Post by lillybean on Oct 12, 2019 22:12:23 GMT
I am super frustrated. I was diagnosed with ADHD a month ago. After having my son 10 years ago I was diagnosed with anxiety and post partum depression. I thought at that time that this was the answer to what I had struggled with for years, back into my teenage years. All my problems are solved I thought. After a couple years trying different medications, I eventually found that marijuana helped most with my symptoms so I stopped all the prescription drugs and self-medicated with marijuana. This didn't do much for me during the day, but made my evenings and weekends more calm and enjoyable with less severe anxiety reactions. It also helped with withdrawal while getting off effexor. It makes sense this would help with ADHD as it quieted my ever racing mind.
While looking into ADHD for my son, I came across a lot of information on undiagnosed ADHD in adults, followed that up with some research on ADHD in young girls and finally everything seemed clear. It was really eye opening and I'm working on things now.
Im frustrated because I got my hopes up about medication drastically helping right away. I read success stories that said they felt a switch flip almost immediately. I got the impression that medication can help significantly while going through the long, hard process of behavioural therapy, exercise & diet changes, etc.
Unfortunately I don't think my doctor knows much about treating the disorder. He put me on Ritalin and gave me a website to research the medication and treatment options on my own. In the mean time I was given this dose schedule for Ritalin: 10mg 2x/day for 1 week, 20mg 2x/day for 1 week and then 30mg 2x/day for 2 weeks then come for a follow up appt. He said to stop increasing the dose if I notice improvement at any level.
I didn't notice much symptom change at 10mg, went up to 20mg and I started seeing less fidgeting and a quieter mind, but I also sometimes feel shaky or extremely tired and when feeling this way seem to have less ability staying on task. I have had times where I feel more irritable too. I tried 30mg for 2 days and went back down to 20 because it made me feel crappy physically. I did my dose increases on the weekend tho and dont know if it would have been different if I tried that dose level at work..
I have had to stop drinking caffeine and alcohol. My heart rate jumps to 110-120 sometimes about an hour after I take the medication. Usually it comes down if I lie down so I think it might be blood pressure related. If I smoke marijuana while on ritalin, my resting heart rate has gone as high as 132, so I now only smoke at bedtime when the ritalin has mostly worn off. I wear a Fitbit versa and realize the reading might not be completely accurate, but I do know what the fitbit was reading both before and after starting medication and my resting rate has definitely increased.
My questions for anyone that has been through this or is a doctor that knows about treating it are :
1. I read on average adults find peace at 20-30 mg /day. Is this true in practice?
2. Is it normal to change doses so quickly at the beginning? Is it possible I didn't give the 10mg 2x/day enough time to see if it could be enough?
3. I read the maximum recommended dose is 60mg/day. Is it wrong for my doctor to put me up to that dose after only 2 weeks?
4. Does the fatigue, shakyness and increased heart rate mean my dose is too high?
5. Ritalin doesn't affect my sleep at all, if anything I'm sleeping more and better but I also feel more exhausted sometimes at work. It also wears off really quick and I typically work more than 8 hours a day so this makes it hard. Would I benefit from a lower dose 3x per day? Does anyone do 4x/day? I want to switch to a time release but want to know I'm on the right medication and the right dose first.
6. Do any of these symptoms indicate Ritalin isn't the right medication for me? Or does it sound like a dosing issue?
7. Can I play with my dose every day until I find something that feels good? How long should you wait between changes?
While looking into ADHD for my son, I came across a lot of information on undiagnosed ADHD in adults, followed that up with some research on ADHD in young girls and finally everything seemed clear. It was really eye opening and I'm working on things now.
Im frustrated because I got my hopes up about medication drastically helping right away. I read success stories that said they felt a switch flip almost immediately. I got the impression that medication can help significantly while going through the long, hard process of behavioural therapy, exercise & diet changes, etc.
Unfortunately I don't think my doctor knows much about treating the disorder. He put me on Ritalin and gave me a website to research the medication and treatment options on my own. In the mean time I was given this dose schedule for Ritalin: 10mg 2x/day for 1 week, 20mg 2x/day for 1 week and then 30mg 2x/day for 2 weeks then come for a follow up appt. He said to stop increasing the dose if I notice improvement at any level.
I didn't notice much symptom change at 10mg, went up to 20mg and I started seeing less fidgeting and a quieter mind, but I also sometimes feel shaky or extremely tired and when feeling this way seem to have less ability staying on task. I have had times where I feel more irritable too. I tried 30mg for 2 days and went back down to 20 because it made me feel crappy physically. I did my dose increases on the weekend tho and dont know if it would have been different if I tried that dose level at work..
I have had to stop drinking caffeine and alcohol. My heart rate jumps to 110-120 sometimes about an hour after I take the medication. Usually it comes down if I lie down so I think it might be blood pressure related. If I smoke marijuana while on ritalin, my resting heart rate has gone as high as 132, so I now only smoke at bedtime when the ritalin has mostly worn off. I wear a Fitbit versa and realize the reading might not be completely accurate, but I do know what the fitbit was reading both before and after starting medication and my resting rate has definitely increased.
My questions for anyone that has been through this or is a doctor that knows about treating it are :
1. I read on average adults find peace at 20-30 mg /day. Is this true in practice?
2. Is it normal to change doses so quickly at the beginning? Is it possible I didn't give the 10mg 2x/day enough time to see if it could be enough?
3. I read the maximum recommended dose is 60mg/day. Is it wrong for my doctor to put me up to that dose after only 2 weeks?
4. Does the fatigue, shakyness and increased heart rate mean my dose is too high?
5. Ritalin doesn't affect my sleep at all, if anything I'm sleeping more and better but I also feel more exhausted sometimes at work. It also wears off really quick and I typically work more than 8 hours a day so this makes it hard. Would I benefit from a lower dose 3x per day? Does anyone do 4x/day? I want to switch to a time release but want to know I'm on the right medication and the right dose first.
6. Do any of these symptoms indicate Ritalin isn't the right medication for me? Or does it sound like a dosing issue?
7. Can I play with my dose every day until I find something that feels good? How long should you wait between changes?