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I am a 79 year old retired professor of engineering. I came down with CFS about 5 years ago and have tried many supplements to try to get an energy boost. None of the supplements including D-Ribose helped me as far as I can tell.
Then one of my doctors suggested that I try the ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) medicine Ritalin, because it seems to give adults more energy. I gradually worked up to 2 x 20 mg generic Riitalin ER (methylphenidate Extended Release) taken first thing in the morning. This way it has worn off by bedtime, and I have been able to sleep well using only 1 mg Melatonin pills once or twice a night.
The generic ritalin worked wonderfully for a while, but then I developed a tolerance to it after about 16 months. [I read on the web that many adults with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) also develop this tolerance and the effectiveness decreased significantly.]
I then tried the next strongest ADD medicine, Adderall. I gradually worked up to an effective dose of 2 x 20mg Adderall XR (eXtended Release) taken first thing in the morning. This has worked very well for me for about 5 1/2 months. In order to avoid developing a tolerance to the Adderall, I only take 1 x 20mg Adderall XR on days where I do not have any urgent or important things to do. (It's surprising how many urgent or important things one has to do even at my advanced age.)
The energy boost I get from the full dose of 2 x 20mg Adderall XR gets me up to about 80% of my former energy (factoring in the fact that I am almost 80 years old). Even at this high dose, I take one or two rests a day of 1/2 to 1 hour long. I do not sleep during these rests; I just relax and let my muscles and brain unwind.
The Adderall is NOT a cure for ME/CFS, but it does help me to get my important chores done and live a reasonably full life.
Because the Adderall is more powerful than the Ritalin, it is extremely important to take the Adderall first thing in the morning.
I now have to take 2 or 3 of the 1 mg Melatonin pills to get a reasonably good night's sleep. (At my doctor's suggestion, I try to avoid sleeping pills like Ambien and Lunesta even though these worked better than the Melatonin for me.)
Have any of you tried these ADD medicines? Have you had any success?
Myron A. Hoffman - January 15, 2010
Then one of my doctors suggested that I try the ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) medicine Ritalin, because it seems to give adults more energy. I gradually worked up to 2 x 20 mg generic Riitalin ER (methylphenidate Extended Release) taken first thing in the morning. This way it has worn off by bedtime, and I have been able to sleep well using only 1 mg Melatonin pills once or twice a night.
The generic ritalin worked wonderfully for a while, but then I developed a tolerance to it after about 16 months. [I read on the web that many adults with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) also develop this tolerance and the effectiveness decreased significantly.]
I then tried the next strongest ADD medicine, Adderall. I gradually worked up to an effective dose of 2 x 20mg Adderall XR (eXtended Release) taken first thing in the morning. This has worked very well for me for about 5 1/2 months. In order to avoid developing a tolerance to the Adderall, I only take 1 x 20mg Adderall XR on days where I do not have any urgent or important things to do. (It's surprising how many urgent or important things one has to do even at my advanced age.)
The energy boost I get from the full dose of 2 x 20mg Adderall XR gets me up to about 80% of my former energy (factoring in the fact that I am almost 80 years old). Even at this high dose, I take one or two rests a day of 1/2 to 1 hour long. I do not sleep during these rests; I just relax and let my muscles and brain unwind.
The Adderall is NOT a cure for ME/CFS, but it does help me to get my important chores done and live a reasonably full life.
Because the Adderall is more powerful than the Ritalin, it is extremely important to take the Adderall first thing in the morning.
I now have to take 2 or 3 of the 1 mg Melatonin pills to get a reasonably good night's sleep. (At my doctor's suggestion, I try to avoid sleeping pills like Ambien and Lunesta even though these worked better than the Melatonin for me.)
Have any of you tried these ADD medicines? Have you had any success?
Myron A. Hoffman - January 15, 2010
) and it is very expensive. However, more generic versions will probably be released in the near future (12-18 mos) and the price will come down. In the interim, I am going to try a double dose of the regular generic adderall. However, it works well enough for me that, as I have to work, I will probably pony up the $$$ for the extended release (XR) version if the regular generic is ineffective. Have only been on it for two months so I cannot say what the long term holds. I have gone from sleeping absolutely whenever I did not have to be functional to being awake, as the good professor suggests, about 80 per cent of the time. However, the fatigue still lingers in the background and cognitive disfunction problems are still more significant than I expected they would be.
