I have yet to try my medication. My doctor prescribed Ritalin LA.

Has anyone tried this medication? If so how do you feel about it?

If you had to change Medication what did you end up taking instead?

I know everyone is different but I just would appreciate any input on your experiences with this particular drug.


Thanks!

I've been taking Ritalin LA for a few months and like it. I don't have the extreme ups and downs I had with regular Ritalin, and it does help me focus. It does decrease my appetite, and decrease my caffeine tolerance, but I haven't found these side effects too troublesome.

krisp,
I love Diet Doctor Pepper and I bet I wont be drinking much of that when I start the Ritalin ehh. Does it make you jittery when you drink caffeine? What happens? I could deffinately afford to lose about 30 lbs so that is no problem there. LOL!

I still drink caffeine (not a lot) while taking ritalin, although my doctor said not to. It has never made me jittery at all.

Also I have not lost any appetite or weight, in fact I may possibly be gaining.

-Britawn

Really that is very interesting on the weight gain... Hmmm why do you think that is? Deos your doctor have anything to say about that.

I haven't said anything to the doctor, but I think the reason is that I've always been bouncing off the walls with energy, and now that I take the meds I am calm and still.

And now that I am sitting still more, I find myself eating a little more!

-Britawn

Well I can certainly understand that! I hope they do the same for me on the "sitting still part". I have heard they make your heart race do you ever feel that? I can imagine that would feel very strange to be sitting still and feel your heart pounding.

One time I took 20 mg at once and my heart raced a little, so now I just take 10 like I'm supposed to and its never happened since.

I still have my morning coffee, even though I probably shouldn't. But if I run out of meds I crave the caffeine considerably more. On the meds, I don't exceed one or two cups of coffee. More makes me slightly jittery. YMMV, but you can probably sneak in a Diet Dr. Pepper or two. ;)

When I first started this med, I had a little trouble going to sleep the first couple of nights. This side effect went away pretty quickly.

Thanks for all your input! I am very ill with bronchitits so I have to wait untill I am better to take my Ritalin LA. I am very dicourage because I wanted to try it out this weekend but I hear it is not wise to do this when your on antibiotics.

The central nervous system effects on heart rate and blood pressure do slowly go away in most people - perhaps not completely. I do find that I have to totally stay away from coffee when I take ritalin, but this is not because it makes be jittery, but because my "gut" can't handle it - but I was already controlling my coffee consumption before I started taking ritalin - two cups a day was my MAX or there was great suffering!

I drank a Diet Dr. Pepper at 9:30 so I am going to dring a bunch of water and wait till 11am and then I am going to give it a shot. I will let you all know what happens next.

I took my medicine and posted in the Journal about my first day. WOW what a difference! Unfortunatly the medicine barely reached 6 hours for me. When it wore off OMG that was not good - I was ready for bed. I had no problems eating or sleeping when it wore off. I felt very strange though - like I was getting a hangover feeling YUCK! My mood was bad and I felt a little blue but that period only lasted about 45 minutes then I was ready to eat dinner and get to bed.

The first couple of days on ritalin were the hardest, but after a week everything was fine for me. You just get used to it.

I took my med at 8:30 this morning and I work this afternoon until 5pm. I really hope it does not crash on me while I am at work!

Keep in mind, that for some folks...once a day (with the extended release of Ritalin) isnt enough. Some folks have had to take it once in the morning, and once at midday.

I am one of those people...I take Ritalin LA twice a day.

Really I did not know this could be taken 2x's a day. I will check with my doctor on that.

livingwithadd: when do you notice it wears off on the first dose?

It lasts between 6 and 8 hours for me depending on what part of my cycle I'm in.

Mine is right at 6 maybe less and I am taking the 30 mil. I had a very bad day at work as my medicine wore off an hour after I got there and the crash feeling came. I had a bad night last night too. I did not sleep at all maybe 2 hours. But I think it is because I took my caugh medicine. I am having a really tough time with these peaks and valleys. I am not liking that at all. I go back to the doctor on Monday and I think I am going to try Adderall.:(

You might also want to try regular ritalin - you have more options than with the Ritalin LA. Most of these sustained release stimulants work by releasing a certain percentage (40-50%) of the drug right away, and then releasing the remainder about 4 hours later. They don't release continuously because research shows stimulants are more effective if there are "peaks and valleys". How well they work for a particular person depends on how long the drug works for YOU and the time it takes for your digestive tract to release the second dose. I find that a dose of ritalin lasts about 3 hours for me, so I really need to take it 4 times per day to get full coverage. I take a little less in the morning and a more in the afternoon, with a smaller dose at 5 or 6 pm (7am - 20mg, 10am - 30mg, 2pm - 30mg and 5pm - 20mg. This sounds like a lot, but I'm a big guy and this is still less than the maximum recommended amount). I go to bed about midnight, so there's plenty of time for the drug to wear off and it hasn't affected my sleep too much. I like the control the regular release gives me - with the LA, it may be a problem to take a second pill, since the second release is going to happen in 4 hours whether you need to go to sleep or not! The benefit of the LA is that you don't have to remember to take your pills at a specific time, and children then don't have to take their medicaiton to school, etc.
You could also take the LA and then take a regular release towards the end of the day to prevent the crash at work.
Adderall is also a good choice, since it does last longer then Ritalin.
It takes a while to figure out just the right dose and time for best effect - I'm still trying to figure out what works best for me.
Good luck,
Greg

Thanks Gregster! I am still having a bad crash - It's very disappointing. I think I may ask to try the Adderall and NOT the extended release form. I think my body does not do well with these. I have taken other extend release medications and had problems with my metabolism being so fast. I find that the Ritalin LA takes about 1 hour to "kick" in and then lasts 2.5 to 3 hours and the 2nd "kick" drags at a low level for about 3 to 4 hours and the drop off is terrible. I am getting depressed and headaches from hell! I have been able to sleep and eat fine. With the exception of one night when I took a lortab for my headache! Dr. said it was fine to take it at night. Ohh noooo I was up all night.

well I'm just starting out with Ritalin LA, I think it works better then the regular Ritalin(too many ups and downs) the LA gives me a more steady day...once I find out the right dosage that works best I'll be set! Anyways I rather take 2 pills a day then having to constantly take pills every 3-4 hours...makes sense and I feel its safer, easier, and healthier...
I'm going to try 30mg once I wake up and another 20 or 30mg when I feel its needed probably 4-6 hours later...it takes time to figure it all out..