House
07-30-2010, 07:01 PM
Hello, I am a 42 year old father of two. I'm physically fit and healthy, I am new to this site and for the last 3 years I have been suffering from A&D.
I am convinced that my condition runs in the family as my father suffers with "nerves" and has mental health problems of a somewhat repetitive nature, now in his 60s he is quite ill.
My son has been diagnosed with ADHD and a spectrum HFA condition, and I have felt for a long time that I also have HFA, but using subtle strategy of situation avoidance, even as a child I have always managed to give the appearance of total normality.
My A&D was almost certainly aggravated with a break down in my marriage three years ago. And although we are back together now and doing OK the Anxiety has not gone away.
I had been prescribed the usual SSRIs but even at 40mg (which was as high as I could go before getting serotonin syndrome) they had very little positive effect and to be honest made me more miserable. Now I am not trying to discredit the use of anti depressant drugs, they just didn't seem to work for me and it is important that anyone reading this does not stop taking theirs because they read something by some idiot on a forum.
Now my son for his ADHD was prescribed methyphenidate hydrochloride (Ritalin) and this has had a very positive effect with his behavior and performance at school. He doesn't need to take his medication everyday only when we think it will be best for him.
Having seen the dramatic effect of Ritalin on my Sons brain, and after looking into how the drug works and watching the recent BBCs Horizon drug episode I decided to try it out on myself.
I have found that a 60mg dosage is like a magic bullet, after an hour I feel much happier and much more willing to interact with others. It feels like the cobwebs have been blown from my mind and I no longer have my usual worries and I feel more confident.
Now don't forget this is my mind not yours and Ritalin is not an anti depressant. Messing with your neural chemistry is a dark art and this probably won't help the majority of sufferers.
following my experience I now intend to make an appointment with my Doctor with the intention of persuading her to issue me with my own prescription. I don't know how she will react and she may well say no. But I am going to suggest a regular daily dosage of 30mg ( which seems about right to me as the drug is almost completely processed and flushed out of the body in 48 hours) with a return appointment in two weeks to check my progress.
If all goes to plan I will report my experiences and side effects here if anyone is interested and I would be grateful for any feedback
I believe that my mental health problems are not solely caused by circumstance (although they do have an effect) and I was born with a strong likelihood to develop them later in life. So I am looking for alternative ways to overcome them.
One piece of advice I would give is that you are the one person who knows your own mind the best, not your family, partner or your Doctor and articulating accurately your problems to them is very important.
S
I am convinced that my condition runs in the family as my father suffers with "nerves" and has mental health problems of a somewhat repetitive nature, now in his 60s he is quite ill.
My son has been diagnosed with ADHD and a spectrum HFA condition, and I have felt for a long time that I also have HFA, but using subtle strategy of situation avoidance, even as a child I have always managed to give the appearance of total normality.
My A&D was almost certainly aggravated with a break down in my marriage three years ago. And although we are back together now and doing OK the Anxiety has not gone away.
I had been prescribed the usual SSRIs but even at 40mg (which was as high as I could go before getting serotonin syndrome) they had very little positive effect and to be honest made me more miserable. Now I am not trying to discredit the use of anti depressant drugs, they just didn't seem to work for me and it is important that anyone reading this does not stop taking theirs because they read something by some idiot on a forum.
Now my son for his ADHD was prescribed methyphenidate hydrochloride (Ritalin) and this has had a very positive effect with his behavior and performance at school. He doesn't need to take his medication everyday only when we think it will be best for him.
Having seen the dramatic effect of Ritalin on my Sons brain, and after looking into how the drug works and watching the recent BBCs Horizon drug episode I decided to try it out on myself.
I have found that a 60mg dosage is like a magic bullet, after an hour I feel much happier and much more willing to interact with others. It feels like the cobwebs have been blown from my mind and I no longer have my usual worries and I feel more confident.
Now don't forget this is my mind not yours and Ritalin is not an anti depressant. Messing with your neural chemistry is a dark art and this probably won't help the majority of sufferers.
following my experience I now intend to make an appointment with my Doctor with the intention of persuading her to issue me with my own prescription. I don't know how she will react and she may well say no. But I am going to suggest a regular daily dosage of 30mg ( which seems about right to me as the drug is almost completely processed and flushed out of the body in 48 hours) with a return appointment in two weeks to check my progress.
If all goes to plan I will report my experiences and side effects here if anyone is interested and I would be grateful for any feedback
I believe that my mental health problems are not solely caused by circumstance (although they do have an effect) and I was born with a strong likelihood to develop them later in life. So I am looking for alternative ways to overcome them.
One piece of advice I would give is that you are the one person who knows your own mind the best, not your family, partner or your Doctor and articulating accurately your problems to them is very important.
S