Why does my Ritalin not last very long?

Question

I started taking Ritalin about 2 months ago. The stuff was great! I could get all of my homework done in seconds. Here lately I have been noticing a difference. There really isn't any other way to describe it except that I don't get my high and am having a hard time concentrating again. Its almost like my body has gotten use to the dosage. The doctor upped the dosage back in the beginning. How come it isn't lasting as long as it did back when I first began taking the medicine?

Answer 1

Get off the damn drugs and learn to calm down on your own! How tough is it for people to do a simple thing like homework? And don't give me the line that it's medicinal. 99 percent of the people on these drugs don't need them!

Answer 2

Yikes, Felix.. just answer the question!!!!!!!

One of the things that Felix' answer contained, if you were capable of understanding it, is the warning that Ritalin, like most drugs, is not just a drug, but a poison.

If you take enough Ritalin, you will kill yourself.

The problem with taking it over a pretty long period of time is that, as with any poison, your body's anti-toxin response system, which includes the liver, the pancreas, the Lymphatic system, and some of the white corpuscles in your blood stream, have geared themselves up to where they are now producing enough of the antidote that when you take Ritalin, it gets broken down into smaller chemicals a whole lot faster than when you began taking it.

So, when you start taking Ritalin, you wind up having to have your dosage increased and increased and increased from time to time to time, or, like you've experienced, your high fails to happen, and you fail to concentrate on the things that you've been tasked to do by your taskmasters.

That is only ONE of the many reasons why I am so against the usage of Ritalin, is that the user becomes dependent upon it and you have to keep on taking larger and larger hits of it as you become older, and, if you don't keep upping your dosage, you will stop receiving the benefits you were seeking. Or if you have to stop taking it for any reason at all whatsoever, you will also stop receiving the benefits.

Better it would be for you to learn how to cope with whatever disorder you have that makes your taskmasters want you taking it, that way, when you leave their (cough) supervision, you will have learned how to succeed in life without being such an institutionalized drug addict.

Answer 3

Hi this is in response to Robert G.
What you are describing is tolerance caused by neuroadaptation rather than toxicity. When the neuroreceptors in the brain are occupied (as in opiate addiciton as well), tolerance develops and the thus the need for increasingly large amounts of whatever particular drug is being taken. This is true for many drugs that affect the brain, stimulants, opiates (pain killers), and sedatives of all kinds. The one stimulant that has been shown not to induce tolerance is Modafinil (as well as its forerunner Adrafinil). Personally, I wouldn't touch any of these drugs.

Answer 4

Stop taking it for a couple of days. Eat raw broccoli 1/2 cup, each day. You need to crash off that speed.
Read how people recover from meth addiction. Ritalin methylphenidate hydrochloride, is similar.

Answer 5

Your body is just getting used to the drug. But I would question whether or not you actually need it to function.


Doug

Answer 6

How much you sellin them for, I'll give You $2 Each, LOL

Answer 7

Methylphenidate is a medication prescribed for individuals (usually children) who have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which consists of a persistent pattern of abnormally high levels of activity, impulsivity, and/or inattention that is more frequently displayed and more severe than is typically observed in individuals with comparable levels of development. The pattern of behavior usually arises between the ages of 3 and 5, and is diagnosed during the elementary school years due to the child’s excessive locomotor activity, poor attention, and/or impulsive behavior. Most symptoms improve during adolescence or adulthood, but the disorder can persist or present in adults. It has been estimated that 3–7 percent of school-age children have ADHD. Methylphenidate also is occasionally prescribed for treating narcolepsy.

Methylphenidate is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant. It has effects similar to, but more potent than, caffeine and less potent than amphetamines. It has a notably calming and “focusing” effect on those with ADHD, particularly children.

Recent research at Brookhaven National Laboratory may begin to explain how methylphenidate helps people with ADHD. The researchers used positron emission tomography (PET—a noninvasive brain scan) to confirm that administering normal therapeutic doses of methylphenidate to healthy, adult men increased their dopamine levels. The researchers speculate that methylphenidate amplifies the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter, thereby improving attention and focus in individuals who have dopamine signals that are weak.

Methylphenidate can be a valuable medicine, for adults as well as children with ADHD. Treatment of ADHD with stimulants such as Ritalin and psychotherapy help to improve the abnormal behaviors of ADHD, as well as the self-esteem, cognition, and social and family function of the patient. Research shows that individuals with ADHD do not become addicted to stimulant medications when taken in the form and dosage prescribed by doctors. In fact, it has been reported that stimulant therapy in childhood is associated with a reduction in the risk for subsequent drug and alcohol abuse disorders. Also, studies have found that individuals with ADHD who have been treated with stimulants such as methylphenidate are significantly less likely than those who do not receive treatment to abuse drugs and alcohol when they are older.

Because of its stimulant properties, however, in recent years there have been reports of methylphenidate abuse by people for whom it is not prescribed. It is abused for its stimulant effects: appetite suppression, wakefulness, increased focus/attentiveness, and euphoria. Addiction to methylphenidate seems to occur when it induces rapid increases of dopamine in the brain. In contrast, the therapeutic effect is achieved by slow and steady increases of dopamine, which are similar to the natural production by the brain. The doses prescribed by physicians start low and increase slowly until a therapeutic effect is reached. That way, the risk of addiction is very small.

When abused, the tablets are either taken orally or crushed and snorted. Some abusers dissolve the tablets in water and inject the mixture; complications can arise from this because insoluble fillers in the tablets can block small blood vessels.

The following article reports of a death of a child after long term use of this drug hense monitoring the use is vital.

http://www.ritalindeath.com/

What are its short-term effects?
Ritalin (methylphenidate) is a central nervous system stimulant, similar to amphetamines in the nature and duration of its effects. It is believed that it works by activating the brain stem arousal system and cortex. Pharmacologically, it works on the neurotransmitter dopamine, and in that respect resembles the stimulant characteristics of cocaine. Short-term effects can include nervousness and insomnia, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, dizziness, palpitations, headaches, changes in heart rate and blood pressure (usually elevation of both, but occasionally depression), skin rashes and itching, abdominal pain, weight loss, and digestive problems, toxic psychosis, psychotic episodes, drug dependence syndrome, and severe depression upon withdrawal.


What are its long-term effects?
High doses of stimulants produce a predictable set of symptoms that include loss of appetite (may cause serious malnutrition), tremors and muscle twitching, fevers, convulsions, and headaches (may be severe), irregular heartbeat and respirations (may be profound and life threatening), anxiety, restlessness, paranoia, hallucinations, and delusions, excessive repetition of movements and meaningless tasks, and formicaton (sensation of bugs or worms crawling under the skin).