I am a newbie to this message board. I am hoping to get some answers about my problem. I am an only child with parents that died young. I have always been super hyper, scattered brained, jump from one thing to another without completing anything, and my mind races constantly from topic to topic. I have always just accepted that this is the way that God made me. A recent trip to my hometown, opened my eyes to a lot of things. I spent several days with my cousin, and she told me a lot about family history. Not only has she had ADD all of her life, but everyone of her children has suffered. She takes Ritalin. When I shared all the things that I do, she said that it sounds like her ADD. She gave me this 10 mg tablet of the Ritalin and said to take it. The result was amazing, almost like a miracle. I completely slowed down, and my mind stopped racing for the first time in my life ever. I was able to think clearly and logically, something that I have never been able to do. I sat still instead of jumping up and down to run from one thing to the next. Came back to my home and doctor and told him of the experience. He started me at 5 mg to take one at 9 a.m. and one other at noon. Worked great for awhile, then I began to not think as clearly. He raised it to 10 mg. That also worked great for awhile. Does one have to keep raising the medicine to work? Is this what happens to everyone? Please help me figure out what I need to do. Thank you anyone out there that might shed some light on this!
[QUOTE] Does one have to keep raising the medicine to work? Is this what happens to everyone?
Well, yes and no. You are still on a low dose of Ritalin so it may be that you need a higher dose. On the other hand, here is something you need to be aware of: Ritalin - as well as the other stimulants - produce a lovely sense of wellbeing when you first start taking them (or when you increase the dose). That feeling won't last. Continually raising your dose to get that feeling is a slippery slope toward addiction.
Instead, you have to differentiate between feeling good and the ability to concentrate. IOW, you need to titrate your dose strictly based on your ADD symptoms - are you concentrating as well, are you able to focus, are you able to sit relatively still? The question to ask yourself is NOT "do I feel better?" or "Do I feel as good as I did?" You are not going to feel on top of the world for long; don't even try.
Actually, I've never gotten "good feelings" from ADD medication. Alcohol, sure, but not Ritalin. I felt exactly the same, except it was like there were 3 or 4 radios channel-surfing in the back of my mind, and they'd just been turned off. I was able to concentrate for longer periods of time without getting sidetracked or bored. If you feel "wired" or superhuman, the dose is too high.
The only way to get a true "high" on Ritalin is to inject it, which some foolish youths try to do. That will produce addiction, as well as damaging the part of the brain that experiences happiness.
Of course, that feeling of accomplishment can be pretty sweet all by itself!
Deepsouth, you may indeed need a higher dose. Or, you might benefit from going off the medicine for a few days, to reduce your tolerance. (drug holiday)
:angel: There are many things that can cause the symptoms you have, you should find an ADD specialist that also works with adults and be tested. I too was found to have this at an older age of 32yrs old, but after being misdiagnosed, for sometime, as bipolar, but the meds made me worse and feel awful. I too had dealt with the speeding thoughts, and found an article in the paper about bipolar symptoms, I cut it out and carried it and told my doctors I thought I had this, come to find out later it was popular or dare I say a growing fad to be bipolar, just as I believe now ADD is becoming a growing fad to diagnose.Anyway there are many things that can cause these symptoms, its important to make sure you are ruled out by your family doctor for anything with blood test, and psychologically with testing. I found a psychiatrist who sent me to have testing with a specialist, the testing lasted 3 days and several hours a day. Most females are not discovered to have ADD until a later age because when they were younger they may have had symptoms of being "shy, quiet, stay in the background, not as easy as boys who usually are hyper and always in trouble, and disruptive. There are also many different meds to try for ADD, for example, Ritalin, knock me out for hours. Yes it was common for them to have to up my dose but only two or three times in a year and a half, on my medication I found worked best for me. But I would be cautious of a doctor that just medicated me without doing many other test including ADD testing.
[QUOTE=deepsouth;3368245]I am a newbie to this message board. I am hoping to get some answers about my problem. I am an only child with parents that died young. I have always been super hyper, scattered brained, jump from one thing to another without completing anything, and my mind races constantly from topic to topic. I have always just accepted that this is the way that God made me. A recent trip to my hometown, opened my eyes to a lot of things. I spent several days with my cousin, and she told me a lot about family history. Not only has she had ADD all of her life, but everyone of her children has suffered. She takes Ritalin. When I shared all the things that I do, she said that it sounds like her ADD. She gave me this 10 mg tablet of the Ritalin and said to take it. The result was amazing, almost like a miracle. I completely slowed down, and my mind stopped racing for the first time in my life ever. I was able to think clearly and logically, something that I have never been able to do. I sat still instead of jumping up and down to run from one thing to the next. Came back to my home and doctor and told him of the experience. He started me at 5 mg to take one at 9 a.m. and one other at noon. Worked great for awhile, then I began to not think as clearly. He raised it to 10 mg. That also worked great for awhile. Does one have to keep raising the medicine to work? Is this what happens to everyone? Please help me figure out what I need to do. Thank you anyone out there that might shed some light on this!
There are some people who might build a tolerance to stimulants quicker than others. In those cases, raising the doses helps only temporarily, and index is right, trying to get to that good feeling might eventually lead to addiction. Higher and higher doses can not only cause tolerance but also addiction, not to mention the higher the dose, the higher the chance of incurring unwanted side effects. So wait and see is my opinion, if the pattern of tolerance continues, perhaps this is not a good road to be on as most ADDer's can usually do well on regular dosages without need to continually increase.
[QUOTE=deepsouth;3368245]I am a newbie to this message board. I am hoping to get some answers about my problem. I am an only child with parents that died young. I have always been super hyper, scattered brained, jump from one thing to another without completing anything, and my mind races constantly from topic to topic. I have always just accepted that this is the way that God made me. A recent trip to my hometown, opened my eyes to a lot of things. I spent several days with my cousin, and she told me a lot about family history. Not only has she had ADD all of her life, but everyone of her children has suffered. She takes Ritalin. When I shared all the things that I do, she said that it sounds like her ADD. She gave me this 10 mg tablet of the Ritalin and said to take it. The result was amazing, almost like a miracle. I completely slowed down, and my mind stopped racing for the first time in my life ever. I was able to think clearly and logically, something that I have never been able to do. I sat still instead of jumping up and down to run from one thing to the next. Came back to my home and doctor and told him of the experience. He started me at 5 mg to take one at 9 a.m. and one other at noon. Worked great for awhile, then I began to not think as clearly. He raised it to 10 mg. That also worked great for awhile. Does one have to keep raising the medicine to work? Is this what happens to everyone? Please help me figure out what I need to do. Thank you anyone out there that might shed some light on this! I am a 49 year old woman recently diagnosed with adhd (8 months). I take Adderall XR. The doctor started me on 10mg for 7 days, then raised it to 20mg. I take this once daily in the morning. The "xr" part of it spreads the medicine over a longer period of time. I have not had to have an increase. I think I am also aware that not all days will be the same (due to other stress,etc). I just take it and know that I am much better (overall) by taking this--- than when i didn't. I always think talking with your doctor is the best advice....my advice is simply--don't look for miraculous changes "consistent daily". Just remember where you started from, and if there is improvement, be grateful. Allow for other situations in your life that "seem" to affect the benefit of the medication, and just take your medicine as prescribed. My research (limited) has shown that the "XR" is more stabilizing, requiring fewer, if any doseage adjustments. I am also able to "skip" taking my medication on non-work days, without any consequences...and it works just fine again on Mondays. Julie
I was Diagnosed wit ADHD when i was 16 years old and it has carried on with me to my adulthood. i have been on a number of medications including both ritalin and aderol. my doctor also had to keep raising my dossage. we decided to try a new medication about 4 years ago called strattera it is a non stimulant which i love! he started me out on 40 milligrams and that is what i have been on ever since my mind is clear and i no longer have the attention span of a fly. one of the best parts is i dont have to keep taking trips to the doctor because my medicin is no longer working. it also curves your appetite if you are interested.
Thank you all very much for your input. I have an appointment with my doctor this Friday, and I am going to take copies of the replies to my question about the medication so he can decide whether to increase the Ritalin or change to something else. I liked what brittanylynn88 said about Strattera. I just started taking Ritalin about 2 months ago. What I liked most about the Ritalin was how it stopped my mind from racing from topic to topic, and I was able to read without having to read over and over to understand what I just read. I just loved that I could concentrate on the topic at hand and complete a task before going to another. It slowed me down. My clumsiness is not as bad as it used to be. It is just that I cannot concentrate as well as when I first started taking it, and that is why I asked about the dosage. I want to do some research about Strattera. Again, thank you all very much. I so appreciate your help.
