Ritalin?

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Hey guys, I have a question about Ritalin.

I've been dxd recently. I've heard that I could be prescribed Ritalin.

I am a student so I imagine it could be interesting.

What are your experiences with it? Any significant side effects? Is it hard to get prescribed? Did you use it for studying? How did it affect your natural ability to hyper-focus?

I would be really grateful for your input.

My nephew takes it. He has adhd. My sister in law says it really helps him. I saw him take too much once, and he was a goober. That is all I know about it.

Depends on what you were diagnosed with. There is no cure or treatment of any kind for autism, so taking Ritalin for that would be pointless. It's primarily prescribed for ADHD.

SSRI (Selective Serotonin Uptake Inhibitor) medications have a history of connections with violent behavior in teens and 20 somethings. It's one of the side effects Big Pharma doesn't want you to know about, so they use terms like "irritability" and "confusion" instead. They're actually not recommended to be prescribed to anyone under the age of 25, even though doctors and psychiatrists hand them out like candy to kids anyway. Just do some research.


>>Link: Psychology Today - Caution about SSRIs<<


>>Medical Whistleblower<<

Truthfully, if at all possible, I'd stay away from meds all together

When I was 13, I was prescribed Ritalin. It made me more hyper. It was discontinued after 2 weeks. I haven't been prescribed those sorts of meds since then.

Black box warings for methylphenidate:
-Chronic abuse: tolerance and psychological dependence
-Parenteral abuse: psychotic episodes can occur
-Withdrawal from abuse: depression

Contraindications:
-Tourette or motor tics
-Anxiety, tension or agitation
-Use os MAOIs within two weeks

Cautions:
-Use in people with bipolar disorder, seizures or structural cardiac abnormalities.
-Reported blurred vision
-Use ofr ADHD: perypheral vasculopathy

Mechanism of action:
-Unknonw
-Possibly a blocker of reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine

My oldest took Ritalin back when thats all there was for ADHD really. It was harsh, he couldn't sleep or eat, but it did help him concentrate. When my younger son was dx'd we tried Adderall but he felt it and couldn't deal with the speed buzz. We tried Straterra but it made him extremely negative. We found Vyvanse and it worked wonders. Works for 15 hours, kicks in about 1-3 hours after you take it and the comedown is smooth. I'd give it to him at 5am and let him go back to sleep. By 630 when I got him up it was working. He was able to concentrate, read, do what he had to do, but he wasn't way INTO everything, and he could eat, he could nap, he had no problems. It is a stimulant but he felt to speedy buzz from it. I would really suggest that. Ritalin feels harsh too. Vyvanse is just smooth and after the first few days you don't even know it's there except for the fact that it's working.

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I appreciate your critique on Vyvanse. Curious about irritability and if you can use it with SSRIs. My DH is on Welbutrin for depression.

Ritalin is really harsh, and irritability is a huge issue for him.

TIA

Just incase people didn't know, Ritalin is very similar in it's effects to speed, otherwise known as "amphetamine."

It's a different chemical, but the effects are the same. I was on ritalin for a period of time, it works for concentration and even improves my mood, but it makes me anxious and jumpy as hell, not to mention giving me the worst insomnia I ever had.

Not everyone with Asperger's has to take Ritalin. You should talk to the doctor that did your dx.

Ritalin is not a treatment but it helps relieve some symptoms like impulsiveness and distraction: Something not every Asperger has.

You should not take Ritalin unless prescribed, because as most medication, its a toxic for the liver, and if you take other medications or alcohol with it, it increases the chances of liver toxicity. Your doctor should decide if taking Ritalin's positive aspects outweight the negative ones.

Also, for the people that take Ritalin without needing it, there is something called paradoxical effect (at least thats the translation i can make from spanish, my main language). What Ritalin does is basically improve the usage of Dopamine by your body. People who take Ritalin usually have low amounts of Dopamine. However, Dopamine is a stimulant neurotransmitter, so if you take it when you don't need it, instead of making you more focused, you get get the opposite effect: You become less concentrated, hyperactive and excited, and it also accelerates your heart rate.

Be cautious with Ritalin. I've been on and off it for a few years and it's been helpful to me, but I have ADD and it helps me with those symptoms. If you just have Aspergers I wouldn't recommend taking it - the side effects are not trivial. SSRIs can be dangerous too, i wouldn't recommend going near them unless you have depression.

If you just have Aspergers alone, I would recommend avoiding drugs because there aren't really any drugs on the market designed to treat aspergers and you don't want to take any drugs if you don't have to.