Dexmethylphenidate and Nausea: What Users Say

• A...
• May 21, 2020

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "I’m scrolling through reviews, and a lot of what I’ve been feeling recently is starting to make sense. This medicine helps me focus, but I feel weak and awful while on it. It makes me shake, and my anxiety spikes. I’ve also been having some depression issues, my moods stoop to a terrible level, and I’ve been in such a dark place at some points. This medicine makes me feel like a zombie, it makes me shake and feel sick to my stomach. I feel bad for any other kids taking this. It helps me focus, but makes me feel awful. I absolutely DREAD having to take them. I have experienced depersonalization, depression, major mood swings, anxiety, derealization, and suicidal tendencies after getting on this medication. I am not self-diagnosing for anxiety and depression. I strongly advise watching your kids before and after having them take these pills. Make sure your child is safe and happy. I’m sorry for my terrible grammar and typing skills."

• Gan...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 16, 2020

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "Focalin does what it is supposed to, but this medication makes my heart beat fast and also makes me super nervous and agitated all the time. I hate this medication. It makes me feel like a zombie, and it makes me feel cold all over. The worst part is that I can barely eat without feeling sick and that it makes me constantly shake. This medication also makes my mood stoop to a terrible and very low level. After it wears off, I feel weak, tired, cold, and nauseous."

• Fra...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• January 11, 2020

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "I was on Focalin XR when I was 5. I think it is a good medication learning-wise, but at the same time, it drains you. It takes your happiness and joy away. It’s like you are completely numb to joy. When I’m off of it, I can’t focus, but I am always so joyous and happy. When I’m on it, I focus perfectly, but I am very zombied out, and it is a horrible feeling."

• Gra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 25, 2020

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "Today is my first day on Focalin 5 MG. I am 19 years old and have had ADHD and anxiety my whole life. I was on 50 mg of Adderall and switched to Concerta from second to eighth grade. Adderall was one of the worst experiences of my life. I remember not being able to eat and having no friends, so I would eat in the Special Ed study hall and would basically be a walking zombie. I always told my mom my stomach hurt and would have diarrhea constantly. I was skinny and had good grades, though. So, 10 years later, I am back on ADHD medication as I am back in college and am having a hard time focusing. I only started the 5 MG of Focalin but already notice that I am calmer, my mind isn't racing, I can process thoughts, and more. I haven't felt calm like this in years... I really hope the medication stays well because I am so sick of being on meds that make me lose weight, then gain weight. It all stinks!"

• gre...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 15, 2018

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "My dose of Focalin is 10 mg. A few hours after taking it, I start to feel very depressed and down, like I can't do anything at all. Makes me feel like I'm going to throw up, feel tired, and have to go poop a lot from it."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 8, 2015

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "I was diagnosed with ADHD Inattentive Type at age 20, in my junior year of college (about 2.5 years ago). I started on Focalin XR 10 mg, and while it took me a while to get used to how to work around the meds (I had to change from doing schoolwork late at night to early in the morning), it has done nothing but help me. The only thing I found was that when I interned and now that I've been working for a year, it doesn't help me (I'm on the phone a lot and it makes me have some issues bouncing around a conversation - too focused on one thing). Cons: absolutely no appetite from about half an hour after taking it, 6/7 hours later, really stiff neck, crazy distracted/hungry/drained when it wears off."

• 44f...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 10, 2023

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "Prescribed 20 mg. Gives me terrible nausea and lasts about 3 hours before a huge crash that renders me even worse than before taking it. I really wish my doctor would just fill my old prescription of Dexedrine, but she refuses because “there are better medicines out there.” Been on Strattera, Vyvanse, Adderall, Intuniv, and now this, and nothing has come close to working as well as Dexedrine."

• Ame...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 4, 2016

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "I've been taking 20 mg of Focalin XR for the past 2 years and have experienced great improvement in mental function and all-around health. Focalin has allowed me to focus and be aware of a situation. I have been more efficient at work, more aware of my health and well-being, and able to process situations more appropriately. My biggest complaint has been with sleep patterns. Some nights I can sleep 6 hours, or I can sleep for 14, and I cannot fall asleep right away. My FitBit has mixed reports, but they are questionable. This is something I have tried to 'tweak' with my doctor, but we have not had any success. My second complaint is nausea, but that we have been able to tweak with food consumption and timing."

• Coo...
• August 16, 2018

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "I've always had ADD, but didn't start trying to get help with it until I was about to start college. I tried Adderall for 2 weeks and became unable to eat and felt constantly awful. It was obvious Adderall wasn't working for me, so my doctor recommended Focalin XR, and I really can't recommend it enough. About a week after taking Focalin (10 mg twice daily), I went from that to being able to work without distraction for at least 4 hours. I could focus on all the things I enjoyed for longer periods. I was no longer asking my friends and others, 'I'm sorry, could you repeat that?' like I was before, constantly. It has also helped me with my depression. I feel so much more motivated, and I'm able to finally organize things without it feeling like a chore. Sadly, it's quite expensive unless you have very good insurance. My previous insurance covered it until I turned 19 at about $5, but with my current insurance, it's $170/month with a discount coupon."

• Liz...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 1, 2023

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "I was on 20 mg of Focalin for a while, and it seemed to not work or help my ADHD, so I told my provider and we upped my dose to 30 mg. When I say it made me have a full-blown anxiety attack all day long, talking 12 hours long. The nausea and lump in your throat, like you can’t breathe or swallow while hot and shaky. Threw the whole bottle away that same day."

• ama...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 10, 2020

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "Pros: Helps my focus and relieves other ADHD symptoms. Did not decrease my appetite, create hyperfocus, or put me to sleep like Adderall did. Cons: Nausea, jaw tension, can't eat much at once. Feels pretty bad when it wears off (shaky, cold, weak, heart pounding, shortness of breath). Probably going to discontinue this med. The cons aren't worth it, unfortunately."

• Ste...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 1, 2018

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "I am a 62-year-old female. I so wanted Focalin to work for me. Prozac and Focalin are both not good. So tired, can't focus, nauseated, dizzy, reclusive, crying. Now on the second day of Wellbutrin and already feeling 100% better. I thought Focalin would give me a boost. I’m giving Focalin the boot!"

• mol...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 18, 2019

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "Worked my way up from 2.5 mg twice daily to 10 mg twice daily. No symptom relief on 2.5 mg, mild symptom relief and moderate nausea on 5 mg, mild symptom relief and severe nausea on 10 mg. The crash made me puke for the first time in sixteen years. Never again."

• Fre...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 6, 2021

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "I was prescribed 25 mg daily, and it's horrible. It works for 2 hours great, but then immediately after that 2 hours, I start to feel like I'm starving. But every time I think about eating, I get really nauseous, so it's like I've got mixed signals going on. This stomach pain also makes it impossible to concentrate, even worse than before I take it, and that lasts the rest of the day. Then, when I get ready to sleep, I feel super physically and mentally tired, like I could just close my eyes and fall asleep right away, but the pain in my stomach keeps me up the entire night because it feels like it's eating itself. I also have to rock back and forth in my bed, tucked into my blanket, because Focalin also makes me very cold. But even though I am freezing cold, I start sweating like even more than when I'm in football practice and completely soak my bed throughout the night."

• Lis...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 11, 2016

For ADHD "I have bipolar and ADD, the antidepressants compromised my ability to focus and think cogently. I tried Ritalin and Adderall but with little improvement. Focalin gives me a good 4 hours of ability to concentrate on cognitively demanding tasks. I'm a college professor, and I can vary the dosage slightly depending on the demands of my day/tasks with doctor's approval. This med works very well, but wears off after about 4 hours and can leave me feeling drained. Overall, it's really helpful. Has not affected or caused any mania."

• Stu...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 17, 2020

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "I’ve been taking Focalin ever since my junior year of high school. I’m now a junior in college. When I started taking it, I was on 15 mg extended release and 10 mg regular. No side effects other than some sweating and just the medicine helping me focus and doing what it was supposed to. It seems that the longer I’ve taken it, the worse the symptoms got. I now still sweat when taking it along with nausea (used to be occasional but it’s getting very frequent now), vomiting, and extreme frequent urge to go to the bathroom."

• ayd...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 1, 2022

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "I just began treatment with Focalin 10 mg IR and 20 mg XR tomorrow. I like it much better than Ritalin. It doesn’t make me feel nauseated all the time, my eating is normal, and I’m excited to start the XR tomorrow because I know it’ll make me focus much more than Ritalin. I was on Ritalin 60 mg for 7 years, the only two reasons I took it were I used it as a dopamine agonist because I’ve had two TBIs, as well as for treatment-resistant depression, which I have really bad. But Focalin does the same things as Ritalin without the nausea, plus I’ll be able to focus like when I was on Adderall."

• Mel...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 30, 2022

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "My stepdaughter was on this drug the 2nd half of last school year until Thanksgiving break. She went from 5 mg to 10 mg after a month and began pulling hairs from her arms and picking at things constantly. She went back to 5 mg for the start of this school year. She was also on Intuniv for 27 months. She took weekend breaks from the Focalin, but it seemed to bottom her blood pressure out. She felt cold all the time, nauseated, and unmotivated. In 80-degree weather, she'd complain of being cold, even wearing a hoodie, which I felt could lead to overheating. Over Thanksgiving break, she did not want to take it, so she came off. She complained she didn't feel herself, she had auditory hallucinations in the beginning and, towards the end, started asking about intrusive thoughts. She has a formal diagnosis of ADHD combined with anxiety and depression. She struggles with focus unmedicated, but she'd also not be herself medicated. Probably not a good fit as a combined medication or if diagnosed with anxiety."

• Kay...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 5, 2021

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "I do not recommend this medication at all. It made me irritable and unhappy all day, and didn’t help me focus my mind. I was on 10 mg. Unless you want to turn into a horrible person, it made my heart race so bad, and I was constantly nauseous. Don’t take Focalin."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 1, 2020

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "This medicine made my son so sick. He became anorexic and very nauseous. It made him very aggressive, and we had to take him off it."

• Hum...
• May 5, 2020

Dexmethylphenidate for ADHD "Took a break, then started again, and on day 3, I was nauseous and tired."