Yes, I am a 36 year old female that takes Ritalin. I am also a full time business professional and mom. It has really helped me complete tasks and removed my feelings of overwhelmingness. Good luck to you! Remember you are not alone in this!

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Hello and welcome! Ritalin is the most commonly prescribed ADHD drug, for both adults and children. Though you may experience some side effects at first, they often disappear once your body adjusts to the medication. Hopefully it will work well for you. And remember to keep your doctor posted on your progress so she can adjust the dosage if necessary.

Good luck, Dena

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Hi there Moto-Mom. Yes, absolutely adults take Ritalin. I'm a 37 year old (recently diagnosed) attorney who is taking Ritalin. Currently I take low doses, 15mg in the am and then 10 more at around 1pm. I am taking the generic versions, but you can take Ritalin-LA (for long-acting, not Los Angeles). And just like Abby, I have noticed a remarkable difference in my ability to focus and get things done. My mind wanders a LOT less than before (really really noticable).

Good luck!

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I take Ritalin and I am 28 years old. I have taken it since I was a kid. In the country I live we dont have that many medication choices, there is no adderall. Just Ritalin, dexamphetamine, Ritalin LA, and Concerta really.

I find the long acting medications dont work as well as the short acting ones. I tried concerta and it worked well in the morning but by the afternoon all my bad behaviours and hyperactivity were back in full swing.

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I'm a middle-aged adult and have been taking Ritalin for about 10 years. As a professional science writer, Ritalin helps me focus as I research and write articles when things around me are entirely too distracting. I also find that Ritalin helps 'even me out' when I attend professional conferences and meetings.

If I had been diagnosed as a child (I was thought of as strange and overactive but not a behavior problem), report card comments such as 'could do better if she focused' ... 'intelligent but doesn't pay attention'...'should try harder to concentrate' wouldn't have been the norm. However, I appreciate having some 'help' when I need it now!

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Ritalin was the first and only med prescribed to me after I was diagnosed last August. I take 20mg in the morning and at lunch and 10mg around 5pm.

I like it because it's short acting, takes effect pretty quickly, and it's flexible.

The effects only last four to five hours for me, which keeps me functional all day long without impacting my ability to fall asleep. Don't get me wrong, I still have trouble sleeping...just not falling asleep. ;)

It usually takes between 30 and 45 minutes for the meds to kick in fully. I like that because I can take my meds and feel a difference inside of an hour. That makes a big difference at work.

My doc and I have an agreement - If I feel like I need less medication, I can take less. I just can't go over my prescribed amount. I skip my morning dose or reduce it to 10mg on weekends if I sleep in more than an hour or so. I often skip my evening dose, especially if I know I need to go to bed early.

At first, I could feel the effect of the meds as they kicked in. For the first week or two, I felt like I was on a caffeine high or something. That feeling faded over time. Now, I can feel the difference between meds vs no meds, but I can't feel them kick in and I certainly don't feel hyper or amped up like I used to.

I will say that my appetite has gone down, but I find I need food every four hours or so or I start to feel nauseus. I know the first part is the meds...I'm not sure about the second. I also find that I can't have caffeine (well, not more than you'd find in a 12oz soda) within two hours of taking my meds. It makes me sick to my stomach.

Give it a shot, keep tabs on your progress/side effects, and keep talking to your doctor. I've come to the conclusion that no one medicine works for everyone.

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I am a 54 year old adult male. I was diagnosed with ADD several years ago. Ritalin [and later Adderal, I think] was prescribed and I tried it for some time. I was disappointed that the only noticeable affect on me was to make me feel extra jumpy. It was as if I had had several cups of coffee instead of just one. I am a laid back type of person and sometimes I wonder if the drugs work better on hyperactive personalities. I know quite a number of ADD/ADHD children and adults and my admittedly unscientific, anecdotal observation is that the drugs seem to have the most profound affect on more hyperactive personalities.

When I am asked about the drugs I respond - by all means give them a try but if they don't work don't be afraid to flush them down the toilet like I did. Then try to honestly assess your strengths and weaknesses [a good idea even if the drugs do work for you]. From there you can try to figure out the accomodations that work best for you so that life is less stressful and more successful.

I am wired differently and have no problem accepting this. The drugs didn't work for me...fine, I will try to figure things out on my own or with the help of people who can make good suggestions. I am surrounded by a calendar, notes on the floor, sticky notes on my desk, car keys on top of the yogurt I need to remember to take home after work tonight, etc. I wish that the drugs would work for me but they don't. So I read ADDitude magazine, read the blogs and try to figure what works best for me. Good Luck.

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I was on Adderall, which was fine, but because of the headaches I got with it my doctor decided to try Concerta to see if I did better with that one. Wow, I don't know how the rest of you do so well on it, but it knocked me for a loop. I was dizzy and I can't even describe the side effects. Feeling somehow disconnected to my brain is probably the only thing close that I can offer. A friend of mine had been diagnosed with ADD a few years ago and the doctor had started with Concerta. My friend said she'd had such a bad reaction to it that she refused to take anything at all and still doesn't. Now I know what she meant. So, some people are okay with it apparently, but by no means think that everyone is. I never experienced that with Adderall. Now I'm on dextroamphetamine, which is in the same family as Adderall, and I have less headaches now. And no weird ritalin side effects. That was seriously freaky!

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Thanks to all of you!!! Unfortunately Im still waiting for my insurance to approve the prescription, but i expect them to within a day or two. Its nice to have the oppurtunity to hear what folks who've actually taken the medication & have the same issues I have, have to say about the meds etc. , Dr.'s are full of info but its also reassuring when to hear what people have to say that have what i have. I almost trust your info more then a Dr.'s (nothing against Dr's but.....) I'll fill ya'll in once i start taking ritalin, i hope is soon, I only have 2 days worth of my Adderall left!!!! Moto-Mom

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Tony said: I am a 54 year old adult male. I was diagnosed with ADD several years ago. Ritalin [and later Adderal, I think] was prescribed and I tried it for some time. I was disappointed that the only noticeable affect on me was to make me feel extra jumpy. It was as if I had had several cups of coffee instead of just one. I am a laid back type of person and sometimes I wonder if the drugs work better on hyperactive personalities. I know quite a number of ADD/ADHD children and adults and my admittedly unscientific, anecdotal observation is that the drugs seem to have the most profound affect on more hyperactive personalities.

The meds do work for those who are not hyperactive. My husband has the hyperactive type but my teenage son, adult daughter and I (I'm 48) all have the type without hyperactivity. My husband takes Adderall and the rest of us take Vyvanse (similar to Adderall XR). My son took Concerta (Ritalin type) when he was younger.

There are two possible reasons that I know of that the medication made you extra jumpy. If you consume a lot of coffee or caffeine while taking the medication, it can make you more jumpy or anxious. I don't normally have a lot of caffeine but one day I drank a large Coffee Coolatta and I had spasms and a tightness in my chest. It happened one other time when I had consumed a great deal of soda with caffeine. That's when I realized, and later confirmed with others, that the additional caffeine had caused the unpleasant effects. I haven't had any other problems except for those two instances.

The other possibility is that you also have an anxiety problem of some sort. If treated with a stimulant, the stimulant will make the anxiety much worse. You may not even be aware that you have anxiety. I have the cognitive type of GAD--generalized anxiety disorder. I don't have physical symptoms but I am a chronic worrier. My anxiety was recognized a few years before my diagnosis for ADHD so I was already taking medication for the anxiety (suggested since I had trouble staying asleep at night). If someone does have untreated anxiety, that needs to be taken care of first, and depending on the medication and doctor's instructions, within a week or two, the stimulant medication can then be started. Unfortunately, a lot of doctors are not aware of this, and the sequencing of the medication is very important. You can't start with the stimulant and then add the anxiety medication. You have to treat the anxiety first. My daughter also has the GAD--it's highly genetic.

Finding a knowledgeable doctor to treat ADHD in adults, who is also experienced in the knowledge and treatment of other disorders that can co-exist with and/or complicate the treatment of ADHD, is worth his or her weight in gold. Rarely, does someone have only ADHD, especially if they were not diagnosed or treated until adulthood. Depression and anxiety are commonly found to accompany adult ADHD.

Elaine

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Bipolar disorder is another one that often accompanies ADD. When I am manic, I am even more impulsive than my usual ADD self! My doctor treated the bipolar first. I'm on adderall now for the ADD. I have been on both ritalin and dexedrine. I'm finding that I no longer really like coffee. I thought the meds were causing headaches, but a good neurology nurse practitioner determined that the headaches were a separate thing and they are now more in control. Good luck! The thing to know about Ritalin in my opinion is that it is the oldest most trusted med out there, with the most research. I will probably go back to it if I can get the LA version so I don't have to remember to take it during the day.

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I'm 32 years old and diagnosed with ADD about six months ago. I've tried a couple different medications, including Aderall, and have found Ritalin works well for me. The good thing about this medication is that it's available in generic form making it much friendlier on the wallet. In fact, since I'm between jobs right now, I don't have health insurance. I signed up for the prescription plan at Walgreens making my RX for generic Ritalin affordable.

I do still have the side effects such as low appetite but I find that managing my meals around the time that the meds wears off works best for me. Just make sure that what you eat is healthy and full of nutrients (especially protein and avoid processed foods if possible). I am also diligent about taking multi-vitamins to make sure I'm getting all nutrients my body needs. In my opinion, the symptoms of ADD far outweigh the manageable side effects of Ritalin. Plus, the loss of appetite doesn't hurt if you have a couple of extra pounds to loose before swimsuit season ;).

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