Thunor,

I really enjoyed reading what you wrote about the differences of how you feel on one vs the other. I hope you'll continue to share that information. It's not often that we get someone as insightful/self aware and articulate as you are who can elaborate on the details.

Yes, methylphenidate is the generic for Ritalin. Hopefully, what they gave you is the SR version.

Regarding your anger, it would be interesting if you could moniter the times of day that you seem most short-fused. Ritalin SR has peaks and valleys in it's efficacy, so it may be that your anger is related to coming down from it.

Since you've been on stimulants, I seriously doubt that you would be happy with Strattera. It isn't as effective and can take a l-o-n-g time to work. Since you are wanting to experiment with the different ADD drugs, you might want to try Concerta or Metadate (assuming they are available in Canada). They are both methylphenidate like you are taking now, but with a different delivery system that evens out the peaks and valleys more and give a smoother let-down.

Good luck to you!

Oh, one more thing...

I mentioned the peaks and valleys of Ritalin SR's effectiveness and how it might affect your moodiness. It'd be interesting to see if your irritability corresponds to those dips. The first drop is roughly 3 hours after you take it. It peaks in effectiveness after that and then starts to decline steadily after 6 hours. There's an especially rapid drop-off between hours 8 & 10.

What can you do about it if that's the problem? Well, not alot. But, it might help to know the cause of your irritability (if, indeed, this is the problem). And, it may indicate to you that you'd do better with one of the methylphenidates who have a smoother delivery system - like Concerta or Metadate.