Long Term Effects of Ritalin

[ffsjoe]

I'd like to know what the long term effects of Ritalin are. If anyone can give links to papers or reseach that show what the long term adverse effects are. I know that other amphetamines can cause heart valve problems with long term use but how much research has been done on Ritalin?

 

I can't find much if any research on the web all I can find is peoples opinions about the drug.

 

Ritalin became available in the 1980's? Thats when the disorder was found or invented (whichever your opinion is). If it has only been around 25 years then is this enough time to see the long term affects?

[Celeste22]

Here's a few links to get you started, although Glider might be able to help you more.

 

Source: American College Of Neuropsychopharmacology

Date: 2004-12-29

Examining the behavior during adulthood, Carlezon and Andersen conducted several types of tests that all showed that the animals had a reduced ability to experience pleasure and reward, particularly when it was measured by sensitivity to cocaine. In addition, they found that the animals exposed to Ritalin during pre-adolescence were more prone to express despair-like behaviors in stressful situations (such as swim tests) as adults. Overall, the animals showed more evidence of dysfunctional brain reward systems and depressive-like behaviors in adulthood. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/12/041220013546.htm

 

http://www.cesar.umd.edu/cesar/drugs/ritalin.asp

 

Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH)

In the third study, Dr. Carlos Bolaños and his colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas assessed certain behaviors of adult rats given methylphenidate prior to adolescence. They found that compared to drug-naive rats, those chronically exposed to methylphenidate were less responsive to natural rewards, such as sugar and sex, and more sensitive to stressful situations. The methylphenidate-exposed animals also had increased anxiety-like behaviors, and enhanced blood levels of stress hormones. http://www.nih.gov/news/pr/dec2003/nida-08.htm

 

"Clinicians consider Ritalin to be short-acting," said Baizer. "When the active dose has worked its way through the system, they consider it 'all gone.' Our research with gene expression in an animal model suggests that it has the potential for causing long-lasting changes in brain cell structure and function."

http://www.biopsychiatry.com/methylphenidate/ritalin.html

 

http://www.mentalhealth.com/drugrs/f33-r03.html This site has a vast amount of info from Medical Journals.

[ffsjoe]

Thanks for the links to those sites, its much appreciated.

[Bio-Hazard]

Being that I have been on it, I think it may have altered my brain chemistry and view on sex because I don't think about sex very often. There is also the antisocial personality that comes with it. You just don't talk to people. It also acts as a nootropic drug.

 

I've been meaning to get back on it.

[Helix]

Thats when the disorder was found or invented (whichever your opinion is). If it has only been around 25 years then is this enough time to see the long term affects?

 

I like how you phrased that. ADD and ADHD are odd dieseases, in my view, because they seem to be a "blanket". Any child (or adult) who has trouble learning is invaribly stuck with the diagnosis of having either ADD or ADHD. It seems to the conspiricy-theorist in me that this was half invented by doctors to handle kids who weren't that smart. Sure, the disease acutally exists and is a terrible problem, but it is used so often I doubt how many cases are real and how many are just the "misc. learning problems" category. Just my 3 cents.

[ffsjoe]

Originally Posted by Helix

ADD and ADHD are odd dieseases, in my view, because they seem to be a "blanket". Any child (or adult) who has trouble learning is invaribly stuck with the diagnosis of having either ADD or ADHD. It seems to the conspiricy-theorist in me that this was half invented by doctors to handle kids who weren't that smart. Sure, the disease acutally exists and is a terrible problem, but it is used so often I doubt how many cases are real and how many are just the "misc. learning problems" category. Just my 3 cents.

 

A step back from that, how do you distinguish between people that have trouble learning and one that has ADD or ADHD?

[Nevermore]

A step back from that, how do you distinguish between people that have trouble learning and one that has ADD or ADHD?

Response to caffine?

[imasmartgirl]

When i was young i was put on ritalin cause they thought i had ADD. I have an overactive mind that will wander off when its bored. And i got bored a lot in school so i would zone out and miss everything the teacher said. Ritalin didn't help me one bit, instead i was shaky and jittery all day as if i was on crack or something and i still zoned out a lot. Nowadays i'm better at concentrating, tho i still zone out without realizing it. I starting taking ritalin in 5th grade and thats when most of my problems started. I went from loud, hyper, and popular to quiet, withdrawn, and basically an outcast. Do you think it may have been the ritalin?

[rakuenso]

ADD itself may be a blanket, but the effects of pills for ADD are definately very real

[ffsjoe]

When i was young i was put on ritalin cause they thought i had ADD. I have an overactive mind that will wander off when its bored. And i got bored a lot in school so i would zone out and miss everything the teacher said. Ritalin didn't help me one bit, instead i was shaky and jittery all day as if i was on crack or something and i still zoned out a lot. Nowadays i'm better at concentrating, tho i still zone out without realizing it. I starting taking ritalin in 5th grade and thats when most of my problems started. I went from loud, hyper, and popular to quiet, withdrawn, and basically an outcast. Do you think it may have been the ritalin?

 

If you don't mind me asking how long did you take it for? And do you think you are different from before taking it to now? Like any lasting effects?