Ritalin & Citric Acid? | ADHD Information

I've heard about citric acid interfering with adderall--is the same true for Ritalin.  Since I got my script last week (5mg/3xday)  I've been avoiding everything but water so it wouldn't have a negative effect on the medication, but i miss diet coke! 

Also i go to a doctor who is VERY slow with prescribing meds (try this for a month..now this at the lowest dose for another month...)  So, it's taken about 5 months of Straterra/Wellbutrin before i got the script for Ritalin, which seems to be working slightly, though I would like to try 10mg, is it normal for patients to up their own meds--for example, if i took 2 5mg and reported to my doctor how it made me feel.  The last thing i want is for my doc to think i'm some sort of addict, but i also don't want to wait another couple of months without working towards some final dosage.

The citric acid thing is only for amphetamines, and more a warning for Adderall XR then adderall, so it won't effect you. Plus, Ritalin is absorbed faster then adderall. Even with adderall you only abstain for the 20 minutes of so it takes the drug to get into your system.

However, if you are concerned, or you ate too much, Ritalin can be absorbed under the tongue. (but it doesn't taste very good)

5MG is not very much, you are correct. Why is your dose so low?

5mg may not be much, but it's not an uncommon starting point! you're supposed to start at the lowest possible dose and work up. For some people, 5 mg is all they need....for others, it takes much more. It all depends on the brain's metabolism of the drug.

station 1-I hope that everything works itself out....typically when a person starts meds, the dr. will help guide them through the process...giving directions on when to increase/decrease the dose. Perhaps you should mention your concern/suggest that perhaps a slightly increased dose would be more effective. Good luck!

thanks for the citric acid info

as for the 5mg, yeah, it's really frustrating going so slow but at the same time i can really respect that approach, especially after reading about dr.'s who immediately start kids/adults on an extremely high dose, and the dr.'s who hand out stimulant prescriptions like candy. 

I was diagnosed as a college student and didn't really find out about the abuse potential for these medications until afterwards.  the biggest problem i have faced is feeling sort of ashamed about the add and not wanting to tell anyone because everyone thinks your just looking for a quick fix or an easy way out  ("oh, you're on ritalin?  ha ha i took that sometimes, loved it")  i think ritalin has the biggest stigma of all among the college age group because it's what the "bad kids" took in elementary school, but no one really knew what it was.

I think the biggest thing that has come from being diagnosed (besides a feeling of relief that i'm not crazy...)  is that i want to be more educated about it and want others to learn about it too.  trying to keep add a secret in families/schools creates a completely negative image of it as something to hide and be ashamed of rather than a disorder that can greatly be improved by the help/support of the people around you.