Narcolepsy Forum Posting

Posted by Elle on November 19, 2002 at 18:15:15:

In Reply to: How many mg are your Ritalin? posted by fairycurse on November 19, 2002 at 14:07:13:

I just want to clarify why I take 2 mg, which is not a dose that the pill manufacurers even assume anyone would bother taking. I hope my downregulation of my own meds has not made anyone feel insecure about their dosage! Also, my doctor (the good one, not the creep) trusted me and so gave me license to figure some of this out on my own.

I initially started with 10 mg 2x a day, and then bumped it up to 15 mg in the morning and 10 mg once or twice in the afternoon. My doc switched me over to the sustained release, and it made me crazy...like stimulated to the point that you can't be stimulated any more and your brain halfway shuts off. I acted drunk and sloppy, and didn't even feel safe driving, which even with N I had always done just fine. I was doing so poorly in school as a result of my 'amphetamine head' that i just flushed my SR down the toilet so that I could not break down and take them again. I tried going drug free for a few days, and felt liberated from my coked-up state, but eventually the tiredness started getting to me again. I had kept my 5mg ritalin pills. They were calling me from the dark recesses of the bathroom cupboard. I had, however, been once bit, and thus being twice shy, I simply nibbled at the edge of one tiny pill, in turn devouring slightly less than half. To my surprise, it took the edge off of my tiredness, especially when taken with coffee, and was small enough to evade the dread loss of brain. Now if I am sleepy, I take a quick 15-20 minute rest or nap, and bite a 5mg in half when I wake up. Sometimes, I also take a stroll down to Dunkin Donuts.

So, I am hyper-sensitive to Provigil and Ritalin. I also have some leg twitches, although not enough to be RLS officially. Furthermore, I have some things besides twitchy legs, like severe PMS symptoms, that have all been linked to a problem with the GABAergic athway. GABA is supressive (a depressant) in the brain and so, maybe, part of my problem is that I can not calm my brain down enough at night to get restful sleep. Or calm my legs down. Who knows...? But that could also explain my hypersensitivity to the stimulants (so says Dr. Creepy). In any case, trying Klonopin before bed couldnt hurt.

SO...My brain malfunctions, but not so severely that I am incapacitated, and for that I am thankful. Despite what anyone tells you, something like "the narcolepsy gene" is a ridiculously oversimplified version of what narcolepsy can and can't be (esp since there are at least a few genes responsible for preprehypocretin, enxymes, receptors, ets that could all be faulty). In the end, we don't know enough to really reduce patients to the molecular level. Someday, maybe. Right now, whatever works for you is what works for you. Don't let something that works for me or anyone else make you question what you like best, and likewise, don't ignore the fact that you hate your treatment just because yout doc says that "people respond well."

Good luck and sweet dreams. :)

Follow Ups:

• Re: How many mg are your Ritalin? fairycurse 11:02 11/20/02 (2)
  • Re: How many mg are your Ritalin? PerchanceToDream 21:10 11/21/02 (1)
    • Re: How many mg are your Ritalin? fairycurse 07:57 11/22/02 (0)

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