When ADHD goes from bad to worse

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^ Thanks Sora. I am still learning how to do it. My daily list just consists of
main things i have to get done.
I do know that I am no good with a series of complex tasks catch-phrased under the one heading.

I shall keep in mind your suggestion as i am sure it is applicable to me. thank you.

I make lists too, but I keep them in my head. I also try setting times for work - like I will work from exactly this time to this time, then break, then work from exactly this time to this time (irrespective of how much I get done, because if I think about everything I have to do I get overwhelmed and don't start).

I've always been above average weight, but when I was in 5th or 6th grade, my doc was getting worried because I lost about 5 pounds in the 3 months since my previous checkup. Also, after going off Ritalin, my weight expanded rapidly, going from size 28 or 30 pants when I graduated HS, to size 38 or 40 about 3 years later. I have since started getting this under control, and am in size 35 or 36 pants.

I went onto Ritalin recently, and it has been miraculous. Combine that with love and brilliant advice from my experienced ADHD colleague, and I am coping very well under enormous work pressure.

gee, i am so scared of all the medication stuff.
I have a ferocious addiction history, and have been cleana nd sober 11 years. I get very worried and concerned about my ability to take required doses and to adhere to a respectful regimen when it comes to any meds. So i try to minmise my use of them.
Can you describe the benefits of ritalin?

ritalin is not addictive in itself, but its effects are addictive.

Benefits - it just about doubles your daily productivity, and it makes you able to focus on things for hours at a time. In other words, it reverses the main effects of ADHD.

Cons - I have reason to believe three years of it actually changed my personality permanently (although I was on constant dosage, and started very high and it took a while before I got on a lower one - adults only take it when they have something to do, they don't have to be on it every day), constant tension (inability to relax - and believe it or not, experiencing that is much much worse than it sounds), reduction in appetite (that one's not so bad - fairly manageable, especially if you're not on it 24/7).

All in all, very strong pros and very strong cons. But you can adjust your dosage, so the effects of both are reduced. Personally I prefer to try and live off it these days, but I often feel frustrated now that I know my full potential and without ritalin I am not reaching it - but on the same note, a depressed and tense life isn't really worth living.

My conclusion from the whole experience was to take ritalin at times when I'm really desperate (a.k.a. if I have a massive assignment due, etc) and put my life and happiness on hold until I extricate myself out of the situation.

Of course, the effects of ritalin are probably unique to each individual. And all my negative comments being said, ritalin effectively brought my school grades up from C/D's to straight A's by the end of Year 12 (which I was capable of all along, but couldn't achieve due to my inability to focus on school work).

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Recall reading a How To (understand) book (1981) about ADHD Inattentive by C. Thomas Wild where he reported a good response to the old medicine - coffee - caffeine compounds (100 mg - caffeine) - which work for him better than Ritalin. He never used the term miraculous about the caffeine but the caffeine does work for him effectively.

Similar positive response to caffeine reported:

http://www.rsna.org/rsna/media/pr2005/Coffee.cfm (Short-term memory)(not a cure)