I've been prescribed 60 mg of ritalin; 20mg/3 x a day for the past 6 years which I hear is pretty much the most you can get of it. I've liked the stuff but I think my sex drive is suffering severely from ritalin alone and i want to switch rx but have no idea where to start. Any suggestions or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

When I took Ritalin I took 100mgs a day. I never found it had any impact on my sex drive, however.

100mg is much! In Norway thay say that 80mg a day is max. I'm at the moment only on 40mg (it's increasing) and not feeling any changes.

I was given 20mg a day of the Ritalin LA (which basically means 10mg twice a day). It hasn't been particularly effective so far but I definitely have noticed a difference. I'm hoping the higher dosage will help.

100mg is much! In Norway thay say that 80mg a day is max. I'm at the moment only on 40mg (it's increasing) and not feeling any changes.100 mgs is what I needed to get to clarity :) here in the USA we call that "off-label dosing".

WOW, i can barely handle the 60mg. Even to this day if I skip a day of ritalin I get jittery and weird after taking a whole dose...I usually take "halves" as my husband and I call them, because I don't always like the effect of the whole 20 mg. I've been thinking about switching to adderall but my doctor at the moment is a naturopathic and so in order to switch I must see a specialist and have just been to lazy, for the past 3 years, to make that appt. ANy suggestions or concerns on the switch from long time use of ritalin to adderall?

ANy suggestions or concerns on the switch from long time use of ritalin to adderall?I took Ritalin for several years before trying Adderall, and then Dexedrine, Desoxyn, and finally Focalin. I was very surprised at the effectiveness of Focalin compared to the years of having taken methylphenidate. If it was more affordable than it is, I would likely have taken it longer than I did.

I hope whatever you and your Dr decide to try next works out the best for you.;)

Just 5 mg right now. I don't even know what I should be feeling or how I'm feeling...I'm completely out of touch with it all. I'm so used to the ADD interfereing with life it's feeling strange to keep trying to help it. I honestly don't know right now if it's helping.

I take a 20mg long acting at 8, a 20 mg long acting at 1, and a 10 mg short acting at 6.

I'm medicated all day long :)

Hmmm whats the difference between the long acting and short acting, I have no idea what I'm taking, I'm guessing short acting? Are you talking about time release pills?

i'm prescribed one 10 mg pill twice a day.

(hate it. makes me feel like i'm gonna have a heart attack.):eek:

I started Ritalin about 4 months ago. I take 30 mg. extended release, and can add another 10 mg. during the day. It wears off after 11 hours, which leaves me getting nothing done in the evenings, so I'll take another 10 mgs. around 5 or 6 pm to cover the evening.

I've had episodes of racing heartbeat with this, but it's gone now. I also notice my pulse is up about 10 beats a minute.

I don't know if I should try out several other drugs and then figure out which is best, or just keep going with the Ritalin, which definitely helps. I do still have really scattered days at times.

I am currently taking 4x10mg IR daily = 40mg

We have tried less and more; this seems to be working well for now. My insurance will not cover the long acting; but from what I have read some people actually do better on the IR any how. It doesn't bother me....I remember to take it, if not I can definately feel it.

I was having issues with rebound moodiness in the evenings; the Wellbutrin has helped smooth that out for me.

In the beginning I also got that "speedy" feeling; it has subsided and only occurs once in a while now. I do notice that I often times have so much focus that I don't know what to do with myself.:p

Now I have been taking 4x20mg = 80mg daily for 2 weeks (3x20mg before that) and I'm really satisfied about the results. Since I don't feel any side effects I'm gonna continue with it :)

I am currently taking 4x10mg IR daily = 40mg

do notice that I often times have so much focus that I don't know what to do with myself.:p
I completely agree. Its weird, I feel like I've gotten taking ritalin down to a science. If I take it before a meal, depending on how big that meal is, I'll know exactly what effect it'll have on me, vs if I take it after the meal. It totally depends on my mood how I take it. If i'm going out drinking I know I have to be careful not to take it right before and not eat cause I'll drink a lot more and be a lot more hungover...also sometimes in the morning on the empty stomach I'll get that speedy feeling from it. I'm trying to figure out a way to slowly edge off of it because I plan on getting pregnant in the next few years and I want it completely out of my body by then.

I'm trying to figure out a way to slowly edge off of it because I plan on getting pregnant in the next few years and I want it completely out of my body by then.I hope you plan on doing more research before you have kids, for your kids' sake. Ritalin is in and out of your system very quickly - why we have to take it so often during the day - and one does not need to taper off of it.

Here is a good explanation about the half-life of Ritalin:

http://adhd.emedtv.com/ritalin/how-long-does-ritalin-stay-in-your-system.html

Understanding the Half-Life of Ritalin


The half-life of a medication is the time it takes for half of the drug to be cleared from your system. After two half-lives, 75 percent of the medication will be cleared from your system. After three half-lives, 87.5 percent of the medication is out of your system. After five half-lives, only about 3 percent of the medication remains in your body.

The half-life for Ritalin in children is about 2.5 hours on average. In adults, the half-life is about 3 to 3.5 hours on average. Keep in mind that these numbers are averages. If your liver or kidneys are not functioning normally, you may clear Ritalin from your system faster or slower than normal. Even among healthy people, there is a wide range of half-lives for Ritalin (1.3 to 7.7 hours in adults). Ritalinic acid (a by-product of Ritalin) has a half-life of about 3 to 4 hours.

How Long Does Ritalin Stay in Your System? -- A Summary


For the purposes of drug testing, it is difficult to say how long Ritalin (http://adhd.emedtv.com/ritalin/ritalin.html) stays in your system. This will depend on how well your liver and kidneys are functioning (as well as how sensitive the drug test is). However, for other purposes, it can be assumed that the half-life of Ritalin is approximately two to four hours, which means that Ritalin will be out of your system in less than a day.

I understand, but I want to be off of it anyways and for me... tapering would be the easiest way.

I'm on 80mg a day. Started off working up to 60mg, but found that since I have a high motabolism, each dose only lasts about 2 hours. Since there's no government health benefits avaliable for something that might last longer, we just had to up the dose to 80mg, which seems to work quite fine.