can retilin hurt you?

[andybanandy]

hi, im sorry i am very busy so i cant search through the forums to see if someone else made this topic, but if they have, you can just send me in the right direction to the link.



my question is, can retilin really hurt you? i know if you abuse it, it obviously will. but if you take it like the doctor says, can it still do damage?

i was on the pilots forums on a different site, and this is what one person had to say on the topic.

"Forgot to add that one thing they keep from you is the known liver damage caused by ritalin and the like. The medical society knows that taking Ritalin will knock years off of your life. They are also predicting that once the initial takers of Ritalin reach older years that they will see liver diseases that are far worse and some that they have never seen before. They justify it by saying that the Ritalin gives you back somewhat of a life and that some of a life is better than none. Yah laying in a hospital bed dying from liver disease is how I want my son to check out one day."

i am really scared about this. i think i have add, and a SEVERE condition of it, because i can NEVER concentrate, im always out of it. one time i did a test to see how long i could concentrate on my teacher without being distracted (or slipping into day dreaming, as i usually do) and i could only listen to him for around 25 secconds. and it shows in my report card.



anyway. if i am perscribed retilin, can it do as the person i quoted above said, and take my life away? if so, are their anyother percriptions other then retilin that wont do my any harm?

[herbal]

Originally Posted by andybanandy

hi, im sorry i am very busy so i cant search through the forums to see if someone else made this topic, but if they have, you can just send me in the right direction to the link.



my question is, can retilin really hurt you? i know if you abuse it, it obviously will. but if you take it like the doctor says, can it still do damage?

i was on the pilots forums on a different site, and this is what one person had to say on the topic.

"Forgot to add that one thing they keep from you is the known liver damage caused by ritalin and the like. The medical society knows that taking Ritalin will knock years off of your life. They are also predicting that once the initial takers of Ritalin reach older years that they will see liver diseases that are far worse and some that they have never seen before. They justify it by saying that the Ritalin gives you back somewhat of a life and that some of a life is better than none. Yah laying in a hospital bed dying from liver disease is how I want my son to check out one day."

i am really scared about this. i think i have add, and a SEVERE condition of it, because i can NEVER concentrate, im always out of it. one time i did a test to see how long i could concentrate on my teacher without being distracted (or slipping into day dreaming, as i usually do) and i could only listen to him for around 25 secconds. and it shows in my report card.



anyway. if i am perscribed retilin, can it do as the person i quoted above said, and take my life away? if so, are their anyother percriptions other then retilin that wont do my any harm?

Every medicine causes some kind of problem sooner or later. Some worse than others. As for liver damage with Ritalin, it's not common. However, there is this one ADD/ADHD med that can cause severe liver damage (forgot the name), in fact, the med causes so much damage that they have to do blood tests every few weeks. If only I can remember the name of the med.

Are you on Ritalin? I didn't catch it in the message if you said so. Kinda tired. Hehe.

There are several other great ADD/ADHD meds out there.

Be careful before diagnosing yourself with ADD or ADHD. It might just be an anxiety problem. I know it was for me. My doc thought I had ADD, but it turns out I have a small case of generalized anxiety disorder.

Best wishes.
, Herbal

[prometheus]

Yes Ritalin can and does do harm. Some people see it as a trade off...

but you might be interested to know that focus, attention is part of the human organism and adapts to its environment. It is an adaptable mechanism. It can adapt to be steady, intense, concentrated and involved, or it can adapt to skip around, and follow a bunch of things at once, though less involved. In todays world of information it is becoming easier and easier to be scattered and the average attention span has plummetted. You don't need drugs to learn to concentrate. Concentration is learned from your environment, from such things as tv watching (stop this) and type of music (switch to classical), and can be taught with simple exercises such as learning an instrument, playing chess, and underwater swimming. Underwater swimming is probably the one best exercise you can do to improve concentration because your concentration is directly related to your breath, and your lung capacity. Ever try to pay attention when you are out of breath? Ever notice that when you concentrate or when you suddenly focus on something you naturally hold your breath? Your breath is the seat of your intelligence. Those who can hold their breath longer can outsmart, out focus, out argue, and out perform someone who cannot hold their breath as long. Also, underwater swimming increases the blood supply to the brain in ways that simply holding your breath cannot do. So stop watching tv (Lots of studies on this and how tv trains your mind to be scattered and your attention span to be short), switch to classical music, and try underwater swimming. You'll find you won't even need that ritalin.

[andybanandy]

herbal, im not on retilin yet, in fact, i dont know if i have add yet, i mgoing to get it tested end of this month, but i did some research (as much as i could) and i found a little test you can take, with a bunch of symptoms, and i got 63out of 72 of them. that doesnt mean i have add, but it sure shows something.


prometheus, you make a good point. but please please please tell me i dont have to give up tv. my whole world revolves around it, ! what would i do if i didnt have tv? read a book?, i cant read a book!. im not dislexic or anything, its just i cant concentrate on what im reading!like, i could read a sentence, but i cant understand the meaning!. sometimes, i even daydream when i read!. i am planning on buying a really nice exercise bike within this week, so maybe that can get the blood pumping.



as for where you said retilin CAN hurt you, are their any other percription drugs for add that cant?, what about percription stratera (or however you spell it), can that cause liver damage also?

[andybanandy]

i just did some research, and it appears that the liver damage side effects isnt very common,
heres some of the stuff i have found


"Q: Is there any research supporting the claim that long-term use of Ritalin can cause liver cancer in children?

Mary Beth / Tennessee



A: No scientific evidence supports a link between methylphenidate (Ritalin) and cancer in humans.

In 1995, research done for the U.S. government suggested that Ritalin might cause liver cancer in mice. But researchers found no evidence that the drug causes any human cancers. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regards Ritalin as a safe and effective drug.

Ritalin is a stimulant used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It may work by increasing and balancing levels of the brain chemicals dopamine (associated with activity) and serotonin (associated with a sense of well-being).
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Question: Is ritalin from a cocaine derivative and does it cause liver damage?

Answer: It is not related to cocaine. Occasional patients have had elevated liver enzymes, but this is an uncommon problem with this drug.

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One study found that it caused cancerous tumors in male rats. Even though animal studies don't necessarily predict what may occur in humans, the FDA has asked the manufacturer to warn doctors that the drug may have the potential to cause cancer

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