Situational use of Ritalin?

[daisyo75]

Now that I have gotten past the dx stage and am starting a med trial I'm trying to make sense of the drugs.

My Dr mentioned today that I can take my Ritalin situationally. So if I feel I don't need it all the time but I have a situation when I know I will need it I can just take it for that. This is the first time that I have heard this.

He also told me the most I should take at one time and that I can do some minor adjustments to the levels.

Any opinions or contradictions to what I have been told?

He started me with 10mg 2x/day of regular Ritalin.

[Andrew]

Well...My guess is, when you find the dosage level that works for you, you'll want to stay on it. The nice thing about the regular Ritalin, is you feel the effects pretty quickly. You'll know pretty soon if its the right med. (At least, that's the experience I had with it.

[brilliantmoment]

I prefer meds that can be taken "situationally." I have a strange schedule, and I don't like being medicated 24/7.. I love my unmedicated life, but its proven to be bad for my grades... I take 10 mg Focalin (which is pretty much Ritalin minus some scientific mumbo jumbo), as needed. The Dr never mentioned that I can take it situationally, I just decided to try it out on my own, and I liked it.

I think the situational thing is better for some people than others. It all depends on how well they function without I suppose, and their daily demands..

[Conlaw]

I just started Ritalin (generic). I'm not sure if it's working. Sometimes I think it's working, but I'm really not getting much more work done. The piles on my desk are getting a little smaller, and a little more organized. But even unmedicated, I have "good" periods of time where I am at this level - just very sporadic.

If I'm not sure if it's working, does that mean that it's not working? I started with one-10mg in the morning and one in the early afternoon. Then, two in the morning, one early afternoon. And now, two in the a.m. and two in the early afternoon.

How much ritalin is too much? My doctor allowed me to choose between Strattera and Ritalin. I think she would have preferred the Strattera, but I preferred to go with a drug that's been out there for awhile.

I don't want to waste any more of my life being overwhelmed by chaos. Should I keep taking the ritalin until the end of November (doctor's appointment)? TIA,
Susan(who needs to find a new avatar because, unlike when I was first diagnosed, I no longer feel like a miserable little baby!)

[KMiller]

I take Ritalin SR 20mg every morning. I then take 5mg Ritalin twice a day, "as needed." That means I don't technically have to take it, just if I need it. For instance, if I am intending to study some night, I will take it at 6 or 8pm, just because I need to study. But many days, I only take my first 20mg and then my second 5mg at lunch to carry me through the rest of my classes.

[Conlaw]

I have noticed a few effects of the ritalin. I no longer have overwhelming sugar cravings. I still have an appetite, but I was going through a half-gallon of ice cream every other day - I felt almost driven to get the sugar in my body even if I could barely stomach the sweets. You'd think that after two weeks of practically no ice cream, I would have lost some weight - what's up with that?!?!

I am sleeping much better. I no longer "wake up" at about 11 p.m. and stay up until all hours, just to have to get up with the kids at 6:30 a.m. With the ritalin, I am tired by 10 or 11 p.m. and not too restless to go to sleep.

My original intent was to use the ritalin "situtationally," but that didn't work at all. If ritalin doesn't work (or is it working?), what would you suggest next? I do a lot of juvenile defense work, and most of my clients recommend Adderal. Thanks, Susan

[Gregster]

Does it feel like the drug works better just after you take it, and then tapers off as it wears off? I found that with Ritalin - it kicked in fast and wore off fast so there was only breif periods of time when I felt the dosage was "right" at other times it was either too much to too little. I think Concerta is popular for this reason - it releases the drug slowly throughout the day, but it's expensive.
You might want to try taking a small amount more to see if a higher dosage is what you need? (I'm presuming that the 10mg dose doesn't do too much)
I'd stick with the ritalin if you aren't having negative side effects, sometimes the effects of the drug are subtle and you might not notice right away.

[KMiller]

I found that with the Generic Methylphenidate, it takes about 45 minutes for it to kick in, then it lasts about 4 hours and drops off like a rock, instant withdrawal...with Brand Name Ritalin, it kicks in after about 15 minutes, then hits its peak about an hour in, and slopes off much more gradually, almost like an SR formula.

My problem with medications that do this is always just that by the middle of that sloping off, they are virtually ineffective again.

[Conlaw]

Thanks. How do you "know" the ritalin is working? Do you knows it when ya feels it? Or should I be noticing certain things? Susan

[tractor1]

I think your family notices when your ritalin is working sooner than you do. I think many docs/lay-people give minimal doses and have problems really treating you. They give doses given to kids, and do not keep up with current literature. Ritalin only lasts 2-4 hrs, so why is it only given 2-3 times a day? I don't think you have to consult NASA's rocket scientists on that one.

[KMiller]

Ritalin lasts for 2-4 hours in 5mg doses in some people...but really, why do you need more than 12 hours of action? I take a 20mg SR in the morning, and then 2 5mg "as needed."

I can tell when it is working because you feel it "kick in." You also feel it "drop out." That's the beautiful thing about it.