Posted by Noa on October 29, 1999, at 7:29:50
In reply to Re: Ritalin (carol), posted by Jeff on October 28, 1999, at 21:59:50
From what I have heard (went to NIH consensus conference on ADHD last year), there is info out there that might lead a doc to suspect danger in prescribing ritalin to a patient who was previously addicted to amphetamines (afraid of habituation and increased use, as suggested by previous poster who took more and more ritalin AMA). But there is also info out there suggesting that previous exposure to amphetamines will make the brain MORE sensitized to ritalin, not less (as in the habituation theory). DOctors tend to be cautious, nervous about this kind of thing. There have been reports of kids selling or giving away their own ritalin to other kids who crush it and sniff it, which gives a high that you don't get with oral administration. If you have a history of abuse of amphetamines, I could see how your doc would worry about this. What you might suggest is that he/she prescribes the ritalin and gives you only a scrip for one week's worth of meds, so the temptation to take too much (orally or otherwise) is limited. Is ritalin a controlled substance as it is here in the US? Here, we have to actually get a new scrip every time we want to refill, cannot just call in a refill as with other meds. So, limiting the scrip to a week's worth would be a pain in the butt for you, but might help the doc and you feel more secure about you not getting tempted to use it inappropriately.
I take Ritalin as an augmentor to an antidepressant. All by itself, ritalin is not often used to treat depression except in elderly and medically fragile. One major drawback to ritalin is the rebound effect, when it wears off, it can make you really moody, irritable, etc.
poster:Noa
thread:14025
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991028/msgs/14145.html