Note: I had originally posted this in another forum to little avail. Having actually navigated the site more thoroughly, I feel this may be a more appropriate location for my post.

Hello,

I am a 20 year old biology student with ADHD. I've lived with it for much of my life with little exogenous medical intervention.

However I have recently started taking concerta due to the sheer magnitude and ubiquitious nature of my most recent academic edevours... In sort, my psychological coping techniques and organizational strategies are proving to be ineffecieint in times of great stress. School is my life, and this is what I do.

Furthermore the "3 pound world" in my head is my most prized organ, and I try to avoid anything that alters it in such a way that it could cause long-lasting adverse changes.

I'm looking for any scientific studies on the effects on Methylphenidate on the synapses upon which it acts... Does anyone know if the agonist effects that this medication exerts on the synapses VIA exocytosis and re-uptake inhibition cause any damage to neurons in the long run?

Basically: Are there any studies testing long-term potential of neurons using controlled and/or short-release formulations of methylphenidate or derivatives.

I would say that, at my current rate of consumption, I am likely to consume a bottle of 30 every 3 months for 8 months of the year... That being said, I would not really be classified as a "true long-term" user just because of the refreactory periods. Regardless, I would like to see what sort of long-term effects this can have on LTP.

Thank You,
BI
<!-- / message --><!-- controls --> http://www.addforums.com/forums/images/buttons/quote.gif (http://www.addforums.com/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=576252)

First of all, I can't help you with your primary question.

I do have some personal thoughts about this however.
Having read a lot of experiences about ritalin/concerta over the last year or so it seems to me that there is a group of people with such great benefits and almost no bad sideeffects whatsoever that probably they can use this stuff upto age 80 if they need to. Another group obviously keeps struggeling to avoid physical, mental and even abuse problems.

Personally I think the last group are less severe cases(or other impairments or maybe just totally messed up eating/sleeping patters combined with stress and reaction to several unnatural chemicals in our current day foodchain) and for them I guess it might be good tool to cope with complexity of modern way of growing up and basically enebling themselves to get the education that brings them to where they want to be professionally.(tricky but if it really helps, why not. also dont forget dose is extremely low compared to what stimulant junkies often use for decades before crashing)
The first group I think are worst cases of AD(H)D and they probably also are better capable of finding right dose etc for themselves cause they are more than happy just being close to "normal", especially on communicative level and many simple tasks like doing payments etc. that would and probably have been cripling them.
I have to do more reading on this but it also seems as if these people also have almost no physical sideffects whatsoever, again, except stuff that makes them more "normal".

I think I'm somewhere in between these groups and I've only been using these medications for several months and really, to even be able to judge properly how freakin "gone" I have been for my whole life I had to use this stuff.(and get used to it several months also cause, haha, ADD uhhhh did I take that ritalin??? hmmm maybe I took two lol)
I am thinking of lowering the dose from 54 to 36 mg concerta in future, just precaution basically, but if it keeps working like this and I wont get any noticable physical or psychological sideeffects. I dont even care if maybe I got some braindamage at age 70(I read no proof for such things anywhere btw), cause really, I have no choice. Yeah, well maybe in some totally controlled livingenvironment but I'm way too stubborn for that and I have quite some mental capabilities I really love to use without restrictions like that or being in financial problems etc for rest of my life.
See, lotsa AD(H)D people(all???, I think so) are also pretty to even extremely gifted and they really know(and are also even expected to) they can do most common day stuff much easier, quicker and better than quite a lot of other people. But they fail, fail fail, cause off??? Nothing!
Well, if you have felt like that for even a few years there have to be quite severe long term use problems before even thinking of quiting the medication all together. It's like permanent mental bondage of people with very free spirits.

Anyhow, thats how I see things now but I havent been on medication for years yet....