Back on Methylphenidate (Methylin) after 11 years and not what I remember...yuck

[robotsex]

I have run the gamut with ADD in my 30 years on this earth. Did biofeedback as a young teen with great results, but when that wore off got on medication in later teens. Started with Ritalin 10mg 3x a day, I believe brand name and over time switched for Adderall after trying a friends at school. 2.5 mg did the trick every 3 hours for me anymore and I felt like I was "on drugs". During that period I was using a lot of drugs like marijuana, ecstasy, hallucinogens, cocaine, and eventually became addicted to opiates and heroin in my early 20s and got sober around 21, which with the exceptions of about 6 days I have remained sober the whole time for almost 10 years (6 years consecutively).

Because of my addiction history I never entertained stimulant medication as an option, but since I have settled into my sobriety I have been more open minded and talked with other addicts and alcoholics who have used the medications effectively with good results. I have been quite successful in my career and have been able to compensate for my ADHD-I (inattentive no hyperactivity) with coffee, procrastination, fear etc. However, over the years I realize the futility of agonizing my way through my ADHD.

I ended up seeing my old psychologist and we agreed to go back on Ritalin 10mg 3x a day as a starting point because that did work for me. I am somewhat reluctant to go full tilt back on Adderall because it is amphetamine based and while there may not be much more addiction potential than Ritalin its more of an emotional choice not to go full blast and start slow.

I started taking Methylin generic Ritalin methylphenidate yesterday as it was the only generic OR brand in 10mg any pharmacy I called in LA had because of shortages and backorders. It is not what I remember Ritalin being like. First, the results were somewhat vague. I took a french class in the morning and remember feeling more attentive but it was not very potent, but I did notice something. Then it fell off and around 2.5 hours I was itching to get out of class almost worse than if I never took the medication. Secondly, it appears to have affected my ability to think clearly at time. I feel like I'm thinking less and am less distractable but I almost felt dumbed down like psych medication would do or something. In any event it was starting and I also felt kind of depressed. All I wanted to do was go home and take a nap, granted I didn't sleep much so I shook it off as I was just tired and maybe I shouldn't have had coffee before I took the medication. When I woke up around 4PM I took another dose so I could focus to review my French lesson and do homework. Mild results. Never really felt "In the Zone" like I remembered. When that wore off, I felt a bit sluggish and not super on point in the evening and went to dinner with some friends. My social and conversational skills were normal and i felt pretty clean about my ability to think, but I started to feel like I was crashing around 11 and needed to go home and be alone.

I tried to go to sleep around 12:30, but I hadn't spoken to my girlfriend who said she was going to call me when she got home from a party (she was in New York) and I didn't hear from her which did worry me a bit, but I think I was over worried because of the state I was in. I went to bed feeling a bit weird and kind of chemically depressed mildly in that I didn't want to watch TV or play with my kittens or do anything. I couldn't sleep thinking why she didn't call me back or text me like she normally does. My instinct was she probably drank too much and went home and fell asleep (which was the case) but my mind started racing and I started to feel panicked a bit. I had to shut my phone off and eventually I fell asleep. However, while trying to fall asleep I felt like my heart was racing. Was this some kind of mild panic attack or was I just freaking out because of the circumstance. Anyway I woke up multiple times in the night to check my phone to see if she got back to me and she eventually left me a text that she was okay.

Cut to now, waking up and not wanting to get out of bed. Not being tired but not feeling like getting up. This is quite strange to me consider when I wake up its usually out of bed quickly and excited about the day and check my websites and email and make some coffee. I also have a bit of a headache and feel somewhat hungover and generally dirty.

What the hell is going on here? I am VERY sensitive to any kind of psychoactive drug I put in my body because I am SO used to being sober for so long. This feels bad. I realize Methylin is a somewhat bad version of generic ritalin and it may be better to get brand ritalin perhaps in 20mg and experiment with different dosages under my doctor's supervision. I'm probably overly cautious about taking these meds as prescribed considering my history with addiction and I don't feel is imperiling me in any way thus far, but overall I'd say the methyphenidate I've been taking is making me feel WORSE not better.

Any thoughts?

[Abi]

Get the real stuff (Novartis) or at least Sandoz

[StoicNate]

Yeah, get another generic next time like Sandoz or Watson. Ask the Pharmacist which generic manufacturer they have in stock.
Sandoz generic is made by a sister company of Novartis (the one that makes Brand Ritalin).
Watson is as good as Sandoz.
Methylin is usually the worst generic available for Methylphenidate.

[karbouris]

Originally Posted by StoicNate

Yeah, get another generic next time like Sandoz or Watson. Ask the Pharmacist which generic manufacturer they have in stock.
Sandoz generic is made by a sister company of Novartis (the one that makes Brand Ritalin).
Watson is as good as Sandoz.
Methylin is usually the worst generic available for Methylphenidate.

Hey now.... Methylin works best for me. I call them the "good ritalins". Each to thier own I guess.

[robotsex]

Today is day 3 on 3x a day 10mg and I'm back to work today and I actually feel much much better on it. Not sure why. Perhaps its the context or that I slept enough last night or that I only had half a cup of coffee when I woke up in the morning about 45 minutes before taking my first dose. I feel like I probably need to little more methyl in general to get me where I want to get, but it did help me noticeably today. I imagine 15 - 20mg generic ritalin 3-4 times per day would be ideal for me depending on my work schedule. Anyway, thanks for the feedback.

[robotsex]

Okay so I'm up to 4x a day as permitted by my doctor after we spoke yesterday. However, what I have noticed is that 10mg of Methylin from Mall. barely works for me and it only really seems to have an effect in the first morning dose. Subsequent doses in the day seem to diminish in effectiveness and really don't seem to help.

I have been focused and in the zone via biofeedback, ritalin 10mg, and adderall (2.5 mg every 3 hours was my ideal dose) and I'm just not really getting there now. My normal un-medicated state would be about a 3 level of focus while Adderall would be about an 8 or 9. I'd say what I'm using now is around a 5.I am going back to the doctor next week and he seemed to agree it could be the generic or the type of methylph. we are using, which is currently IR.

Is it possible the Mall Methylin just sucks for me and doesn't work but brand name does? I suspect we'll switch over to brand name and I'll probably ask if we can move up to 15mg to start because I know ritalin has worked better than this for me when I was 18-20 and about the same size and weight as I am now. Adderall works very well, but it always kind of made me feel speedy. I would consider going back on it, but I'd prefer to use something less aggressive if possible. Perhaps Dexedrine.

[robotsex]

I saw my psych today and put me on brand name Ritalin starting today. Just took my first dose (3rd of the day) with the brand name. Hopefully this will clear up any of the nonsense I've been experiencing on Mall. generic Methylin.

Thanks!

[hollywood]

Methyln su cks . It doesn't work at all . My plan was name brand now it's generic . What generic besides Watson is made by Novartis labs ? There has to be one ? I may go to Adderall, methlyn doesn't work or last