METHYLPHENIDATE (CONCERTA) - Better to take it daily or to cycle it?

[ContemporaryCaveman]

Hello,

I don't have ADHD but I've been prescribed mehylphenidate for anhedonia and apathy - which helps somewhat. I find things more enjoyable when I am on Concerta 36mg

Thing is, I don't know if I should cycle it - use it a few days, break a few days, and start again. OR whether I should use it every day for a month, then stop fo ra week or two, and do this cycle again.

My psychiatrist is a fan of the second option. Said the first option is going to screw up my receptors.
What do you guys think? Obviously, what I want to avoid is receptor desensitization/tolerance

 

[negrogesic]

In my experience, you are better off with the first option -- using it for a handful of days then taking a few days off (maybe something 4 days on, 2 or 3 days off). Taking methylphenidate daily for a month, and then suddenly stopping for week will result in a crash/rebound where you'll feel tired and kind of depressed. This used to happen to me all the time with dexmethylphenidate, whereby I'd blow through my monthly script in three weeks, causing me to run out and feel lethargic for the days until I was able to refill the script.

Neither instance will screw up your receptors; that dose of methylphenidate is low and methylphenidate is a rather forgiving substance. But the shorter on-off dosing regime (i.e., a few days on, a few days off) will reduce the magnitude of the boom and bust cycle, and slow tolerance moreso than taking it for a month on.

That said, its good that you have a psychiatrist open to prescribing methylphenidate for off-label purposes. Too few psychiatrists are willing to even consider doing things of this nature. But I do disagree with the dosing regime they proposed, you'll experience too much of a crash by abruptly discontinuing the medication after taking it daily for a month.

 

[CrimsonRambeller820]

Hello, I was on 27mg for about a year switching to 36mg for about two months there at the end. I can tell you switching to 100mg Modafinil has been the best decision for my ADHD. That I feel like I can take every day, not have a crash, still able to sleep as much, and the drug doesn't invade my headspace like methylphenidate definitely does. When I got the most benefit from it(Concerta), I would take it during the weekday and not on the weekends. I'd usually take a two day break, especially on days where I felt like I'd been worked like a dog and just want to nap a bit longer in the morning. What I did was commit to taking it before noon, and sometimes there would be a day of the week where I wouldn't take it. If I was planning a trip, I would try not to take it the day that I plan a trip around. It's not bad, it definitely helped me focus and work well and I put alot of good info on the internet while I was taking it, but Modafinil is so much smoother. If you actually want some sort of extreme adherence to getting your stuff done, maybe you can find relief with 200mg. I know you're specifically asking about concerta but going from concerta to Modafinil was so great, and I take maybe one day out of the week off this med. I'm just so glad to be on this med and it work well enough to manage ADHD symptoms. The side effects of that much concerta was too much and it interfered with the natural circadian rhythm of the earth that I was trying to get in touch with. Moda is really subtle, but it works perfect for me.

 

[Survival0200]

That said, its good that you have a psychiatrist open to prescribing methylphenidate for off-label purposes. Too few psychiatrists are willing to even consider doing things of this nature. But I do disagree with the dosing regime they proposed, you'll experience too much of a crash by abruptly discontinuing the medication after taking it daily for a month.

Yeah, you'll be having rough time finding a psychiatrist who would prescribe it off-label. -_-

Erowid says: "Methylphenidate is a central nervous system stimulant widely prescribed to treat attention deficit disorder. It is also used in the treatment of narcolepsy, mild depression, and in combination with other drugs in the treatment of chronic pain."

I would really appreciate a methylphenidate script for my mild depression!