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Share your experience: submit a drug review
Below are Ritalin (Methylphenidate) reviews, ratings, comments submitted by patients and caregivers. Based on a total of 6 ratings/reviews, Ritalin has an overall score of 8.67. The effectiveness score is 8.67 and the side effect score is 8.67. The scores are on ten point scale: 10 - best, 1 - worst. This information is not vetted and should not be cosidered as clinical evidence. | | Ritalin review by 52 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | |   |
| Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
| Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | fibromyalgia |
| Dosage & duration: | | 30 mg taken twice a day for the period of ongoing |
| Other conditions: | | fuzzy mental focus and low energy from the fibromyalgia |
| Other drugs taken: | | wellbutrin, allegra, buspar | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | I now have more energy, better focus, better weight control, less hypglycemia, feel more upbeat, less prone to depression. I can work more efficiently now, can get through my day without feeling like I need to lie down on the floor and sleep! |
| Side effects: | | I notice that if I drink caffeinated beverages I get way too jittery, whereas I used to use coffee and diet caffeinated drinks to keep my energy level up and they wouldn't bother me by making me too hyper. So I have to stay away from those. Also, if I take a dose too late in the day, I stay up too late! |
| Comments: | | I have fibromyalgia, and was having a hard time with the high fatigue levels and difficulty concentrating. At first I just took Wellbutrin to help with these things, but a doctor suggested trying Ritalin for better results. It does work much better than the Wellbutrin for these symptoms. |
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| | Ritalin review by 21 year old male patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Moderately Effective |
| Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | ADHD |
| Dosage & duration: | | 10 mg taken 1/day for the period of 3 years |
| Other conditions: | | depression |
| Other drugs taken: | | Zoloft | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | marked improvement in behavior |
| Side effects: | | weight loss, jittery feeling, insomnia, withdrawal, isolation |
| Comments: | | I began taking ritalin and zoloft almost three years ago to treat ADHD and depression. I also began seeing a therapist once a week. I saw improvement, but it was slow and graduate at first, particularly with the regard to the Zoloft. I saw immediate improvement with the ritalin. It changed my daily life. It keeps me calm; i am able to focus better and for longer. I am no longer seeing the therapist nor am i taking the zoloft and today i feel great. |
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| | Ritalin review by 59 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
| Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | fibromyalgia |
| Dosage & duration: | | 10 mg taken 3 times a day for the period of 10+ years |
| Other conditions: | | migraine, ibs, dry eye syndrome |
| Other drugs taken: | | synthroid, norvasc | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | was placed on ritalin due to extreme fatigue assosicated with fibromyalgia.
medication highly effective in overcoming lack of energy and the tiredness that would never seem to go away.
the fatigue was worse than the physical pain associated with fibromyalgia. |
| Side effects: | | well tolerated--none |
| Comments: | | i take 15 mgs in am and noon and 10 mg late afternoon.
this medication has given me a life back and am forever grateful to be on it.
this medication sometimes gets a bad rap and does not appear to be used widely for the treatment of fibromyalgia, but for me it is a true, true positive medication with no side effects. |
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| | Ritalin review by care giver of 13 year old male patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
| Side effects: | | No Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | ADHD |
| Dosage & duration: | | 10mg taken daily for the period of several years |
| Other conditions: | | Celiac |
| Other drugs taken: | | Zoloft | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | Primarily, my son was much better able to focus, control his impulsivity and, as a result, did better in school. Our house became a much more peaceful place once he was better able to control his temper, which largely came from his frustration in knowing he was not doing as well as he could. |
| Side effects: | | Initially, he experienced some sleepiness, but he adjusted to the medication and no longer has this problem. |
| Comments: | | We were initially reluctant to treat an otherwise healthy boy for what some describe as "boy" behavior, but he was increasingly frustrated with his inability to get along with siblings and classmates. However, seeing now how much it has helped him - without making him into a different person -- we're glad we did. |
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| | Ritalin review by 46 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Highly Effective |
| Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | adult add |
| Dosage & duration: | | 20mg taken 3 x day for the period of > 10 yrs |
| Other conditions: | | mild depression, but only when out of ritalin |
| Other drugs taken: | | none | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | allowed me to focus on the tasks at hand, run a business and get things accomplished |
| Side effects: | | tolerance builds up to point where drug looses effectiveness. higher doses needed to function, but dr declines to increase dosage |
| Comments: | | before ritalin, artificial stimulants were required to be effective, withour stimulants I was unable to motivate myself to do the things that needed to be done & was very ineffective. Cocaine got me through grad school & my thesis, but ritalin allows me to function with out illegal stimulants -- problem is finding a doctor who will write rx for the dosage that is most effective (i.e. 20 mg 5x / day). I am interested in a study that monitors efficacy / tolerance in patients who need / take high dosage on a long term basis. |
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| | Ritalin review by 51 year old female patient | | | Rating |
| Overall rating: | | |
| Effectiveness: | | Considerably Effective |
| Side effects: | | Mild Side Effects | | |
Treatment Info |
| Condition / reason: | | ADD |
| Dosage & duration: | | 20mg SR x 2 + 5mg daily taken 2-3 times per day for the period of 1.5 years |
| Other conditions: | | none |
| Other drugs taken: | | estrace | | |
Reported Results |
| Benefits: | | Ability to focus. Able to answer questions and engage in coversation. Increased organizational ability. Increased ability to attend to particular tasks without constantly moving towards another task. Ability to prioritize and to remember what original intentions were after beginning a task. |
| Side effects: | | If next dose not taken in a timely manner, effects wear off very quickly and suddenly very tired. Small bubbling in head at times. If dosage even slightly too high, then noticable heart palpitations present along with increased heart rate. Active dreaming if taken late in the day. |
| Comments: | | It took a very long time to find the best medication and the best dosage. Over a year of trials. Medication is taken along with proper diet and increased physical activity. Omega 3 supplementation also added to routine. Important to note that nicotene is also taken regularly in the form of nicorette gum. All information above is based on the two together as complete treatment. Either on it's own is not enough. |
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