C average symptoms and conditions

My side effects: Humiliation and Anger.
I take the generic form of Ritalin. I started taking it in 5th grade. Then decided that I was too embarrassed to have to go to the nurse to take my meds at school and stopped. I had a C average and teachers constantly complained of my lack of attention all through my elementary, middle and high school years. My parents allowed me to choose for myself whether I wanted to be medicated or not and I thank them for that. Wanting to ready myself for college and real life I again began taking Ritalin my senior year of High School and achieved my first ever straight A report card. At that time I had a conservative doctor who seemed convinced all I wanted Ritalin for was for recreational use, she was not an ADD specialist and only prescribed it to me after insisting I try various other drugs including Prozac! Eventually she gave in and prescribed it for me since I had been diagnosed by a specialist in the past. She was not happy to help me and I was always made to feel extremely untrustworthy and insignificant by her. Needless to say once I graduated college and got a job with my own health insurance I got my own doctor and haven't had a problem with any of my doctors since her. However, the stigma of taking this drug and the shame which comes with it is something I have never been able to escape. Regardless, I have been taking it ever since my senior year of high school at the same dose. 15mg in the am and 15mg at noon. I am 31 now and the only side effects I have had is a feeling of anger anytime people who don't know what it is like to have ADD voice their "expert" opinion or insinuate that it doesn't exist. I also get frustrated with people who like to say "Oh I am so ADD" after they do something dumb. I am humiliated by these types of people and afraid to let anyone know or see me take my medicine to this day. I understand that the same treatment for every person is never the correct treatment and some people may have negative physical side effects from this drug. For this reason everyone should be treated as an individual and a diagnoses of ADD should not be handed out by anyone but a specialist over a long period of study. My teachers and doctors began taking notice of my problems in Kindergarten and I was sent to many doctors and psychologists before they finally came to a diagnosis in 5th grade. It isn't easy to walk around with your head in the clouds only hearing the random insults tossed your way in moments of painful clarity when your inattention has drawn so much attention. It is equally painful to walk around knowing that in order to perform at the level at which you are expected to you must take a drug so stigmatized that you choke on the bitter pill every time you have to lie and tell some one it is just Claritin, when you would much rather tell the world that what you are really allergic to is their intolerance and insensitivity.

In September of 2007 my then 13 year old daughter was put on Singular for mild asthma. At the time she was a straight A student, vice president of our school and a popular girl who's guidance counselor described as "the glue of her grade" because she was so well liked. In November she told me that she was struggling with advanced Latin and Science. She asked to drop down to on grade Latin so we did. In December her science teacher notified us that she had a C average. She told me that she thought she had ADD/ADHD and she couldn't keep up. At the same time she was having a lot of problems with friends at school and we just attributed it to being 14. 3 weeks ago we discovered that she is significantly behind in English and it was then that she told me that she is been having horrific night mares. She said that they usually involve someone killing her or her killing herself. She said that they were so graphic that she couldn't repeat it out loud. She also said that she would feel waves of anxiety that would come over her at school and she would act "witchy" to the kids in her class for no real reason. She said that sometimes when she is trying to do her homework she will read the same passage for 2 hours and still have no idea what it's about. She also said that the suicidal thoughts from her sleep happened during they day and that she had thoughts of her harming herself. Fortunately her pulminologist told us that this may be caused by singular and we immediately took her off of it which was 2 weeks ago. She has only had 1 "bad dream" not even a nightmare since. She had one anxiety attack 3 days after she was off it and she describes her moods as the "cloud lifting....slowly". Now, we have to pick up the pieces. Her grades have suffered, her friendships have suffered and most of all her self esteem is very low. I'm grateful that we found out the cause but I feel as if my daughter lost a year of her life and I worry that because Merck won't admit there are side effects we can't find out how long it remains in their system. Is anyone else concerned about the long term affect and has anyone pursued a class action suit to try to get this drug tested properly?

I am a 34 year old make, who has recently decided to go back on Adderall. I had been diagnose with ADD when I was in high school. I was then placed on Ritalin. It worked pretty well for my focus at school. For the first time in my life I had actually finished a semester better than a C average. As time went on, while I was doing well with my studies, I felt it was kinda hindering who I was, and my personality. After a Little while, I took myself off the meds.

Now that I am working, and I am 34 years old, with kids a wife, and a responsibility to them not just to myself. I wanted to go back and investigate myself possibly going back on Ritalin, or at least something similar. I went to my primary physician, and he prescribed me Adderall. I was warned about the first week, and trying to see what dosages would work for me. I was excited to be honest. I had been going through quite a bit of depression, and was hoping the Adderall would perhaps be able to help me out of it. I know that there are no miracle cures, but at the place I was mentally at that time..I could have certainly used a little help. Weather that be in pill form..Or whatever.

So the Doc scripted me 5mg tablets. The 5 mgs are working well right now. It took a little while of feeling on edge during the first couple of days. I take them twice a day. I am trying to get the timing down. And I think the dose of the second tablet may be coming on a little too strong. Or maybe I am taking it while the tail end of the first dose is still in me? I take 5mg at 10am, and at 2pm. Right after that 2nd does I feel up a wall. Way too bugged out. I feel like I am almost ticking. I know that I need to get that 2nd does right (either in side, or timing). Plus I am thinking that eventually I will need to up my doses. 5mg doses sound pretty small