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Just started Ritalin- question(s)

S

Scarletta

Bluelighter
Joined
Nov 17, 2008
Messages
116
Hi, I've posted here a lot- I've been on Adderall IR 60 mg/day for a few years for adult ADD and chronic fatigue syndrome.

Today my dr. switched me to 75 mg Ritalin IR because I told him I felt a tolerance developing to Adderall and he thought that by cycling between Adderall and Ritalin monthly, my tolerance would come down.

Well, I've taken less than half of the 75 mg of Ritalin today, and let me tell you, I feel sick to my stomach! Really nauseated, like I could throw up at any time. I haven't eaten much today.

Is this a normal side effect and will it go away?

This feels nothing at all like the Adderall. I feel a little focused, but not much. Mostly just feel sick and also somewhat sleepy.

I know these are two different drugs but I was expecting something a little like Adderall....

or maybe since I've only taken less than half the dose today, I need to take the full dose to get past the sick feeling/lack of good effects?

I certainly don't want to go back to my doctor and tell him this isn't working after only one day, but wonder if anyone else has had this effect and it eventually resolved itself and started working properly.

Thanks!
 
i cant remember but either my half brother or freind would get sick like that from ritalin and they switched meds. maybe ask your doc.
 
yeah, ritalin causes stomach discomfort and loss of apetite. try drinking V8 or fruit puree. if you dont like the medicine after a while, tell your doctor. the patient has a right to adequite say in their medical care, an I believe that right should be excercised.
 
So I should just give it a few days to see if the nausea goes away and if not, tell my doctor. Thanks guys..!
 
I used to randomly gag when smoking or eating after taking Ritalin but never really felt sick throughout the day. It gave me bad headaches at night though. Ritalin and Adderal are a lot different imo. Adderal helped me a lot more, then switched to Vysban (sp)
 
So far I've been feeling that sick to my stomach feeling, and kind of speediness, almost like having had a ton of caffeine pills or something. I guess I'll call the doctor and see if he thinks I should wait it out.
 
you need to lower your dose.

i have ADD, am 6'4 220lbs and take only 10mg of Ritalin twice daily.

your doc wasn't doing his/her due diligence. :\
 
Well I'm switching over from several years of Adderall IR 60 mgs a day. 10 mg of Ritalin twice a day would be like coffee for me. Everyone's different!
 
And where do these dose increases stop? Your doses keep going up and up... eventually your doc wont keep writing you RXs then youre fucked, I've been on 20mg dexedrine for 10 years and it still works fine. This tolerance you speak of is due to you using your meds too often andtrying to potentiate all the time. If you stuck to what the doc had RXd you wouldnt be having these problems. You dont get that high off ADD meds forever. Learn to deal with it
 
Jeez, take it up with my doctor. He's the one who had me at 60 mg Adderall IR for a few years, and now the 75 mg Ritalin.

I also said that I am prescribed this not only for adult inattentive ADD but also for chronic fatigue syndrome. Look it up, part of the reason stimulants are prescribed for chronic fatigue is to help with energy and motivation problems.

I'm not on this to get high- however, I do want to feel good and a mood lift. Which it has been for me. Just like with antidepressants. How can you tell if they're working? If you FEEL better! Does that mean you're getting high if you get a mood lift from Prozac, for example?

Additionally, a symptom of ADD is low motivation, which can come about because of low mood.

I'm tired of all these arm chair doctors here who like to be school marms about this stuff- PRESCRIBED doses for DIAGNOSED conditions, when all over this forum there are people talking about purifying cocaine, shooting up pills, using heroin, tripping on Tramadol, etc.
 
Ritalin does have a heavy body load. It's a racemic (half-and-half) mixture of dextro-methlyphenidate and levo-methylphenidate. The levo-methylphenidate acts more on the physical (anorectic effects, increased blood pressure, that "kick in the ass") while dextro- works more on the mental (focus, confidence, etc.).

You have a very similar pattern with dextro- and levo-amphetamine in Adderall, only it's not racemic, but about 3/4 dextro- and 1/4 levo-. So this is may be why Ritalin has been causing a lot more of these physical side effects. I agree that you should switch if your body does not adjust within a week or so.

However, Focalin is available. It's entirely dextro-methylphenidate and I've seen many people report that it has the least body-load and easiest comedown of these type stimulants. If you still think cycling may be a good idea, you could try this. Just know that because it's new, it's not going to be cheap.

too long; didn't read?: I'd just stick with the Adderall. 60mg is the highest dose that the company will back, but plenty of doctors exceed that for people that have been taking it for years. In my experience, taking a break on the weekends is more effective than rotating meds.
 
I would lower the dose OR call your doctor back -- maybe both. I would NOT keep taking the meds if you feel sick. It may be your body's way of telling you to go slow with the Ritalin.
 
Lower the dose, you took too much.

Ritalin made me very sick when I took just a little too much.
 
Thanks- that's one thing I was wondering. That even though Ritalin is supposedly half as potent as Adderall, they don't act in the same way and the effects don't seem to feel the same, so perhaps Ritalin is effective at a lower dose for me as opposed to Adderall at a higher dose.

But I'm probably calling my doctor today or Monday. I think the best bet for me is to stick with what I'm familiar with and perhaps trying the drug holidays.

I appreciate it.
 
Just one more thing-

Holy cow! From researching on here and elsewhere, I've found that Ritalin has a half-life of only 2-4 hours, with oral bioavailability of only 11-52% Whereas, d-amphetamine (Dexedrine and most of Adderall) has a half-life of 10-28 hours with oral bioavailability of 75%!

That is a huge difference! Even though I said I know the medications are different and work differently, it is obvious to me that something with only a 2-4 hour half-life and such low biovailability is going to be way weaker than Adderall/Dex.

That's like cocaine- which has like a 1-2 hour half life. You'd have to keep redosing Ritalin constantly to keep up a steady state of decent therapeutic benefit for a long day at work/school.

Plus what if you are only getting 11% of the medicine to begin with?

No wonder I am having problems. Probably only getting the bad side effects and the therapeutical benefit is not being absorbed or something. Or wearing off so fast before I can even notice.

Very odd.
 
Bad switch. Ritalin is complete crap compared to adderall. It is far weaker, and has a horrible crash. Also, 75mg is a HUGE dose. Forget that crap. Get your doc to switch you back.
 
Ritalin isn't working....

My dr just prescribed me ritalin because I seem to be a night owl and want to sleep during the day. However, when I swallow it, it seriously does nothing to me. But when I snort it, I feel awake. I only snort 5mg in increments.... kind of like coke.....I am 5'4" and about 110 lbs. What is my limit????? I am also on oxy 5 mg for fibromyalgia and 1mg of klonopin for panic attacks..... Just wondering how these drugs mix together. Also, I still need something to keep my awake during the day without snorting since I have 2 kids and would never want them to walk in on something like that. But I don't have insurance and adderall is SUPER expensive. what should I do here????
 
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