Tolerance to Ritalin? - ADD / ADHD Message Board

erg57 · 10-28-2004, 05:29 PM

Does one develop a tolerance to ritalin to where its efficacy is diminished?

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I have been taking 20 mg a day for the last two months. I took ten in the am and 10 in the afternoon. I was not sure if I ever really noticed anything since I have been taking it in all honesty. The other day I took my morning dose. I then took another ten probably about 20 minutes later as I had forgotten that I had taken my first does already. This time I felt something...a real difference. i think this is what I was supposed to feel the whole time but had not been taking enough. I felt very focused, but not euphoric by any means....kind of up (I know its a stimulant) but not hyper. Is this what I was supposed to be feeling? I have not resumed this higher dosage. I do know that dosages need to be adjusted. I am going to tell my doc about this, but I dont want him thinking I am hooked or anything like that.

Is what I felt the goal of ritalin? opinions please.

hummingbirdkiss · 10-28-2004, 08:36 PM

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lillypad · 10-28-2004, 11:23 PM

I think doses have to be adjusted to a therapeutic level, and that will be different for everyone. Tell your doc about taking more by accident and that it did kick in. If you need ritalin, it will make you calmer and more able to focus. BTW, the long acting never did work for me, I take the regular tablets 3 times a day.

norat · 10-29-2004, 03:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hummingbirdkiss

Both my daughter and I developed a tolerance to the dosage of ritalin we were taking. Increasing the dosage however would bring about effectiveness again. When we realized we would need to keep increasing the dosage and my daughter was taking 60mg a day, we decided to stop. We both stopped the medication abruptly, without tapering and experienced no symptoms from doing so.

If we waiting a few months before taking it, the medication would once again be effective but tolerance would develop again. So my daughter takes it only occasionally. I no longer take it at all but when it was working, it was an amazing medication.

Ritalin would help my daugher and me to focus. It also helped us to relax. It made both of us calmer.

Actually that's not accurate. Yes the curve on your way UP to your therapeutic dose may go fast, (the honeymoon) but at some point it levels out. 60M is the ceiling for normal everyday use, just so they have a place to gauge. Doctors will go much higher because it's a very clean drug.

The cut-off dose for Ibuprofen is 2 pills right? But don't doctors always tell you to take 4?. At 800MG Ibuprofen becomes a whole other drug.

80MG of Ritalin a day is a pretty standard dose for adults. You can even go up to 120MG a day. (this is only for Ritalin, not the amphetamines)

erg57 · 10-29-2004, 04:57 AM

Thanks for your thoughts. I asked a friend of mine who had been diagnosed ADD years ago and he said few people he knows take only 20 mg a day. He has been taking 60 a day for years.