Question for those prescribed Ritalin or Adderall.
My oncologist prescribed Ritalin 2 times daily 5mg/ dose. Take 1 when I wake up and then another at lunchtime. I have noticed that taking the 5 mg tablet in the morning does nothing for me . I have to take both at the same time (10 mg) to see any improvement. I had a very tough time with no testosterone (11ng/dl) for about 4 years. I became very apathetic with no desire to do anything. I couldn’t focus on anything long enough to accomplish the task. I was put on Androgel daily about 2.5 years ago. My PSA began rising from undetectable to 3.16 in about the last 1.5 years. Mets in a lung, spine, shoulder. I ceased the Androgel about 3 months ago. Blood work two months later showed the T at 13ng/dl and PSA of 1.6. My oncologist wants me on the Ritalin to prevent the apathy and inability to focus on anything.
I guess my question for those using either Ritalin or Adderalll is the dosage. Is this a reasonable dosage? If 10 mg is taken first thing in the morning after about 2.5 - 3 hours the effects are worn off and I feel worse than if I hadn’t taken it. I read something a while back that the Adderall didn’t seem as bad and was longer lasting.
Any thoughts or ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Alan
Written by
agyoung
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I’m not a medical doctor and can only speak from some personal experience about both Ritalin and adderall and from friends that took both for adhd as well. First and foremost you want to have a good grasp on your blood pressure. If you are taking blood pressure meds , be sure to keep a close eye on your blood pressure with those drugs. Both will drive up your blood pressure and are capable of making you more Susceptible to strokes. If you have ever had a stroke then you are especially at risk for another with those drugs. You need to be careful. Of course higher doses intensifies the risk.
Both of these drugs have a tendency towards making users increase their doses ( you are already doing it ) to get more desirable effects. Both can have a “ very high “ tendency towards drug abuse and sleep instability. Nearly everyone that takes them has trouble with getting good resting rem sleep. That and out of 5 guys I knew on adderall, ( dunno about Ritalin ) 3 of them ended up buying methamphetamine down on the corner and developed drug abuse issues they had to go to a clinic to shake. One of them couldn’t shake the drug lust and has become homeless. He’s, sadly, become a hardcore meth head. He was prescribed adderall since teenage as a serious case of adhd. It calmed him down and helped him focus to be productive. Contributing factors were involved in his becoming homeless … along with the adderall.
ADT drove my bp up to 215/110 , diagnosed as drug induced high blood pressure. I had to struggle a bit to get that under control. Now it’s 119/72 . I asked my oncologist for adderall last year ( for the same reasons as you ) … he laughed and said the risk for stroke or heart attack on adt , for me, was extreme and don’t even think about it. I should also mention that adt has also caused my qrs train to look extremely messed up , I like to say looks like a pong game . That figures in as well. Drug induced high bp ( from adt ) and distorted qrs , also adt caused … with both of these … using any “ Amphetamine like “ drug is seriously risky.
Some of this may be beneficial and is only antidotal …. amphetamines and their analogs are serious business especially as you get older … they can pep you up and make you feel great … but come at a cost. In some people they can ruin your life as well. Just my own two cents worth and experience, you will vary.
Both Adderall and Ritalin are psychostimulant prescribed to treat ADHD. Other use is to keep people alert and awake (college students take these meds to study at night)These stimulant meds cause rapid surge of dopamine in the brain for several hours after consuming them...BUT..as the blood level fall after 4 to 6 hours, there is " crash" sudden loss of energy level and tiredness. This occurs invariably as brain was stimulated artificially.
Your dose 5 mg is too small...it should be between 10 mg to 20 mg to see any meaningful stimulation of Brain. Discuss dose increase with your Doctor if it is helping you.. and ask for long acting tabs to minimize "crash"...
WARNING: Psychostimulants can raise Blood pressure and sometimes even cause Cardiac Arrythmias..Rarely can cause sudden death mostly in people with heart problems.. They also cause loss of appetite and weight loss.
Ritalin has to do with the dopamine pathway and has anti depressive effects and it is an energizing medication. The dose of 10 mg is low for an adult, usually is 20 to 30 mg daily. It may be taking in the morning and then around 5 hours later. There is a long acting form of this medication which could be helpful for some patients.
Taking stimulant drugs when you’re older is inherently risky; taking them while on ADT is more so.
How much do you exercise and what kind? The health risk of taking stimulants is less if you are fit and strong, but then so is the need for stimulants.
Androgel is such a weak T supplement, no match for ADT. Were you just being cautious? I’m not surprised it essentially failed to raise your T in 2, years. I am sorry that it was apparently enough to raise your PSA though.
FWIW, I have been taking Provigil for about 2 weeks (200mg) and it's working well so far. No side effects that I can tell and my alertness is improved. However, I never became as listless as you describe yourself.
My oncologist also mentioned Adderall and Ritalin to me. I said I thought Estradiol or Armodafinil (better version of Modafinil) would be more effective. I now wear 100 mcg Estradiol patches twice a week and take Armodafinil (one quarter of a tablet per day). For the irst the first time since starting ADT and subsequently Zytiga/Prednisone, I feel human and not a run down bag of bloated meat.
I actually sleep at night and rarely nap during the day. I can exercise again and no longer have an edema. Also down to a very manageable 160 lbs. Armodafinil has no effect on my BP or hear rate and there’s no high or crash with my microdose. Only side FX are sore breasts. My daughter told me “Welcome to the jungle!”
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