my new doctor decided ritalin would be better for me than adderall.i really do have ADD and i was hoping it would be at least almost as helpful as adderall was. and it's not, it's crap. it makes me tired. it takes a long time to start working, the good part is so short i can feel it getting ready to end, and then the comedown is (in my opinion) worse than adderall. maybe not actually worse, but with adderall the high was well worth the comedown. on adderall, i could lose track of time, completely absorbed in something. on ritalin, i'm completely absorbed in trying to get as much done as possible before the stupid stuff wears off. i don't know why anyone would think this would be a good choice for me. they are also telling me that i'm manic depressive, and i agree, and ritalin seems like the worst possible thing they could give me! it's like purposely inducing rapid cycling, except during the manic part i'm tired and during the depressed part i can't sleep! this is crap. i know i'm gonna keep using it because as lame as it is it's better than sobriety. but it is CRAP. i almost want to throw it all away because i know how much misery is going to come of it without enough happiness to make it make any sense. but then i know i won't, because without it the situation stays the same, except i have no control over the ups and downs. i'm coming down right now, and yeah, i can still concentrate better than usual, but i feel like hell and i don't care about much at all and i want to puke. i have no energy, but i can't sleep. i'm too hot and too cold at the same time. ritalin is not my friend. ritalin is the bastard boss i have to deal with if i want to get payed.and i think i'm about to take more. because i know what will happen if i don't.THIS SUCKS.
I've honestly noticed hardly any difference between ritalin/adderall/dexedrine... but I assume these aren't going up your nose, which is pretty much the only way I used to take ritalin. tell your doctor? if adderall was working for you, why bother switching it up?
That is weird that they would move you down to Ritalin. Do they have you taking the extended release or 3 pills a day. That makes a big difference.
Are you really bi-polar (or manic depressive), or do you just have mood swings? i mean, have you been diagnosed by a psychologist/psychaitrist or did you self diagnose? because, if you really are bipolar, then that may be causing the symptoms that they attribute to ADD/ADHD. I'd suggest trying a drug for bipolar disorder (lithium or such), and see if that helps the symptoms of add/adhd. (it does seem that adding amphetamines and other uppers to someone who is already pretty imbalanced would cause far more problems than it would solve).
i'm on two 5mg a day. they go down my throat when i'm being good and up my nose when i'm freaking out and don't care. i think they switched it because of a slight risk of heart problems with adderall or some silly thing like that. but it's perfectly fine if i want to take lithium and have all my hair fall out?? it's stupid because we all know how much it was helping me. i am not diagnosed bipolar yet, where i live it's very hard to get to a real psychologist or psychiatrist. i didn't self diagnose initially, but it kind of became apparent to me through talking to a counselor. i originally went for chronic stomach aches and headaches, and to switch my prescription for adderall from my old doctor to the new doctors, but they saw cuts on my wrists when taking my blood pressure and starting the whole depression routine. i'm not quite classically depressed, but i'm definitely not mentally stable either. i am not *officially* manic depressive, yet. i went in to counseling not really knowing why i was there, and the counselor basically just watched my behavior, and asked me a whole bunch of questions without my knowing why she was asking, and i ended up fitting all but one criteria perfectly (the risky behavior, which when i think about it i actually do more than i let myself believe, but i'm embarassed so i just said no). and she didn't tell me "you are manic depressive" directly (i don't think she's allowed to??), but told me i should be on mood stabilizers as opposed to antidepressants. i've been trying to track my ups and downs, and whenever we talk she treats me as if i am bipolar. i've researched it a lot on my own and i am completely certain i am. i'm either a complete manic depressive or a complete asshole/freak/masochistic hypochondriac. it's far beyond normal mood swings. this is like, climbing all over every piece of furniture in my living room, speaking almost completely in a stream of obscure references no one understands, and laughing so hard i fall over one minute, and then going in my room and hyperventilating and cutting myself over and over and banging my head against walls. i will tell you how much i love you and hug you to pieces and make all sorts of promises, and five minutes later i'll slap you in the face, throw a glass of water on you, and call you a fucking shithead. i'm going to see some real psychs after the holidays, but they're trying to help me in any way possible in the meantime because i guess it's pretty bad. god, sorry this is so freakin' long. um. i decided i don't want to be on lithium or any other mood stabilizer, because art is the most important thing in my life and i've read that they can take away the creative spark. i don't know what i would do if that went away, i'd have nothing. there aren't really many options. bleh. maybe i should give ritalin a better chance? should i ask for a higher dose and maybe switch to xr? it just gives me that uneasy hovering-between-extremes feeling where i am constantly on guard against falling, and then i do fall. hovering for a while is nicer than falling and falling but it's still exhausting. thank you so much, i write too damn much.
Well for one thing you are going through with drawl. That is a really low dose especially coming off of adderall. I am going to guess that your Dr. is a general physician and not a mental health specialist. You should ask to switch to xr first with out upping the does. It could be that you don't need anything more but something more stable and xr will do that for you.
oh, i'm not just coming off of adderall, it's been a while since i've been on it. haha. i've been without it long enough to be very upset to find that after all this waiting ritalin is what it is. and you would be right, my doctor is just a general physician. it's not that ritalin is a horrible experience or anything, but it's just another thing i have to play with... if you know what i mean. it's another little game i have to play, another dance to do, and man, i am playing so many games and doing so many dances already! i think it's very funny that they gave the drug which is most like cocaine to a person with the disorder which has the highest likelihood of becoming addicted to cocaine. hahaha.
The difference between Ritalin and Dexedrine is night and day for me. If you have had Dexedrine you would never want adderall or Ritalin again. This is jut my opinion and what I have heard from many others. Try to get on some dexedrine, just talk to your doc about it. Ritalin was like a pill induced panic attack and my HR was like 110+ the entire time i was on it. Oh yea i have been on dex for around a year, I can stop with no or minimal WD symtoms.
