I just started taking Ritalin, and I thought I'd post some of my experiences here.

Overall, I felt very "steady" and focused. It was very easy to direct myself to do the tasks I needed to do.

The first thing I noticed was that my body became very steady. Since I was a child I have had kind of "twitchy" hands -- I could never hold them perfectly still. I was lousy at pick up sticks and "Operation." But after taking Ritalin, my hands were rock solid. I thought this was odd, since other people have mentioned shaking -- my experience was the opposite.

The next thing I noticed was my handwriting is 100% better. It actually looks like something an adult might write.

After noting these things, I went and chatted with my wife, to see if she noticed a difference. She said I seemed calmer and more focused than usual, and that my eyes weren't wandering like they usually do.

Next, I went to my office and started working. Not really fast, but steadily. After a bit, I noticed that I was tapping my feet, and staring out the window. I got a little disappointed, and thought, "I guess this stuff doesn't work after all.. maybe I don't even have ADHD..." But then I looked at the clock and noticed that 4 hours had gone by since I took the pill. It had simply worn off. :p

I'm currently on just a low dose, to be taken "as needed" (not every day), and we will see where to go at our next meeting in a month's time.

Hi
When I began short acting Ritalin about 2 months ago, I noticed the same thing. I would be motivated to do my school work, and clean my house, etc, for a few hours. BUT, when it would wear off, I felt so much worse than when I didnt take meds. I would have absolutely 0 motivation, I would basically just sit there and be totally "vegged" out. Way worse than ever. Then I would take another, it would kick in in about 30 min, then I would be fine and functional again.
The problem I felt was that it took me a while in between doses when I was vegged to notice what was happening, realize it was time for more, and be motivated to go get another pill.
And when it wore off I felt so weird, not like a zombie, but like hunched over and frail, and I dont know if these are the right words, but it just felt very odd. Now I take Concerta which lasts about 10 or so hours and its so much better, in my opinion. I dont have the dips and highs of the short acting peaking, wearing off, taking more, peaking, etc. Its much smoother for me and at the end of the day I really dont have too much "coming down" bad feelings.

Also, I wanted an "as needed" dose also and my dr reluctantly agreed to it, she thought it would be best to always take it since I am a mom and a student, I really should be focused all the time, but she left it up to me. Well, once I began the concerta, I take it every day now, I love getting stuff done, I love the feeling of accomplishment that comes along with what I am doing.
I have half my house totally reorganized now, the other half I am doing today and in the next few days, I had my weeks school work done last Thurs when ususally I am scrambling Sun night at 1145 to get it done by 12, I have taken care of manythings for my son right away (he is 7 and severe adhd). Its wonderful to see what I am actually capable of after all these years of thinking I wasnt as good as all the other mothers, wives, etc. So you may find you like it and want to take it regularly.

I had a hard time wanting to take it due to some strange feelings of what will it do to my self, I m funny and quirky and stuff and I was afriad of what the meds may do to my sense of who i was. Or they would change me too much. It hasnt happened, i am still little ol' me, but with a cleaner house and way less stress and anxiety of what am I going to forget, who am I going to insult with my inappropriate outbursts, etc.
Good luck to you.
-A

Howdy A: :)

Thanks for the response. Yes, I have noticed being more distracted than usual after the Ritalin wears off. I will try offsetting this by taking 2 pills in one day, taking the pill in the afternoon, or taking a nap after the pill wears off. Perhaps because it's only 5 mg, the rebound hasn't been all that bad.

I am also taking a small dose of Luvox for anxiety. My psychiatrist said that if it was working, I should notice that my attention doesn't drop off as badly when the Ritalin wears off. Will have to see how that works out... :)

Another problem I have had recently is I can't drink coffee like I used to, and that has really hurt my ability to get work done. I am also on some stomach medicine that should help with that. If I am able to start drinking 3-4 cups of coffee per day again, I could see drinking coffee day to day, and popping a Ritalin when I had some especially boring stuff to do...

Hi there
I would do that too, take another when the first wore off, but I found it harder to get motivated to do anything at all once it wore off, so I would have to try to take another one right before it wore off, but I didnt always remember to do that. Also, I dont know if you have experienced this, but sometimes i would forget if I took the second one. I would go nuts sometimes and it would be like I had a mental block and couldnt remember, I would have to just wait to see if it kicked in or not.

Also with the ritalin, and keep in mind I had the generic version which i am reading here can be a bit of a different experience than the name brand, I would feel it kick in and wear off and stuff but with the Concerta it seems to ease in and ease out so at night I know its gone from my system b/c I am tired and spacy, etc, but I never had any crashing whatsoever. Only thing sometims it increases my migraine which is AWFUL but i just take a pill for that and viola! no more nasty killer migraine.

Yes, the coffee thing, me too. I dont know about you but i was a caffeine junkie. I would drink it all day long, pot after pot, not having anything else to drink until the late afternoon when i would get home from picking up my son at school then i would stop drinking it but by then i had tons. Now with the meds, I have no desire at all for coffee. I have a cup in the am to get moving, then i dont think about it at all. If you knew me you would be amazed. My hubby used to joke about my extremely excessive coffee intake all the time now he cant believe i dont drink it anymore.

Good for you i am happy you have found a med that helps you be productive. It amazes me, how much i can actually get done.
bye
-A

The first thing I noticed was that my body became very steady. Since I was a child I have had kind of "twitchy" hands -- I could never hold them perfectly still. I was lousy at pick up sticks and "Operation." But after taking Ritalin, my hands were rock solid. I thought this was odd, since other people have mentioned shaking -- my experience was the opposite.
Same here. Here's my theory.. The extreme shakiness with Parkinson's disease is caused by having little to no dopamine. I'm thinking that moderately low dopamine levels might cause milder tremors. Since Ritalin works by increasing dopamine levels, that explains why it also takes care of the shakiness.

Since ADD is also most likely caused by a lack of dopamine, it would be interesting to see how make ADDers also have a problem with tremors.

Same here. Here's my theory.. So I'm not alone! Good news. :)

Interesting theory! In addition to Parkinson's, people also get the shakes when detoxing from a drug dependence. I wonder what causes those shakes.

I understand that they give ritalin to parkinsons sufferers?
ADHD is caused by a lack of dopamine in a specific part of the brain(frontal lobe??) while parkinsons is caused by a lack of dopamine in another part of the brain(basal ganalgia?
Im not certain on the specific parts of the brain but thats my general understanding.