Who's been proscribed Rittalin for executive dysfunction?

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I'm 31 and doing quite well by most measures considering the ASD but, now I finally have my diagnosis, I have been putting serious thought into how my life is affected. One area I would love to improve is that of executive functioning. I work full time, am doing a degree part time and have the usual home commitments as well as learning to drive. I notice serious problems staying focused on task and organised and it's badly affecting all these areas of my life.

I have been wondering, given the great similarities between ADD/ADHD and ASD traits, if it was worth trying some of the attention deficit meds such as Rittalin.

Has anyone in the uk been proscribed this or similar purely for an ASD and, if so, how did it help?

I'm not in the UK, but I was prescribed Ritalin in my late teens and I have experience with other forms of what is, essentially, speed.
I can tell you that those substances do help to increase focus and attentiveness, but that it's possible to end up focusing on non-productive areas so it should really only be used in controlled environments with minimal distractions (special interests, etc.) from the task at hand.

Hope that helps.

Hi, I'm not entirely sure if I have ASD yet, or at all, but I have been diagnosed with ADD and I thought I would chime in. Ritalin is composed of two drugs, one active, and one which is either non active or if it is, hardly at all. I am prescribed 15 mg of Focalin Extended Release, which is the same drug as the active one in Ritalin. My dosage could be viewed as about 30 mg Ritalin. For me personally, it helps only a little in motivating you to do something, but once you begin to work on something, or do anything for that matter, you get tunnel vision and are focused only on that thing. Also, if you are doing something mentally exhausting or boring, it is easier and less draining to complete. Many people have issues sleeping, but I take one pill at about 8 am and have no trouble sleeping by 11 pm. It can make food seem unappetizing/make you feel full, so if you have existing eating problems take caution. If you have a lot of mental chit chat or rapid and incomplete thoughts, it can really reduce that. It's strange having a quiet head.

Ritalin, Adderall, Focalin, etc... are all lucrative drugs and many doctors will push you to a high dosage or not monitor you properly. If you do decide to try it, make sure you start small, my doctor started me on 5 mg, then 2 weeks later 10, and while I'm currently on 15, I have been experiencing anxiety and have been slightly panicky which is not normal after a few days of getting acclimated to the medicine so I am going back down to 10. The first 3-4 days on a higher dose can be rough but your body gets used to it and then you should feel better. Also, you can't really drink coffee on this unless you want to be bouncing off walls followed by hard crashing. It really is legal speed, and is a Schedule II drug, along with being chemically similar to meth. Personally, I would only use it if you need it for a job or for some kind of schooling, but it is worth looking into.

Just some things to think about.

I have 30mg Equasym XL and 10mg Ritalin. I was prescribed it so that I could function more better as an adult. It does work.

I found it to be a very strong drug but I started off at a low dosage. I do have ADHD too.

I used Ritalin for a while and it did help greatly short term. Unfortunately it also brought out the worst side of me. I was unaware that I became more verbally rude and aggressive in nature plus my mind was like fighting against the drug and the amount I was taking was not having the same affect anymore so you bump the dosage up. The final result was I reluctantly took myself off them. Dexramphetamine like Ritalin was no good either. Hope it can work for you. Try with care. I have had Executive Dysfunction from birth.

I have. It was too strong, too much, too fast, though, and I had to switch to an extended release version, at a relatively low dose (what I'm taking is apparently typical for a 5-year-old with ADHD). The extended release stuff is the same as regular Ritalin, but it doesn't give me that zombie-like state I used to get in the first hour after it started working.

The effect it has is a lot like coffee, except without the physical jitters and anxiety. I can switch tasks a little easier and it's a little easier to focus on things I don't want to focus on.

But it's not a magic bullet--it doesn't magically turn me into a person who can focus on whatever they want, whenever they want. It just kind of gives me an edge.

I was given Ritalin 30mg/day when I still in Secondary School, it does somehow improve my attention issue, but once I was distracted, it will be more difficult to get me back on what I am doing/pay attention to.