Has anyone had any experiences with Ritalin?

[fujiyama]

My family has a friend with a kid and recently their doctor prescribed Ritalin. The kid has a tendancy to not focus very much, but is a pretty bright kid overall.

I was just curious if anyone here (either parents if those that were prescribed or those that actually took it) that has anything to say about it?

I myself don't know much about it. I used to feel that it might be over prescribed, but I've heard it helped some people a great deal. I suppose like any drug, it's a matter of moderation.

[aquart]

1. I take it. My family insists.

It seems to add a filter other people have naturally. Otherwise I get upset at noise or visual disturbances in my peripheral vision. I'm much nicer on it than off.

For me, no side effects, but I have a self-limited dose. More than the amount I take, and I get heart racing.

Another thing: Ritalin is a clean in and out in 4 hours. You can quit for a week and go back and the only effect is mild dry mouth the first day. There is no building it up and no withdrawal. For ADD people who can't remember a schedule anyway, that's useful.

[Lone_Wolf_Moderate]

2. When I was younger, about twelve years ago, 8th grade,

my doctor thought I might be hyperactive, and suggested Ritalin. Fortunately, my mom didn't agree, and that was the end of that. The word on the street is that it is over-prescribed, and any benefits are nullified by the side-effects, although some people do really need it.

[Dogmudgeon]

3. Very good results

I've taken it on and off since 1983 for what was diagnosed as "atypical depression" -- it would probably be called "mixed depression with ADHD" today. I respond to it very well, even in small doses.

Anyone on Ritalin, though, should take care to monitor themselves and their reactions to it. The same advice applies for the use of any psychotropic drug.

It probably is overprescribed for kids; but then again, nobody wants to deal with the fact that kids are naturally hyper. We used to whack them around -- now we drug them. But some kids actually do benefit from drug treatment. Everybody's milage varies.

--bkl

[catchthefever]

4. Helped me

I was diagnosed with double-major depression. After trying a few anti-depressants, the one that worked left me unable to focus. My mind was always drifting. Ritalin helped me get my work done.

[tibbir]

5. My son had pretty severe ADHD (it's ADD now - no more hyperactivity)

He took for a while in second grade when he was first diagnosed. We agonized over starting him on it but there was no choice, he was a case study for attention deficit-hyperactivity. Ritalin worked pretty well during the day but when it wore off in the evening he had such a rebound he was almost literally bouncing off the walls so it wasn't an overwhelming success.

Luckily there are other things to try. He was on dexedrine for a while but when he was in high school he took adderal with great success. He finished high school with good grades and started off to college. The minute he was on his own he stopped taking his medicine and dropped out of college within 2 months. He agrees now that he will need to start taking medicine again whenever he goes back to college.

Problem is, with him off medicine he's too unfocused to get himself back into college. Oh well. :eyes:

[Petrichor]

6. Most over-prescribed drug in the country

A)I'll bet you dollars to donuts the kid you mentioned is a male.

B) Ritalin's properties are very similar to cocaine. So much so there is talk of using it to "cure" cocaine addiction. Google "cocaine ritalin" and you'll be surprised at the results. You can add "Nora Volkow" in the google search, since she's a credible researcher.

C)Drug therapy should be the last resort, not the first choice when dealing with children.

[TheMightyFavog]

17. It's not the only similarity....

I know plenty of students here who buy Ritalin off the street, crush it, and snort it like coke. They do the same with Adderall, as well.

[autorank]

7. Make sure the diagnosis is correct & the client is not a drug abuser.

Ritalin works if you have ADHD (the condition formerly known as ADD). Unfortunately, it also works even if you do not have a diagnosable attention problem. It makes most children and adolescents more agreeable to task oriented behavior. It can also quell the disruptive impulsivity of children who seem rude, random and/or highly inappropriate.

There are three big qualifiers:

(1) If your child has a bipolar disorder (which looks a lot like ADHD in certain ways) and you give him/her Ritalin, you risk the Ritalin (or other amphetamines) kicking in a full blown manic episode. The mania would have emerged anyway but this is a heck of a way to find out your child has bipolar disorder. There is a significant overlap between ADHD and bipolar disorder in the child/adolescent crowd.
(2) If your child appears to have a psychotic disorder or if there is a strong family history of psychosis, e.g., schizophrenia, then you need to observe real caution because amphetamines like Ritalin can bring on psychotic episodes or breaks.
(3) If you child is involved with drugs of any kind, Ritalin (or any amphetamine) is a risk unless you hold onto and dispense the medication yourself. You really have to lock it away if this is a problem.

Among he child and adolescent population, ADHD and Bipolar Disorder are often diagnosed correctly; too often misdiagnosed; and, finally, both disorders are under diagnosed (more people in these populations have the disorder than are diagnosed). You get the impression they're over diagnosed when you see stupid media stories asking 'are these disorders over-diagnosed?' Just like politics, they're not reliable on health either.

If you go to a doctor and you are not queried about (a) a family history of serious mental illness, e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, chronic & severe depression; and if you're not queried about your child's possible involvement with 'party drugs,' the best advise is to go to another doctor. It's almost always best to do this through a psychiatrist who works with a lot of children/adolescents.

[strategery blunder]

8. I took it fourth through seventh grade

Yeah, it worked as advertised, but while I was on Ritalin, I started crinkling paper in a manner consistent with obsessive-compusive disorder. Paper-crinkling quickly became an addiction for me, and it still is to this day (I'm in college).

I will never be able to prove this, but the timing of getting addicted to paper crinkling and the time I was on Ritalin coincides a little too closely for me, if you get the hint...:eyes::crazy:

[blackcat77]

9. Our younger son used Ritalin for a while

It was very helpful for him. But make sure you work with your doctor to get the dosage set properly. Done properly, you don't end up with a zombie.

[lazarus]

10. I've taken it for 10 years

It's a lifesaver for me.

The question for me is, who's the doctor? If it's the family doctor, I've got a major problem. GPs should not be prescribing psychotropics.

Make sure the kid is seeing a psychiatrist. The biggest clue: If the doctor told the parents the boy doesn't have to take Ritalin on the weekends. That's a doctor who's prescribing for behaviour correction, not proper treatment.

I've studied this quite a bit. I've got reason to; I've got ADD, and so does my daughter (not hyperactive, thankfully). She's on Adderall, which works great for her. Ritalin has worked so well for me, I don't want to mess around with it. Took my psych 6 months to talk me into trying 20 mg tabs instead of two 10 mgs. :)

[theoceansnerves]

11. original intent

[Gore1FL]

12. My son used to take it

It is not a good answer, but aftwer trying other options, it became clear, in his case, to be the only answer. We only gave it to hbim on weekdays before school, skipping weekends and afternoons.

[lazarus]

14. sikpped weekends and afternoons?

There's a big problem right there.

Ritalin is a psychotropic drug. You have to take it on a regular schedule, every single day, to get proper effects.

The doctors that prescribe these "school hours only" schedules annoy the hell out of me. And most of them are GPs who shouldn't be prescribing psychotropics anyway. A general practitioner doesn't have the training to diagnose ADD, ADHD, or bipolar, or to tell the difference.

Ritalin is not a bad drug. It's been sadly over-prescribed and mis-prescribed by bad doctors, however.

[tigereye]

15. actually it was pretty common for child and adoles. psychiatrists

to suggest drug holidays for Ritalin in the past due to concerns about weight loss, reduced appetite, etc. And there is no evidence from a variety of legitimate organizations that ADHD is over-diagnosed. Although many people disagree from an anecdotal perspective.

[Gore1FL]

19. It worked great on that schedule, though

Our understanding was that studies showed liver damage, hence the distribution schedule.

[tsakshaug]

13. I have taken it

Did not really do the job, now on adderol, it works wonders. My youngest son is also on Adderol, and it works for him too.

double check the diagnosis before starting. If it is not working in a week or three see the doc and check to see what else can be done.

There are some non-stimulent prescriptions avalable, I have not tried them but I hear they work more short term

[bif]

16. My daughter takes it

Started at the end of the school year last year. It's done a world of good. we were reluctant to have her take it. But she was having trouble in school--like getting her homework done, paying attention in class, turning her homework in. It has really made a difference.

[Ivan Sputnik]

18. My son took it

for a short while (for ADD), but had a bad reaction to it. He then took Adderall, which helped him a lot but intefered with his appetite. Now he takes Strattera (a new non-stimulant ADD medication) with just a tiny bit of Adderall as a booster. Seems to work fine for him. YMMV.

[cheshire]

20. My son took this shit 20 yrs ago, I was horrible. It gave him the shakes.

He was forced to take it. His teacher had all of the boys labeled hyper. She was overwhelmed but would not accept help. I tried to work with everyone, counslers, teacher(in class) and when my son could not write because of the shakes I said no more, tough shit, new teacher or I was going to raise holy hell. He was fine after that new teacher. They were giving the stuff out like candy back then. I thought I heard it had caused heart failure in some kids who took it to long. I think I'd get a second opinion or read up on it. I am just saying to be aware and educated. It has been 20 yrs that I was more than a casual observer.

[lazarus]

22. interesting

what state are teachers allowed to prescribe Ritalin?

[TrogL]

21. I was on it for awhile

Seemed to do the trick for my ADD but couldn't get a dosage that worked for me. Too many side effects at the really good dosage and din't work well at lower dose.

Ended up on dexedrine.