Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Talk to me about coping with it!
Do you take pills? Are they vegan? My neurologist prescribed 10mg Ritalin and 30mg Ritalin LA, both contain gelatin and the first also has lactose. This sucks immensely, but not taking them isn't an option if I want to survive college :( Any other options? Also, what do you do to survive the mid-slow-release jitters? From the expected 8-hour effect I get maybe 4 productive ones, 2 at a time. The rest is like my brain was sucked out by aliens and replaced with a bunch of kittens (which could be awesome, but. finals.)

Tips? Tricks? Magic spells?

I don't have it, but my 9yr old nephew has and the medication makes all the difference to his life. It took him about 3 weeks to adjust to the meds but his behaviour, social skills and education have all improved since he started them.

Don't beat yourself up about the gelatine, lots of us have to take non vegan meds, it's unavoidable. I've just been prescribed betablockers for chronic migraines and they're slow release gelatine capsules, the thought of it does gross me out but if it helps my health.

Good luck! xxx

I have a mild ADD. I was prescribed medicine in high school but hated how it made me feel (I was not vegan then, just veggie and not cognizant of things like gelatin in medecine, however) so I stopped. It hasn't been an issue for me but I imagine it could be for many. I hope you find the best way for yourself soon!

I was diagnosed as an adult. It was a big relief! Medication (adderall 10mg 2x/day) has improved my focus (and therefore my confidence!) and educating myself on ADD has explained a lot. I would REALLY recommend the books "Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with ADD from Childhood to Adulthood" and "ADD and the College Student".

Years ago I tried Straterra, which gave me bad side effects such as having to leave a crowded lecture to throw up my breakfast. After that happened a few times, it appeared to be counterintutive to take it: not learning anything if I'm spending the class period in the bathroom! Thankfully, Adderall hasn't caused any noticeable side effects. I am not on the extended release or whatever it's called, but perhaps you could try that?

I do. I was undiagnosed until after I'd already dropped out of college (but managed to to get a good job anyway-- tech support and eventually system administration actually works well for ADD people). I've been medicated on and off. At this point I've managed to find ways to work without meds, but it has taken some hardcore life management and I wouldn't be where I am now if I hadn't had meds for a while. Don't use my example of how to do things. It's harder to get tech jobs without a degree than it was in 1994... 8)

You should talk to your doctor about how the meds are effecting you-- you shouldn't get a mid-release jittery thing. There are other medications that work pretty well and have different method of slow-release-- I took Focalin XR for a while, and it worked pretty well, without any dosage thing.

One thing I noticed, though, was that with the meds, I would forget to eat. Then when they started to wear off I'd be suddenly really really hungry-- like, shakes and brain turning to jelly and stuff and totally unable to function. So, make sure you get a good breakfast and don't forget to eat...

Yes, "Driven to Distraction" is a pretty fantastic book.

I am diagnosed and on medication. Biggest realization for me has been the importance of regular sleep and eating habits. The medication is useless if I don't sleep and eat enough. I have to do some stuff to structure my week, like making meals on the weekend and going to bed early, so the medication can actually help me.

I was diagnosed as an adult. Medication makes a world of difference to me, but I've been off it for several years now due to pregnancy and nursing. During this period, I've been just working a lot on the things I can control, like making schedules for myself and following them, lots of lists, etc. It's not great but I'm getting by and it's not forever.

For me, the benefit of the medication outweighed the non-vegan ingredients, as it would for any medication I needed to function.

ETA: and I wanted to +1 the sentiment of relief re: diagnosis. My whole life, I felt like the most genuinely stupid, lazy person. Like the problem was that I just wasn't trying hard enough to be organized/sit still/pay attention/etc etc. Medication was such a revelation for me the first time. I remember sitting there and thinking oh my god, so this is what it's like to just think one thing at one time! This is what it's like to complete a thought! Etc.

SO TRUE. A giant relief. Especially after reading those books, because things that didn't seem related (like feeling sleepy in the afternoon, relationship problems) made much more sense.

Thanks guys! You're all wonderful. Definitely getting some reading done in spring break.

I felt so stupid getting diagnosed, I sort of figured no one ever concentrates on one thing really. But then meds! Jeez. Still playing with the dose, though it seems to take forever - clinic always has month-long waiting times and, well, semesters are only 14 weeks. Ritalin LA is supposedly extended release-ish... Are larger doses supposed to last longer than small ones?

Not for straight-up Ritalin. (I don't know about the LA version.)

I like ritalin because it pretty much metabolizes and is out of your body in under 4 hours. In my case it was about 3 and a half, and it was a pretty quick switch. At 3:15 I'd be medicated, and by 3:20 I'd feel it going, and by 3:30 or 3:35 I'd be totally unmedicated. It was quite convenient for planning things like when I wanted to go to sleep. I could take some in the morning, it'd wear off in time to eat lunch, and then take it in the afternoon and it would be gone in time for me to go home and putz around spacily at night before bed.

My husband has pretty severe ADD and can not handle the medications. He was on them as a child and they made him in to a complete zombie. He has "self medicated" with marijuana since high school - that's probably the only way he got through high school and college. It also helps with his anxiety, but he takes actual medication for that.

The extended release is similar to the multi-dose one in that it lasts a certain amount of time regardless of dosage, but that amount of time will vary depending on your personal metabolism. I think the average is like 11 hours but I always found it to be shorter than that.

Personally, I hated the XR because it meant I had to have all my "good" hours in one block, rather than say, taking my meds before I needed to do my work study, then 5 or 6 hours later when I needed to go to a class, then 6 or 7 hours after that when I was home doing schoolwork, etc. I don't know if it would have mattered as much to me if I wasn't in school.

I still haven't figured out the right rhythm for me and the meds, but it's going okay. I have the regular Ritalin and take it three times a day. I was diagnosed as an adult and I second the relief that came with the diagnosis. I have a history of crazy perfectionism and procrastination and difficulty prioritizing that is explained in part by the ADD diagnosis. I also deal with depression and cycles of failure could trigger depressive episodes.

I'm not sure how genetic this whole thing is, but my brother and father are both diagnosed. They never pegged me as such growing up because I wasn't hyperactive like my brother and I had good grades. However, no one was around to see how long it took me to get started on school assignments or the many all-nighters I pulled as a result.

I self medicated for a long time, mostly through caffeine and other stimulants. Not surprisingly, I guess, this is what kept me away from seeking help for it. I was afraid that if I told doctors I was taking stimulants and guzzling caffeine in various forms that they would just think I was trying to "get drugs." It turns out, after talking with my psychologist while dealing with my depression, that this is important information for the doctor giving the diagnosis.

I still drink caffeine, but not in the huge quantities as before. I need to cut down on the tea I drink at school or at least replace it with herbal stuff, because I can tell it messes with my flow. Now I treat myself to a soda or a homemade latte once a week. Before I would drink 6-8 cups of coffee when I was really struggling to get work done.

I took concerta for awhile (I think its the super long release ritalin stuff) and I was just shaky tired by the end of the day. Now I take the shorter duration ritalin and it works so much better and overall its a smaller amount of meds in a day. it has helped, but sometimes it does seem to do that backfiring thing and make me more tired, so I don't understand that.

Its definitely helped with sleeping switching to the shorter term one too!

Well, it's a stimulant. It runs you harder during the day-- your brain works a little better, but your body is also effected by the stimulant, so you burn more energy. Even if you kick up your food intake to match, you end up tired because you use more energy than you take in.

And in my experience, if I was all hopped up on the ritalin and forgot to eat (because it's a super appetite suppressant), I would crash HARD when it wore off.

Yes...eating is crucial. If you have to set a timer to remind yourself to eat, do that. I had to for a while. I had a bad habit of not eating anyway and then when I started on the medication, it got worse since I wasn't so hungry.

I'm still trying to figure out the best regimen for me. Right now I take the first pill whenever I wake up, which is usually somewhere around 7 or 8 a.m. Then I take the second around 12:15 and the third around 3:30, though I've taken it as late as 5 or 6. I have a hard time gauging how well I do or tracking how I feel.

Anyone have recommendations or a good way to figure this out? I started on this regimen because it was what the doctor recommended, but I'm not sure it's always best for me.