Stimulants Coming off Methylphenidate – do I need to taper?

[luceluna]

Hi all, I've been using 100mg Ritalin every 48 hours for the past week to help me get through a difficult/busy time.

My understanding is that methylphenidate has a short half life, so it should all be out of my system by the time I re-dose.

But my question is: if I stop cold turkey now, am I going to be hit with horrible withdrawals in a few days' time?

And, more generally, is methylphenidate known to cause severe withdrawal?

Thanks.

 

[negrogesic]

No, not necessary. You won't suffer much withdrawal. You'll be more tired than usual. Maybe a touch of depression. That's about it. Tapering off anything is usually good practice as it lessens the rebound. The rebound off of reuptake inhibitors like methylphenidate and even cocaine isn't as bad as rebound from monoamine releasers like amphetamines etc.

I've come off a heavy long term methylphenidate abuse without anything beyond that.

 

[luceluna]

Thank you

 

[another_random_one]

But my question is: if I stop cold turkey now, am I going to be hit with horrible withdrawals in a few days' time?

Well, at least with me, when I stop cold turkey, doing 60mg a day, what is the max I was prescribed, I few more suicidal and experiences troubles to concentrate and think straight (quitting a adhd med trully improves adhd symptons for a while) and I feel more sleepy, and got some headaches, but I think the withdrawn symptons of clonazepam were worse.

 

[falsifiedhypothesi]

Stimulants like methylphenidate and amphetamine don't really have withdrawal symptoms, more like extended comedown symptoms, but they are very manageable. You will feel fatigued and may have varying levels of temporary depression, along with a slight dulling effect on cognitive abilities and oversleeping.

All of these symptoms are temporary and tapering only extends the length of the comedown symptoms when you eventually stop taking it. It's best to just grit your teeth and push through it. If you only took it for a week then you should feel back to baseline in a few days to a week depending on how well you took care of yourself, eating, sleeping, water, etc.

 

[luceluna]

^ Thanks. It's been five days now since I stopped cold turkey and I'm feeling back to baseline. Not too bad, all things considered.