I have been on Ritalin LA for about 3 weeks now. I take it with my Paxil (have been on that for a long time) at 1:00 in the afternoon (I know weird time) but in the morning it is easier to focus for me than the afternoon at work and also in the evening I have studying for school to do. I am absolutely amazed at the difference! It seems to relax me and wake me up at the same time! How can that be? My DH can't understand that part. Anyway, I am very happy to finally have found some relief! I have started back to the gym and I am not dragging or nervous all the time! :D :D :D I was thinking about going to 2 times a day (morning and afternoon) but I think as long as this is working okay, I will stay where I am.

That's great to hear! :)

I might start trying Ritalin soon too, haven't really decided if I want to go on the meds route or not.

Could you give some example of how it relaxes you and wakes you up in the same time? How are you different from before?

That's great to hear! :)

I might start trying Ritalin soon too, haven't really decided if I want to go on the meds route or not.

Could you give some example of how it relaxes you and wakes you up in the same time? How are you different from before?Well, for a long time I have been pretty lethargic and unmotivated especially in the afternoon. I had just started going home and going to bed for a nap not getting anything done. I think since I had started back to school the stress had made me overwhelmed even more with life and harder to deal with the ADD. The more I have to do the more hard to keep focused on anything. Anyway, now I get a little tired after lunch, take my medicine, and about an hour later I get this "clear head" sort of an alertness but not nervousness at all. In fact, it helps my fidgeting a lot (knees shakes, finger picking, etc.) because I can tell at night when it is wearing off. So I guess instead of waking me up because it is not like a caffeine awakening (caffeine doesn't phase me at ALL) it really just helps me think way more clearly, (wakes my brain up if you please) make a plan for the afternoon and evening and stick to it better. Before I would think of a zillion different things I was going to do but not do any of them! At the same time I don't feel anxious (did that even with the paxil) and fidgety and with my thoughts not darting here and there. Does that explain it a littel more? I really wish I had tried meds a long time ago. I have been like this all my life. I was just sort of scared of them I guess. I started reading on this forum how they had helped so many people and decided to give it a whirl. I am so glad I did!

Yes, that explains more. Thank you!

You sound a lot like me, lethargic with darting thoughts. Thinking of a zillion things to do and not doing any of them is something I do a lot too.

Yes, that explains more. Thank you!

You sound a lot like me, lethargic with darting thoughts. Thinking of a zillion things to do and not doing any of them is something I do a lot too.Well I can definitely see some progress in starting to get things done! And I had a LOT of things UNdone! Still do but hey no miracle cure right? It will take time to change old patterns. I find it easier to "work at" changing them now though somehow, even when the medicine wears off. Of course some days are better than others still and I am trying to remember that and not be too hard on myself. I sure hope you find some answers too!

I've put up a couple of longer posts on the technical neuropharmacology stuff for how ADD meds work, but the short answer to how it "wakes you up" while also helping you relax is:

ADD meds work by activating a couple of areas in the brain that are otherwise short-circuited in ADDers. These areas appear to be at least partly responsible for attention, focus, motivation, working memory (ie "mental list of tasks to do"), impulse inhibition, all the things that we don't do too well. So by increasing activity in these regions, it "wakes you up" in a sense, because you can focus better. The relaxation occurs partly because the rest of the brain no longer has to overcompensate for the deficiencies (as most of us wind up doing to survive), which is a welcome relief, and also because one of the key things that these regions seem to do is regulate activity in other areas, sort of like how the conductor of a symphony might direct the violins to play more quietly while the French Horn plays a solo. So once these regulatory regions can do their thing, the rest of the areas of the brain can shut up and work in an orderly fashion, and it goes from being an orchestra where everyone's playing different things at full volume all at once, to a nice orderly minuet.

Of course, that's a very oversimplified version, but I don't feel like getting into the details of neurotransmitter reuptake and striatal pathways at the moment. If you're interested in learning more, click on my name and go through some of my posts, I'm sure it should be fairly easy to find.

I'm glad to hear that you're doing great, and I'm especially glad to hear that you're finding it easier to "work at changing" the bad habits, which is the most important part of things.