Ritilin side effects?

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When I used to take ritalin it would give me nervousness, loss of appetite, and sometimes headaches.

this is one thing that i notice while on Strattera. I liked the fact that i had no appeitite. I lost a few pounds(not too good since severe anorexia is my past history) I went from about 110 down to 103 in two weeks(much of it probably from dehydration,(because I also didn't feel thirsty either). I got really light headed from that etc. ) The worse thing of the strattera was the no sleep. I can remind myself the importance of eating and drinking(and force myself to do so, but no sleep was was not something that I could control.

Is there any difference between Brand name Ritilin and generic Ritilin(Methylphenidate)?

Usually not, but people can be sensitive enough for it to make a difference.

Anybody who tries Ritalin, insist on starting with a very low dose--the amount they give to toddlers. If you're one of the sensitive ones, a regular dose will turn you into a zombie for six hours, and that's no fun. Better to start off with the low dose. We already have so many reports of Spectrum people reacting very strongly to Ritalin that it certainly does no harm to start off small just in case.

I took Ritalin and didn't like the effect. There was extra focus, but it was more of a mental tunnel-vision effect than added control of attention and planning. I'm drinking coffee on school days now; that does a great deal more good, and seems to work with my brain rather than against it.

The thing is, though, that everybody is different and what works for one may not work for another, and vice versa.

Trying Ritalin is probably not a bad idea, but start small and be willing to dump it if it doesn't work.

I am very sensitive to the effects of medications. My Dr. ordered 2.5 mg(which is one half of a small pill that is not scored in the middle). I haven' t started yet, but I picked it up from the pharmacy. The Straterra made me feel so horrible and depressed, that when i quit, I felt a lot better. Well, now that great feeling is turning into the can't concentrate on anything, or focus to get anything done, and am feeling like I am spining my wheels and getting nowhere.

how many doses do you take per day? i started with 18mg a day just to get my body adjusted a bit, it helps reduce the chances of stomach aches when you start. i then went up to 36mg a day which did a bit but not a very noticeable effect. 54mg is when i noticed a marked improvement in concentration.

I haven't started the Ritilin yet. It's been about 9 days since I quit the Strattera.

Why give a stimulant to people with ADD? Because "Common sense" is actually ignorance.

Current theory: Stimulants, like cocaine, Ritalin, amphetamine, cause a release of Dopamine in the "reward areas" of the brain of normal people. On the other hand, people with ADD have an excess of dopamine in these areas and it is being constantly released, for whatever reason stimulants have a paradoxical effect in these people with true ADD, cutting back the stimulation of the reward areas, allowing them to focus more.

it's the other way around, scientists believe people with adhd have lower levels of dopamine in certain areas of the brain which causes them to seek constant stimulation in order to get the same dopamine release as normal people, thus causing hyperactivity. it also explains why long periods of concentration are difficult since it provides very little stimulation. stimulants release more dopamine so this has a calming effect because they no longer have to be stimulated in order to achieve a satisfactory level of dopamine.

if you think about it, stimulant abusers build a tolerance to the drug, which decreases their baseline dopamine levels (the amount of dopamine when they're not on drugs) when compared to someone who doesn't abuse stimulants. this causes them to become addicted because their brains are telling them they're low on dopamine and need stimulation (or a stimulant) in order to get back to a normal level. there's also the psychological addiction to the feeling of being high but i'm just talking about the physical component. if you relate this to people with adhd, their brains have less dopamine, which is telling them they need stimulation, so they become hyperactive.

one thing that is under investigation is the possible treatment using dopamine antagonists. they've explored a similar concept with asthma treatment. asthma is frequently treated with stimulant type drugs (beta-2 agonists) which act on the adrenergic receptors in the brain to relax smooth muscle and relieve inflammation. the idea of using beta blockers seems counter-intuitive but the reason it works is because your brain develops a tolerance to stimulants, meaning it will lower baseline levels of whatever neurotransmitter we're talking about, so if you medicate with an antagonist to that neurotransmitter the body will adjust by raising baseline levels. what they started doing with asthma is they would give daily doses of a beta blocker for, i believe, about 9 months. during this period the symptoms would be worse than usual and would gradually get better as the body adjusted to the drug. once the drug treatment was discontinued the patients experienced improvement in their condition and many no longer needed an inhaler to treat their symptoms.

so that idea is now being investigated for adhd. the idea is similar, treating people with adhd with a dopamine antagonist will increase normal dopamine levels so once they stop the treatment the symptoms should improve. there are a few problems with this idea, mainly that it would make the symptoms of adhd worse during treatment which would make it difficult for these people to function adequately in school and/or work, but scientists are looking into it.

I was on it for about 3 years, and I found the most noticeable side effects were increased anxiety, depression, loss of appetite and weight to the brink of anorexia (I had to force myself to eat, and didn't enjoy eating at all).

However, on the upside there is increased productivity (which I consider a big upside) and increased blending in with the crowd so you appear more "normal" (if you count that an upside, my parents sure did).

However, I found I had to go off it on the holidays so that I could sleep off my built up exhaustion, and eat loads so I could build up my weight again.