How to use Ritalin for studying?

[Min2DaysRecovery]

I have a couple of exams coming up in the next month, and I've heard about Ritalin being used for studying, so I was just wondering:
-What dosage do I take? (never taken it before)
-How frequent can I take it?

-Apart from the side effects reported on WebMD are there any other warnings?

Any tips would be of great help.

Cheers

 

[DynoSpec]

Well first, do you have any experience with stimulants? What's your body weight? Do you take any medications or have pre existing cardiovascular problems?

20-30 mg of methylphenidate taken orally should be sufficient, maybe less if you are tiny. An oral dose should last 4-6 hours if you have IR tablets. Personally I've never found it helped me with studying unless I needed to stay awake. And even then coffee and ephedrine are pretty close.
Make sure to eat, sleep, stay hydrated, shower, brush your teeth and have some good stretches throughout intense study marathons

 

[Min2DaysRecovery]

I take MDMA quite frequently when I go out, about once a month and take amphetamines from time to time, every other two months. I am 5'7 and about 58 kilos. I do not take any medications or have any cardiovasular problems.

 

[TheSacredTree]

I feel like 10 to 20 milligrams (i take IR) is ussually perfect for me to get some studying (or the test itself) done. With your previous stimulant use (no idea about a cross tolerance to MDMA), maybe 30 or 40. Mix it with some caffeine and your focus will increase even more (but so will the paranoia and psychosis symptoms possibly bringing it back down). Hope that helps.

 

[Min2DaysRecovery]

That's great info. Thanks for the help

 

[TheSacredTree]

No problem

 

[MrRoot]

Generally stimulants won't help if you are trying to study something that you might need after few weeks for exams etc.

This is because they mess up with the brains recovery phase which is done while sleeping and since you skip that phase with your stimulant use you won't recall what you tried to study.

They work as a back up solution of course when you have that exam tomorrow and notice on the evening that you still have plenty of hours of reading to get through all the material.

Also if you are often distracted during exams while trying to get those formulas right it will help to just use them on the exam.

Well although I am a member of Mensa I still struggled on a situation where I was with other people and must sit still doing my exams and had a strict deadline to finish that exam.

For those situations during my high school equivalent I found it very useful to consume 10mg of methylphenidate 15 mins before the exam and another 10mg just before entering class room.

Well atleast for me it only helped with mathematics, physics and chemistry since other subjects need other kind of talents.

As I am currently taking my studies at university I don't mind using stimulants anymore since the pace and methods of learning are much more individual and not exams based.

I am that type whose intellectual capabilities rise from laziness as I often spend whole day doing nothing (although mostly I am pondering about some dilemmas during that time too) and then I just got a realization and then start working until I finish that task at hand.

For most it seems like I spend only few active hours to acquire what others need atleast ten times more but actually I have been passively thinking the issue all the time.

 

[TheSacredTree]

I ussually take 10mg IR about 25 minutes before studying and then drink a can of either Rockstar energy drink or my favorite, Venom energy drink (has the highest kevel of caffeine) throughout the day/night while working.

When i use it for a class or test, i ussually take 10mg IR 45 minutes before the start of class and 10 minutes after the class starts, i take another 10mg sublingually to make it really kick in and last. Sublingual Ritalin tastes disgusting but works so well and hits as soon as it's gone.

 

[St3ve]

I'd start off with a 5-10mg dose and see how that goes for you. It kicks in quite quickly so you'll be able to gauge if it's improving your focus or not. Higher doses tend to be more detrimental than useful. I never take more than 20mg in a day for studying... Doesn't particularly help with retention either, you feel like you are getting a lot of stuff done on ritalin but most of it will be forgotten the next day. It's much better for writing essays or getting other work done than studying.