methylphenidate

[RuLu]

I'm due to start methylphenidate once I have my private prescription.....anyone able to share experiences of starting it? My anxiety levels are even worse since I was diagnosed & I'm so worried about starting to take it but I know I need to just get on with it!

It's bizarre that they give no guidance. You would think there would be a handout with starting recommendations!

Mind if I jump in on this thread?

Currently going through titration, week 5, and upped my dose to 72mg as from today.

I have to admit, I'm a tad envious, though also very happy for those of you who have mentioned having a quieter and calmer mind. That was one thing I was really hoping for with medication and haven't really experienced it. My brain's as hyperactive as ever.

I am noticing an improvement in terms of focus and productivity. I'm currently at uni and have noticed I can get a lot more work done in one sitting than I used to, so that's a positive. Also, has anyone else noticed the medication making them more of a perfectionist? Can't work out yet if that's a good or a bad thing!

Also really struggling with the loss of appetite! I really had to force myself to have a bowl of cereal for my tea last night. Really hoping this side effect will subside over time.

I'd get slated on the main board, but I have a joint in the evening to stimulate my appetite. It's the only thing that works for me. My eating was already poor due to asd, and my meds did make it worse. I'm still rubbish during the day as I don't really feel hunger much anyway. However, the benefits of the meds make it worth it.

@yellowsmileyface yes to the perfection thing!!!

I'm starting week 3 tomorrow & up to 54mg. Hoping that'll help! Also hoping it works so I don't have to pay for another titration period but we'll see. I've got this far so will keep going til the dose is right. It's not there yet!

@Mabelface my husband suggested I do that but I was concerned I shouldn't as they say don't drink alcohol. I was worried about similar effects! 2 glasses of Nozecco last night didn't cut it!

It's a very personal choice and not one that I would encourage either way, just thought I'd mention it! I'm not a massive stoner, and use it medicinally. It can also ease me out of asd shutdown. I can drink on my meds, obviously moderately, and have a bottle of wine over Friday and Saturday evenings.

Oh, and if you do decide to try it, try and find someone with their own, very small grow. It sits much better morally and ethically.

@Mabelface I used to be a regular weed smoker, but wouldn't touch it these days. It too quickly became a habit for me! There definitely are medicinal benefits though if you're able to keep it in moderation.

@RuLu I drink on the meds. Not much of course, typically a couple of glasses of wine once a week. I'm sure the odd drink doesn't affect the medication.

@yellowsmileyface agree that it can become problematic for some!

@Mabelface @yellowsmileyface thank you! That's good to know!

I think people must drink on meds - it's worn off by the evening anyway, hasn't it? Social drinking surely is fine. I think I'd take it slow the first time just to make sure there isn't any unwanted effect but alcohol is such a common part of life I'm sure that there would be dire warnings by the doctors if it was a real no no. A lot of people take medication for life, I certainly intend to if it works for me, and I'm not planning to give up alcohol forever.

I'm not finding any appetite reducing effect so far, though. It might be because I tend to usually forget to eat because I have crap interoception and time blindness combined, so medication actually makes me hungrier. Plus I am trying to actively remind myself to eat lunch.

Getting into a dramatic Mumsnet thread really made me laugh as that's the same with me 😂

I'm still working on getting to sleep at a decent hour. As soon as I commit I'm out, but I fight it for far too long. I'm doing it now...

Ok today was my first full day on 15mg 3x a day and I spent 5 solid hours cleaning and rearranging my studio flat and cleared out bags and bags of stuff. I feel so good about it. Will be interesting to see how I am at work tomorrow.

The (huge) difference between today and any other rare day I'd suddenly get the urge to do something on this scale is that I stuck with it the entire way through, did not get side-tracked, paid attention to the podcasts I was listening to without having to rewind repeatedly, and not stopping until everything was done and put away.

In the past I'd have given up and shoved stuff into a bag and left it in a corner for months.

I even went on to clean the bathroom and wash the dishes after! Now I'm properly tired and am going to force myself to get showered and into bed and hopefully be sleeping at a decent hour

Hi all I'll join on this convo...
Day 5 on Concerta XL 15mg - First time on ADHD meds. If they are making a difference it must be v subtle. I don't FEEL any different - or if I do I'm not aware of it although maybe it is helping me remain in a good mood? I've noticed I've been in a consistently good mood - but I'm also on AD's (Vortioxetine) that are definitely working. BP and HR have stayed the same. I seem to still be able to drink coffee happily. And also wine at the end of the day. I'm taking it around half seven and today as I'm working took it at half eight in the hope that whatever benefit might last for longer in the work day. I have had no problems sleeping on it. The first day I wondered if it was a farce as I was SOOOO ADHD it was mad - my brain was all over the place, so so distractable but I think I got a 'happy mood' buzz out of it on day 1 but can't be sure. After that days 2 3 I'd say I was no different to normal. Didn't get anything more done, still watched telly whilst scrolling or needing to eat etc. Yesterday on the other hand I was like a woman possessed - full supermarket shop done, then I prepped all the fruit and veg and stuck it into tupperware and sorted out my fridge - i also mowed the lawns, and jet washed the patio and sorted laundry, mopped floors and cleaned the kitchen, attended a boot camp class, walked the dog, cooked dinner, and booked in a meeting with my accountant and took food over to my parents. Now I DO have days when I can get like this and be a woman on a total mission so I don't know if this was the meds or just one of those days whereby I knew it was a bank holiday and the urgency to get stuff done when I have so little other time to do it is what took over. I don't feel anxious for sure. I'm being titrated super slowly, ie not due to change up the meds for another two weeks. I'm curious as to how to know if this IS the drug or whether its worth trying Elvanse or a non Stimulant for 'compare and contrast' if you know what I mean? Like how do you know if you are on the best one for your symptoms? Also, on this med can you have breaks? Ie with Concerta XL can you choose to take it some days and not others? I don't want to build up tolerance, which I do with Antidepressants - so if I can say use them on weekdays and not use them on days where my focus or attention isn't so important that'd be good? Funny thing is I mentioned taking them to my mates and they said " But what if we miss our impulsive all over the shop mate? You won't be you?". That does concern me. Having said that, whilst its nice they feel that way and it can make me very creative, brilliant in a crisis and spontaneous and fun etc my impulsivity and emotional dysregulation is exceedingly dangerous when put to poor use - (I've OD'd in the past and had serious depression/anxiety).

@FMLpassthegin I think it may be the slow process that's got you not feeling much. I assume the 15mg is for the entire day? That was my dose in my first week and I felt nothing. Then went up to 30mg (across the day) and if anything felt sluggish and drowsy. Now I'm on 45mg and next week will be 60. This week I'm feeling a difference, but I expect next week to be feeling the maximum effect.

I was on non-stimulants for 3 months and they did not a single thing for me. The only reason I stayed on them so long is because they said it can take up to 3 months to work. Im private so it was a waste of money.

I've heard good reports from other stimulant medication as well, but give this one time. You're doing it slowly so you won't feel the effects as quickly.

I def need an adjustment. I am more motivated and able to focus on tasks but I still don't prioritise v well... for instance today I've had DS2 and DS3 at home because nursery is being an arse but rather than occupy them, stimulate them, take them for a walk etc I've been trying to do various cleaning tasks and getting more and more irate as they get more and more hyper D: Eventually they took my cafetiere from the side to play with and have broken it 😡

You'll feel it more when your dose is increased. That's when I really noticed the difference. I've been on 36mg since mid October and it has been life changing. I am starting to wonder if an increase would be beneficial to me. Not because I've got used to the dosage, but more to do with learning about how my brain works. I'm OK on the dose, so will wait till I see the psych in December.

@FMLpassthegin I know exactly what you mean in terms of not knowing if it's the meds or not. I do have my moments of being able to focus or be super productive naturally, so it's difficult to know how much any recent experiences can be attributed to the meds.

My doctor and I decided I should go back down from 72mg to 54mg for the time being, as the higher dose was feeling a bit much and I have a lot going on at the moment (nearing the end of the uni year).

I do still feel a bit deflated about the effects though. I had a lecture yesterday. They're usually 3hrs with a 15min break halfway through. It was a topic I found really interesting but I felt soooooo restless. I was getting super fidgety and squirmy after about 20min, and by the end I was pretty much bursting to get up and move about properly. I was really hoping the meds would help more with the physical hyperactivity and being able to sit through lectures. This dose really isn't helping with that, and the higher dose was giving me too many side effects. Grr! Rant over. 😊

Maybe there's one in between that would work well? Or a different stimulant or even a different brand of the same stimulant? Don't give up, as it's really worth exploring all the options.

I think I will go up to 20mg tomorrow. I thought I'd try the 10mg for 2 weeks rather than 1 week to see the effects for a bit longer, but now I feel impatient!

With the children home this week it is really highlighting that my frustration tolerance is crap particularly in the afternoons :( I don't know if it's just wearing off and I'm getting a kickback effect - they say Medikinet has a really short window of operation - or something else but I seem REALLY quick to rage and have to hold myself back. I don't want to be dealing with that every day.

I'm almost at the end of my 4th week on Concerta XL & the end of my 2nd week on 54mg. I think I'm going to prefer 72mg! Hoping I'm close to the right dose as don't want to try something else. Binge eating has stopped thank goodness!!!

Ooh.....and I watched a film without fidgeting!! Miracle!

My 3rd week on 45 went well, I thought the 4th week on 60 (maximum) would be even better. But I'm struggling, feeling foggy and then tired when it wears off (on it 3 times a day) so I'm going to give it another week before I decide to try going back down again.

I've been on 20mg for about 10 days now and it's not really any better D: I think I might go back to 10mg tomorrow and try that again for a bit longer.

What I'm finding with the 20 is just that it's making me feel more agitated, irritable, insanely hungry (I thought it was supposed to be an appetite suppressant?) and fuzzy. Like I used to feel when I forgot to eat for 3 days.

I tried today taking one with breakfast and one 3h later, the morning was fine but the afternoon horrible.

Another thing I think is that I need to change some habits. Before medication I would frequently have days where I'm just on my computer all day. Now, I don't want to do that because it's not interesting (!!) but I just don't have that much to replace it with.

I've been trying to socialise more as a goal so I've planned some meet ups and some other outside-the-house activities. I'm getting some cleaning/decluttering done. But then I run out of energy and/or I get bored of cleaning. And I just don't know what to do with myself except sit down at the computer, and if I let myself do tha tI get sucked into a vortex which is like my worst non-medicated days.

Today I did some mini craft projects, turning some old ripped trousers into shorts and mending a smaller rip in another pair with a combo of crappy sewing and an iron-on patch. This was helpful in that it got me away from the computer vortex. I think I need more things like that.

I am going to try and sign up for a German course to give me something to do every day. Eventually I need to get a job. But one step at a time!

@BertieBotts What I'm finding with the 20 is just that it's making me feel more agitated, irritable, insanely hungry (I thought it was supposed to be an appetite suppressant?) and fuzzy.

Yes this is how I'm feeling today. Really struggling to concentrate. I skipped breakfast (and my morning dose because I slept in due to late start at work) and felt high and agitated after my first (which would usually be second) dose.

I also forgot 2 of my 3 doses yesterday

On Saturday I ate decent portions for breakfast and lunch but by evening I was driving around trying to find a 5 Guys because I had it in my head that I just wanted it, then went home to eat a bowl of sugary cereal and snacks.

I have definitely been more chaotic this week on the higher dose and definitely need to take it back down

Can I join the chat? I started this week on 10mg extended release. Couldn’t keep my eyes open the first day, and couldn’t concentrate or follow conversation. Wide awake all night but it should have been well worn off.

Then very little to notice after that. I’ve had no guidance beyond here’s a prescription, make an appointment to follow up. I’m supposed to keep track of my blood pressure - I was hoping if the meds worked that might actually be possible.