Hi all,

I was recenlty given ritalin to replace provigil to counteract the fatigue I get from paxil. It also helped with my depression but it cost a fortune so my pdoc switched me to ritalin. She said it should help augment my paxil as well as help with the fatigue.

Is anyone taking this for depression or fatigue? Also, I read somwhere that it can cause depression in adulthood if taken as a child - I am an adult but I worry about that possible side effect down the road.

Any info is appreciated.

Thanks,
starr

I took Ritalin as a child and adult. When I was a child, it worked too well and I was so drugged my parents took me off of it. As an adult, I was rediagnosed w/ adhd and given Ritalin at 1st. This made me hyper as hecked, bouncing off walls and anxiety increased. They switched me to paxil and I calmed down and felt better. Problem is doctors dont know, per my doc, the long term effects on adults taking Ritalin. I hope this info helps. :wave:

Hi all,

Thanks for replying Gonzo. I was worred about ritalin causing depression later in life bec they say it does in children. My pdoc says the ritalin should not cause depression in the longrun in adults but I am scared to chance it. Are all drugs like ritalin, adderall, etc. in the same class. I thought about switching unless they all do the same thing and I dont want to chance making my depression worse in the future. I am just not sure which way to go. If my paxil worked by itself and did not cause fatigue, I would come off it but I seem to need more (& I am already on a high dose of the paxil). Anyone with any experiences with ritalin or another med in this class would be greatly appreciated! Sometimes I think those of us who take the meds know as much as the docs who give them! Ha!

Best wishes,
starr

Paxil makes me the same way. Recently I tried Dextrostat, because Provigil was too expensive. It would make me feel alert more for about 4-5 hours, then left me even more tired and lazy than even before I took it. Now she is trying me on Ritalin CR after the holidays, and I hope it will work out.. But I keep telling myself, that the pro's outweigh the con's, because Paxil has been so good for me and I have SSI, but I still would rather live a normal life and not mooch off the government till I die. Still, there's no way I am coming off of Paxil. I'll have to let you know how the Ritalin works out.

I take Adderall for adult ADHD without the hyperactivity. I was never medicated as a child, but I grew up and had depression anyway. I think, if you ask me... that it deals more with having ADHD than with the medication. Of course, I am no doctor.
My daughter is on Concerta, which is similiar but not matching, with Ritalin ( a tamed down version, if you will). i sure hope that that rumor about causing depression is wrong. IN my opinion, it makes more sense that she might experience depression later on down the road because of her difficulties in school.... making the grades. I deals more with self-esteem also. Being SURE of yourself, that leads to depression oftentimes.

I love my Adderall, and though I'm not taking it for fatigue, I CAN say that it DOES keep me a little more wound up than without it. But I find that tolerable, since I have so much to do daily. It helps me to focus and finish projects (more likely to, anyway). It's a life-saver!

Only YOU can decide whether or not you can live with potential long term side effects, if there are any. To me, it makes my quality of life easier and with more purpose, than without it. The benefits FAR outweigh any side effects. That's just MY opinion.

I CHOOSE to take it. It's your choice also.

I wish you love and laughter,
Cat

I took ritalin for a while (couple of months) but had to get off because it caused a nasty side effect. I would get extremely angry. Rage type of anger. I would think about hurting someone. I told the doc I wanted off ritalin and go on something else before it went too far. She put me on Adderall and that worked great.

She never diagnosed me with ADD. I went into her office and TOLD her I had it. I knew I did and was sick and tired of the hell I was going through. She believed me and I have to say that with the Adderall, I can finally concentrate at work. My mind sticks to one thing finally. I take 20mg in the morning and 20 in the afternoon. I didn't need to go through testing to know what was wrong. I have read so much and lived through so much that for me, it was a no brainer. I only take the afternoon one if I need it. I don't usually take then on weekends either.

I'm on so many things I feel like a drug store.

sadsoul

I am currently taking Ritalin for combating depression and horrible fatigue. I've taken Ritalin for probably 5 or 6 years now. I started out on the regular old Ritalin 20 mg, then moved to Ritalin SR 20 mg, then lastly to Ritalin SR 40 mg all once a day. Now I dropped back down to Ritalin SR 20 mg once a day because I felt the higher dose was making me more jittery.

I definitely notice an increase in my anxiety - I can, most of the day, feel my heart racing and I get those fluttery butterfly feelings in my stomach for no reason. But, for me, this is a small price to pay for feeling like I had to sleep ALL the time. I can say it has helped me tremendously and has allowed me to get through nursing school.

I sometimes worry that I am addicted to it - I probably am - but at this moment, I am happy with taking Ritalin. I do not feel that it has made depression worse - in fact, I feel my depression is in remission. It is the only medication that has always worked for me. The other meds I took that I felt worked were Prozac and Risperdal in combination. But unfortunately the Risperdal caused my prolactin levels to shoot through the roof and I had to discontinue it. I think I was on those two long enough to have it kick my brain out of depression.

I hope I helped answer some of you questions, feel free to PM me if you want more details on my experiences with Ritalin!