Years ago, when I was a heavy drinker,(sober 10 yrs now) I tried ritalin short acting I think around 20 mg? one time only a friend gave it to me. I noticed it was like putting on a pair of glasses on my brain and my brain slowed down and it was such a relief. I had a few beers in me I'm sure.

I have since tried ritalin without alcohol and i dont get that nice strong focused effect. In fact my leg shakes more and I feel more scattered on a smaller dose. On a smaller dose I should not feel better, but I certainly shouldn't feel worse.

If anyone is familiar with the amen clinic, subtype 6 is the ring of fire type and neurotin not stimulants are recommended. Neurontin has GABA in it and I am taking natural GABA along with theanine and it helps even with focus a little bit, it stabilizes my moods alot better. But I want my brain to slow down and the mental restlessness going from one new stimulus to another to stop. I want to see the forest for the trees instead of the other way around. I want to be able to focus on one thing at a time.

I cant go back to drinking obviously but I was wondering if the alcohol took care of that part of the brain that makes me anxious so the ritalin could do its job? I was wondering if maybe kava kava extract may do the same thing? I just started concerta 18mg today and its better than the ritalin la 10 mg, but i cant say my focus is as good as when I don't take anything at all. Please give me some feedback on the kava kava. I already take the theanine/gaba with it as it does take the edge and helps my focus some. I am just wondering if stimulants make it worse like doc amen says if i got the ring of fire type but its not the only type I have I have 1,3,4,6. So the gaba helps but not with all of the symptoms. thanks in advance.

OK now hang on for the ride of your life:eek:i was on ritalin for 7 years and never felt a thing ,i was too young to have a clue.i was the guy who gave my meds to the football team (they loved them )and watched other people melting. you are on this new med concerta because of your past abuse history,it sounds like you are new to the game.seems that you have to sit back and find out if it will give you relief.i have tried the kava stuff .a waste of good money.
beer and ritalin i have alot of backround it is a bad mix.

how bad your illness,what is it like?
how long have you suffered?

if you have anxiety issues, difficulty sleeping, feeling wired, it could be preexisting, a consequence of alcohol abuse, or a combination of the two.

ritalin is one of the more anxiogenic (anxiety inducing) stimulants in my experience.

dextroamphetamine is probably the least anxiogenic that i've encountered. i have similar issues with alcohol, if i drink heavily a day or two before i take my meds they just make me feel scattered and restless instead of focused and clearheaded. after a few days away from booze i take them with little anxiety.

adderall is fairly anxiogenic, but less so than ritalin for me.

there probably isn't an easy answer here... try piracetam with choline (both nutritional supplements), i found it was very good at providing the clearheaded feeling even after i drank, and it seemed to calm and steady my nerves instead of exciting them.

piracetam you can usually only find as a bulk powder you can just mix it in water, it tastes foul and it's tricky to dose right but it is pretty effective and has few side effects.

add b-vitamins and fish oil and you'll probably be a lot closer to where you want to be.

thanks to both replies. I saw a adhd specialist from usf in tampa. He is very well known in this aspect. I just got diagnosed yesterday. I saw a psych dr that didn't specialize in adhd and I found out he was not up on the latest. He prescribed me ritalin la 10mg for 30 days without titrating my dosage so I seeked out this specialist. I have had it as a kid and I am really sure i have it but the methylphenidate is messing with my motorskills some and not helping me with focus. It does chill me out but I want to focus without needed to chase the next stimuli. I would never go to alcohol again. I just wonder if the alcohol chilled me down enough to let the ritalin that time focus me. I have been waiting for this to do the same and it hasn't. I take a wonderful supplement theanine serene that is a must have for stress at work its like putting a lid on a boiling pot of water. It calms me down and it focuses me some but doesnt help with the impulsivity or restlessness at all. Please reply to this message also I am new to this and I need all the help I can get. How bad is my illness? I have a hard time getting along with by bosses and if my needs aren't met i get very anxious mini panic attacks and freak out basically. It doesn't do good for people relations that is for sure. But when I am relaxed and not under a whole lot of stress i am a very nice pleasant person. I just cant handle a lot of stimuli coming at me all at once. I also am not a social butterfly and dont get peoples way of thinking on a lot of things which causes issues. ie. I had taken care of a patient and told him when he is done I will collect his payment. Well when I came back, I saw him sitting at the other girls desk and she was in the process of collecting the money. I interupted her and said sir please come over to my desk I will take care of you. She was very upset and said I embarrassed her. I couldnt understand cause I had talked to that patient from the beginning and I was wanting to follow thru at the end. ( I do er registration at the hospital). But she said I was very rude for snatching him away from her cause I was in the back, he wanted to get out of there and so she was just helping him. So I tend to not see the forest for the trees and live my life through my eyes and not others and this obviously causes conflict. Thanks robbielyn

it sounds like ritalin spikes anxiety for you while on the other hand it may help you feel level and focus as it seems like you may have adhd. If this is the case if ritalin helps you focus and levels you but you have some issues with the anxiety component you may want to try taking ritalin or concerta in addition to a medication like cymbalta or lexapro to even the effect out.

thanks to both replies. I saw a adhd specialist from usf in tampa. He is very well known in this aspect. I just got diagnosed yesterday. I saw a psych dr that didn't specialize in adhd and I found out he was not up on the latest. He prescribed me ritalin la 10mg for 30 days without titrating my dosage so I seeked out this specialist. I have had it as a kid and I am really sure i have it but the methylphenidate is messing with my motorskills some and not helping me with focus. It does chill me out but I want to focus without needed to chase the next stimuli. I would never go to alcohol again. I just wonder if the alcohol chilled me down enough to let the ritalin that time focus me. I have been waiting for this to do the same and it hasn't. I take a wonderful supplement theanine serene that is a must have for stress at work its like putting a lid on a boiling pot of water. It calms me down and it focuses me some but doesnt help with the impulsivity or restlessness at all. Please reply to this message also I am new to this and I need all the help I can get. How bad is my illness? I have a hard time getting along with by bosses and if my needs aren't met i get very anxious mini panic attacks and freak out basically. It doesn't do good for people relations that is for sure. But when I am relaxed and not under a whole lot of stress i am a very nice pleasant person. I just cant handle a lot of stimuli coming at me all at once. I also am not a social butterfly and dont get peoples way of thinking on a lot of things which causes issues. ie. I had taken care of a patient and told him when he is done I will collect his payment. Well when I came back, I saw him sitting at the other girls desk and she was in the process of collecting the money. I interupted her and said sir please come over to my desk I will take care of you. She was very upset and said I embarrassed her. I couldnt understand cause I had talked to that patient from the beginning and I was wanting to follow thru at the end. ( I do er registration at the hospital). But she said I was very rude for snatching him away from her cause I was in the back, he wanted to get out of there and so she was just helping him. So I tend to not see the forest for the trees and live my life through my eyes and not others and this obviously causes conflict. Thanks robbielyn

Been on Ritalyn for 2 years. At first I felt jittery, nervous, anxious, but after the first month of adjusting dosage, that went away. I became a bit tolerant of the speedy effects and soon enjoyed clarity, ability to take care of business, and completely overhauled my outlook. Therapy, coahing, info sites etc were a huge plus. I dont take it all day, only during work hours, and I let myself become spaceflake on the weekends. Its a tool to me, used in conjunction with coping mechanisms, organizational skills etc.
I changed my profession to better suit my add talents, reduced stress, and started to make time for myself, to calm myself, to get to know the new person I was becoming.
I stopped trying to pretend that I was "normal" to others, became comfortable in my own skin after many years of fear and made friends who understood my mindset.
You will be fine. Treat this as a new beginning. So many people view themselves as victims, helpless and have given in to ADD. I try to view it as a part of me, manageable and not an excuse for anything. Its a constant challenge.

thanks that was encouraging. I am very self conscious about upsetting others all the time that i cannot enjoy people or life. I am in a different world than them and cant understand them and dont know how to respond as i should. I read in a adhd book that some adhder's are very self absorbed and only see things from their own perspective. that is me. I hate it because my heart wants to see things from others perpective and do unto others as i would have them do to me instead of do unto others the way they treat me. It's just real hard to deal with this otherwise my life aint so bad. got a good job, how i have hung onto it for three years(my longest job) is beyond me I should have been fired for having confrontations with my boss. but she sees what i can be which 80% of the time we're ok, so she has been very tolerant of me. so i in turn tolerate her although most of my coworkers dont like her controlling ways.