Hello, my name's random_zombie, I'm 30, and I have ADD. I also have general anxiety issues and I used to drink a lot. I quit booze and benzodiazapemes about a year ago. (The withdrawal from the benzos was my worst month EVER, I'm sure.)

Anyway. I had been diagnosed with ADD as a teen. Was prescribed Ritalin. Only time I took it back then was to abuse it a couple of times, and it was before I had my first panic attack.

I digress. I've always been smart; but I haven't been living up to my potential. After 10 or so months of sobriety I noticed thing weren't getting as better as I thought they would; I had also leveled out my anxiety problems. (Was initially 'scribed 40mg of Celexa; went down to 20) I decided to look into the ADD thing again.

So I did, and was re-diagnosed. I was prescribed 10mg of Ritalin twice a day, to start out. Today I got it!

Now, I haven't had a panic attack in a while. The last time I felt a little panicy was after a coffee AND a red bull. So I decided to take the 10mg with two coffees. The good: cleaned a bunch of stuff. Did laundry. ACTUALLY FOLDED MY LAUNDRY RIGHT AFTER IT WAS DONE -- something I *never* do. It was odd; I found myself *vacuuming* more meticuously. Interesting. The bad: watched a movie afterward; felt *beginnings* of anxiety. Too in-tune with my body and whatnot. Some discomfort.

So I liked some of the positives, though I could deal without the mental discomfort.

Anyway, that's the first day. How bad, really, is caffeine and ADD? Does coffee hop up the ritalin a little or a lot? Cuz I was still feeling the anxiety after four-five hours. I guess I'm going to try again tomorrow without the caffeine.

I think something else behind the discomfort was the newness of it all. I mean, there is a definite change in thinking... Does the anxiety wear down after a few days? Weeks? Was it all just the caffeine? Thoughts? Suggestions? Should I reup my SSRI a little? Think that would help?

Nice meeting you all, by the way! I've been reading the boards over the last month or so...

I don't take Ritalin now, but I found that I could NOT combine the two.

Dexadrin and coffee can have the same effect on me if I drink too much coffee or its really strong

they are both drugs so I would suggest you use the ritalin with out the coffee untill you understand all its issues

My doctor gave me my prescription , but had the good sence to tell me.......

" I don't know what will be the correct amount for you. You will have to experimnent with it untill you know what works for you..... Start at the prescribed amount and see what happens and go up slowly from there.........."

The prescribed amount of 5mg was all I ever needed

Now I take it just when I need it as it starts to work withing 12-15 minutes

Thanks both of you. Garry, have you tried ritalin? How is the dex working out? I'm just trying to be as informed as possible with regard to all my options.

QueensUGirl, what happened with the combo with you? Was just the ritalin okay? Why did you stop taking it?

Thanks!

Hi random_zombie,

Coffee and ritalin do NOT mix well with me at all. I can take just the ritalin and be fine, but if I mix it with coffee...wowsa :eek: it hugely increases the feelings of panic! I have severe anxiety (generalized, social, panic, agoraphobia blahblahblah..). So now I only have one very small coffee in the morning and that is it. And I have to make sure it doesn't sit in the coffee press for too long or I will be in trouble with caffeine overdose.

I would say don't give up on ritalin until you try it without the coffee. Also...when I took dexedrine I had no problems with coffee or caffeine of any sort. So...if ritalin doesn't work out for you, you might want to give dex a go.

Good luck! :)

Welcome to Addforums, random zombie, ritalin and caffiene didn't mix with me at all either, but yeah again welcome there is a lot of support for you here