Methylphenidate too much at my age?

[OrangeRhymer]

Hi all—I was diagnosed with ADHD (and OCD and depression) at 47. I trialed Strattera & Wellbutrin, which were both terrible for me. I’m now on generic Lexapro and Ritalin.

Both are great for my mental well-being. But I fear the methylphenidate is too much for my old body (lol). I often feel like my body is in an stress-response mode and the slightest stressor will make me feel panicky (heart pounding). My smart watch is constantly telling me I’m stressed out all day long (more so than I was a year ago).

My job is high stress as it is. ADHD meds allow me to manage my workload but it may be too much! It feels really hard to let go of the productivity and focus. But I don’t know that I’m “healthy”—I often feel burned out. Obviously I’m also following with my doc so I’m not asking for medical advice just experiences and commiseration.

[LittleOl-Lady]

Have you talked to your doctor about lowering your dosage? I just turned 73 and am taking Ritalin, Wellbutrin, and Lexapro and have figured out what timing works best for me. I had to play around with it so I wasn't agitated or unable to sleep.

[OrangeRhymer in reply to LittleOl-Lady]

Thank you! Yes, I spoke to my doc and we are going to lower my dose. I was taking the extended release, so now I’ll go back to 5 mg immediate release.

Can you please share how timing changed things for you? I need to be more systematic about tracking these things but I’m not (I wonder why… LOL…).

[Cat00]

I was diagnosed at 46, I tried Methylphenidate, Lisdexamfetamine and Guanfacine all them were horrible in different ways, none of them brought any discernable benefits. I thought it might be my age too and that I had too entrenched problems. The stimulants made very depressed and made my sleep even worse than it already is. But my daughter tried all 3 too and she was 10, they didn't help her either, so maybe it's just our genes or something?I suspect we should have tried them all a bit longer but it was costing us £300 a month, so that put a lot more pressure on the whole situation.

If you're going staying on them for a while it might be better to stop wearing your watch, if its adding to the negative feedback loop. You'd think the doctors would have something to say if your heart rate too high?

[OrangeRhymer in reply to Cat00]

Ugh, sorry nothing worked for you! I wonder if genetic testing (you or your daughter) would be enlightening at all. I’ve been curious (more for my daughter’s sake) but so far Ritalin works well for her. But yeah, at £300 a month I’d not continue either. Lucky that (for now) mine is mostly covered.

Without being able to take meds, what resources do you find most helpful? Thank you for sharing!

[Cat00 in reply to OrangeRhymer]

I'd love to do the genetic test, I think we'll inevitably try meds for my daughter again in future but not for me. The meds really comprismed my emotional stability which has taken me decades to even out.I use exercise, lots and lots of exercise. I spent about 20 hours in the gym a week and do kung fu in the evenings. It's the only thing that helps me sleep and I have several chronic pain conditions and it's the only thing that helps them too, and coffee, i drink a lot of coffee.

[OrangeRhymer in reply to Cat00]

Thanks for taking the time to respond! I’m glad you’ve found something that works! 20 hours is a ton of exercise!! Impressive. I think I’d collapse of fatigue. But I think I do need more regular gentle exercise—getting out for a walk 1st thing in the morning for example. Keep it up! Seriously very cool that exercise makes such a huge impact!