Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Tolerance to Ritalin ?
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
Tolerance to Ritalin ?
by Webmaster__0, Jun 24, 1999 12:00AM
Posted by Webmaster on June 24, 1999 at 12:44:38
I am 22 year old male and about a month and a half ago, I was diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Ritalin. For the first four days I was taking one 10mg Ritalin tablet per day. I felt very able to concentrate on tasks and not daydreaming, and to sit down. Also doing things such as reading etc.., gave me a strong satisfaction (reward) for the first time in my life. I also felt having a very good mood when taking Ritalin. Tben after the fourth day I took a 10mg Ritalin tablet but twice daily this time. From the follwowing day Ritalin did not have any effect anymore. I tried higher and lower doses but in vain. Then I stopped it for a week and restarted taking it on Wednesday of last week when I took two tablets together (20mg dose). It still had no or little effect. Then two days later, on Friday of last week, I took two tablets again and I started feeling euphoric. Then after Friday it again stopped having any effect even after taking larger doses such as 4 tablets (40 mg dose) together. Now I ' ll stop it for a week again so hopefully this tolerance reverses.I would like to know why is Ritalin having an inconsistent effect on me. I thought it could be due to depletion of dopamine since I don't think postsynaptic receptors downregulate that fast. I read that under such conditions tyrosine hydroxylase is usually not saturated and maybe taking a tyrosine supplement might help ? Also the improvement in mood etc..., could this mean that I am very sensitive to Ritalin ?
I haven't talked to my psychiatrist yet, because I am afraid he might withdraw Ritalin which is the only thing which has ever gave me such a tremendous improvement. I am a medical student so you can use techical words etc...
Thanks
Posted by HFHS MD-JM on June 25, 1999 at 19:04:36
Webmaster,
The first thing I recommend is that you consult your psychiatrist to
discuss these issues further. It is important to follow your Ritalin prescription as directed. Keep in mind that Ritalin has a duration of 3-4 hours
and requires repeated dosing to have a sustained effect.
Ritalin does act on the neurotransmitter dopamine. Sometimes Ritalin has tobe titrated to effect (the usual dose is 0.5 mg-1mg/kg/day). There are other medications that can be helpful in ADHD such as dexedrine, Cylert, Adderall (adderrall) and Wellbutrin. I once again encourage you to discuss these issues further with your psychiatrist. Remember this information is intended for educational purposes only.
Sincerely,
HFHS MD-JM
Keywords: ADHD, Ritalin
