Hi!
I´ve been reading posts here for some time, but today I registred, because now I have official diagnose :) I started to read about adult ADD some months ago and it was so reliefing to discover, that this isn´t go away after growing up - just to know I have low dopamine in brain and what it can couse is therapeutical. I got rid of this constant feeling of quilt and dissapointment of myself.
Ok, now Ritalin. I stared yesterday, taking very low dose at the beginning and it seems to work well, so another relief :) It even seem to make me more social and I can get more things done, though I still jump from one thing to another, but it´s not a problem since I actually get these things done :) But I have basically 2 questions about Ritalin. First, I have weak heart (myocard) and doc said to be careful and observe myself while I take Ritalin. I don´t have some serious heart illness, but I´ve had myocarditises during childhood and it has made my heart weeker. I do sports and hip-hop dance, what is quite hard and physical, so I´m not generally weak. But stimulants make my heart rate faster, that´s why I don´t drink coffe. It is good for my nervous system and helps me concentrate longer, but makes heart awfully pounding. Ritalin does that too a little, but not as far as much as coffe. I haven´t found any thread here about heart problems and Ritalin. My doc keeps contact with me, but I just want to hear other´s experiences too, is it likly, that when my body gets used to Ritalin, heart rate slows down too? It´s the only side effect I´ve experienced and Ritalin really seems to suit me, so I would like to continue taking it.
Another question is about creativity. I´m myself very creative person and it has been one of my concerns regarding stimulants. There is this myth, that taking them kills creativity, but I haven´t found any poof or research about it. Maybe some of you knows more?

:)Hello Edith, welcome to the forum....enjoy your stay:)

Hi all. First post, love this forum.
I'm bumping this thread as my question is pretty much the same as TS's.
Anyone got any comment on these questions?

thanks!

Hi,

I'm new to all this as well and was prescribed Ritalin three weeks ago.

Heart: During the first two weeks I also experienced all kinds of side effects like heart pounding, upset stomach and dizzyness but it significantly improved. What worked for me most was to drink a lot of water when taking the pill (1-2 glasses) and splitting the half pill into two quarters which I took 15-30 minutes apart. During the last weeks my side effects almost completley went away (obviously the body gets used to the meds) so I slowly upped the dose as agreed with my doc.

Some people reported that switching to other brands or generica helped them, so that's something you can try, if you experience side effects. MHP will raise your heart rate for sure, it's a stimulant after all. For me that increase is less then coffee or cigarettes do to me. In any case, if you have heart issues, take it slow, talk to your doc and make sure you get used to the effects and cross-effects of the med (like coffee, alcohol or stress (!) ) so that you can avoid mistakes when in important situations.

Creativity: That's a difficult question. My experience was, that during the first few days the med killed my creativity totally. (During the effect time and rebound) Now, after a few weeks, I'm not blocked anymore and effective, but it is a different, more focused way of thinking which I havent fully got used to yet. (I am creative, but I'm somehow still suspicious because it feels different) I guess you'll have to try it yourself, but give it a few days / weeks before you make you judgment.
Also, Ritalin is not retarded, which means, it's effect goes away after a few hours. That's good because you can time it, for example not taking it Fri-Sun or just taking it in the morning or the afternoon, in case you prefer doing some tasks without meds.

So, that's my little story about my first weeks of ritalin, I hope you could get something out of it. ;-)


Green7

I´ve been reading posts here for some time, but today I registred, because now I have official diagnose

Then, welcome to ADDF! You're in good company here. I hope that your stay is a pleasant experience.



It is good for my nervous system and helps me concentrate longer, but makes heart awfully pounding. Ritalin does that too a little, but not as far as much as coffe. I haven´t found any thread here about heart problems and Ritalin.
My doc keeps contact with me, but I just want to hear other´s experiences too, is it likly, that when my body gets used to Ritalin, heart rate slows down too?
Interestingly, I can drink coffee by the bucket load, and I don't get any heart thumping issues, (and I can go to sleep easily as well). But Ritalin does make my heart thump.

It is, after all, a nervous system stimulant. So this isn't entirely unexpected.

I found that after a couple of days, my body got used to the meds, and the side-effects abated, but the therapeutic effect stayed.

I am now on a fairly consistent 40 to 60 mg a day during the work days, and 10 to 20mg a day during weekends.

It's important to keep in contact with your Doc. Also write a a journal of your experience, it does help you to see the difference it makes looking back on it all.



Another question is about creativity. I´m myself very creative person and it has been one of my concerns regarding stimulants. There is this myth, that taking them kills creativity, but I haven´t found any poof or research about it. Maybe some of you knows more?
That is an interesting question, and there have been several threads on this topic on ADDF. Try these:
http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57023
http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50773
http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49214
http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20196

There are others, (but I'll have to dig and find the really good one that came up a while ago).

My experience has changed. I've discovered that now I'm on 40 to 60mg/day my creativity has gone completely out the window. I essentially become a drone. Sure, I do great wads of work and complete everything, but I miss my spontaneous creative side.

This is why I don't take so much during weekends. I find it allows me to be creative, but just enough to help me along the way.

There are others, (but I'll have to dig and find the really good one that came up a while ago).

My experience has changed. I've discovered that now I'm on 40 to 60mg/day my creativity has gone completely out the window. I essentially become a drone. Sure, I do great wads of work and complete everything, but I miss my spontaneous creative side.

This is why I don't take so much during weekends. I find it allows me to be creative, but just enough to help me along the way.

mijahe from what age to what age have you been taking adhd meds?

I found it did negatively impacted my creative thinking as well when I used to be on ritalin. Noticing creative impact in a classroom environment is difficult given the rigidity of classroom environment and teaching methods.
.
More fundamentally long term use has caused me to develop a kind of rigidity in certain types of thinking. As a salesperson at work I struggle immensely to think or problem solve or come up with adequate solutions to customers problems or situations I face without the solution clearly writen on paper and predefined infront of me. Unless the rules for how to handle the situation are clearly defined in advance I am very poor at figuring out my own solution how to handle the problem. For example, if a customer had a fairly unique problem and required a unique solution, I couldn't even brainstorm and ideal solution. And all my 18-19 yr old co-workers were having no problem. Something simple I couldn't even come up with.

I'm a big lego buff, I have tons of lego, I even won a city wide competition at 8 or 9 yrs old, as well as made it into the lego magazine. It was a really creative spaceship that i built. What i found was as years progressed is my ability to come up with creative creations seemed to get less and less. I struggled more and more to create new creative things. I made a large castle when I was 16, but all my design ideas were taken from my younger sister and off of an official purchasable lego castle. (I told people who saw it that I thought it all up myself of course :rolleyes:)

I may be an extreme example though because I took adhd medication for 13 yrs, and since I started at a very young child of only 7.

The doses as at 7yrs old were definitely smaller mijahe's and then proportionate to my body size but I don't recall the exact amount.

mijahe from what age to what age have you been taking adhd meds?

Well. I'm 42, and I was officially diagnosed only recently. I have suspected for the last two years since my child was diagnosed 2 years ago. I have only been taking consistent medication for the last two months. Previously I have been on and off because of side-effects, (anxiety, heart palpitations, etc).



I found it did negatively impacted my creative thinking as well when I used to be on ritalin. Noticing creative impact in a classroom environment is difficult given the rigidity of classroom environment and teaching methods.
.
More fundamentally long term use has caused me to develop a kind of rigidity in certain types of thinking.

That's interesting. I'm only a recent user of medication, but my experience is similar. I suspect that even though we have an ADD brain, we still are subject to the standard aging issues of NTers.

With age brings more rigidity anyway. I would assume that this would apply to ADDers as well.



Unless the rules for how to handle the situation are clearly defined in advance I am very poor at figuring out my own solution

Well this is the classic over-whelming that an ADDer experiences. I need to have the path defined before me or I get lost.... Well, I get lost anyway, but at least I can see that I have strayed and pull myself back on track.

This isn't good for creativity, though.

Since medication I have discovered something interesting:
I actually have a highly logical and linear brain, (left brained), but my ADD pushes me well into the right side, (creativity).

on-medication: I can follow instructions, I can 'see' the path before me. The order in which things need to be done. My 'self-talk' is louder. Procrastination vanishes. Thoughts are clearer. There's no fuzz.

off-medication: Deep day dreams. Frustration. Thoughts are fuzzy. Procrastination is chronic. My 'self-talk' is a quiet whisper that I can ignore/can't hear. I get overwhelmed when I can't 'see the path' before me. Ideas pop into my head. Oddly connected associations appear.

This has implications in my life:
on-medication: I become a drone. I work. I do. But there's no creativity. I almost have to struggle to be creative.

off-medication: Fantasy, thoughts all jumble around. I can come up with some fantastic ideas and inventions. Although, I forget them, or have no idea how to pull them off.

Consequently: With medication, I'm trying to aim for something in the middle. I would like to have my creative side still there, but also be able to 'do'.

So, (of course with speaking to my pDoc), I'm trying to 'hit the ceiling' with medication to see where it is first. This is the point at which I see no benefit from increased doses, and the side-effects are horrible.

Then, I will back down to the point at which my creative side comes out again, but I can still 'do'.




I'm a big lego buff, I have tons of lego, I even won a city wide competition at 8 or 9 yrs old, as well as made it into the lego magazine.

Interesting. Same here. Love it. You will still find me spending hours playing with it with my kids. I think it's one of the ADDers toys of choice.

However, my experience deviates from yours slightly. I entered into a competition, but couldn't handle the pressure. My 'creative side' just vanished, and ended up making some stupid thing.

However, on the kitchen floor at home: I made cities, buildings, complex mechanical devices, (without hinges! :) ).

I just wanted to add my input as far as the creativity issue. I take adderall and I know this is the ritalin board, but I had the same concerns regarding stims and creativity.

I'm a painter and am now getting into graphic design, so the effects of medication on my creativity were a real deal breaker. It's been a process adjusting to the changes I've experienced with the meds, and I see that they're definitely not negative.

Making art for me breaks down into two basic things - conceptualization, and bringing the concept into reality by problem solving. Before meds, my process was 100% intuitive. Conceptualizing could take a long time, I would have to have plenty of quiet time to listen for my answers. I would start a painting (or several) and then listen to my gut for every step after that. I needed a totally controlled environment to work, where I could control the noise and distraction level, because sometimes my gut speaks really softly, and it would take so much work to get out of my noisy head. Seemed like the perfect thing for me, the dreamer.

When I started meds, things definitely shifted. At first I thought this wasn't good - my head was clearer, and a lot of what it said made sense - initially I felt confused as to what to listen to. It's been a couple of months now, and I'm happy to say that things seem more balanced. I have more cereberal input than I did before, and this is turning out to be a good thing. Before I would overthink things to the point of paralysis, now I'm able to think of something, check with my intuition and see if it feels right and then jump right in and do it. I'm more productive, and am getting more positive responses to my work. It's like I can use all the tools in my artistic toolbox how.

I thought of something, I wonder if sometimes "feeling" more creative is not necessarily "being" more creative. I say this because there used to be a couple of people in the studio next to mine who were pretty talented. But they'd sometimes do this thing where they'd make use of certain substances before they started painting - they thought it made them more creative. It didn't. I'd watch as they painted their work into mud. This wasn't just my opinion - they'd look at the work later, and wonder what the heck happened. I think they "felt" more creative - but instead of expanding their abilities, it was clear they were putting a damper on them. I don't mean to sound judgemental, it's more an observation.

Thank you all for interesting answers! It seams, that in most cases Ritalin does decrease creativity. Well, I don´t take it anymore, because of my heart problem, Doc said, that it´s not safe. I just started with Strattera, see, how it goes. It´s definitely diferent, but I haven´t read about connection with creativity. We´ll see :)
Thanks anyway! Dealing with my ADD and trying meds have made me think of lots of things starting with creativity and ending with philosophical questions: is my personality just chemical reactions in my brain, what am I anyway etc? It was big change for me to realise, that many things I always thought were my personality characters are actually chemical reactions. So, does meds change me or allow me to be who I really are? :)

philosophical questions: is my personality just chemical reactions in my brain, what am I anyway etc? It was big change for me to realise, that many things I always thought were my personality characters are actually chemical reactions. So, does meds change me or allow me to be who I really are? :)
If you create a thread in ADD/ADHD Scientific Discussions (http://www.addforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=310) on this topic, you will find that you get some very interesting answers.

Thanks, I´ll do it!