ak
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Post by ak on Feb 14, 2014 16:09:09 GMT
Hey everyone, hope you're well I've been on methylphenidate for 2 weeks now and when I look back at my day, there is definitely evidence that they are working; the flat isn't so messy and a few things actually got finished! The thing is, I almost feel like they're not working 'in the moment'; i.e., only when I look back at my accomplishments, it's clear that they have affected me positively but very rarely have I felt like my attention and focus is improved at any one time. I've also got too much energy (physical and mental) to focus on small tasks such as sending emails,written work or even playing guitar. I've also noticed that I've still got tens of tabs open in my browser and so the 'micro' symptoms are still very much prevalent. I've considered that the cause for this high energy state might be that my dosage is a bit too high; but if I drop it by 5mg, I feel tired and listless. It's a weird situation because I feel physically great (there's a mild recreational type buzz) but sitting down and getting my teeth into something that requires very little physical energy is almost impossible! Could it just be that I need a bit of time to get used to feeling like this and that I have to learn to work with it and all these traits are actually force of habit and perhaps CBT rather than meds will help me overcome them? Perhaps going for a run would help? Any thoughts or examples of similar experience would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Alex x
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Post by danherts on Feb 14, 2014 18:13:36 GMT
Hi Alex,
I was on Concerta (extended release MPH) for a few months and made the same observation about only perceiving the effects in retrospect. I think I put it in my log under the diary section titled 'to the psychiatrist and beyond'.
Any drugged up feeling for me disappeared after a month or so as well as most side effects, but I lost a few of the positives as well. I found Concerta only pushed me so far, switching attention is much easier and getting back to a certain level of (dis)organisation. I never found it really let me get stuck into things like the Elvanse that I'm taking at the minute. Unfortunately I still don't know what exactly I'm looking for and exactly is supposed to happen to say one med works better than another.. At the moment I have the choice between a mild general increase in attention from Concerta or a kind of switchable distracted hyperfocus from Elvanse, I suppose it' s just a choice. .
I felt tired at the beginning too, especially at the starting dose but that disappeared. Unfortunately I couldn't tolerate a higher dose than 36mg.
I would say stick with your titration. You need a fair amount of time to really get to grips with how the meds working after any side effects (positive or negative) go away. I wouldn't say it sounds like your dose is too high at all from what you're saying, and you may benefit from increasing it further.
Dan
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ak
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Post by ak on Feb 14, 2014 22:24:40 GMT
Hey Dan, thanks for this It's really nice to hear from someone who has practical knowledge of this; there's only so much a medical pro without first hand experience can impart and I can sense that from my doc's answers! I'm nowhere near a dose of 36mg; I'm actually on quick release medikinet which I take 3 times a day - anything from 10-5-5 to 20-10-10 (I have learnt that I should follow up a larger dose with two half sized doses). I think I'll just give it some time, try to eat more regularly and learn to live with the effects a bit more and perhaps in time use them to my advantage. Thanks for taking the time to answer this, your words have strengthened my belief that I should ride this out a bit more! Cheers, Alex x
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Post by grim on Feb 14, 2014 22:35:45 GMT
Ride it out ak,it takes a while for you and the meds to find your groove.
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ak
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Post by ak on Feb 15, 2014 18:35:56 GMT
Thanks Grim - will do In other news, last night I was completely pissed after 2 rums and a Guinness - usually takes at least twice that before I can even feel it. I was at the 'talk to yourself in the mirror while going for a wee' level of drunk! x
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Post by danherts on Feb 15, 2014 19:25:10 GMT
Hi again Alex,
You're actually on more than my previous 36mg because Concerta is only taken once a day and I think more of the IR is actually used up by the body.
Methylphenidate + alcohol = ethylphenidate, give that a google, some people take it as a 'research chemical'. I definitely felt a bit funky sometimes drinking whilst the MPH was still in my system and would try and wait until it had worn off and if I was going to have a session I'd avoid the MPH on the day and sometimes the day after.
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Post by JJ on Feb 16, 2014 1:58:14 GMT
Hi Ak
have you tried going up very slightly?
you said 20/10/10 - have you tried 20/15/10 for example?
Or even 25 to see what that does?
The max dose per day recommended (by NICE) for an adult is 100mg - so you wouldn't be straying outside of that
For me 20 was ok but not perfect, but 25 wasn't pleasant at all - made me very flat and irritable - so I then knew for sure that 20 was the max in one dose and then concentrated on tinkering with the doses the rest of the day / their timing / food intake and timing / sleep / exercise and so on
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ak
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Post by ak on Feb 16, 2014 14:16:30 GMT
Hey! Dan, I was actually surprised because mixing alcohol and stimulants is nothing new to me - I'm sure you know what I mean - and it usually has the opposite effect; i.e., increased tolerance JJ, I tried 20 and it felt like like overkill for me! Although, from what I hear, this is not exactly linear - for example, 15 may feel like too much but 20 not enough - so maybe I'll give 25 a shot! Thanks for your advice everyone x
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