I was glad when my psychiatrist said that I wasn't just suffering from depression, but also ADD. I had never really thought about myself having ADD, but looking back upon my past and current life, the fact of being ADD makes a whole hellava-lotta sense.

Admittedly, I liked the idea of being perscribed stimulants, since I have always wished I could not be so lazy, tired, and unmotivated. I was started on 18mg of Concerta a day (very extended release ritalin) with no effect. I then was brought up to 36mg and started to faintly see and feel some positive effects. I actully liked when I didn't take my pill until early afternoon so I could stay up a little later at night without passing out from tiredness. Within a few weeks the 36mg seemed to loose it's effect. I lost the tiny bit of additional attention span it had been giving me at work and, even taking my pill after 2 pm, I would still fall asleep before midnight even when I wanted to stay up to hang out with my girlfriend or other friends.

Having some 18mg pills left, I tried taking 54mg/day for a few days and it was no different than on 36mg. I told my doctor this and even though I asked about trying 72mg/day, she told me to stick with 54mg a day (taking 36 when I wake up and 18 a few hours later). Even trying 54mg for a few more days I was still left with a 3 and a half second attention span. I could still barely get anything done a work and, as usual, my girlfriend would often become upset at me for not listening (when I was really trying to), and not getting things I said I would get done (even though they were things I wanted to get done but wound distracted and do somthing else).

After reading some of the forums here, I liked the idea of being in more control of my medication. I relized that there were times in my day/week that I really needed a normal attention span while others I didn't. The concerta, for me is too much all or nothing, and the all isn't enough. Even though I asked my doctor about regular short-acting ritalin, she wanted me to stick with the concerta....so I tried something new....

One day when I was at work and really was behind on several things I had to get done, after I had taken my 36mg in the morning, once I got to work, instead of just popping the 18mg pill, I peeled of the outside layer and crushed it with the inside part of the pill and then downed that with a glass of water. Within about 20 minutes I felt alert and aware of myself and what I had to do. Those next 4 hours was some of my most productive time at work.

So now I have begun taking 36mg (or sometimes 54mg) of whole concerta in the morning and then crushing up a 36mg pill and taking half of it once I get to work and the other half 4 hours later. This has been working very well for me the last few days. Twice I did another half a 36mg later since I had plans to get some things done at home that I hadn't been able to finish in weeks and was able to get several of those things done.

At no time, has taking this medication made me feel euphoric or high. It has just made me feel like I can get things done and concentrate on single things like a "normal" (non-ADD) person. Last night I even did a crushed 36mg before going out to an outdoor concert at night. Once again I did not feel any kind of "high" but could enjoy myself without being contantly distracted and getting bored/tired as I usually did whenever going out to do anything after 9-10pm.

Am I beginning to cross a dangerous line here? I do not want to become physically addicted or dependent on meds in order to live, and I know it may not be a good idea to be self-medicating myself. But, by doing so I have felt like I can do many of the things that I want to do as many non-ADD people can. I am happy to be able to actually acomplish things at work since I really do like my job, and had feared that my ADD is going to wind up eventually getting me fired. I really have no want to have this medication (or any other) make me feel high, and if this one ever does I will definately back off for fear of getting hooked on the high.

At this point, I don't want to/can't bring this up with my doctor because: a) She is leaving town so my next appointement, which is at the end of the month, is with a new doctor...and b) I'd fear that she would cut me off anyway thinking I am wanting more of the Concerta/Ritalin for something other than just giving me some relief from my ADD and allowing me to become a productive member of society.

Sincerely,

Jason

Hi there, I took Concerta for a short time. I couldn't afford the high price being that I am uninsured so my doctor switched me to regular ritalin. It is very nice being in control of your own dosage. Sometimes I need less and sometimes more, depending on the way the work day goes.

I am prescibed 40 mg a day and sometimes I take 10 and sometimes 50. My doctor is very understanding and usually be the end of the month I have lots left over. Which tells me I am not over doing it.

I wouldn't say anything aout crushing your pills to the doc, I think that would be very much frowned upon. Instead say that you would like to be in more control of your dosage and start taking regular ritalin.

With the regular ritalin you don't crush it, it starts to work right away, so its not necessary. I do think that crushing your Concerta is crossing the line, but I'm not a professional, just my opinion.

Potuncle.

By definition I think addiction requires an increasing amount of substance to have the same effect. I'm quite certain we could expand that definition to fill many many pages of type too if we wanted to.

Firstly, have you considered finding a Doctor that specialises in ADHD? I live in a very rural area and don't have a whole lot of choice but there was help out there once I started to poke around and look. I also armed myself with a check list of questions for my care givers regarding ADHD which quickly weeded out the grain from the chaff. I'll post it again if you like or you might find it in a search of the forums here.

I'm an addictive type of guy, so I resisted taking meds for too long. Once I became willing to consider it and began trials I checked to see what the half life of the meds was so that I could at least make an attempt to not create a tolerance for the drugs that were helping me!

So far it's been great. After several months of consistant doses of Dexedrine I'm still getting what I need out of the drugs and those effects seem to be stable. I don't have any experience with the the drug you are taking personally but there is a forum here for folks that have comments and questions about it.

As far as the addiction goes only you can say one way or the other in the final analysis. I will say that if you are having questions they are likely a good indication that some answers are in order.

When I posed these types of questions to my doctor, her only concern was about an increasing requirement and other than that she was completely at ease with my meds and addictive history.

If I have wanted to increase my dose I have consulted my pharmacist and my physician before making any big leap. As it turns out, less is often more effective for me.

I'm just nicely aware that a small short acting dose of a stimulant like Ritalin can greatly enhance a social evening. I tried this for the first time last week-end and I was thrilled to be so much calmer in a crowded, loud and distracting milieu. I've repeated this strategy once since and again it's just the ticket for me. I think it was Andrew and David here that were commenting on taking short acting doses to act later in the day that got me thinking. What a treat to be steady in a social occasion.

I am so grateful for you all.

Let us know what you learn along the way please. And good luck. Your progress must feel so good to you. I know mine feels sweet after years of banging my head against a wall with little but pain to show for it.
ian