I have been taking Ritalin for over a year. All of the sudden, it's like it stopped working. It used to help tremendously-my adhd symtoms were finally under control, then all of the sudden, it stopped working. I give myself "medication holiday's" and even went totaly off the medication for 2 weeks. I started it again last monday and still nothing. I tried going up on my dose slightly a couple of times because I read that the brain can get used to the Ritalin. This didn't work either. A couple of times when I take my dose it almost gives me a nervous feeling and upsets my stomach. Other times, it like I took placebo pills because there is nothing. I was wondering if anyone has ever tried anything like a body cleanse or a liver cleanse and had success with it helping your meds work better? Since Ritalin is metabolized in the liver, im just assuming it might work. Anyone know??

I cannot directly answer your questions, as I am not on any meds, but if you do decide to try one, I have done a liver cleanse every few years, just for general health reasons, and would be willing to share it with you.

I doubt there are any impairments in metabolizing the drug. Some things to keep in mind:

- diet, stress, exercise, sleep, other drugs (even caffeine) can all affect it
- estrogen and the menstraul cycle can (estrogen sensitizes dopamine receptors)
- a tolerance can develop to the behavioral effects

Personally I found I did develop a tolerance, and after trying to nullify all environmental factors and not having it change (even after 2 weeks off it), I switched to Adderall XR which has given me very beneficial effects once again.

Hi Katie! :)
I honestly doubt that a "body cleanse or liver cleanse" would make much of a difference really.

I'm curious, are you nervous, and does your stomach bother you, when you are off the Ritalin, or only when you are on (taking) the Ritalin?

The reason I ask is that whenever my ADD medications have stopped working properly after a while, I have noticed that I get nervous and have problems with my stomach. In my case it was caused by anxiety. Anxiety is kind of a funny thing because most often it manifests itself as physical problems such as upset stomach, irritable bowel, trembling, nervousness, etc.. Unfortunately, anxiety left untreated very often will turn into depression if it is ignored for to long. Therefore, it's important for you to try and figure out exactly when you are feeling nervous and have an upset stomach (Off or On the Ritalin)!

Also, sometimes when we are better able to focus from our ADD medications, we are better in tune with how we are feeling, and therefore we sometimes start noticing that we are nervous or anxious, or having other physical problems. So, it's important for you to figure this important issue out first, so that you can then share this information with your doctor.

Sometimes I have had to take an antidepressant (Or an anti-anxiety medication) for a little while, regardless if I was on a new, or an old ADD medication at the time. Then after some time had passed, I could then go off the anti-depressant/anxiety medication, and take only the ADD medication once again.

Anyway, you should tell your Doctor about the nervousness and stomach problems, (Whenever it may be occurring) and also mention that you don't feel that your ADD medication is working properly anymore. Then you and your doctor can decide whether you just need a change in your ADD medication, or whether you also need an additional medication for anxiety as well.

Whenever possible, I try to change only one medication at a time rather than starting two "new" medications. I do this because it's very difficult for anyone to figure out which medication is causing side effects when you are taking more than one "new" medication.

Anyway, for what it's worth, that's my take on it! :)

Take care, good luck, and have a great day! :)

Peace,

what causes umm... i just forgot what i was gonna say hold on... ...tolerance to meds specifically adderall/amphetamines i took (prescribed amount) 5 mg's and over a matter of one day biult a tolerance took upto 20 mg's and still nothing could that be inviromental or internal liver or organ problems!?

You might have reset some neurorecptors in your brain. This means the drug no longer works or you are developing a tolerance for the drug.

Also, if you have the habit of taking your meds with orange juice, don't do that. Don't take stimulants with anything acidic as it reduces the effectiveness greatly.

Holistic approaches such as a vimain C purge probably won't be beneficial in terms of improving this because it has nothing to do with free radicals or blood chemistry. It is more to do with brain chemistry. Typically the doc will either increase the dose or move to another medication.

Me :D




I have been taking Ritalin for over a year. All of the sudden, it's like it stopped working. It used to help tremendously-my adhd symtoms were finally under control, then all of the sudden, it stopped working. I give myself "medication holiday's" and even went totaly off the medication for 2 weeks. I started it again last monday and still nothing. I tried going up on my dose slightly a couple of times because I read that the brain can get used to the Ritalin. This didn't work either. A couple of times when I take my dose it almost gives me a nervous feeling and upsets my stomach. Other times, it like I took placebo pills because there is nothing. I was wondering if anyone has ever tried anything like a body cleanse or a liver cleanse and had success with it helping your meds work better? Since Ritalin is metabolized in the liver, im just assuming it might work. Anyone know??

The safest thing to try is digestive enzymes. If this drug (which I don't pretend to know anything about) is not working then it might be a couple of things.

You may have some GI problems that could be causing this problem, and the medication is not getting absorbed completely.

You could have problems breaking down proteins and may be deficienct in amino acids which are the raw materials for nuerotransmitters in your brain.

Do you have any kind of digestive problems at all. Sometimes the only symptoms you may experience are bloating, gas, or an upset stomach. These may indicate that your are lacking sufficient enzymes.

Digestive enzymes have no side effects. There is no contra-indications for using digestive enzymes. But if you don't think the drug is having the same effect on your brain chemistry as it used to, it could be you are not breaking down problems protein into amino acids.

I am not on meds anymore, but, when I was, my doctor ran blood tests every few months to make sure that my liver was still functioning well, since these meds can slow liver function. I would suggest having a blood test done to check on your liver function, if it comes out good, you might want to ask you doctor if you should change the dose, or, change what time of day you take your meds.

Sepialady-funny you should mention the digestive problems because I have been having alot of stomach problems for a while. I don't eat meat and im allergic to fish so im sure that there are some vitamins and minerals im lacking. I was told twice by my doctor that I had classic symtoms of malnutrition. If you can, please explain a little further about what specific vitamins and mineral I need to help with the digestive enzyme production you mentioned above. I think you may have hit on something-any help or info you can offer to help me out would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again!