Extended Release methylphenidate

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6
Does anyone have any experience with the extended release version of methylphenidate?

Background:

I don't have ADHD, but I have found that regular methylphenidate is very effective at giving me a boost of energy - but only for a few hours at a time. I recently got an extended release formulation to see if I could balance my energy out throughout the day but I'm kind of skeptical about using it long term. It does really really help, but it feels like putting a Ferrari engine in a Chevy Cavalier.....I have more energy but it feels "fake" like if I take advantage of it I'm just going to push myself into a big crash. Does anyone have any similar experiences?
 

Pearshaped

Senior Member
Messages
583
same experiences here,though not with methylphenidate,but pretty much everything which is said to give energy.
(traces of caffeine,Q10,Nadh,rhodiola rosea,Phosphatidylserine,etc)

Im totally biased but when you wrote "fake energy" that hit all my alarm bells.

I had terrible crashes from many "natural" stimulants and l want to warn you bec some if the crashes led to where I am now.
We are all different but I wanted to warn you that this possibly could make you go downhill like in my case.Hope someone familiar with MP can hop in.
 
Messages
6
same experiences here,though not with methylphenidate,but pretty much everything which is said to give energy.
(traces of caffeine,Q10,Nadh,rhodiola rosea,Phosphatidylserine,etc)

Im totally biased but when you wrote "fake energy" that hit all my alarm bells.

I had terrible crashes from many "natural" stimulants and l want to warn you bec some if the crashes led to where I am now.
We are all different but I wanted to warn you that this possibly could make you go downhill like in my case.Hope someone familiar with MP can hop in.

Thanks for the warning. At least so far in my experience (it's been about a year) every time I have had a crash (with or without any meds or supplements) I have rebounded to my normal "baseline" after some time. I am being extremely careful with the methyphenidate though, to make sure I don't overdo things.
 

Rebeccare

Moose Enthusiast
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Location
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it feels like putting a Ferrari engine in a Chevy Cavalier
What a good metaphor!
.....I have more energy but it feels "fake" like if I take advantage of it I'm just going to push myself into a big crash. Does anyone have any similar experiences?
I've never taken Ritalin before, but I was on Provigil for about a year or two and that's the effect it had on me. I felt better, I did more, but then I crashed hard. For me, being on a stimulant made it hard to listen to the messages that my body was trying to send me about how much activity it could take.
 

panckage

Senior Member
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777
Location
Vancouver, BC
I find the IR works better. It helps me go for a bit but I need rest too. No way I can last for as long as ER lasts and it is kind of hard to rest on it
 

hmnr asg

Senior Member
Messages
571
I have started using Ritalin since four months ago. The effects have been life changing. However I don’t do the extended release version. I take the regular version in the morning and about 4pm I start to fizzle out and I stay in bed for the entire evening and then sleep at night. Also I take it at most 3 times a week.

Ritalin has helped me more than anything else since my cfs started ten years ago. But I’m being very very careful about it. Currently I’m taking a week long break from it.
 
Messages
6
I have started using Ritalin since four months ago. The effects have been life changing. However I don’t do the extended release version. I take the regular version in the morning and about 4pm I start to fizzle out and I stay in bed for the entire evening and then sleep at night. Also I take it at most 3 times a week.

Ritalin has helped me more than anything else since my cfs started ten years ago. But I’m being very very careful about it. Currently I’m taking a week long break from it.

This sounds very similar to my situation when I first started with it....except that I tend to start fizzling out by 1pm. I have found with the ER version I can take it the morning and make until 5 before fizzling out, but I can only take it a couple times a week at most and I have to be extremely careful about activity.
 

xebex

Senior Member
Messages
840
i have found concerta very helpful especially as my worst symptom is some kind of orthostatic intolerance (that doesn't seem to have a clear diagnoses) so it helps constrict my blood vessels, which reduces my back pain and keeps me standing up for longer. I think the norepinephrine reuptake inhibition is most helpful. I find it makes me feel calm and I don't rush around or be much more active than usual and it doesn't make me jittery. Infact it seems to allow me to rest better. It is possible that i do actually have some kind of mild ADHD, because i find it VERY hard to pace myself, even when exhausted i feel like bouncing off the walls so the concerta seems to allow me to give myself a break and pace better. I guess its helping me focus on what is really important.

BUT once it starts to wear off i get withdrawal, and i can act a bit psychotic. So then i feel like I cant take it the next day and i'll spend that day being depressed. I take it again, i'll have a great day, but then withdrawl kicks in. So its very up and down. I think that if i took it more consistently it might give me better results but the other problem i have is that i need to be most functional between 3pm and 8pm, if i take it in the morning it will be wearing off just as i'm trying to cook dinner or put my daughter to bed. So i was thinking of trialling it at 12pm every day, but i fear that it will keep me awake all night. Most times i take it, it does take me a long time to get to sleep and then i'll only have like 4-5 hours sleep that night. I absolutely think it can be helpful for ME (In particular the autonomic dysfunction aspect) but it is proving very tricky to get it to work right for me.

Also on another note in the last month or so my ME has got considerably worse, I'm pretty much sofa bound, and i'm not sure if the up and down useage of Concerta has contributed. I also went on holiday to Hawaii and when i got back felt pretty good so then had a big day of over doing everything (NOT on concerta mind) and have not recovered since.

i am still in two minds as to whether i should trial concerta every day at 12 pm. So many things to consider. sigh.
 
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panckage

Senior Member
Messages
777
Location
Vancouver, BC
@xebex melatonin works well for to help sleeplessness from methylphenidate. There are studies on this. I remember taking methylphenidate pretty late in the day (for bedtime activities) and then melatonin after. I don't remember having any trouble falling asleep
 

xebex

Senior Member
Messages
840
Thanks, yes I’ve tried melatonin and it does help, am just concerned with long term use.

I forgot to mention about the synergy trial that people may have heard of. It was my reasoning behind trying ritalin in the first place but I never took the mito supplement because I can’t handle folic acid. I am considering finding a mito supp without b vits if I can, and trialling concerta again.

https://kpaxpharm.com/

https://www.prohealth.com/library/t...-patients-with-chronic-fatigue-syndrome-40960
 

xebex

Senior Member
Messages
840
Hi have also just found these two great products which can help mitigate the side effects of stimulants. I haven’t used this particular product but do find tyrosine theanine and melatonin helpful after taking concerta. I may add vit C and circumin too. If you have some of this stuff already would be worth reading up on why and when to take via this link and then using what you already have.

https://getrecoop.com/

this site also gives some great options on how to potentiate and reduce the effects of your stimulant

https://www.addysafe.org/
 
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