Nomad463

Hi, I am clean once again. It has been 5 months this time. I am doing meetings, the steps and the suggested things. I recently got the adult adhd diagnosis. I went with the medication Straterra to start with and it messed up my erections etc too much. My phsych has wanted to put me on Ritalin from the start, I was too worried that i would set off my compulsion to wanna get wasted everyday again. So now I sit here with a script for Ritalin, which I cant get filled for another week till I come off the Straterra.

Does anyone have any experience taking ritalin or dexamphetamine for ADHD while in recovery???? Did it send you into a relapse or could you successfully take it??

I'm after experiences here, NOT opinions. Opinions go around in circles and I just end up more confused!

Dee74

I have no experience with Ritalin tho I know others will have.

You might also want to check out our substance abuse forum, Nomad.

D

Nomad463

Anyone at all??? I need to make a decision soon and any advice would be appreciated at this point

TomSawyer

Just from personal experience, I relapsed (into drinking) after snorting adderall and ritalin, on separate occasions. Then again, I personally had a relatively lengthy issue with abusing adderall in college. I also suspect that my brain had come to associate alcohol and adderall/ritalin together due to using the two drugs so many times in concurrence.

I imagine if you take it as perscribed and use it a non-abusive way then the story might be very different. But yes, it certainly has the potential to be dangerous for certain individuals, i.e. me.

Nomad463

interesting you mention the association of ritalin to alcohol because I read that if you drink with it the methylphenidate (ritalin) turns into a different substance in your body

Coldfusion

“I don't know of any evidence that's consistent that shows that there's any long-term benefit of taking the medication,” says James Swanson, a psychologist at the University of California, Irvine.

Medication: The smart-pill oversell : Nature News & Comment

caboblanco

I took ritalin for a short period of time because my shrink wanted to give me all sorts of meds....the ritalin made me want to party in the worst way...mixing ritalin and booze is very dangerous...in my highschool ..that was known as preppy crack..that combo

as a side note i would take 2-3 times my dose or even more

PaperDolls

I was on ADHD meds during my sobriety. I tried them all.

If Ritalin worries you then you should look at other options. There are other ADHD meds that work a little differently and are more difficult to abuse. You should talk with your doctor about it. If he's not willing to try one of the other options it's probably time to find a different doctor.

Nomad463

I have been addicted to meth in the past, though I think most people would get addicted to it with the massive dopamine rush it provides. I have abused most substances. I 'm not game to take benzos or opiates even at prescribed doses as panadeine fortes have caused me to relapse before. I have never taken ritalin or dex before. My doctor seems to think that if I take it as prescribed it wont have the same addictive qualities as meth and I should be fine. But then I don't think he understands addicts because he has tried to give me benzos before and I refused

Wastinglife

I was diagnosed with ADD when I was in rehab for alcohol abuse. Currently I take Vyvanse and it actually helps with alcohol cravings. I think I was self-medicating my ADD with alcohol so the meds seem to have taken away the need to medicate with booze.

jdooner

I abused Ritalin for over 10 years. I would take 500mg in a night and drink 1.0-1.5L of vodka and smoke two packs of cigarets. I switched to Aderall and then cocaine. I may or may not have ADD but I know I could not take Ritalin without a relapse prescribed or not.

If you were addicted to Meth, I can't see how you would ever consider taking Ritalin or any Dr. knowing you were an addict would think of prescribing you a script for Ritalin or Aderall.

Delphine

I've never taken Ritalin, but have been prescribed several other stimulants by my psychiatrist (Dextroamphetamine, Adderall, Vyvanse). Adderall and Dextroamp used to give me alcohol cravings when they wore off. I think this is because I would start to get jittery and have a headache and was looking to relax (my doctor likes to prescribe benzos to patients to help the stimulant come down which is another issue). Vyvanse didn't give me the same ups and downs as the other two meds and I didn't crave alcohol on it or want to abuse it.

I am an alcoholic though and never really liked abusing other substances for whatever reason. The Vyvanse helps my condition a lot. There is a lot of abuse potential there though and have a friend with ADHD who abuses/overuses these drugs.

Nomad463

well I tried the ritalin for 2 days. It just gave me a headache, anxiety and aggression. My doc changed me to dexamphetamine. I'm finding it a little difficult with the thoughts of abusing them, but so far so good. Getting a few side effects and depression but hopefully this passes