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Alternatives to Ritalin
Robos A Go Go
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Last week I was given a prescription for 20 mg of Ritalin a day to treat my attention deficit issues. Unfortunately, my experiences with the drug since then have been negative. I haven't noticed any kind of positive effect on my ability to concentrate on any task, particularly reading and writing (the areas that trouble me most), nor have I found myself to be more energetic or motivated. I have experienced some negative side affects however, among them drowsiness, periods of agitation, sweating, headaches and possibly some acne (not sure whether to blame this on the Ritalin or a brief change in diet). Needless to say, I'm rather disappointed.
In hopes of helping to avoid another such experience, I'd like to read up on possible drugs to try next, preferably via first-hand accounts as well as broad descriptions of their effects and side-effects. I don't know the names of anything, so hopefully one of you can give me something like a list of things to read up on. If you have firsthand experiences of your own, good or bad, know that that too would be helpful. Hopefully with what I'm able to learn through this thread, I'll be in a better position to decide what drugs to ask my psychiatrist about and possibly try next.
Non-medical advice would be appreciated as well, though I should advise that I'm already exercising regularly, eating healthy, and seeing a therapist weekly.
In hopes of helping to avoid another such experience, I'd like to read up on possible drugs to try next, preferably via first-hand accounts as well as broad descriptions of their effects and side-effects. I don't know the names of anything, so hopefully one of you can give me something like a list of things to read up on. If you have firsthand experiences of your own, good or bad, know that that too would be helpful. Hopefully with what I'm able to learn through this thread, I'll be in a better position to decide what drugs to ask my psychiatrist about and possibly try next.
Non-medical advice would be appreciated as well, though I should advise that I'm already exercising regularly, eating healthy, and seeing a therapist weekly.
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Well, I suppose we could venture into supplements as I used to work at a store that sold this stuff. First thing is Fish oil is supposed to help and ton so take that 3 times a day or what the bottle says. Second Vitamin C and B12 help also.
I've been eating healthy for years and exercising for a few months, so I'm pretty confident in my conclusion that neither is enough. I also get plenty of Vitamin C and B12.
Fish oil is something I haven't tried, but that's because I'm a vegan. Is there perhaps something else I can take instead or is fish oil the only source of whatever the hell it has that makes it so good?
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As for drugs, take a look at provigil. It's been used to treat ADD with some success, and it's a completely different class of drug.
That said, you might not have ADD. I was diagnosed when I was younger and according to the doctor one of the characteristics of ADD drugs is that they can cause ADD like symptoms in people that don't have the disorder. The fact that you took ritalin and suddenly couldn't concentrate might be cause for concern.
I had been prescribed 20mg per dose, 2 times a day. This turned out to be a little too strong so I lowered it to 10mg per dose and did a lot better.
A key I found was to start doing what you want to focus on before the ritz kicks in. Once it does I zoned right in on target and it became mentally difficult to change my mind. It also made me quieter, a little moodier, negative, and quicker-witted.
There was an adjustment period where I would feel really dark and depressed. This lasted about a month until my body got used to the drug then I began to feel more normal and have a normal appetite too.
I say this with an eerie amount of confidence. At one point, there was a lot of commotion among some blogs because Walgreens switched from one generic version of Adderall to another, and people were claiming that the new generic, which should theoretically be identical, was working very poorly and quite differently.
For some reason, the nerd within me got hold and took over. I went through a few forums and blogs with tons of comments and compiled a giant table with people's experiences. What they were on, what they switched to, what side effects made them switch / stay / whatever. I had hypotheses I tested and everything.
That's all super nerdy. But the roundabout point I'm trying to reach is that lots of people had positive things to say about Adderall after using Ritalin. For a lot of people, Ritalin provided too much of an extreme up and down, and the up being so extreme and side-effect filled that it didn't aid their concentration at all. Many of them switched to Adderall with positive results, so I recommend you give that one a shot.
ADD is not an approved condition for treatment with PROVIGIL. PROVIGIL is also pretty damn expensive. As a result, the vast majority of insurance companies would not pay for it to be used as an ADD treatment (hell, most require your physician to jump through a hoop or two just to get it approved for one of the accepted conditions, like Obstructive Sleep Apnea). I haven't even been able to convince insurance companies to pay for it for a couple of patients for whom it was prescribed for excessive sleepiness due to brain trauma, and both had strong justifications much closer to the approved conditions than ADD.
Adderall is a distinct possibility as an alternative to Ritalin. Vyvanse would be another.
This. As someone who has been on Ritalin, Concerta and Adderall, Adderall proved to be the least disruptive.
Now, I haven't taken any of this stuff in years, and there may even be newer, better stuff out there. That said, Adderall, in my experience, provided the same pseudo-amphetamine kick with much less of a "coming down" issue.
My therapist made it sound like it was since, unlike anti-depressants, Ritalin doesn't have to build up in your system before taking full effect. Regardless, I wasn't planning on stopping without my psych's okay. My next meeting is in a week, though, so I figured it would be worth it to prepare now.
I don't recall saying that it made it harder to concentrate.
I've actually got a sealed container of Flax Seed oil supplements containing Omega-3-6-and 9. I've been loathe to take it because of the gelatin, but I'd be willing to compromise on that for the sake of my brain
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Strattera is often considered a pretty good, low yield (compared to say, Adderall) treatment for adult ADD.
It is a pretty smooth drug. It levels you out more than anything and definitely makes it easier to focus on a task, or ignore distractions. It also helps with hyperactivity.
I had been on Methylin ER for the longest time, and it never really worked that well for me.
I had a very open conversation with my doctor when I got my prescription as an adult (at 20, or so) concerning how and why I used the drug. I never "took it everyday on a schedule" and when I had done that previously with older "ADHD" drugs it really just screwed up my sense of self, inhibitions, sleeping patterns and appetite. Yeah, I'm aware that that's a list of common side effects.
I used to take it for specific purposes like "I need to spend 7 hours writing a paper today!" or "Oh shit! This test is going to last 4 hours!" It was also a supplement for me, meaning that I was capable of doing things without it, and it was just an added perk. Plus, I really like amphetamines, and this was a pretty safe way to experience that while being productive.
The point being that you can "start" and "stop" pretty much at will if you're taking low doses. 20mg would probably be considered a "low dose". Now, many people don't have an issue with taking the drug every day, but I know that I absolutely hated the up and down. I used my prescription maybe 3-4 times a month, usually on the weekend to write papers. I opted for a more "targeted" approach using the stimulant only when necessary. As Adderall and Ritalin in non-time lapse form are pretty much "immediate effect" drugs, I would pop one (usually 10mg) as I got started, and run that through. If necessary another one (10mg) would go down once I started coming down to extend the effect, though this usually left me a depressed and downer mess for the remainder of the night.
Don't go against your doctor, but just another personal experience for your information.
They make gelatin free flax seed oil. Take it as a syrup yummy. Or just add flax meal to your cereal
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
krill oil is actually better then fish oil and supposedly works wonders for ADHD. But krill are little shrimpy things.
You might want to rethink the whole vegan thing.
Or you could try both.
Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I'm under the impression that several longitudinal studies on the effects of Adderall have shown pretty much no long-term risks or problems for using it (except a slightly higher rate of cigarette smoking against adolescents). So other than the usual "if man made it, it's evil" philosophy, I don't see why one would take something like flax oil or whatnot over Adderall. And adding meditation to either could only help, or do nothing, but probably not hurt your concentration. No reason to just go with one.
Switched to Concerta about a year or so ago. I've been happy with it. It's not as effective for me as Adderall XR was, but I prefer remembering to eat and not having to deal with feeling myself coming down off of it.
Question for the OP, were you taking extended or timed release capsules? Or just tablets?
Ya, it would work for about 10-12 hours. Which was fine, until I had an 8am class haha
Made me real fun to be around.
A positive note was that it actually helped me become more popular and helped break me out of my shell to be honest.
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Mind over matter isn't just a phrase. The act of being able to calm your thoughts and train your mind to be able to reset to that sort of calm, quietness is a really handy thing to have, especially in high stress situations. As ADD constantly puts you in such situations, it could prove invaluable to a lot of you.
This isn't to say you should toss the drugs over your shoulder and go hike up a mountain and brood for a while. Just find a quiet, comfortable place in your house or town. Snuggle up on your sofa with the tv off and some quiet music on. Find a coffee shop or public park and sit and enjoy the view. Find whatever relaxes you, then stay there and figure out how to get there even when you are in class, on the job, fighting off hordes of the undead, etc.
That stuff works. With some of these medicines it might just give you superpowers. Or make life a lot easier. It's 50/50.
Just about all of the ADD drugs (like Focalin, Concerta, Ritalin, Vyvanse...) are controlled substances, like Adderall. The only major exception I can think of is Strattera. GPs might prescribe less Adderall because of the potential for abuse; I'm not too sure about that. I do know that the psychiatrist I work for prescribes Adderall for a lot of patients, and really only shies away from it when we have a patient who is known to abuse drugs/medications, or mysteriously starts "losing" prescriptions or find their Adderall to be "losing effectiveness" and thus needing more a little too frequently.
I dig it.
Just tablets.
Meditation interests me as well, but I don't know where to start. I actually tried what you describe and I couldn't manage, so I think I'd be better served taking a class that guarantees a quiet environment and teaches breathing techniques before setting out to do things on my own.
https://twitter.com/Hooraydiation
You can get flax oil in veggie capsules, you can buy a box of ground flax seed, and you can also get flax oil in bottles in the refrigerated cabinet in your vitamin or health food store. All are vegan alternatives. But if you bought those supplements, you might as well take them first.
Having said that, I've been a vegetarian for a long time and probably haven't had any omega 3s in years. I haven't died, or become any less intelligent or anything. But if you're having concentration issues, it couldn't hurt.
I took Adderall a few times in college, and it worked very well for me. A little too well though, if you know what I mean.