Hi everyone,

I have been taking ritalin for almost 4 weeks now.

I am taking regular ritalin ~30 mg a day and although I do feel more focused and less "intense" I have been dealing with a few issues.

I take 10 mg in morning around 8 am on an empty stomach then another 10mg around noon, then another 10 mg around 4pm.

*I have also tried it with meals and have had the same issues...

Here are a few issues I am have been experiencing...

Upset stomach, loose bowels, gas and a lot of bloating

I have no appetite until 8pm or 9pm and I then feel starving so I end up gulping down a lot of food which makes me feel ill.

I also wear contacts and notice my eyes are always dry and irritated, anyone else have this?

Is all this normal? Any suggestions?

Missgoldie, do you eat a meal one hour before or after taking Ritalin?

I don't wear contacts so can't help there.

In regards to the upset stomach and gut, I have a sensitive system myself and I was getting that too. I found that probiotics (healthy bacteria in capsules) helps wonders - plus slippery elm powder, which you just mix with water and it soothes you digestive system, eliminates gas, etc. Sometimes you just need to relax too,
don't let gas get trapped, or you'll get bad cramps. ;)
If you don't have much of an appetite, you need to find small nibbly things you can eat when you feel like that. I don't get loss of appetite too badly later in the day, but in the mornings I find that bananas and musli/fruit bars are easy to stomach. Helps a lot with preventing gut upset too.
With the dry eyes, most stimulants (or drugs for that matter) have a dieuretic effect (meaning the reduce your body's cells capacity for absorbing water) which can make you pee a lot, and dehydrates you. This can give you dry mouth, dry eyes etc. Just drink plenty of fluids, the dieuretic effect of ritalin will reduce over time.

Dry eyes and dry mouth aren't uncommon for Ritalin... I stopped wearing contact lenses after a month of Ritalin because of the dry eye problem. If your eyes are dry and your having digestive issues, you might want to check with a dental hygenist to make sure you aren't also suffering from Dry Mouth.. which could have an effect on your digestion, as well as a multitude of dental and oral hygeniene issues. There are tooth pastes and mouth rinses that can help this very easily.

Hi Missgoldie! My 7yo son has been on 22.5 mg Ritalin daily since May this year with great success. The only problem we do have is also his appetite. He starts wolfing down everything in sight after 7.30 pm too. I've tried meal replacements during the day, but he refuses to take them. We haven't solved this problem yet, I hope you solve yours.

I took Dex for about a month, it was great. Then, my doctor thought it was time to try Adderall since it was more convenient. (she said it was the same medication as Dex - she said she had been on the board (or committee, or whatever it is) when the drug was being developed) My first and only day taking Adderall was horrible - couldn't smile (felt like my face was frozen), couldn't smile, couldn't make eye contact for more than a second, felt trapped in my own head.

Since I've been back on Dex, about three weeks, I get drowsy between 11AM and 2PM for about 3 hours. The only thing that helps is to drink caffeine. (I drink a few cups of green tea, it has caffeine, but not as harsh as coffee (which I love), since coffee dries my eyes out even more) Even with the caffeine, the drowsiness is completely annoying, since my mornings are completely the opposite - I'm in a good mood, can focus. Also, since I took Adderall for one day, my eyes are painfully dry in the evening (and sometimes during the day) I use Teargel for my eyes, but it only helps for a few minutes.

I tried stopping Dex altogether for one day, but was extremely cranky. (I guess I'm addicted)