Ritalin addict & heavy abuser looking for information on quitting

[kangaroo]

Hi everybody.

Swim has a big problem with ritalin. It's a bit long so swim will try to explain to you.


In September 2006 swim started to abuse ritalin, swim had it many times before but only occasionally, a month later swim was taking 560mg(28 pills a day,4 pills every two hours), only swim knew about his addiction. Swim was caught in April 2007 an sent to rehab.Swim was taken away from the drug cold turkey. They discovered swim had his kidneys slightly afected. What swim wants to highlight is that all the time swim has been on ritalin, swim has felt terribly good. No amphetamine psicosis at all.

After 5 weeks in rehab swim passed more than 400 days without any drug at all. But about a month swim started to feel huge massive cravings he couldn't bear. So swim started to take ritalin again. Swim has got a big tolerance. Swim is taking currently about 2 grams a day every day. Swim feels fine.
Swim is also having the following medication:
Effexor 75 3 times a day.
Wellbutrin 150 twice a day.
Solian 200mg (Amisulpiride) once a day.
Magnesium 1000mg a day

Swim is pretty upset and would like to make some questions.

Does swiy know any method to taper off in order to lower the intake? Swim doesn´t want to quit totally yet.

Could swiy tell me a dose that wouldn´t harm me phisically?

In what dose should swim stop tapering, once tolerance is reduced, to feel as good as now?

Is there anyone there passing something similar?

I would appreciate very much your feedback.

Thank you very much in advance.

[cyndi]

Is swiy taking ritalin for adhd or just recreationally? The answer on what else depends on that. Ritalin doesn't have to be tapered and swim wouldn't advise it. At one point, swim also abused ritalin and had similar effects like any type of speed would. That went on about a year but it made swim sick so she gave it up. What swiy is experiencing is what swim calls a speed bump. It will pass, the feeling or urge in a day or two. In fact expect it for a while. They are tough, swim knows. Good luck to swiy!

[kangaroo]

Originally Posted by cyndi

Is swiy taking ritalin for adhd or just recreationally? The answer on what else depends on that. Ritalin doesn't have to be tapered and swim wouldn't advise it. At one point, swim also abused ritalin and had similar effects like any type of speed would. That went on about a year but it made swim sick so she gave it up. What swiy is experiencing is what swim calls a speed bump. It will pass, the feeling or urge in a day or two. In fact expect it for a while. They are tough, swim knows. Good luck to swiy!

Ritalin was prescripted to swim for add,but now swim is taking it recreationally. About the tapering, if you have a look at the leaflet you can read that if you quit cold turkey you can suffer a severe depression. Anyway, thank you very much for your quick response and for your help.

[cyndi]

Ok, that is why I asked. Yes I would go to the doctor and seek his advice. Swim experienced the same deal, was prescribed adhd meds and well took lots of them recreationally. Yes anytime you come off of any speed, you will be depressed. That is very common. Really I don't know a speed step down med. Maybe something like Strattera? It isn't speed and made for adhd.

[Lobsang]

SWIY. I hate to tell you this. And I know you do not want to hear it. But the only way is to stop and never go back to any ritalin. SWIy cannot obviously handle it and must stop entirely if SWIy does not want to get sicker. Kidneys will fail more and SWIy will get sick. A little will always lead to more. SWIy needs to think about things like excersize and taking care of SWIy. There is not another way in my expericnce. And maybe SWIy needs to go back in the rehab again and try again. I really see no other answer.

[kangaroo]

Thanks for your help. Lobsang.

I really appreciate the advise and you are right, but I can´t go to rehab again though. Nobody knows I'm taking ritalin once more. That's the reason why I need your opinion about how to taper without risks for my mental health.

[Lobsang]

Well I guess SWIy could try tapering the dose but SWIM just does not see that as a really good thing to do but one could try it. But one would need to get off the Ritalin entirely real fast. Because as stated once one is addicted there is no acceptable level. And also 400 days without the drug is nothing.

Maybe SWIY needs to start going to NA meetings every night and work that program. SWIy could go to AA meetings and just pretend SWIy was an alcoholic but work the program anyway. Quite a few people have done this. One cannot expect to have a high success rate without on going support. NA and AA can help with that.

[drug-bot]

Originally Posted by Lobsang

Well I guess SWIy could try tapering the dose but SWIM just does not see that as a really good thing to do but one could try it. But one would need to get off the Ritalin entirely real fast. Because as stated once one is addicted there is no acceptable level. And also 400 days without the drug is nothing.

Maybe SWIY needs to start going to NA meetings every night and work that program. SWIy could go to AA meetings and just pretend SWIy was an alcoholic but work the program anyway. Quite a few people have done this. One cannot expect to have a high success rate without on going support. NA and AA can help with that.

i hate to tell you but research shows using the aa and na 12 step method is absoulutly no more effective in keeping a person clean than the person doing it on there own.
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-effectiveness.html
http://www.positiveatheism.org/mail/eml8923.htm

[MountainDeW]

Novel approaches to the treatment of cocaine addiction
by
Sofuoglu M, Kosten TR.
School of Medicine,
Department of Psychiatry and
VA Connecticut Healthcare System,
Yale University,
West Haven,
Connecticut, USA.
CNS Drugs. 2005;19(1):13-25

ABSTRACT

Cocaine addiction continues to be an important public health problem with over 1.7 million users in the US alone. Although there are no approved pharmacotherapies for cocaine addiction, a number of medications have been tested with some promising results. In this review, we summarise some of the emerging targets for cocaine pharmacotherapy including dopaminergic and GABA medications, adrenoceptor antagonists, vasodilators and immunotherapies. The brain dopamine system plays a significant role in mediating the rewarding effects of cocaine. Among dopaminergic agents tested for cocaine pharmacotherapy, disulfiram has decreased cocaine use in a number of studies. Amantadine, another medication with dopaminergic effects, may also be effective in cocaine users with high withdrawal severity. GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, and accumulating evidence suggests that the GABA system modulates the dopaminergic system and cocaine effects. Two anticonvulsant medications with GABAergic effects, tiagabine and topiramate, have yielded positive findings in clinical trials. Baclofen, a GABA(B) receptor agonist, is also promising, especially in those with more severe cocaine use. Some of the physiological and behavioural effects of cocaine are mediated by activation of the adrenergic system. In cocaine users, propranolol, a beta-adrenoceptor antagonist, had promising effects in individuals with more severe cocaine withdrawal symptoms. Cerebral vasodilators are another potential target for cocaine pharmacotherapy. Cocaine users have reduced cerebral blood flow and cortical perfusion deficits. Treatment with the vasodilators amiloride or isradipine has reduced perfusion abnormalities found in cocaine users. The functional significance of these improvements needs to be further investigated. All these proposed pharmacotherapies for cocaine addiction act on neural pathways. In contrast, immunotherapies for cocaine addiction are based on the blockade of cocaine effects peripherally, and as a result, prevent or at least slow the entry of cocaine into the brain. A cocaine vaccine is another promising treatment for cocaine addiction. The efficacy of this vaccine for relapse prevention is under investigation. Many initial promising findings need to be replicated

Read above the part about Baclofen. Phenibut can achieve similar results in SWIM's opinion. Read below about the similarities of cocaine and methylphenidate. SWIM also had both a cocaine addiction (2 years), and then later in life a short (9 month) methylphenidate addiction. SWIM wasn't "better" after the cocaine problem and the methylphenidate was almost an extension of the same addiction. Only after experimenting with various OTC herbal supplements and eventually phenibut did some of the desire for these stimulants ease.

Is methylphenidate like cocaine? Studies on their pharmacokinetics
and distribution in the human brain
by
Volkow ND, Ding YS, Fowler JS,
Wang GJ, Logan J, Gatley JS,
Dewey S, Ashby C, Liebermann J, Hitzemann R, et al
Medical Department,
State University of New York,
Stony Brook, USA
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1995 Jun; 52(6):456-63

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The purposes of this study were to investigate the pharmacokinetics of methylphenidate hydrochloride (Ritalin) in the human brain, to compare them with those of cocaine, and to evaluate whether cocaine and methylphenidate compete for the same binding sites. METHODS: We used positron emission tomography to measure the temporal and spatial distribution of carbon 11 (11C)-labeled methylphenidate. These results were compared with those obtained previously for [11C]cocaine. Eight healthy male subjects, 20 to 51 years of age, were scanned with [11C]methylphenidate. Three were tested twice to assess test-retest variability, four were tested at baseline and after administration of methylphenidate, and one was tested with [11C]methylphenidate and [11C]cocaine. Two baboons were scanned to evaluate whether there was competition between cocaine and methylphenidate for the same binding sites in the brain. RESULTS: The uptake of [11C]methylphenidate in the brain was high (mean +/- SD, 7.5% +/- 1.5%), and the maximal concentration occurred in striatum. Pretreatment with methylphenidate decreased binding only in striatum (40%). Although the regional distribution of [11C]methylphenidate, was identical to that of [11C]cocaine and they competed with each other for the same binding sites, these two drugs differed markedly in their pharmacokinetics. Clearance of [11C]methylphenidate from striatum (90 minutes) was significantly slower than that of [11C]cocaine (20 minutes). For both drugs, their fast uptake in striatum paralleled the experience of the "high." For methylphenidate, the high decreased very rapidly despite significant binding of the drug in the brain. In contrast, for cocaine, the decline in the high paralleled its fast rate of clearance from the brain. CONCLUSION: We speculate that because the experience of the high is associated with the fast uptake of cocaine and methylphenidate in the brain, the slow clearance of methylphenidate from the brain may serve as a limiting factor in promoting its frequent self-administration.

[Lobsang]

Originally Posted by drug-bot

i hate to tell you but research shows using the aa and na 12 step method is absoulutly no more effective in keeping a person clean than the person doing it on there own.
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-effectiveness.html
http://www.positiveatheism.org/mail/eml8923.htm

It all depends on the person. It is impossible to really do research on it. I can tell you point blank that the programs help thousands of people. I have seen it. The programs can help to set goals and build supportive friendships. Each case is different. Yeah...I have seen people fail and people do well. And I am not a religious zelot. In fact there are atheist groups. So it really depends on the person. You have to have seen a lot of people succeed and fail to know that. You cannot look at some "research study". There are just too many factors to consider.

I would strongly suggest that when a person recommends a recovery method for a struggling person like AA and NA you stand mute. Because the "research" is not good research and you really do not know all the facts. I say this with respect. You see hope is an important thing and should not be shattered. These groups do nothing but support and do not charge a dime for it. They are not at all judgemental and no one understands addiction like addicts. And while the groups might not work for some people they do work for many many people. And there are different groups. So there are some cool people to get help from.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wharf_Rats

http://www.wharfrat.org/

Lobsang added 4 Minutes and 52 Seconds later...

Read above the part about Baclofen. Phenibut can achieve similar results in SWIM's opinion. Read below about the similarities of cocaine and methylphenidate. SWIM also had both a cocaine addiction (2 years), and then later in life a short (9 month) methylphenidate addiction. SWIM wasn't "better" after the cocaine problem and the methylphenidate was almost an extension of the same addiction. Only after experimenting with various OTC herbal supplements and eventually phenibut did some of the desire for these stimulants ease.

Yes I was thinking along similar lines. However our friend is on Wellbutrin and other stuff. So I do not know about this.

[MountainDeW]

Yes I was thinking along similar lines. However our friend is on Wellbutrin and other stuff. So I do not know about this.

Oh man I missed that. Wellbutin and Ritalin lol. They both inhibit the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine.

[kangaroo]

Originally Posted by MountainDeW

Read above the part about Baclofen. Phenibut can achieve similar results in SWIM's opinion. Read below about the similarities of cocaine and methylphenidate. SWIM also had both a cocaine addiction (2 years), and then later in life a short (9 month) methylphenidate addiction. SWIM wasn't "better" after the cocaine problem and the methylphenidate was almost an extension of the same addiction. Only after experimenting with various OTC herbal supplements and eventually phenibut did some of the desire for these stimulants ease.

Thank you, MountainDew for the information, it seems to be very useful. I'll read about these chemicals and see if I can take them and if there is any incompatibility with wellbutrin, as Lobsang pointed out.