Comments on: Ritalin Side Effects

By: David

David — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:06:22 +0000

Wow, how amazing it is to see that there are many many people just like me trying to find out what the hell taking ritalin for several years did to me emotionaly and physically. I am now 28 (Close to 29) I believe that individuals around my age and older were experimented on with ritalin. Not one concern as to what long-term phschoactive stimulant use would do to us. I also took this shit from 1st grade through my freshman year of high school and was teased constantly about taking hyper pills just as Mychel who above was. My teachers in school would actually call me in front of the class and administer the pills when I was in elementary school. This drastically affected my ability to make friends though I’ve never told my parents the extent this drug has affected my life. I also have suffered anxiety, depression, and have horrible neck and back tension and pain and inabiltiy to relax, as well as what seem to be uncontrollable muscle contractions and teeth grinding. I see what may amount to a class action law-suit one day.

By: Shea

Shea — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:17:48 +0000

My son is 9 yrs old. He was born with coartctation of the aorta and aortic stenosis. When he was In 1st grade I was informed that the teacher thought he had add or ADHD. I couldn’t believe it because this was the child that was quiet and played with his toys by himself for hours. The pediatrician said the best way to find out if he had ADHD was to try the medicine and see if it helped. I did reluctantly. His teacher said it made a difference but since I never recognized a problem anyway I couldn’t tell. He is still on focalin.. My ? Is with his known heart problems should I be taking this risk with him when it could even be unnecessary. I would appreciate any input

By: Rose

Rose — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:30:48 +0000

Our son is now 33 years ole He was on Eitlian at the age of 8 for only about a year At the time we ere NOT told that it was expermently then. He lost lots of weight and in deperation we took hom to a natropath Together we took our son off Ritlain witjout telling the doctor He improved over time But has never egained his the desire to eat While the docors say he his weight is fine He truthfully lives on less than what our 5 year old great neice eats He is slightly special needs still lives at home and has a new set of medical people now and about 95% of them believe that the use of ritlian is the cauce of his appetite loss As they say he was one of the very first ever given ritlain and now we are only just begining to the VERY VERY LONG TERM EFFECTS Rose in Melbourne Australia

By: Mychel

Mychel — Sun, 17 May 2009 23:17:51 +0000

Finally, a place in the World Wide Web that cares about the long term side effects of Ritalin. My world ended in first grade when doctors said I was hyperactive. The terms ADD/ADHD were not invented yet. The kids tease me about my ‘hyper’ pill. This destroyed my social development. I don’t have any great lifelong friends. I took the poison from first grade to my sophomore year in high school. I suffered depression in college at the age of 25. I am suffering depression now at the age of 42. I will away wonder if Ritalin is to blame. Just a few comments above is one from Chris. I nicknamed it the ‘Spock’ syndrome. If Ritalin is the cause of my lack of great positive emotion, I wish for a life without Ritalin.

By: Farhana

Farhana — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:16:44 +0000

My 9yr old has been on Ritalin since Gr1. He will be Gr 4 next year. He is epileptic. He has been diagnosed with Bipolar a couple months ago.I am confused. Is my childs hyperactivity due to bipolar. I am at a loss as I am not happy with the Ritalin. It has helped with the concentration but I dont want him to be on a cocktail of medication. I feel he is a guinea pig as we now to have work with trial & error with his meds for the bipolar. I would like to get in touch with other families with similar experiences especially with young children.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:23:26 +0000

WOW, Just doing some research on the long term effects of this horrible drug ritalin. And strongly agree this drug should be banned!!! I am a 29 year old man, and struggled with ADD as a child. I was like a gin pig and took a few add drugs mainly Ritalin. Witch i had many side affects from Ticks, chest pains, and muscle movments I could not control. Now I have bad anxiety, and Torticollis also known as CD Cervical Dystonia. It is a muscle movment disorder. That No one knows what its caused by. Kinda like ritalin, they dont know how it works ! Guess what. Im finding Im not the only one that has this and was on ritalin as a child. I Always hated this medication, and would love to prove this conection, and sue sue sue!!!! P.s. I have not takin this drug in over 16 years and was only diognosed with cd a year ago. Good luck to you all, and stay hyper :)

By: Amber Moffatt

Amber Moffatt — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:46:59 +0000

I am a female age 22 and I was on Ritalin from Grade 3 till Grade 5 I believe I am from the area they first started percribing Ritalin to add / adhd children ( i like to call them unique children).
I believe that this drug is a horrible thing and if your thinking of putting your child on it DON’T
I cant remember any thing from the hole time i was on the drug. Everything is a blur. The drug never helped me with my school work My grades drooped well I was on the drug. it just made it easier for the teachers to deal with me.

I know if my mother knew about the side affects she would have never put me on this drug. When she knowledge my loss of apatite and just the shear loss of spunk and my unique personality i was taken off the drug despite the school threatening to expel me if i wasn’t put back on it. My mother asked the school to sign a letter saying they will take full responsibility for my actions and side effects well on the drug. Guess what they wouldn’t.
How could any one put a child on drugs? is it just to hard to cope with there behavior. whats wrong with a child being hyper get them to run around the house a few times do house work or find something that they really enjoy. I found that to be my life savor not some drug the pharmaceutical company’s tell me to take.
I found that growing up i experienced angsity and developed a drug problem at the age of 16 that i have learned to overcome. witch i believe was a side effect.
Now there are NO studys of long term effects on this drug and i bleave there really should be.
Your better off to get your kid to smoke a joint before school then to shove pills in there mouth if they can handle things OR hey how about this
EXCEPT YOUR CHILD THEY WAY THEY ARE
not everyone is made for school face it we are all different and really people just have to learn to deal with that

To Noelle i believe your a scam.

By: TiffneyNix

TiffneyNix — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 05:18:10 +0000

my son started taking ritalin when he was 6 years old he has is now 21 and he complains of a lot of chest pains. he has very bad mood swings and goes off the wall at about any thing. little children drive him up the wall. you can just be there and he gets mad over nothing.are these side effects or do i need to have him checked out for his chest pains. help me.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 26 May 2008 16:03:23 +0000

Firefox seems to have eaten my original comment, so I’ll repost the comment until I can see it.

Noelle sounds like somebody who works for the drug companies.

As a male of twenty four years of age, ritalin as far as I see has ruined my life. I was giving the scam drug when I was in kindergarten, and stop taking it my sophomore year
I still live with my parents, have to take community collage classes to continue my education and have yet to earn a degree of any meaning. A high SAT score means nothing. Only recently have I taken the steps to getting a drivers license.
My emotional growth has been suppressed by this awful drug. I have never dated, never kissed anyone, and am still a virgin. Most men my age have experienced all this. The only emotions I am sure I have are anger, loneness, hate, loathing, and indifference.
To cope I have developed a superiority complex, as I have no way else of interacting with others. I can only take actions that require logic and calculation, forcing me to think without considering the emotions of others. I would trade in my intelligence to be like a normal person, to able experience what everyone else my age has.
I am contemplating legal action against the Feminazi teacher and doctor that prescribed ritalin. They both have the same last name, so I know it will be an easy case in my favor. Don’t let teachers get away with laziness and inability to be good educators. Don’t let your sons and daughters become a bitter shell of a human being like me.

By: Noelle

Noelle — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:14:23 +0000

I have taken Ritalin for 16 years and I have no known side effects from this. I am a healthy 23 year-old with no medical problems. As with all medications, if the benefits outweigh the risks, then you should take the medication. I am an excellent student and I am graduating college next year. I know I could never have done this without the medication. When I don’t take the medication, it seems to take me twice as long to complete tasks. I do think Ritalin is over prescribed, but for those of us who truly have ADHD, this is a miracle drug.

Also, the article says the following;

“because of its long history as an ADHD medication Ritalin has not gone through the same testing and approving process required by more modern drugs such as Adderall and Concerta”

That is ridiculous because Concerta is the exact same drug as Ritalin, only it is in sustained release form (Concerta is coated in a series of layers that dissolve slowly to release the medication throughout a longer time period while Ritalin is not coated). Both Concerta and Ritalin are made of the same drug which is methylphenidate.