Is ritalin the right medication? | ADHD Information

Hi Diane....thanks for the quick response  My psychiatrist first suspected I had depression. Hence the Wellbutrin and then the Celexa. My feeling was that I did not have depression or - that if I did - it was not serious. My major complaint was - and still is - distractability and impulsiveness. I do not suffer from anxiety per se...only in certain situations...like speaking in public or driving a car. I  progressed from wellbutrin to celexa and now to ritalin. At no time did I take them together. One thing I am confused about regarding study ability. I can focus intensely - almost obsessively - on something for a short period of time - a week or two - then lose all interest. Courses at university would start in a blaze with top class marks and then usually end with zero attendance, missed assignments, and subpar performances. It is extremely frustrating and was hoping that medication would conquer this.  As of right now, it takes me forever to read a book, as my mind wanders every other paragraph, and then have to chase it with a proverbial butterfly net. Btw. If ritalin and other stimulant meds increase the potential for anxiety, what is one to do when one already suffers from social anxiety along with ADHD?skoblin39225.6899421296Well you play a balancing act. Sometimes you treat both. Not all stimulants increase anxiety, and not all meds affect everyone the same. My daughter always is hyperfocused on stimulants. I think this is quite common. It is quite common for ADHDers to hyperfocus anyway! I would think if you are unhappy that just switching stimulants or going to a different delivery method (maybe a long acting) would make sense. You will know if your anxiety increases and you can go from there. If it does, you switch again, or add something for the anxiety piece. Sorry there is no easy answer. Seems ADHD and anxiety quite often go hand in hand. I am a forty year old male who, after much procrastination, decided to do something about my inability to focus or pay attention. After reading much about ADHD both myself and my wife concluded that I probably have it. Although I can stare at a computer screen or TV screen for hours in a vegetable-like state, I can not sit and read or study without fidgeting, getting up, turning pages, cracking knuckles etc. Can only really focus on reading when I walk at the same time. Constantly procrastinate and then have to get everything done in a panic at the last minute. Our apartment floor is usually covered with piles of my papers, books, or mail and cannot listen to someone speaking for more than a few minutes before my mind wanders off... Finally, I suffer from periods of acute social and performance anxiety - public speaking is always a disaster of mumbling and shaking. My psychiatrist first suspected that I had depression and placed me on wellbutrin. At 150 I noticed some improvement in concentration, but once it was taken up to 300 I immediately experienced bouts of non-referential anxiety and actual depression. The Celexa was tried, which occasioned a rash, dizziness, headache, and anxiety. We are now trying Ritalin. The effect so far has been drowsiness, insomnia, lethargy, lightheadnesses and then feeling that a weight is on my head. Also experiencing a slight ongoing dull headache. Am currently taking 10 mgs twice a day. Do these side effects stop? Do they go away with a higher dose?  Has anybody else experienced this?  skoblin39225.663287037Are you taking an antidepressant and the Ritalin? My daughter did well on a low dose of Wellbutrin, but as soon as we upped it same thing, dizzy increased anxiety....etc., etc. Most side effects will not go away with higher doses. If all these things are being caused by the Ritalin it may not be the right stimulant choice for you. Or the right delviery method. Meaning maybe an extended release would work better, Ritilan LA for example or Concerta.  Quite often  stimulant meds can increase anxiety so that is something to keep in mind if you are not also treating your anxiety. My daughter has moderate ADHD and anxiety. We are actually just starting a treatment plan using a tricyclcic antidepressant hoping to use one med to treat both. This worked fairly well for us in the past with Nortriptyline, but it was very sedating. This time we are trying Desipramine (same family). These are not the first choice for focus though.

I would just like to add to the question you posed with Ritalin, about the side-effects going away.  I, too had the exact same side-effects as you had with the Ritalin and I do have to say it does. 

Another thing with the Ritalin that I learned by taking them, is the fact that it took me close to two months to fully get it's benefit.  This was a surprise to me when I had always thought stimulants only take 20 minutes.  But in that two months time, I had built a relationship with it.

Hope I was of some use to you.