Help! Why did Ritalin stop working so quick???

[ulu]

Hello,

Can somebody please help explain this! I am 26, and have been taking ritalin - 15mgs two or three times a day for about three weeks. In the first week or ten days or so, it made a huge difference; i was more focused, sociable, talkative and felt more relaxed in general. In other words i felt like "myself" again, for the first time in a very long time (although my sleep and appetite werent that good).

However, slowly it seems to have stoped working - the initial beneficial effects have disappeared, (as have the food and sleep disturbances). I am absolutely 100% sure that the initial improvement wasnt a placebo effect, and on the other hand i have given it quite some time before establishing for sure that it doesnt work anymore...

The problem is that when i was diagnosed I was living in another country, so my doctor there cant really help me. I am looking for a new doctor here, but here is England and these things just take a long time...

Is it possible that the initial improvement was just an "overstimulation"? What i mean is an effect that any person would get from an amphetamine-like substance, regardless of whether they had add or not? So maybe now that the initial effect has worn off it just doesnt help anymore because i dont have add???

Is it possible that i do have add, but i developed a tolerance within a period of 10 days?

Thanks in advance for any opinions...Its just really annoying to finally find something that makes a dramatic difference and then have it taken away again.

Cheers

[KMiller]

It is almost absolutely impossible that it would become tolerated so quickly, since it's virtually impossible to become tolerant...when I had a similar problem, it's because I realized other medicines I was taking counteracted it (ephedrine, for cold), and then again when it "wasn't working" it was because I was drinking it with orange juice... so see if you can find a reason like that?

[pharmacy boy]

Have you told your doctor about this? it is very important to keep your doctor informed about reactions to the meds in the first couple days, weeks, well you should tell your doctor about any adverse reactions no matter how long you've been on it, im going to my dr thursday to get him to switch me from ritalin back to either dexedrine or adderall, good luck!

[ulu]

Hello,

thanks for the responses!

kmiller: i dont take anything else apart from a small amount of prozac. and i hate orange juice.

pharmacy boy: ive told my doctor, but he is abroad and cant really help me over the phone. He said that i can go up to 20 mgs every time, untill i find a new doctor here. But the increase in dosage made no difference...

I just want to know why it worked in the beginning and now not anymore! If it didnt work at all, then i would understand it: it would mean either its not the right drug for me, or i dont have add. But because it worked in the beginning, (and very well) im just puzzled. WHY DID IT STOP?

Any light?
Cheers

[Elff]

That's the exact same thing that happened to me. I'm 21, and it was amazing when it started working, but then it just kinda stopped. One thing that I found that triggered it, was my caffeine intake. You might want to take a look at your caffeine intake because caffeine speeds up your metabolism, which makes the pills last for a less amount of time. If there is nothing there, I would take a look at your metabolism in general, and see how that's functioning. One last thing that might help; a detox. Normal detox's take a month to complete, but I know they also have detox tea out there and stuff you can do for a weekend. Just be careful that you don't just jump on the first detox you see. You said you were in England, check out a local vitamin shop or just ask around.

[Elff]

Oh, and also, the less sweets you eat the better. Natural sugar is fine in fruits and such, but try to cut out sweets.