How did u feel starting medication? | ADHD Information

Today is the first day I'm taking Ritalin, its not the slow release kind but in tablet form. I'm supposed to start with taking 5mg a day. I figure today and maybe tommorow I would take the 5mg in increments as to ease my system into it. Never really been the biggest fan of medicating myself, I feel that agreeing to take medication everyday is a big consession in itself so hopefully there will be many beneficial results.I'll keep you posted.

Buccaneer,

I am on my 6th day of straterra.  I must say, my life has changed!  I feel like the dark cloud has been removed from my head, that I can actually think out of the box now.  I am able to finally follow conversations, I can organize my thoughts (in my sleep), I can start something and finish it ( well I have been working on the laundry for about 2 days) but that is even a plus considering it has been in piles for months!  OMG! my appetite has decreased tremendously! I used to eat even when I wasnt hungry, and I can make it on two meals a day.  That with walking 2 miles/day I have already lost 5 lbs!!  My prayer life has changed also, I can pray without the hundreds of other things going on in my head.  There are 2 major side effects, along with the decreased appetite, I have nausea/vomiting, sore throat, and some cramping.  All these I can live with, I just take some aleve.  I also realized I wasnt really taking care of myself.  I am a moom of 3, nursing student and I work, so with the poor time management, I never hadtime to really take care of my self as far as the finishing touches go.  That is beginning to change.  The only bad thing, is that my husband thinks this is abunch of crock, but hey I'm happy.

Christy, I also never lost my appetite. Perhaps I will when I up to 36mg tomorrow. Isn't Ritilan the same thing as Concerta? But I'm hearing that pple are getting better results on Ritilan than Concerta. Why?    There must be some difference, or why else would they have created Concerta? $$$ probably. I just know my dr won't rx me ritalin, only Concerta. What'a girl to do?

I have been on concerta for just a week or so now. I find it makes me really cranky, and is not helping my ADHD at all.

I felt spacey the first few days, and now feel more scattered than ever.

I am just as hungry as I ever was,,, so I dont' even get the good side effects

 

I would have to say that my exeperience is much like yours Bucc..., and form what yo have described I should probably swith to Ritalin XR here soon. I started out with 1.25 mg every few hours, then 2.5, and know I take 5mg. I think easing into it has allowed me to adjust well, for I have had no side effects other than an occasional upset stomach and dry mouth in the mornings (funny I will get dry mouth no matter how much water I drink before going to bed) At first I noticed a difference, but now it feels like there is a re-wiring of conciesness going on. Far more focused, motivated and energetic. Funny how suddenly I start seeing all fo these things around me that I cant believe I have left undone this whole time. Hope everything is going go for everyone else, would still like to hear of everyone progress.

Hi Everyone,

Day one on Ritalin SR 20mg was awesome for me (yes I know it is a little too early to be crowing about it ).

I would be interested in hearing about your initial experiences on medication (Ritalin or otherwise).  How did you feel? How were the changes (or lack thereof), side effects (or lack thereof I guess) for you?  Basically I would love to hear your stories (even if they have been posted repeatedly in the past).

Regards,

The Buccaneer

I was thinking of making a new post for my experience on ritalin, but I
think I will just post it in this thread. I was prescribed ritalin 10mg last
Thursday, so I have taken it a total of 3 days, 2-3 times a day. I have
never felt this good in my life! I know it's early and things could change,
but I haven't yawned at all since I've been on it. That said, it doesn't
make me hyper at all, but I can tell that I'm thinking more clearly. I
attempted a crossword puzzle this weekend, which I am usually horrible
at, and I got probably about half of the words filled in, which is a big
improvement for me. I went from going to bed at 9pm, waking up at 6 by
the alarm, and feeling tired all day long, and having trouble sleeping, to
where now I can just go to sleep when I'm tired, and I have woken up
refreshed! It
feels like I'm a whole different person. I am also on 40mg of prozac for
depression, but the effect is very gradual. I think it helps me, but it's
nowhere near the change that ritalin has made for me already. I just have
a full time job right now, I'm 21, but I really believe I can go to college
soon if I'm on ritalin. My side effects include a dry mouth and minor
stomach aches, but nothing serious.
I have been on several anti-depressants, and I am so glad to find out that
I have ADD, and I think I now have the right treatment plan for it. I was
really hoping that ritalin would help, but I had no idea it would be this
good for me! hello
 today is the end of my first day on 36 MG of concerta. For a while my chest and arms felt "calm," almost numb.  My eyes felt  relaxed and i felt "soft."  After a while i got dizzy and my stomach was slightly upset, but not too bad. i expected worse ( i also was mildly hungover).
 i was concentrating well, i did all my taxes and homework that i had been procrastinating on. the only problem was pretty bad cottonmouth (Which i dont mind because i need to drink more water), a headache, and i couldnt figure out what the hell to do with my day if i wasnt procrastinating! Awesome!

One thing that i thought was interesting is that my driving was totally different.  usually my speed varies a lot  and I drive agressively. Today i was very calm and i never fluctuated speed. The change in my driving behavior was VERY noticable.

Im sure i need to take the drug longer to feel the real effects but i figured i would post up on my experience.

Ten years ago I took my first 10mg in the morning and forgot about it. later that morning I had that relaxed feeling you get on the second day of that Bahama vacation. Since then some days it works better than others according to my stress load.  Sinus drainage also seems to lessen the positives effects or maybe it's just more distraction. I do notice I can see betteron Ritilan. I think I'm not moving my eyes around so much. I can also hold a conversation while the radio is blaring.  This is impossible when I am not on Ritilan. I also had alot of bad habits to break like rushing things and skiping important steps of project success. These are habits that need to be learned from the ground up.

DavDog38410.8932638889okay. its about an hour after i posted earlier  and im feeling very different. i feel depressed and cranky. im hungry but my stomach is upset. i never understood the whole, antidepressants + ritalin thing but i do now. 

I feel good. I got a bit crabby the first few weeks but this could be because I also gave up chocolate, caffeine and even the few glasses of alcohol a week. I still smoke on and off- I figure I can have one vice!

It's more that you struggle with your new identity- but it's such a relief when you realise you're ok and you can do it.

[QUOTE=kristen]'

t's more that you struggle with your new identity- but it's such a relief when you realise you're ok and you can do it.

[/QUOTE]

They have a point here...to some extent who feels like they are reacreating their identities while going through med treatment?  I'm in the early stages of being dignosed (adderall xr) and boy, do I sometimes feel like I am building myself up from the ground up.

Its hard

Pyxelle

 

When I first started strattera, I felt really numba nd calm. Then after about two weeks, when it started to kick in, it felt awesome.

Pyxelle,

I can totally relate baout what you wrote (like rebuilding urself from the ground up)..that fits me to a T right now.It is hard work,but Im hopeful that it will be worth it down the road

 

After a week on Ritalin, the wooziness of day one is gone.  I am sleeping like a log (awesome feeling to wake up after a good nights sleep).  In fact I now feel tired at the end of a day (instead of feeling "wired").  I have had the most productive week of my life.  I no longer get distracted on the way to the shower in the morning !!!

Side effects...well none (unless you consider the dramatic reduction in my appetite...which given the fact that I am overweight can only be a good thing!).

Lee03, sorry to hear about your unsupportive hubby.  My wife suffered for so long with my disorganisation etc that while she still has her doubts (and is struggling to stop the "just overcome it mentality") she is definitely on my side.  Having seen the dramatic change, she is slowly becoming an educated convert.  Good luck with educating your hubby!

HippoRHino...how is it going?

How about others who have gone through this a while ago (is there a link someone can post so I can read past experiences?)

 

 

first time I upped the dose of Ritalin from 5 mg to 10 mg in the morning  it felt like I had been walking  into the Sun my whole life and someone just gave me  a pair of raybans 20 min later.... So, much of the glare  that made it hard for me  to focus on what I was doing  was gone....not all of it but damn...I felt like a Canadian  Who'd just been told  December, January  and Feb weather  would be like March  the rest of my life!