Ritalin tolerance...? Adderall? | ADHD Information

I've never been on medication. I was diagnosed as a child and my parents said no to meds. I had a VERY patient mother.  But now I'm a mother of four, and it's getting harder and harder to be a good mom to them. The other day, I forgot to rinse my son's carseat out after I bleached it and he got a bleach burn on his back, so I decided enough was enough and made an appointment to see a doctor who sent me to a psychologist to make sure I'm ADHD or ADD (which I know I am but whatever), to get me started on meds. Any reccomendations/warnings I should know about? This will be my first time on meds ever... and I'm a little scared.

HI...

I have been on 20mg Ritalin 2x a day now for about 6 months.  SOme days it works like a charm, and others I don't feel like a took anything.  The days where it doesn't affect me are becoming a LOT more common - I feel like I need a higher dose (which scares me) or I need something stronger. 

Has anyone felt this tolerance to Ritalin?

What's the highest dose of Ritalin?

Has anyone gone from Ritalin to Adderall?  Does one work better?  Do they feel the same way?

I have a check-up with my shrink next week and would appreciate any feedback!! 

Thanks!!!!

Hi, I take Concerta which is the time release version of Ritalin.  I've been taking 36mg for about 4 months and I'm going through the same thing that you describe.  I'm seeing my psych in another week to discuss the situation.  I've heard of people taking 54mg, but when that stopped being effective they are taken off the meds for about 3 weeks to let the tolerance wear off.  I forgot to take my meds one day and it was a less than desirable feeling.  Hopefully they will raise my dose first then try to "dry me out" after.  About Adderall, my sister was taking it for 6 months.  She hated taking it twice a day, and hated the up and down feeling between doses.  I told her about my success with Concerta and her psych prescribed her the same.  Thats all I can tell you, hope it helps. I went for ritalin to adderal.  It took me a couple of years to build a tollerance to ritalin and about 6 months ago I switched to adderal xr.  I took that for about 3 months but it wasn't as effective.  I switched back to ritalin and found that I only needed slightly more than my original dose......

Spacegal (and others with the same problem)

Could it be that your body is just adjusting to the medicine well? Maybe you're not noticing the effects or maybe the side effects are going away. Sometimes it seems like my Lexapro isn't working but I ignore it.

It's better than unmedicated, that's for sure.

Cheekydeeky

Hi Spacegal, I was on ritalin about 9 yrs ago, before I was officially DX'ed. Well my family dr. gave it to me after I had mentioned loosing many jobs and that I thought I have ADD after I had seen a talk show, and it was like going back in time. I KNEW I had it.

I was given ritalin SR once in the morning and only 10mgs. That worked for about 2 hrs in the morning and after 1 mo., I didn't feel any relief. The dr was and still is a quack. ADD/ADHD can't be DX'ed on 1 question! Stopped ritalin. Fastforward 8 yrs. Psych. got my lifes history and put me on adderall 20mg once a day, also klonopin. Since I abused drugs as a teen and early 20's, that dose wasn't high enough. Now taking 20mg 3 a day. I think the max. is 60 mg of either one. I'm maxed out! I'm only 5'3, 107pds.

I was drawn to this thread today b/c I hardly feel any effect today and I know better than to take more than my reg dose. 

If you have a good script plan, you may want to try adderall xr. I was given a card for a free 1 mo. supply. 30mg once a day. for me, the once a day thing dosn't work. I know I should have asked first, but didn't, I started taking one in the morning, than one in mid afternoon. that worked REALLY great! And it equalled out to 60 mgs also. My doc didn't yell at me, like I had expected. He said as long as I could sleep at night, that wasn't a problem with him. But he is checking as to weather my ins. will cover a double dose of a once a day drug. No generic on the xr, and my co-pay is , so I take reg. gen. adderall at .

To cut to the chase, now this is just my opinion, I think adderall & ritalin react the same way. Also ask your doc about food interactions. I was told avoid citrus. I don't know what my problem is today, b/c I only ate toast & eggs. I'm hoping my next dose will work. Sometimes it takes a while to get the right dose or in my case the right combo. of meds. Are you taking any other meds? 

 

JessiFaerie -

It is great that you have taken a step towards dealing with your ADD!

My only rec is to start with meds slowly.  Whatever med you are prescribed, make sure you start with a small dose to see how it affects you and then slowly move up if necessary.  Most of these drugs will kick in pretty quickly, as opposed to anti-depressants, so within a day you will know iif if you don't like it. 

I also found writing down how I felt when I took the meds, how long it lasted, and what I was like when it wore off helped in making any cases I needed to with my doctor.  I also told two close friends so they could monitor any behavior changes. 

Good luck, and don't be afraid to ask questions, and/or to get second opinions!

SpaceGal

Thanks! I already told my friends that I'd be starting meds soon and to tell me if I changed too much or in a bad way. It's great to get advice before I see the doctor. I think he's planning on putting me on stratera. I'm going to do some research on it.

 

Thanks again!

Thanks everyone for your replies...

I saw the doctor today, and gaeve him an update...  He gave me a month of Ritalin XR or whatever the longer lasting is of the Ritalin, which should help me at work, as I won't rebound as badly.  So I am going to rrey that and then I have a month of my short duration Ritalin to get me through if I don't like the longer duration.  He also is keeping me on my Lexapro 20mg as well, since that seems to help my anxiety and stuff. 

I took a "day off" this past weekend, and it seemed to help me realize that the Rit is really working.  I was spacy all day, and my husband found he had to pick up after me...  half empty Diet Coke cans everywhere, gardning tools left around, lights left on, laundry half put away.  Things like that.   I just find I am so much more interested in life when I have the Rit.  It's really wierd.  I can't beleive it took 31 years for this to happen.  I used to take Valium to calm me down.  But the Ritalin calms me down, and in a better way - I can function better instead of being in a stupor. 

So...  That's all.  Thanks!