I would be interested to know who takes Ritalin and if they suffer any of the side effects associated with it.

These particular ones terrify me, so I would like to know how real is the threat of these side effects?

· an irregular or fast heartbeat; · chest pains or very high blood pressure (blurred vision, severe headache, flushing); · liver damage (yellowing of the skin or eyes, nausea, abdominal pain or discomfort, unusual bleeding or bruising, severe fatigue).

I'm on 40mg and do not suffer any of those side effects.

I was on 40mg a day for about 5 years and never had any side effects.....

I just started today and i have no side effects so far. Crossing my fingers =). i have noticed that i do like the effects im getting

I have been taking the meds for about 2 wks. I have noticed some headaches, but if i eat b4 taking the medication it reduces the side-effects. actually i get no side-effects if i eat. I also noticed it was important to drink lots of water the first wk of taking the meds. Helped with feeling anxiety. I still get the anxiety and will be asking my dr how to control it. I only get the anxiety if im stressed (tests, nervous).

I used to take it, the worst side effect I got from Ritalin was when I was coming off it in the evening I'd get a kind of rebound effect where I'd suddenly get a surge of hyperactiveness.

I've started taking Ritalin a bit over a week now and it's been a bumpy ride so far. I started with 4 x 10 mg, with 4 hours in between, but I was more often in the rebound than anything else. Couldn't tell wether the drug was having any GOOD effects at all. Had troubles sleeping as well, mild head aches and stomach aches. The second day I called my doctor and asked her if I could take 5 doses and change the in-between time to 3 hours and that was much better, but still I experienced strong rebound effects from time to time, especially when I was also a bit tired. Since yesterday I'm on 7 x 10 mg with only 2,5 hours between them and 5 mg some time before I go to bed. Yesterday I was still a bit shaky, but today I just felt fine! It's very hard to objectify the effect for me. I believe I get more things done, but I haven't been to work today and that's where I have the most problems. I do feel a bit speedy and not quite myself. Then again, who am I? :yin-yang:

The anorexic side effects of stimulants and the increases in blood pressure and heart rate they often cause go away with time, according to the clinical guide I have been reading. The effects on sleep and on attention and impulse control do not go away according to studies quoted in the guide.

I just started taking Ritalin 10 mg 3 times a day. My only side effects are headaches and occasional sleeplessness.
It hasn't affected my appetite at all. I am still constantly hungry and eat A lot (unfortunately!)

I have just started taking Ritalin this week. 10 mg. 2x a day.

I do feel good, motivated - if that makes sense. I could go without coffee in the morning and almost not miss it if i didn't enjoy it so much. My appetite has dropped some, I have no problems sleeping at night and seem to need to go to be earlier than normal. I do notice the peaks and valleys so am wondering if 5 hrs. between each dose is too much time? I take it at 7:00am and then at 12:00, so by the time that i really need it - after picking up my 3 kids from school and dealing with homework, dinner prep and etc... - that is when it's not there and the rboun time - i think that's the word - happens. when i talk to my doc next week i am going ask about trying it 3x a day to cover that after school time.

I don't take Ritalin, but I take Focalin, which is a refined form of Ritalin.. More often than not, my heart rate soars about 2 hours after I take it (about 130-140 bpm, up from my usual mid 90s). I'm experimenting with what I eat/drink when I take it to see why it doesn't happen all the time.. I'm placing my bets (and blame) on caffiene though! I'm pretty sure somewhere in the warnings it says a little something about caffiene.
Loss of appetite and sleeplessness never seem to go away, though.. Concerta was much worse as far as those go (I had to force myself to eat, and even then I could only eat a little, once a day.. I only lasted a month on that one)