I am bipolar I with very refractory symptoms, particularly moderate to severe depresseion. After trying practically every anti-depressant currently available my psychiatrist suggested I try Ritalin to increase my energy and elevate my mood. I have been on it (as well as soma and requip) as adjunct therapy to lamictal, cymbalta, and abilify. Its success, in my opinion, has been remarkable. Published: December 16, 2007 ::

Ritalin has proved to be a life altering treatment for me. The drug itself may fall into the "bandaid" category of treatments, as opposed to your atypical SSRI anti-depressants, but I would not consider it to be overly addictive neccessarily, such as is generally the case with Xanax and other benzodiazepines. Quite honestly....to sum it up....Ritalin has the ability to restore a hapless depression patient to full, lucid cognetive abilities, and even enhance such capabilities beyond societies accepted "norm." Published: December 20, 2007 ::

Started to use Ritalin in high school because of mild hyperactivity which became more severe. Experienced huge change due to Ritalin and became much more focused on school, and more successful. Have been taking Ritalin since then (through college and now at work) and could not imagine life without it. Published: September 18, 2007 ::

I was just reading through some of these comments about Ritalin, and I wanted to add my experiences. I was diagnosed with ADD my senior year of college (over 10 years ago) and had been taken Ritalin ever since. I agree with all the comments about experiencing the jitters and how you can operate with little sleep. Despite the side effects, it was a miracle! I had always taken the max dosage 20 mg/x3. Over the years I started to see a decrease in effectiveness and even tried other drugs - strattera, adderall, wellbuterin...nothing as effective as ritalin. Even now I feel somewhat addicted and have even exceeded the max dosage signifcantly. (For those others who had concerns - ritalin is addictive, esp mentally in my case.) Needless to say, I've gotten off of it completely for approximately 2 months. I've been struggling like all of us with true ADD, but I had to prove that I could function without it. For those of you in the same boat as me, take a break from it. Once you get back on the ritalin after a break it becomes more effective again. (Just make sure you regulate yourself...I have to divide up my doses by week, and hide the rest. If I run out then I have to make do without!) Hopefully this helps! (Please share your experiences here if anyone knows of anything else that helps with ADD/Depression.) Thanks, and Good Luck! :) Published: June 23, 2008 ::

The Magic Pill if you actually have ADHD/hyperactivity. I was Diagnosed 3 years ago after being advised to do so by a colloge professor. Thank God I did. I had immediate major improvement on day 1. I started on the non time lapsed dose and it made me crash hard;I would end up with headaches. I loved the effects, but the headaches were becoming daily problems. My doctor put me on the time lapsed pills and I have been good for over a year now. I graduated high school with a 1.2 G.P.A, barely getting by. Stupidity was acceptance when it came to my self image. I am currently in college finishing up my degree with a 4.0. G.P.A. Not bad considering I was expelled from my first high school and maintained less than C average most of my life. It causes some jitters at first, like way to much coffee jitters, but that subsides over time. It pulls your focus so you stay in 1 lane at a time by filing your thoughts. It feels good to finally see your mind as a gift instead of a curse. Afterall, we are some quick thinkers, so just imagine being able to organize all those precious thoughts to be saved for the right time and place. Good Luck! Published: May 21, 2008 ::

Taking 10mg tab @ rate 6/day of immediate release. I'm a 200lb male. Not quite enough mg's to get through day but better than the "2 pot a day" coffee habit that I had before. I did not seek treatment until 30 years of age and so I did not take Ritalin until then. At 30yrs of age I finally had a neuropsyc exam to see if there were any learning disabilities. Diag'ed with ADHD but also with assessed IQ at above 90% of population. ADD is real and any who doubt it have no clue. It's a shame they can't experience it for one day. It was not until the neuropsyc exam, resultant ADHD diagnoses, and Ritalin script; that I found peace. Prior to I might as well have had an IQ of 50. This whole time I thought that I was below average IQ & ability. I barely grad'ed H.S. At this time my social skills were poor, I had great hyperactivity, and also no ability to focus. Resultant poor self-esteem leading to anger/frustration and then illicit drug use to "self-medicate" as they say. My life was problematic before due to impulsivity as well and the usual inability to focus. Everyone around me would joke of ADD but I didn't take it seriously. After starting Ritalin I am now a college student w/3.0 avg GPA in the hardest Mathematics sequence that exists on this planet. God Bless Ritalin. I hope that parents out there with a kid who fits this description of my past doesn't fall victim to the hype that this drug is destructive. Sure, any substance can be misused. However, if a doc recommends it for these symptoms in a person, it's worth a shot; a shot at life. My life is just beginning at and it could have started so long ago had this pharmaceutical solution been taken earlier on in my life. Look at the long-term studies of this drug. It's track record is good and my worst day on Ritalin is still better than my better days off of it. Exercise helps, Ritalin solves. If this becomes a permanent solution then so be it. I don't want to go back to the way it was... ever. Published: January 23, 2008 ::