should i just stop taking ritalin cold turkey?

[e92]

for the past 2 or 2 and a half months or so i've been using ritalin quite often. maybe 3 times a week on average, doses from anywhere to 50-150mg a day of the LR sometimes mixed with snorting the IR ones i have as well. i'm prescribed and i really do need to take it sometimes to get shit done but i am clearly abusing it.

its calmed down recently but i want to stop completely for a little while.

i take 2 full day breaks between doses most of the time, but lately when i do that i'm just kind of off and dont feel 100% when i'm taking that break. so i guess those are withdrawals.

at the point im at now would it be best if i just stop cold turkey, or since i have the 4 hour 10mg IR tablets should i do a mini taper starting at 15-20mg throughout the day (swallowed not snorted), and then gradually taber off over the course of 10 days - 2 weeks?

 

[tightlywound]

if I were you I'd just stop cold turkey. you may be a little on the sleepy and depressed side for a few days but I would think that would clear up shortly w/ your rate of use, maybe do it over a weekend so you have time to regroup before going back to work. I'm usually one to CT shit though personally ...though I think I'm going to end up needing to do a little taper w/ the 30mg daily phentermine I've been on for the past 4-5ish months, just because I've come off it before for a few days and I do find that yeah, I'm really sleepy and I work 6 days a week and need to be alert and lively to do my job, don't feel too bad otherwise though. granted that's a weaker amphetamine at a high therapeutic dose, but I do take it daily. I CT'd before off 300-600mg vyvanse taken for 3-4 months 5-9 days at a time w/ one day in between to sleep and I found that I was after spending one whole day sleeping I was not really further plagued by tiredness but I did struggle w/ worse than usual anxiety for several months after, honestly not sure if that could have been avoided w/ a taper though.
amphetamine "withdrawals" or comedowns are generally not too bad IMO even if you've been straight up binging for months at a time. a 2 week taper is really excessive to my thinking. I'd just ride it out.

 

[WARDMAN3]

I have been on and off Ritalin for years. In my experience I have never had an issue with any type of physical withdrawal. I do not even think mentally either besides just a little sluggish blue feeling that really is not that noticeable

 

[Znegative]

The only withdrawal might be psychological cravings. I'm going to move this over to BDD.

 

[deos68]

you may feel lethargic and a bit depressed as others have stated but will subside fairly quickly
the WD if any shouldnt be bad
3 days on and the rest off even if ROA is intranasal IMO isnt in the abuse category since you do have days off

 

[LaBlueEyes]

My brother was on Ritalin for years, then one day while he was in high school he just stopped taking it. Said he didn't need it anymore and had absolutely no problems.