Hi guys and girls

For some reason Ritalin makes me more speedy, awake, don't eat, I can feel my heart pump faster, can't focus (with or without meds) , very bad depression, I go from 1 million thoughts when not on Ritalin to 1 billon thoughts when on it.

Now hopefully this does not break the rules here but I have to add a few years ago when I was 18-20 I was taking large amounts of illegal amphetamines and Ecstasy (the whole nightclubbing thing here in Australia). But these did not slow me down at all but just gave me heaps more energy and was very scattered all the time (like losing things). Now I'm 25 haven't touched the stuff since then.

The reason why I have mentioned this is because everyone I have heard from that has used an amphetamine based drug (illegal or legal) and has ADHD it has done the opposite to them.

So what is going on with me?

Cheers

Welcome :)

Could you have been misdiagnosed with ADHD? Have you told your doc about your reaction to stimulants? Have you gotten a second opinion on your ADHD dx? Have you been tested for bi polar or other depression/anxiety disorders?

Ritalin did not make me feel speedy, but I did have the other symptoms sometimes with my current med.

Currently I take 40mg of Adderall XR and 25mg of Stratera. I have also been diagnosed as Bipolar and I have post traumatic stress syndrome and take 1500mg of Depakote ER and Cymbalta 60mg.

The reason for listing my current meds and problems is that stimulants have a tendancy to make co-existing conditions worsen.

If you took a large enough amount of ecstacy and illegal amphtimines

I'm wondering the same things as Chameleon.

Or, how much Ritalin do you take? Do you think it is possible you may be taking too much.

I have the opposite reaction to Ritalin. I had a bit of the irregular heart beat at first, but that was just when starting a new dose. Otherwise I feel relaxed, calm, focused, and more settled.

thanks for your replies people :)

Welcome :)

Could you have been misdiagnosed with ADHD? Have you told your doc about your reaction to stimulants? Have you gotten a second opinion on your ADHD dx? Have you been tested for bi polar or other depression/anxiety disorders?
Yep I have told my doc and he just says you need a higher dose that does nothing. He also believes that I might have bi polar as well. The funny things is with this guy he supposed to be the top person for ADHD in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1 ="">Australia</st1></st1:country-region>.

I'm on Ritalin LA 30mg in the mornings and Ritalin SA 10mg in the afternoon. I'm also supposed to take buspar (which is an anti depressant) but it makes me feel sick.

About getting misdiagnosed with ADHD the problem every since I was 7 (Now 25) I have been diagnosed with ADHD from different people. So I really don't know what to do.<!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"/> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"/> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"/> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"/> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"/> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"/> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"/> </v:formulas> <v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect"/> <o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/> </v:shapetype><v:shape id="_x0000_i1025" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="" style='width:12pt; height:15.75pt'> <v:imagedata src="file:///C<img src="images/smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0" alt="" title="Big Grin" smilieid="4" class="inlineimg" />OCUME~1DAGUES~1LOCALS~1Tempmsohtml1

Hi there;

I have a similar response to the stimulants. They make me speedy and hyper, and don't slow my thoughts at all. Out of the ones that I have tried, I tolerate Dexedrine the best, and it helps a bit with the internal restlessness, but does little else.

On the other hand, I had a wonderful response to Strattera! It was AMAZING for me until I built a tolerance to it a few months later. It slowed my thoughts, the inner restlessness, allowed me to read, study, focus, follow-through, complete tasks and assignments, focus on what others were saying, etc...etc...

Have you tried it? It might be something you suggest to your doc.
Good luck.

Do you take anything other than ritalin like do you drink a lot of coffee or take certain vitamins? I find processed foods drive me manic. chemicals in processed foods make me very very uncomfortable. you should ask your doctor and inform him of how you feels, he may adjust dose and advise you of other aspects of your lifestyle like caffeine smoking etc. ask the doc.