DOSE:

18 mg

oral

Pharms - Methylphenidate

BODY WEIGHT:

100 lb

Concerta for ADHD

I was diagnosed with ADHD a few months ago. I've struggled with depression, anxiety, PTSD, borderline personality disorder, and OCD. I've also had problems with addiction to intravenous drugs my whole life, almost exclusively heroin for 16 years and also had a 9-month period of abusing methamphetamine. I snorted oxycontin for a year while being prescribed them in Florida. I have fibromyalgia and arthritis in my lower spine, often causing me intense pain that I've actually noticed has been greatly improved by strength training. I also abused gabapentin for a year, ingesting 3200mgs+/daily and snorted Wellbutrin for a year as well. The gabapentin abuse caused me to have grand mal seizures that stopped once I stopped taking gabapentin.

My depression, anxiety, and ADHD were so bad that I would cry constantly and get irritated and upset for no reason. I've been taking 18mgs of Concerta for the past week and noticed a huge improvement my first day. I haven't cried or had an anxiety attack since starting my medication. My focus and motivation has improved and I find myself not procrastinating anymore.

I was tempted to snort Concerta after reading about the high, but stay away from that method of taking my meds since I don't want to create highs and lows or mess with the positive effects I've been experiencing. I also have my bf give me my medication everyday and knowing he counts my pills has helped me not abuse my medication. I take my medicine around 7am and notice I'm back to being my hyper, manic, overly talkative self by 5 or 6pm. It's great having all the noise in my head quieted down for 10-12 hours a day and has really helped my happiness. I'm going to talk to my psychiatrist about increasing my dose or taking an evening dose to help quiet down my head at night so I can fall asleep.

Concerta hasn't affected my appetite, which is really good for me since I struggle to keep weight on and don't want to lose any weight. For reference, I'm 5'2" and 100lbs. I'm finally able to finish things I start and feel much more capable and happy. I don't experience any crashes, side effects, or come-downs either. This might be due to the relatively low dose, but if I'm going back to this dose if I notice any negative effects from raising my dose.

Exp Year: 2021	ExpID: 115098
Gender: Female
Age at time of experience: 34
Published: May 14, 2021	Views: 1,373
[ View PDF (to print) ] [ View LaTeX (for geeks) ] [ Swap Dark/Light ]
Pharms - Methylphenidate (114) : Depression (15), Medical Use (47), Not Applicable (38)