Ritalin: Itching & RX "Vacations" | ADHD Information

I would call the Dr. and tell them what you are experiencing, i'm not sure why you are itching? have you changed anything, laundry detergent, stuff like that?? Hi Lisa - I did call, and he's told me to stop taking it until I can get in to see him. It was working so well! I stopped on Friday, but still a little itchy today.

I have gone through the good ol' "have you changed anything" self questions again and again and keep coming up with nothing. This isn't localized itching. I itch all over, front to back, head to toe. The soles of my feet itch.

I'm still itching some. In fact, I've been thinking of going off everything I take (which as of right now includes BCP, Claritin & the Ritalin) for as long as possible and then starting back up and seeing if perhaps something's different. I dunno... This is driving me nuts. I'm apparently allergic to life.

Lisa - Yes I did read it from top to bottom. What it says about itching is: "Symptoms of a serious allergic reaction may include rash, itching, swelling, severe dizziness, trouble breathing"... Itching was not listed as a common side effect though.

This was the last thing on the side effects paragraph. Since I've only had the itching (and with my history of eczema, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, rosacea, oh you know, anything that they can throw a label onto random itching and such) I still can't be convinced it's a "serious" allergic reaction. I.E. no systemic effects like the swelling or breathing, and of course no rash.

When I spoke to the doc he said no, it was not a common side effect and he was very surprised by it, but did not rule it out.

I'm still itching though... and 2 days off now. Feeling a little depressed too, because I know I could be more productive and less scattered if I were back on it. It's going to take 2 weeks for me to be able to see him too because he's the "visiting senior doc" at the big local doctor's office complex with a branch located at my company. The other guy is a medical assistant, or some such term, and he started with me, but didn't want to dive into ADD meds headfirst so has referred me to Sr. Doc.
PS: Lisa, thanks for responding and inquiring about these little things. I know it's kind of random and I don't expect that I'll necessarily get an answer until I see the doc again, but I appreciate your taking the time to respond. Catherine He, just a question Addled one, did you happen to read the side effects sheet that you get with the prescription?? does it say that a rash or itching would occur?

Addled One wrote:
I'm still itching some. In fact, I've been thinking of going off everything I take (which as of right now includes BCP, Claritin & the Ritalin) for as long as possible and then starting back up and seeing if perhaps something's different

Hi Addledone..please speak with your pharmacist as Ritilan and Claritin should not be taken in combination. Decongestants may interact with a vairety of medications. When this happens, the effects of one or both drugs may change or the risk of side effects may be greater. There are many reasons you could be itching so while your waiting to see your doc, perhaps you should try just taking ritilan less the claritin and see if the itching stops. In the mean time, I recommend calling your pharamcist as medication is their expertise. Also, I dont know that taking medication vacations from stimulant medications helps to sustain potency. When you are seeing maximum benenfit from the medication, the medication is self sustaining but if you do see a change in effectiveness, contact your doc as a dosage change may be needed to correct the problem. The body doesnt cause one to become immune to stimulant emdication as it flushes out of the system, unlike blood level medications. However, if the medication either stops working or doesnt seem to be as effective, always consult with your doc because their could be a variety of reasons that this occurs. Please keep us posted

Aaaah a gem I had completely forgotten: "Talk to a pharmacist". I will do that ASAP, thank you!

I am on Claritin, which as I understand it is only an antihistamine not a decongestent. (Claritin-D is the decongestent formula.) Nonetheless, your recommendation to talk to the pharmacist is right on. I've never needed to ask questions about medications before because usually they were all so simple for me, but I'm clearly heading outside that territory now.

My mother always talks of her pharmacist like he's a god because he knows so much and gives her so much information. Sometimes she'll go to him before going to her doctor and he'll either tell her to make an appt with the doc or diagnose her problem and tell her what she needs to do on the spot.

Thanks again for the suggestion. I go to the big honking CVS so I hope that one of the pharmacists there will be good to talk to. I know the small pharmacies all had wizards behind the counters but with these new big chains... Still, I'm stopping in this afternoon to pick up more BCP's (okay decided that going without them might result in an 18 year "side effect" I just can't live with right now) and will ask.

Great suggestion & thanks also for your take on the "vacations" from meds. I see your point perfectly. How I can do that at 3:52AM when I can't sleep I do not know, but I do.

Dear Addled One: Not trying to butt in, & I hate to be the one to tell you, but--and this is perhaps only my opinion, but having unwittingly self-medicated with illicit stimulants once early adulthood hit & i was no longer getting my degrees, RITALIN IS JUST LEGAL METHAMPHETAMINE, WHICH IS WHY YOU ITCH! I am stunned that no one else has the awful background of medicating that I do to tell you, but take my word. It's the same stuff--I can't believe a pharmacist or doctor would not mention the similarity & reason for itching. Anyone with any sensory sensitivity & ADD/H would be incredibly vulnerable to any powerful stimulant in this way at least. So, as embarassing as it is to admit, I'm clearly the only person that's going to bring up this connection because I'm obviously the only one that has used both.

Doc Rx'ed Ritalin for me for the first time. Never tried stimulant treatments before but nothing else was working. 10mg 2x/day. It WORKS! I am thrilled. Only problem is I'm itching from head to toe now! No rash, just all over body itching. Only thing that's changed lately was the move to Ritalin. Has anyone had this happen to them?

Also Rx Vacations: I've read it's good to take "vacations" from Ritalin and other stimulants when possible because going off them for a period helps keep their potency sustained when you're using them. Is this true? And if so, how long should a "vacation" be? Can I just not take Ritalin on weekends? Or must it be for a week or two?

Thanks! So new to this and so confused still.
Hi Addled One..........so happy to hear that you spoke with a pharmacist as medication is their expertise. Doctors can diagnose and prescribe medication but they are not always aware or knowlegable enough tp know what side effects or reactions can occur as a result of mixing medications or also what might be a better medication depending on the circumstances. Also, not only is the pharmacist the expert on medication, they are readily available to answer your questions without waiting days fora phone call from the doctor or waiting weeks until your next appointment. Glad I could help

Luvmykids02: Brilliant suggestion to go to the pharm and talk to her. I was worried that a big chain pharmacist might not have as much time or talk with me in-depth but I think that they appreciate having stumped customers come to them with questions, acknowledging that they know as not much, if not more, than some doctors about the medicines themselves.

Anyway the woman I spoke with was extremely helpful. I told her at the outset of the phone call "Umm I'm at work so if I talk quiet and discreetly that's why" and she completely understood when I "talked around" a couple of specific words (i.e. "Ritalin"). I told her I was taking methylphenidate in generic form and about the itching and she said it was also an uncommon side effect for the active ingredients in the medications, but said that it MIGHT be an allergic reaction to the fillers in the generic medicine. What an interesting idea! Never thought that the fillers are actually different.

So I brought up that I was also taking generic Loratadine (Claritin) and asked a "what if" I started going back on Zyrtec my old prescription-based antihistamine. She said that might help, but also noted that Benadryl was the best all around antihistamine for skin itching if I wanted to try taking that at night as well.

She also said going off the MPH on weekends would be fine, and encouraged me to if I didn't need it, since it was causing itching. But said to keep taking it, noting as long as I don't have a swelling or constriction of airways or any other anyphylactic style reactions, and I can handle the itching, I'm fine.

In short, Zyrtec seems to be doing a better job than the Loratadine did. I'm also popping a Benadryl at night. I can get by for the next two weeks like this until I can see the doc, at which point I'm going to ask him for a "Ritalin-only, no generic substitutes" Rx... I agreed to the generic when I was at CVS getting the Rx filled, not realizing that could be a bad idea.

Thanks again for the responses!!