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Stimulants Side effects of Methylphenidate and D-Methylphenidate

feebleit

feebleit

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Joined
Jan 15, 2016
Messages
15
I have this disease called ADHD. I was prescribed ritalin 10mg 2x daily and it didn't help with symptoms and it gave me really bad side effects. I am now on Focalin IR 20mg in the morning and 10mg in the afternoon. It is a lot better but I still feel like it doesn't do much for relieving my symptoms. My heart rate increases significantly, it has a shorter duration than I would like, I have this blinking tic, it takes away my appetite, and I still get depressed if I take that afternoon dose. I honestly don't think that it is a safe chemical to put into my body everyday. Are there any side effects that would be a clear indicator that i'm in the 30% group of people that methylphenidate based stimulants don't work for?
 
I had terrible effects from Ritalin (with the same diagnosis as you) too, to the point where after two weeks I flatly told my then-doctor "I'm not taking this anymore", and discontinued it. What side-effects were you getting exactly? You're definitely not a non-responder, since that would mean you would feel nothing at all. More likely, you react badly to DRIs (which is the class of stimulants Ritalin is in). Thankfully, you're not stuck with DRIs (assuming you have a doctor who actually listens to you), there are other types of stimulants which work differently; dopamine releasing agents (Dexedrine), noradrenaline releasing agents (Ephedrine, Strattera), and compounds that raise dopamine levels through other mechanisms (Modafinil, Adrafinil). There are a few more too, but not that would be good for productivity.
 
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Ritalin gave me nothing positive at any dose. Just depression, stomach pains, headaches, tics, rapid heart beats, cold hands, feeling way too stimulated. After a month i switched to Focalin IR 20mg in morning and 10mg afternoon. It seems to be better but it suppresses my appetite, makes me crash after like an hour and a half, makes me sweat when i'm cold, and worst of all if I take a second dose of it later in the day it increases the depression. It works. Until it very quickly wears off. I'm afraid if I switch to the long acting version it won't work at all and i'll have to deal with it for a month until the next appointment (it's a psychiatrist btw). I'd like to try long acting dexedrine because I hear it has the least amount of side effects and the most amount of success but i'm afraid i'll develop dependence. I also don't want to tell him something that will make him think i've been misdiagnosed because I think I could benefit from a stimulant once I find the right one. I don't know what makes a psychiatrist feel it's time to switch medication classes.
 
I cannot stand Ritalin, it gave me the WORST panic attacks in my life, and I had very similar symtoms as you. D-methyl can be a bit better but it can make you feel like a zombie. It seems like an amphetamine suits you, far less heart related symptoms, except for the comedown. And helps much more with motivation IME.
 
I took Concerta and it was terrible! It gave me a shit load of anxiety and depression. i went into a zombie mode but broke out, started to smoke cannabis and life couldnt be any better!
 
I wouldn't really suggest weed as a treatment for ADHD, however...
 
Supposedly amphetamines (Adderall/Dexedrine/Vyvanse) are more well-tolerated than Ritalin. Where I live we unfortunately don't have Vyvanse (yet), and regular amphetamine is only very rarely prescribed... however, I've found that combining Ritalin with Pregabalin (Lyrica; also available as a generic in Europe) tends to result in significantly reduced levels of anxiety without diminishing the stimulation too much.
 
Ozle said:
noradrenaline releasing agents (Ephedrine, Strattera)
Click to expand...

Strattera is a noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, not a releasing agent.
And I've never heard of Ephedrine being prescribed for ADHD, seeing as how it is a much "dirtier" stim than amphetamine. Are you sure you didn't mean Phentermine?
 
Ozle said:
I wouldn't really suggest weed as a treatment for ADHD, however...
Click to expand...

Yes i would agree, just in my case, in general i cannot eat a lot and never had an appitite, i have insomnia, and some more problems. Cannabis just helped me in my case, but in general no it shouldnt be replaced as an adhd medication. In a way being high for me helps me concentrate if i smoke a bowl and had to study, it would help me. Improved my interest in school. But thats just me. Could possibly also be placebo but who knows lol what works for you works then stay with it imo.
 
Hodor said:
... however, I've found that combining Ritalin with Pregabalin (Lyrica
.
Click to expand...
You sir are right on point. Lyrica compliments Ritalin very well, Ritalin and lyrica is a much better combination then lyrica and amphetamines IME. If you can get lyrica I highly suggest trying it will your daily dose of Ritalin, it has some minor withdrawals but nothing to extreme very mild
 
Vyvanse, is prescribed frequent in the USA, and it's really great. The comedown is smooth and it can last an easy 10-12 hours. I moved up to Dextroamphetamine ER AKA Dexedrine. If you are mature and don't abuse medicine and your doctor is cool, you might get it, but honestly Vyvanse is great. It is a prodrug for dextroamphetamine.
 
Hey speed king,,, which do you prefer vyvanse or dexedrine? which is stronger? What would 40mg vyvanse equal to in dexedrine?? Do you find one to be superior for long term use?? Does tolerance develop more from one and not as much from the other? What are the pros and cons of each??

*if you reply* Thanks man
 
feebleit said:
Hey speed king,,, which do you prefer vyvanse or dexedrine? which is stronger? What would 40mg vyvanse equal to in dexedrine?? Do you find one to be superior for long term use?? Does tolerance develop more from one and not as much from the other? What are the pros and cons of each??

*if you reply* Thanks man
Click to expand...

Vyvanse is basically a less abuseable prodrug form of Dexedrine.
Dexedrine is pure D-amphetamine, Vyvanse is D-amphetamine bound to (non-psychoactive) lysine. Dexedrine comes on very quickly (or even quicker than that if you snort or inject it), while Vyvanse is initially non-psychoactive and has to be processed by your red blood cells to release the amphetamine (so even if you snort or inject it, it won't kick in much faster, and no, you can't crush it to defeat the time-release mechanism). The advantages of that are that docs are more willing to prescribe it, and (from what I understand) that the concentration curve is smoother. The downside is that it is most likely going to be more expensive than Dexedrine.

Potency-wise Vyvanse should be about half the strength of Dextroamphetamine.
 
I hate ritalin too, I was on focalin for a little bit but which I kinda liked but it would make me feel like a zombie, wasn't using right of course would feel good then just like shit, kinda like a zombie. I switched to Adderall and it worked waaaay better for it's intented purposes and recreational purposes. Also tryed VVyynase and like it better than adderall, don't know why they say it's less abusable, I guese they just mean you cant snort it or shoot it, but it was way smoother than either addie and espciallly focalin/ritalin.
 
@screaming_skull

yup exact same story... kinda liked focalin but it made me crash just as hard as it made me feel good... vyvanse is awesome,, im afraid i'll grow tolerant of it
 
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