Differences between brand name and generic Ritalin?

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Are there any differences between Ritalin and the generic version? My Dr. had me take 1/2 of a 5 mg pill once a day, and I was okay for about 5 hours, then I had a sudden onset of extreem anger and rage, that lasted the rest of the day. I quit it after 3 days, and I no longer feel the rage, but feel sooo tired, and have difficulty with being constantly tired, and unmotivated. I looked up info online, and it said that the generic form is NOT anything like the brand name Ritalin and has horrilble side effects. Anyone else have any experience with both? My dr. said she would order me the brand name stuff, but I am now very leary about taking it.

I didn't know there was a generic ritalin.

Methylphenidate.

Big difference: Price. The generic goes for about half the price of the brand-name.

Smaller difference: You may not be able to get the generic in as many different formulations--for example, extended release, or liquid for people who gag on pills.

I have heard accounts of people who did better on a generic medication than brand-name, or vice versa. They are often manufactured in different places and may have some slight differences in formulation. Unfortunately I have not been able to locate any research that shows whether different versions of the same medication have any significant difference in effect; everything I've heard is anecdotal, and I don't place much faith in a sample size of one.

There is certainly no harm in trying the generic version of a medication if you are taking the brand-name sort. It can be a lot more affordable. Another price-saving measure is to ask for half the number and double the dose of pills, and cut them in half. Can only be done with non-coated tablets.

Did you tell your doctor of your 'extreem anger and rage?' Genrics that are approved by the FDA must be the same equivilancy as the name brand drug. If the generic of Ritalin causes that sort of reaction, I am sure your health care provider needs to know.

Merle

The carrier substances can be different.

Some are with lactose, for example, which you wouldn't give someone with lactose intolerance. Some others are with maize starch.

When my daughter was quite young, we were persuaded to try her on Ritalin. I don't remember whether it was brand name or generic. As the medication wore off, she had horrible tantrums - screaming, kicking, biting. This happened every day - at exactly the same time. There was no question in my mind that it was a reaction to the drug, but people kept trying to tell me that it was just how my child behaved if she wasn't medicated. It wasn't. She wasn't able to explain how the medication made her feel. We took her off the medication and never put her back on it. The outbursts stopped, and she went back to being her usual, hyperactive-seeming self (the ADHD diagnosis turned out to be a misdiagnosis). That was far more manageable (to my way of thinking) than having her drugged up for school (which school liked) and out of control in the evening.

Anyway, FrogGirl, that's a long way of saying that what you're experiencing might have nothing to do with the brand name vs. generic - it may have everything to do with the medication itself. The tiredness might just be your body adjusting to no longer being on the Ritalin, and to the real physical drain from all those rages. You'll probably feel better in a little while.

That sounds as if it had been the rebound.

That can happen in milder forms (feeling a bit agitated, stressed by the change) in many people when their med wears off suddenly, as immediate, non-extended release methyplphenidate does.

But if the rebounds severe then one of the most likely reasons for a rebound to occur is that the med wears off too abrupt for said person (they experiences an on-and-off feeling, the change is too fast and thus disturbing).

Some parents, children and adults found that giving a very low dosage just before the med starts to wear off helps to stop a rebound from happening.

Of course it was rebound! But twenty years ago, no one believed in rebound! And she was very little - her dose was so small, that you couldn't give "a small dose" to smooth things over. The reality was, she didn't belong on the medication at all. When she was on it, she was like a zombie; when she came off of it, she had a horrible rebound reaction. Trying it was probably a good thing, if only to stop the professionals in her life from pushing it. Then we were done, and they just had to learn to work with her.

I think it was important you added that, to help others understand your experiences because there's so many people here who know little about AD(H)D and methylphenidate.

Yes. I e-mailed her about it. It was such a horrible feeling. I was yelling and screaming at my kids and husband. It was just a constant feeling of rage after the med wore off. I even slapped my husband on the arm(kinda hard) for yelling at me .(the noise was too much and I just wanted him to stop) I now have a nice bruise on my arm and leg too. (he does'nt take too well to being hit). I really didn't mean to hit him but I just couldn't take the noise and it was a fight or flight reaction.

i had a dr that kept trying to put me on a Bipolar drug, which I did try when I was about 8, and promptly taken off of it becasue of the bad reaction that I had to it(extreemly paranoid, depressed, suicidal, extreem anxiety, etc. ) and was hospitalized in a psych hospital ward.. Then this dumb dr. kept trying to put me back on it again when I was 14. I told him where to put it. Then he kept trying to push other bipolar meds later on, and I got so tired of it. Never tried anything he offered after that. I now have a new dr. I would rather deal with the adhd, than take these horrible meds for them. I only took the generic ritalin because my husband was tired of my "adhd behavior" and wanted it "fixed". I guess he now he knows how horrilbe some of these meds can make a person. I was actually getting afraid of my agressive /rage behavior while I was on it for the 3 days. I told my husband that I was afraid that i was going to hurt someone. I felt soooo much better after I quit taking it. It didn't take long to get back to my old self becasue I only took an extreem small dose 2.5 mg. ,once in the morning , of the short acting stuff for 3 days. This stuff can be horrible.