Adhd + ritalin = zombie ?

I recently was talking to a friend and I told them how I feel and they said i should look up adhd and it happened to describe me exactly but i have heard that ritalin makes you boring and i like being random I just want to be able to concentrate I know there are alternatives out there does anyone know someone who has taken a drug for adhd did it change them if so was it for the better or worse did it make them a zombie?

I know I made a lot of mistakes .... Let's pretend they aren't there Lol

reply to post by darkpassenger23

3 words:
Healthy
Active
Lifestyle.

You dont need dangerous drugs to hide your problem, fact is that we do not know the long term effects.
From a textbook description, ritalin does create something very like a 'zombie'

There is an adderall shortage in the US....no joke.

It makes some people a zombie. Me, it just gave me bouts of rage fits no matter what they had me on. Over all, the best course of action is to probably get treatment if its affecting your life in any major way.

If you can function okay without meds, then stay off the meds. Whatever benefits you get in focus, you lose in other areas of your personality.

Not to mention that you should really look up what's actually in that stuff before you take it lol

reply to post by darkpassenger23

My son is ADHD and over the years has tried a variety... Let me share what we've learned by trial and error as well as extensive research on what he's taken as he's been given it.

Adderall = Amphetamine with everything that carries with it. It isn't Meth, of course...but as close as you'll likely get without an arrest record to go with it. Very speedy, very effective if weight loss and just swearing off sleep is the goal. In our experience, ADHD effect was great at first, then evolved back to the original state and actually went beyond that to becoming worse eventually. More detail

Vyvanse = See above and multiply it. Where Adderall may last a few hours or the work day, Vyvanse can and does supply the same Amphetamine effect for for as long as 14-16 hours. Depends on the person, dosage and eating habits..but again, don't worry too much about that latter part. Eating won't be any priority while this is on the menu. More detail

Focalin = This is a bit different than the above in that is focuses on one side of th Amphetamine mix and is more on the mental side of the effect. It still carries the speedy effects, but far less so than the two above. I've also noticed more tendency for our Son to space out at times and just fall into his own little world for a moment or more...and seem unaware of the time he spent zoned out. He's gained weight, not lost it on this. Sleep is still an issue though..... Something to keep in mind. More detail

Intuniv = This one has been more effective and is currently used in combination with the Focalin for him. It's entirely without th speedy effects and is the first in the list here that is NOT a stimulant class drug. So, no fun on this one, but if that is the point..........sobriety is always a better choice anyway More detail

Straterra = This one was the same as Intuniv in so far as being devoid of Amphetamine qualities which was a good thing. It was also, in our experience, devoid of any OTHER benefits as well which was a decidedly bad thing. It takes days to build up and days to detox back out unlike the Amphetamine class drugs which are immediate (time to digest) effect and just about as quick to run back out after the period of effect. I wish I could help more on this one....but we had him taken off of it when it seemed to have no results after a month. More detail

Sorry..I can't tell you anything about Ritalin from a personal perspective other than the forums and other sources I've checked compare it very closely to Adderall. I hope this helps a little bit....but as always, do your own checking and never...but NEVER..trust a doctor blindly and despite something your gut tells you is off. Do your own research and don't be a guinea pig for a new drug trial without even realizing it.

I take Ritalin ER Tabs (extended release). I am no zombie, it was a miracle for me. If you need it, you need it. If I don't take it, I feel fine other than the usual ADD symptoms that it helps.

reply to post by darkpassenger23

Having a focus or attention problem is one thing. Adding a drug on top of that might help somewhat in the short term, but any drug has to have the dosage increased over time because the effect wears off. The longer you are on the drug the more you need to take to get the same effect. It is down that road that you begin to discover the side effects of prolonged drug use, which for most people only adds to the original problem. Which has not changed. Now you have the problem and the drug problem. See where that leads?

Ritalin is a stimulant. It does little in the way of addressing the problem you want fixed. It is just a drug. Not a problem solver. So are other drugs prescribed for the same thing. I would suggest you refrain from that for now and try alternative solutions some of which are presented by others. Not adding to your problems by taking drugs is one solution. Practicing focus and attention techniques is another.

I know this may sound different. Try reading books. It will be hard at first, but keep reading the same paragraph over and over until you get it. Remember where you left off in the story until you begin again. Turn the story over in your head to train your mind to focus and stay in the moment. Remembering the characters and plot also helps exercising your memory and attention. You will find it hard work at first but training the mind to do anything is hard at first. It will get easier with time, if you stick to it. This helps you stay in the moment and pay attention to what is before you. You have probably spent a good deal of your life paying little attention to the world around you because it is rightly boring. Nothing catches your interest. We have been led to want after stuff, food, money, entertainment, etc. None of that is fulfilling. A good story is. Start a book. Toss it if it doesn't appeal to you. Find another. Most have a story they heard of or want to know more about. Try that. Find a book a warm well lit place, settle in and read. Short periods at first until you get your wings. I know a good favorite of mine to start was The Hobbit by Tolkein. Then the Ring trilogy. The hobbit is easy and a fun adventure.

Were you paying attention? Don't let anyone tell you are less than or a problem and label you a misfit. They don't know what they are talking about. Their diagnosis and solution is a lazy way for them to "fix" you without really taking the time to understand you. Theres nothing really wrong with you. Don't let them paint you into a corner with that ADHD crap. Get a book. When they bother you tell them to go away, that you are reading.

reply to post by intrptr

You know, in all honesty I'll agree that a good portion of the kids on drugs these days are what people simply called 'male' when I was going to school. Full of energy, not terribly attentive to what wasn't interesting and certainly not automatically obedient to every authority. Sounds like a measurable portion of my class way back when....and we all turned out well without the drugs. Very true on that.

Having said and acknowledged that side of it, and had denial about my own Son's problem for longer than was really helpful, it's a very real problem in a fair % of the kids diagnosed. I really don't doubt that at this point.

Take your pick for what causes it. Overdosing the processed garbage food while young? The very slight but 24/7 constant presence of drugs in the water, milk and other things they drink from birth onward that weren't that way when I was growing up? There are a variety of possibilities......but it's a real condition, whatever the cause is.

For all we know, it could even be a variant and different facet to the same thing behind the Autism rate exploding over the last decade or so. There too, better diagnosis is part of that number change.....but there is absolutely no question in my mind that there is more out there causing it, that wasn't 'out there' in the 70's and 80's when so many of us grew up and autism was a rather rare thing indeed.

reply to post by darkpassenger23


i took ritalin for about 5 years in grade school... it works. It helps you focus though i wouldn't recommend it to anyone because the effects have been proven to be addictive...

You are who you are, and you don't need medication to help you be who you are...

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

Hi Wrabbit... sorry for the delay. Thank you for that reply. I read you post and other one up top. I can hardly guess what you must be going thru with your son and how much heart and soul have been applied to find a solution. Indeed, there is a real medical issue with some children who from birth display characteristics of autism? I mention that because you did. ADHD and autism share similar symptoms but may begin differently. My post on this thread was directed at casual clinical diagnosis of ADHD, where sometimes prescriptions are quickly issued for something that is less medical and more societal "training" or "indoctrination" by all the influences we receive from the world around us.

I agree that when we were younger we did not see this kind of number of claims of Attention Deficit and wonder a lot about it's source. I have come to some conclusions about that.

TV Remote Control: Teaches kids younger and younger that, if they want, they can quickly change "reality" by clicking from show to show. Programs are broken up by commercials which rapid fire our brains with short subject matter. We don't have to be patient anymore, work or wait for anything. Just bang, bang, bang on the remote and change from one program to another. Breeds a desire for instant gratification, shortens our attention span and dulls presence of mind.

TV itself, computer games, cell phones: teach youngsters to ignore the real world while they use them. People call our name and we ignore them again and again. Teaches non responsiveness.
We ignore our kids while "busy" on these things. Kids tug on our sleeves and we say, "Not now" or, "In a minute". Next time we ask them to come along or participate, they pay us back for that by ignoring us.

I watch my nephew try to get mom or dad to pay attention to him for a question and they ignore him, he nearly pulls them off balance to get their attention, and they say wait or stop that. Drives him crazy. He's not old enough to understand all that yet, just that he's being ignored. Now when we babysit him and he is watching TV or playing on the computer and we call to him or talk to him, he "plays" deaf and dumb. If that goes on for years it can train his mind to not pay attention.

A counter balance to that I think can be not only reading books, but playing games like ping pong, which teaches concentration, or board games from checkers at first, up to chess. Card games too. Playing catch with a ball. Anything that counters the volumes of "dumbing down" traffic from the world around us, and practices focus on the moment will help. Being attentive and spending time with them is most important. No matter how trivial the question or problem (in our minds) we should spend more time with the kids in direct eye contact and activity.

Thats for simple "acquired" ADHD to catch it early and begin reversing it. My heart goes out to any one with more acute disorders like autism. I don't have much experience there but am aware of the growing problem. Is something toxic in the environment causing that? Probably. Today, disorders like autism and asthma, etc., are on the rise and it's hard on families. More power to you Wrabbit.