Ritalin-Induced Anxiety?

[Cloaking Toaster]

Ok so my friend gave me some 84mg Concerta XR and I ate two on various days with the expected results. The third time, however, I sucked off the outer coating and cut off the xr part and parachuted the methylphenidate powder. Definitely a difference.

Anyways, ever since that time I have been having anxiety off and on (I parachuted it about a week and a half ago) most often when I drink coffee but sometimes for no reason at all apparently. The anxiety is basically my heart starts beating quickly and I feel like my adreneline is rushing and it doesn't go away for at least an hour.

Besides being more able to convince a doc to give me benzos I can't really see any positives in my situation and was just wondering if anyone has had anything similiar happen to them or if there is anything I can do about it cuz its not a good time.

(i tried using the se no luck)

 

[enoughorangejuice?]

concerta is a horrible version of methylphenidate... try ritalin or focalin and you wont have any anxiety, in fact for me at least, it helps reduce my social anxiety. (ritalin doses of 5-15mg, and focalin doses of 2.5-10mg)

don't try to get benzos, they are the worst plague ever, they'll help your anxiety if taken once in a while, but taken daily will lead to more anxiety, depression, mood swings, addiction etc.

don't drink coffee (or as much) if it causes anxiety. i never drink anything caffienated b/c i get jittery, same with amphetamine... however regular ritalin and focalin both calm and relax me.

 

[Stp04]

Have you ever experienced any anxiety or had a panic attack before? Sometimes stimulants bring out anxiety in people that can last for some time. More often than not this anxiety will become worse whenever you take another stimulant including caffiene. I would stay away from all uppers and potentially weed (some people find it helps anxiety, others find it makes it worse).
All that being said i have had a similar experience from using cocaine and meth too frequently and the anxiety that i experienced after i quit using them got better with time and taking break from them.

 

[enoughorangejuice?]

^ depends on the person of course, and mainly on the type of weed. an indica dominant strain is gonna relax/sedate most people... however a hybrid or a strain leaning towards being sativa dominant, will make some people anxious, etc.

but stp04 asked a good ?... have you ever had anxiety before? and was this 84mg dose the first time you've used concerta/methylphenidate?

 

[Cloaking Toaster]

For the most part i'd like to say im not really prone to anxiety unless im coming up on lsd or shrooms and have had only one panic attack involving weed and a gravity bong. I've used adderall xr before about 4 or 5 times and had no anxiety (i loved every second of it). Also I smoke weed daily and never problems with anxiety there it just seems to happen for no reason and its not extremely bad just very irritating.

 

[31337]

I am prescribed 60mg of ritalin a day. Usually, I'll end up taking maybe 80-100mg in a day if I'm really needing to get a lot of shit done.

Anything less is just like blah, nothin happens. I have been taking ritalin since my teens and I'm 28 now. I do have high blood pressure and sometimes my heart does beat hard. My body temp is usually pretty warm, I rarely get cold.

I figure taking e after maybe a pill or two of ritalin aint bad, cause it's pretty much the same shit.

I've also found ritalin will prolong my roll a bit as well.

 

[zombiesarepeaceful]

The first few days I was taking Concerta, my face would get insanely red, I'd get hot flashes, and neck/head pressure, as well as chest tightness. I've had bad anxiety issues and panic attacks in the past, but those disappear when I'm on concerta. It comes back when it wears off, but it hasn't increased my anxiety at all.

Now I can take one without those effects, but it takes two to produce theraputic effects. (I've only been on it for less than a week, my tolerance rose that fast, taking only 36mg/day). I guess my body had to take time to adjust to it. I have slightly high blood pressure...but I cut back my caffeine intake to only at night after Concerta's effects have worn off and its been several hours since the last dose. I use to drink coffee all day everyday, which might have accounted for my high blood pressure. I also cut back my sodium intake, which is another culprit of high blood pressure.

 

[sonic]

It sounds as if you might want to consider avoiding strong stimulants all together if you're suffering anxiety episodes even when you take caffeine. I also suffer from anxiety and I usually try to avoid stimulants, unless I am mixing them with other drugs. I don't advise mixing uppers and downers, I'm just being honest.
Also, you said you're a daily weed smoker. I believe that weed played the biggest role in giving me anxiety overall. I think you might be starting to develop anxiety issues and certain drugs such as ritalin, caffeine, etc. are bringing out your symptoms. If it starts to become a serious problem for you, try to stop smoking weed for a little while and see if the anxiety subsides. It won't at first, it'll probably get worse, but if you can go without smoking for a week or so then you'll be able to tell.

 

[Cloaking Toaster]

Sweet thanks for all the feedback guys. I might have to see what happens if I stop toking for a bit its just wierd because I rarely had anxiety before the concerta even with 2 cups of coffee a day (I have an office job).

And honestly I love weed and drinking coffee often so it sucks my body suddenly decided to be anxious.

 

[SynAmnesia]

That sounds like tachnicardia.

I have ADD and I used to take a combination of Concerta/other long acting ritalin, and ritalin IR. (I have just switched to focalin/focalin XR and I like it better). I found that when I used to mix caffeine and ritalin, and it used to make my heart rate beat really fast and made my chest hurt. It also made me really dazed. However, without caffeine, I was in general ok--the ritalin worked like it should. I think focalin is better than ritalin though, due to the fact that the L isomer seems to cause the non-CNS effects, while the d-isomer is the isomer that acts on the CNS and aids in ADD.

Yes, benzos helped counteract those effects, a bit, but they aren't recommended. You should cut out the caffeine. Mixing stims isn't usually good for you, even if it is a weak one like caffeine.

 

[absent minded]

yeah my anxiety is really sensitive i cant take any stimulants caffeine ect or smoke any weed that is the worst for my anxiety. i allow myself to smoke cigs and thats the only stimulant i can stand. i really shouldnt be smoking those either but hey nobodys perfect. i used to be like you too i smoked weed every day and loved drinking coffee but i had to stop because it started giving me panic attacks every time i took a hit

 

[_psychoBone_]

Cloaking Toaster - I was diagnosed with ADHD (combined type) very recently - I hope to get my possible prescription tomorrow !!

I to have being suffering from all types of anxiety issues and depression in the past !!

I "used" to be a tweeker by nature and was a heavy hash smoker !!

I cannot offer much in terms of my experience with these prescription stimulants - But a slow tapering of both the weed and whatever other drugs you plan to come off is all I can say !! - I came off - my years of abuse too quickly (cold turkey) - and had a couple of delusional psychotic experiences !! - So slow may well be the way to go !!

I now take for my anxiety carisoprodol 6*350mg /daily and 8*30mg dihydrocodeine /daily - I add a couple of temazepam at day and a couple for the night - And it is the best mix I have tried !! - Just a thought - not dick-sizing !!

Looking forward to my ADHD treatment - even though I have been reading a few / lot of very unlucky / bad experiences !!

wish you tranquility !!