Methylphenidate and Depression: What Users Say (Page 4)

• Num...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 29, 2012

Methylphenidate for ADHD "My 10-year-old son went from below expected to expected in math due to amazing Concerta. Although sometimes it makes him a bit depressed and finds it hard to smile. But this has really improved his grades. His cousin also takes it, and they all are now very good in school. Use Concerta! It actually works! Thanks, Jassen-Cliag, for this great medication for my son's ADHD."

• Anonymous
• September 3, 2009

Methylphenidate for ADHD "My son was prescribed the drug just before summer. It worked great at the beginning, but now since school has started, the drug is not working. He is very moody, impulsive, short-tempered, sad, and depressed. This is not my son. I also have a friend whose son is also on it and is doing great. It may be worth a try, just watch for the side effects."

• Anonymous
• September 3, 2009

Methylphenidate for ADHD "My son was prescribed the drug just before summer. It worked great at the beginning, but now since school has started, the drug is not working. He is very moody, impulsive, short-tempered, sad, and depressed. This is not my son. I also have a friend whose son is also on it and is doing great. It may be worth a try, just watch for the side effects."

• A09...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 2, 2021

Methylphenidate for ADHD "I've been taking 18 mg XL for a week and decided to take myself off. I can hardly eat a thing, I'm tense, anxious, occasional blurred vision, really irritable, complete lack of motivation, low mood, headaches, and stomach pain. Feel absolutely horrific and haven't noticed any benefits at all."

• Nor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 11, 2022

Methylphenidate for ADHD "I'm not sure if I got prescribed a dose that was too high for me, but while I was on the medication, I experienced derealization, severe depression, anxiety, panic attacks, absolutely no appetite at all, and stayed in bed most of the day. One of the worst medications I've been on."

• Har...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 26, 2022

Methylphenidate for ADHD "The 5 mg tablets are okay. The first month on it, it wasn’t bad at all, very productive, a few side effects like hunger and sadness. I would say a 6/10 for the 5 mg tablets. The XR/LA was absolutely the worst experience, though. Headaches, stomach aches, constantly frantic feeling, gassy, bathroom trips every time I ate, bloating, anxiety, extremely irritated, I always felt on the verge of a mental breakdown, poor digestion, poor sleep. I would sleep for 10 hours on XR and wake up feeling like I never slept. This should be used to torture people. I have a month supply, and I will be throwing away the medication, I actually can’t take these. I normally run 3x a week and work out 5x a week for my job. I have barely done any physical activity on XR. My life has gone very downhill, very fast. They really aren't addictive, at least the XR isn’t."

• lun...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 22, 2015

Methylphenidate for ADHD "I have been using Concerta for 15 days now. I started out with 18 mg for a week and the second week 36 mg. I haven't seen any difference by now, which is very disappointing for me. In fact, I feel slightly extra depressed than I already am, but no big difference. Starting tomorrow, my doctor told me to take 54 mg per day. Any suggestions? Is it too soon to see any difference?"

• cra...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 12, 2015

Methylphenidate for ADHD "I started taking this medicine at age 10 for about 1 year. I took it, and it made me feel really like I was depressed, and it made me feel no hunger. I never ate until the medicine would wear out by the end of the day, that’s when I would start binging on foods at nighttime. The medicine was useless. And by the way, I still have ADHD, and it doesn't affect anyone or myself."

• Jim...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 28, 2020

For ADHD "Awful! Had no effect on concentration, attention, or decision-making. It made me horribly depressed and irritable all the time. When it was leaving my system in the evening, I was an absolute wreck, couldn’t focus or sit still, random crying for no reason, an all-around bad time."

• Max...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 16, 2018

Methylphenidate for ADHD "I started taking Concerta a few days ago. It seems to have fewer side effects than Adderall. It helps with concentration and focus. However, when it wears off after about 7 to 8 hours, I begin to feel depressed and don't want to leave my house. I heard that adding Ritalin IR at 5 mg may help. So next time I see my doctor, I will discuss this with him. I don't want to change my current antidepressant, but if I begin to crash again, I may switch from Lexapro to Wellbutrin, which is also good for ADHD (off-label use)."

• Aro...
• November 27, 2011

Methylphenidate for ADHD "What would I give to not take medication! I am 18, and have been taking Concerta for 3 years now. It helps me keep things in order, stop forgetting things, concentrate in class for long periods of time, and do mundane tasks I hate. However, within the first week of taking it, I feel very moody, have tics, etc. I get excited and anxious easily. In the evenings, it is impossible to concentrate, and it often gets me very frustrated or irritable. I have been considering changing medications or stopping because it suppresses my creativity and will have me concentrate on negative thoughts, causing depression. However, the withdrawal effects will make me very lazy, depressed, or even manic."

• Duc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 12, 2020

For ADHD "I've had ADHD my whole life but didn't get diagnosed until recently. I tried Adderall first but struggled with irritability when it wore off and also with trying to maintain effectiveness without having to increase the dose. I would try to have days on and off, etc. I tried Ritalin as an alternative to Adderall. The Ritalin gave me headaches, especially at the end of the day. The last day I took it, my headache was so bad I felt nauseous and was very light sensitive. Also, I am pretty sure it increased my depression. I cried during the day and felt hopeless. I do see how an extended-release formula could be a good thing. For me, though, the side effects I experienced were more than I could handle."

• Duc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 12, 2020

For ADHD "I've had ADHD my whole life but didn't get diagnosed until recently. I tried Adderall first but struggled with irritability when it wore off and also with trying to maintain effectiveness without having to increase the dose. I would try to have days on and off, etc. I tried Ritalin as an alternative to Adderall. The Ritalin gave me headaches, especially at the end of the day. The last day I took it, my headache was so bad I felt nauseous and was very light sensitive. Also, I am pretty sure it increased my depression. I cried during the day and felt hopeless. I do see how an extended-release formula could be a good thing. For me, though, the side effects I experienced were more than I could handle."

• Hed...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 20, 2023

For ADHD "I use 30 mg at 8 a.m. and 20 mg at 1-4 p.m. for ADHD. It makes me concentrate and helps with anxiety and depression. It also makes me able to be a part of society. It doesn't affect my appetite that much if I just take it with plenty of food and water. I highly recommend it."

• bis...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 21, 2019

Methylphenidate for ADHD "This medication, Concerta, was excellent at first. It was like my miracle drug. It worked great for focus and gave me lots of energy. But before I knew it, I was needing more and more of it for it to be effective. I got to the highest dose pretty fast, then it would make me totally crash at 2 pm after taking it at 7 am. So, from 2 pm to when I go to bed, I am exhausted and can barely move. My attention gets bad, and I got depressed. So, if you’re thinking of taking Concerta, just remember that at first it’s great, but then it stops working. I don’t know how it is for kids, it might be totally different as I am in my 30s."

• Hds...
• September 18, 2021

Methylphenidate for ADHD "I was using Ritalin for the first time when I was in third grade. It was great at first, but only for a few months. So I started using other medicines, but sadly none of them really helped much. I used it for the rest of elementary school. I stopped after that because of the side effects that did more harm to me than good. Now, after three and a half years without Ritalin, I still can't work properly at school, and I don't know what to do. Yesterday, I took Ritalin again after a long time, and it is just horrible. I don't like the feeling of it. In the first hour, I feel kind of enthusiastic, but then it changes into depression. I just feel... dead. I don't want to do anything or speak to anyone, and even if I'm super hungry, I can barely get anything into my mouth, and I end up starving myself until the evening. At the end of the day, all it does is to make me starve myself and give me a bad feeling that doesn't help me."

• Anonymous
• December 6, 2010

Methylphenidate for ADHD "I've been on Concerta for about 2 months now. While the effect is much more gradual compared to the 'hitting a brick wall at 100 mph' effect Adderall gave me, there were some negative aspects. The first week I was a little shaky, which I also had with the other medicines I've tried (Vyvanse, Adderall, Ritalin). The first dose always seems to make me feel really depressed and sick, then the next day I feel much better after my dose. Unfortunately, after the first month of use, I've built up a strong tolerance to it, and it doesn't work for me anymore. Thinking about trying a higher dosage."

• msl...
• April 10, 2016

Methylphenidate for ADHD "I am an adult female. I was prescribed 10 mg once a day. My counselor advised my behavioral health MD to treat me for possible ADD/ADHD. I'm also taking Klonopin and Ambien, which might account for my reaction-Ritalin made me sleepy and kind of depressed! I was really surprised, as I'd never heard of that reaction. Also taking Lamictal and Trileptal for bipolar. Hm... I sure would like to know if others have this reaction or if upping the dose would possibly make me not so depressed."

• lmc...
• March 12, 2022

For ADHD "It is effective for controllably managing executive deficits related to prioritizing proactively, persistent drowsiness, avolition, selective attention, processing speed, working memory, sustained attention (i.e., delays onset of mental fatigue, becoming distracted, or falling into a state of perseveration). Likewise, I experienced a highly unfavorable effect on mood that gradually worsened the longer I took the medication. These included a lack of ability to derive pleasure out of the usual stimuli (anhedonia), decreased level of emotional expressivity, reduced suggestibility and amiability, a blunted feeling of intrigue or excitement by the prospect of reward, where together these contributed to secondary feelings of irritability, melancholia, and mild dysphoria. Additionally, I experienced inconvenient (disruptively) strong psychomotor slowing and inhibited creative inspiration and spontaneity."

• Hes...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 21, 2015

For ADHD "Through testing, I was determined to have Adult Attention Deficit Disorder (AADD). I had gotten to the point where I could not read, and reading has been the love of my life since age 6. I'm 70 now. I found it hard to get anything done, hard to remember what I was doing. It's hard to say how much of this was caused by a five-year abusive relationship, finally ended in Jan 2015. I am now reading like I used to: novels, studies for school, keeping up on world affairs, etc. What a gift! My psychiatrist wants me to continue Ritalin. Past history shows I snowballed into depression without it. I do take her advice, but it makes me so hyper! I have to take Xanax to calm down. Taking one drug that requires taking another is not a good thing in my book, but what can I do?"

• LHJ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 26, 2022

Methylphenidate for ADHD "The first day on Concerta was amazing. I was able to focus more on my homework and felt happy and full of energy. After the first day, it still worked, but just not as much in terms of focusing on homework. But now I am starting to notice that the comedowns are really bad, just feelings of depression and unhappiness, and it doesn't work as well as it did the first day with focusing on homework. It also causes me to hyper-focus on things even when they cause me anger or distress. I don't think this is the medication for me, but I would recommend giving it a go if recommended by your psychiatrist."

• LHJ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 26, 2022

Methylphenidate for ADHD "The first day on Concerta was amazing. I was able to focus more on my homework and felt happy and full of energy. After the first day, it still worked, but just not as much in terms of focusing on homework. But now I am starting to notice that the comedowns are really bad, just feelings of depression and unhappiness, and it doesn't work as well as it did the first day with focusing on homework. It also causes me to hyper-focus on things even when they cause me anger or distress. I don't think this is the medication for me, but I would recommend giving it a go if recommended by your psychiatrist."

• A...
• February 3, 2017

For ADHD "It does work, depending on your dosage. But when I use it, I find that I'm hyperactive, jittery, overexcited, slightly aroused, and sometimes in a good mood (but that changes when it crashes). It's similar to coffee in its side effects, but it lasts much, much longer. After I come home from college, I find I'm depressed (on occasion), still jittery, still 'wound up,' sometimes excited, and very uncomfortable. While it does help me focus, it is not pleasant to be on it. I took the 54 mg dosage, but I have been on smaller dosages before and had the same issues. Also, when driving, I feel like it lowers my ability to drive, but I'm not 100% sure if it does or if it's my imagination."

• Tgi...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 25, 2017

Methylphenidate for ADHD "I used to be on SR, then was switched to immediate release, which made such a difference. Now I'm stuck back on SR, they aren't effective at all. It bothers my stomach, and now I feel depressed and wonder how I'm going to get through work."

• Mrx...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• October 1, 2020

For ADHD "I took Medikinet for years in my childhood. It helped with the ADHD, and I was able to concentrate better. But performance is not everything. I had side effects in the form of motor tics and really hard depression. My mind has put me in a really dark place for 8 years. This drug helped me get through school, but it also took my childhood."