Eh, I kind of doubt that. That seems to be what people frequently say to justify their ADD/ADHD diagnosis as real and they’re not just taking amphetamines because they happen to be awesome. “Yes, for normal people it gets them high and amped and hyper-focused, but for me it just medically treats the medical condition medically and in no way induces non-medical side effects like getting high and not needing to eat or sleep for 36 hours straight. But if it does, it’s purely a medical thing.”
I dunno. I haven’t used Ritalin but I recently (within the past five months) starting taking Adderall which is basically 75/25 mix of dextro-/levo-amphetamine salts. The first couple days I felt a bit jittery around midday, but I don’t feel high or hyper at all, and I don’t have trouble sleeping at night. I have noticed some minor appetite reduction, but I’m not fasting. But I only use 20mg a day, taken in the morning.
I decided to try it (in consultation with my doc) because I thought that the description of adult ADD (without the H) matched well with a lot of problems I’ve had throughout my working career as well as school. The results so far have shown marked improvement with problems in both my professional and personal life, though not a drastic change. But overall I think I probably should have been investigating extended-release stimulants many years ago. I could have saved myself a lot of pain.
I should add that there’s obviously no shortage of people who abuse stimulant drugs. But they do have legitimate uses and they seem to have made a significant improvement to my well-being.
Well, the speedy effects have subsided, but I still have coffee for that. I don’t need the speediness, I am just happy that I am still feeling the way I assume a Normal feels like. A particularly bright, organized, and with-it Normal, of course. 
What I noticed today is that my tremors have stopped. I have ALWAYS had shaky hands, long before I discovered coffee. If I am doing something else while holding my mouse I keep the cursor where no damage will occur if my finger spazzes and clicks the button. Not today!
If it helps you, then I wish you all the best.
I’m on the lookout for the Placebo Effect, but I expected, if anything, my involuntary muscle spasms and shakes would get worse, not better. Tonight I held my hand rock solid horizontal at eye level and told Oldest, “Look what I can do.” She looked at me all quizzical-like, then it dawned. “Oh my god, what did you stop taking?”
“I think it’s what I started taking.”
More precisely, ADD & ADHD are disqualifying conditions. Taking Ritalin for that or any other reason is just the icing on the cake.
This is true for the vast majority of drugs the FAA is hostile about. They’re actually hostile about the condition the drugs treat. Yes, there are exceptions, but that’s the general rule.
And to not make this a total hijack …
Hey dropzone, good to hear you’re finally getting a handle on this and that over a couple months now you’re adapting well to the drugs and to the changes in your head. Normal may seem kinda boring from the outside, but it’s also kinda useful for most of us. Congrats.
So the side effects are the same. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t work differently. The whole thing about ADHD is that stimulants actually cause a paradoxical calming effect.
This isn’t woo. ADHD is real.
Thanks for your insightful opinion, Dr. Rigamarole. Where did you study neurodevelopment disorders and/or psychopharmacology?
FTR, I go to bed at about 10PM, fall asleep in about 25 minutes, and if my alarm doesn’t wake me at 6:21AM it’s because I awoke on my own, refreshed and well rested, ten or fifteen minutes earlier. Which is odd, since I’ve always been the king of the snooze button. No staying up 36 hours, no acting like Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now, no jonesing for another, stronger hit–I have to remind myself to take it. As noted above, when I tried not eating during the first week or two I got sick, so eating is on a schedule, too.
Yes, I feel real good, but not in a dopey way. I feel happy because I feel good about myself (a new thing) and because of that I’m accomplishing more, which makes me feel good about myself in a positive feedback loop. Yes, the Ritalin may have given me a false sense of well-being at first, but that was followed by a true, earned sense of well-being.
As for the library, I learned last night that I’ve apparently been listed as Official Librarian in the church’s annual report despite my neglect, I have an official boss who shares my dreams of making something of it, and that I have an actual budget which I am guarding jealously from the Property Commissioner, who wants to put a video screen on one of my three walls. I’ll give him the real estate, but he has to pay for the TV.
Wednesdays we host a support group for [del]wayward girls[/del] young mothers and they were meeting in the library when I got there. When they were done I went in, told them that we consider them part of our church family, that the library should be a tool for them, too, and if they had any ideas for stuff that could help them they should leave me a note. The leader said she used to teach pre-school so she has tons of kid books. This fits in with our plans to move the kid section to a part of the building where the Sunday school and daycare kids meet. Before I would try to go it alone because I wanted to be alone, but now I welcome any [del]help[/del] co-participants where we can get them. Including maybe using a person working off their community service hours entering the card catalog into a computer, though I might prefer an Eagle Scout over someone with a court mandate. Too long in AA, I guess. :o