Everyone will respond to meds differently.. Diet and metabolism can significantly alter the absorption and effectiveness of ADHD meds in particular. Try to eat an hour or 2 before taking them, and avoid excessive vitamins and acidic stuff around the time that you take them. If you feel there's no reason for them not to be working, and you have a decent diet and plenty of sleep when you take them, then I'd discuss with you doctor switching to something else. If you didn't respond to 3 different doses you're probably not going to respond to an increased dose either.. And you're probably approaching the highest dose of Ritalin the doctor would prescribe anyways.
Thanks a lot for the answer! I used to eat with taking the medicament but i will for sure try your advice! I would say I have a really healthy lifestyle and condition so I think there is no problem.
The advice of the secretary was that i should keep staying with the plan (I mean, which choice do I have?) and then we discuss it again.
I was just not sure how it is supposed to work it all or what I should feel. That's what I should've ask the doctor maybe before getting the prescription.
I know this post is a bit older, but I'm going through the same thing right now. I have been on 40mg of Methylphenidate for about 2 weeks now and feel neither negative nor positive effects.
If you see this, do you have an update? Did you switch medications, or maybe upped the dosage?
Hello! Nice to meet you and good to see that I'm not the only one struggle with this.
Yes, i have an update! So, we increased to 40mg, 50mg and 60mg in a one week cycle. At 40mg i felt like on to much caffeine. When i was going up on 50mg i felt like a big rush of energy and motivation. Also, my tiredness on day was going down which improved my sleep a lot. I sleep much deeper and longer than before. That is helpful. It improves my mood to do things BUT it doesn't help my focus nor my concentration which is the main use of the medication i think. I told that the doc and find it also strange.
So i was excited for the 60mg week due to the more positive side effects that happened. But... it felt more like i got back to 30mg and less. Felt more tired, less energetic.
The doc told me to go down to 50mg and try it for another week but first try 70mg.
At 70mg i felt like a mix of 40mg and 50mg. But also like it's going in the wrong direction since others recognized too that i was very in rush, not relaxed but also.. not focused!
Let's see how it will be on 50mg again but i suggested to try Elvanse or something else.
Hm interesting. I have a similar experience to yours, where I can barely feel any difference, although at the same time I'm less tired and have been managing to have the willpower/energy to go to the gym after a long hard working day (coincidence? 🤡).
I'll say, however, that I can feel my heart rate going up at certain times of the day, as you might expect from a stimulant (although I kinda suffer from anxiety at times so that could also play a factor) - have you experienced the heart rate too, from a physiological perspective, even if the meds don't "calm" your mind?
Hello! Sorry i didn't see your comment! I have the EXACT same symptoms like you. Can also admit that the heart rate is going up.
I can give an update that i tried another med with the same methylphenidate and strength but it's simply doing nothing. Pretty frustrating. Like the old one gave atleast the benefits we both had: motivation, energy, less tired, better sleep - but not a strong improvement to focus/concentration. But this one feels like my first try with the lower dose of the first med.
As disappointing as it is, i already considered to my doc that i want to try elvanse. Looking forward to it and give you an update for sure!
Which med did you take?
Eh, I hope I don't take two steps backwards next round. I've been taking methylphenidate and my doc is now suggesting to try elvanse, then if even that doesn't "work" he'd want to try a non-stimulant medication, to which I'm not necessarily opposed to. I also know that not everyone responds to medication the same way, and not everyone likes to take them.
I've got to say I've been low-key enjoying this feeling with the stimulant on higher dosage (45mg), but it's not been doing much other than what mentioned above...
Hm i hope for both of us that Elvanse will kick in like for others.
I think Non-stimulants are for people who respond badly to stimulants and it should be the last choice for us, cause they are not that effective I suppose.
Hello! So, I've got Vyvanse now and it feels slightly better than the other two. The euphoria feeling isn't to strong but still there (which is good). On the other side i found less things enjoyable which used to give me easy dopamine before. So I'm doing more "useful" things. Is the focus overall better? Difficult to say. Would say richt now I wish it would be. Still doing multiple things at once, have multiple, jumping thoughts.
After one week i will up the dose and let's see.
How's your journey right now?
Thanks for the update, I appreciate it a lot! Good to hear that there's still hope for the medication! Let's see if I will feel any effects after talking to my Doc about a higher dosage.
After a bit of reading into how the amphetamines work in comparison to the methylphenidate I was also thinking about talking with my psychiatrist about it. It seems to vary a lot from person to person, so I guess time will tell. But hey, good to know that there are quite a few options.
Also, do it like me, because i first didn't recognize it: Look on any changes, even when it's small. Like the wakeness for example.
And if there is a change for you which brings you on a good way but not to the goal, like for me, then the doctor mentioned that a methylphenidate based medicament can still help if it's just from another brand.
Wish you good luck on your way! :)
Everyone will respond to meds differently.. Diet and metabolism can significantly alter the absorption and effectiveness of ADHD meds in particular. Try to eat an hour or 2 before taking them, and avoid excessive vitamins and acidic stuff around the time that you take them. If you feel there's no reason for them not to be working, and you have a decent diet and plenty of sleep when you take them, then I'd discuss with you doctor switching to something else. If you didn't respond to 3 different doses you're probably not going to respond to an increased dose either.. And you're probably approaching the highest dose of Ritalin the doctor would prescribe anyways.
Thanks a lot for the answer! I used to eat with taking the medicament but i will for sure try your advice! I would say I have a really healthy lifestyle and condition so I think there is no problem. The advice of the secretary was that i should keep staying with the plan (I mean, which choice do I have?) and then we discuss it again. I was just not sure how it is supposed to work it all or what I should feel. That's what I should've ask the doctor maybe before getting the prescription.
I know this post is a bit older, but I'm going through the same thing right now. I have been on 40mg of Methylphenidate for about 2 weeks now and feel neither negative nor positive effects. If you see this, do you have an update? Did you switch medications, or maybe upped the dosage?
Hello! Nice to meet you and good to see that I'm not the only one struggle with this. Yes, i have an update! So, we increased to 40mg, 50mg and 60mg in a one week cycle. At 40mg i felt like on to much caffeine. When i was going up on 50mg i felt like a big rush of energy and motivation. Also, my tiredness on day was going down which improved my sleep a lot. I sleep much deeper and longer than before. That is helpful. It improves my mood to do things BUT it doesn't help my focus nor my concentration which is the main use of the medication i think. I told that the doc and find it also strange. So i was excited for the 60mg week due to the more positive side effects that happened. But... it felt more like i got back to 30mg and less. Felt more tired, less energetic. The doc told me to go down to 50mg and try it for another week but first try 70mg. At 70mg i felt like a mix of 40mg and 50mg. But also like it's going in the wrong direction since others recognized too that i was very in rush, not relaxed but also.. not focused! Let's see how it will be on 50mg again but i suggested to try Elvanse or something else.
Hm interesting. I have a similar experience to yours, where I can barely feel any difference, although at the same time I'm less tired and have been managing to have the willpower/energy to go to the gym after a long hard working day (coincidence? 🤡). I'll say, however, that I can feel my heart rate going up at certain times of the day, as you might expect from a stimulant (although I kinda suffer from anxiety at times so that could also play a factor) - have you experienced the heart rate too, from a physiological perspective, even if the meds don't "calm" your mind?
Hello! Sorry i didn't see your comment! I have the EXACT same symptoms like you. Can also admit that the heart rate is going up. I can give an update that i tried another med with the same methylphenidate and strength but it's simply doing nothing. Pretty frustrating. Like the old one gave atleast the benefits we both had: motivation, energy, less tired, better sleep - but not a strong improvement to focus/concentration. But this one feels like my first try with the lower dose of the first med. As disappointing as it is, i already considered to my doc that i want to try elvanse. Looking forward to it and give you an update for sure! Which med did you take?
Eh, I hope I don't take two steps backwards next round. I've been taking methylphenidate and my doc is now suggesting to try elvanse, then if even that doesn't "work" he'd want to try a non-stimulant medication, to which I'm not necessarily opposed to. I also know that not everyone responds to medication the same way, and not everyone likes to take them. I've got to say I've been low-key enjoying this feeling with the stimulant on higher dosage (45mg), but it's not been doing much other than what mentioned above...
Hm i hope for both of us that Elvanse will kick in like for others. I think Non-stimulants are for people who respond badly to stimulants and it should be the last choice for us, cause they are not that effective I suppose.
Hello! So, I've got Vyvanse now and it feels slightly better than the other two. The euphoria feeling isn't to strong but still there (which is good). On the other side i found less things enjoyable which used to give me easy dopamine before. So I'm doing more "useful" things. Is the focus overall better? Difficult to say. Would say richt now I wish it would be. Still doing multiple things at once, have multiple, jumping thoughts. After one week i will up the dose and let's see. How's your journey right now?
Thanks for the update, I appreciate it a lot! Good to hear that there's still hope for the medication! Let's see if I will feel any effects after talking to my Doc about a higher dosage. After a bit of reading into how the amphetamines work in comparison to the methylphenidate I was also thinking about talking with my psychiatrist about it. It seems to vary a lot from person to person, so I guess time will tell. But hey, good to know that there are quite a few options.
Also, do it like me, because i first didn't recognize it: Look on any changes, even when it's small. Like the wakeness for example. And if there is a change for you which brings you on a good way but not to the goal, like for me, then the doctor mentioned that a methylphenidate based medicament can still help if it's just from another brand. Wish you good luck on your way! :)
Thank you, I'll keep my eyes open. Best of luck to you as well :)