking the medication. I'd like to know what you decide and your end results.

Strattera was the only one that didn't require a boost over about 2 years. the others i'd have to take more of. concerta worked almost as well but it weakened over time and it also made me cross.

Personally, I was on Ritalin/Concerta for a few years. I can't afford to go see a psych privately every six months to get my GP to continue prescribing, but the focus and insight I gained in this time has helped me catch up with a lot of skills I'd been too overwhelmed to learn before. My brain has learned things in my Thirties that I was meant to learn in childhood.

Concerta is a slow release form of the same drug as Ritalin. It gets around the up/down issues a lot better although I still had to take it 2-3 times a day.