DOSE:

10 - 20 mg

oral

Pharms - Methylphenidate

(pill / tablet)

BODY WEIGHT:

70 kg

When I started taking Ritalin, I was 36-year-old with a fluctuating weight between 70-73 kilos. I am female and I entered university at a late age, deciding to do a four-year full-time course while bringing up a family. I mention this because the pressures of keeping up had a lot to do with my decision to take Ritalin . This is a longitudinal report spanning two years and focuses primarily on the academic benefits of taking Ritalin. I took a generic Ritalin brand produced by Sandoz.

My average dose was 10 mgs. This is considered low but I did not feel the need for more because my tolerance is high. I am not a habitual drug user, except for the very rare occasion I take psychedelics for mind-enhancement. I very rarely drink and do not smoke. I would take a tablet approximately 45 minutes before I knew I would be sitting down to study or write, or before a lecture. I rarely doubled the dosage, only when tolerance built up. These times were during exam week or the last couple of weeks of a semester when the bulk of the writing assignments had to be handed in. I also took double dosages during my practical part of the course, which is very demanding.

The first two years of the course were a jumble of late nights, struggling to keep up with the readings and feeling overwhelmed. When I did manage to focus, my academic output was average to above average. I came out of the two years with a 71.6% average (equivalent to a B mark).

I had read about students taking ADHD medication to improve their grades at higher levels of education on the internet. I live in a conservative European country that is very hard on prescription drug abuse. You have to jump through many hoops to get a legitimate prescription for Ritalin, going through a general MD, to a psychotherapist and then a psychiatrist. A person faking ADHD would not get past the second step. I am very ambitious, and I know that if I was younger and without the added pressures of family, I could achieve better grades. This is not only vanity, although I admit to it to a certain degree. After I graduate, to get the job I want, the interviews are based on a point system. Obviously, very good grades plus excellent reports on practical performance go a long way to getting that job. Therefore, the only option was to buy the drugs illegally through ‘Silk Road’ after a summer spent researching every avenue. I procured the drugs during the summer between the second and third academic year.

Benefits:
Ritalin is a mood enhancer. Despite being a stimulant, it actually calmed me and improved my moods. I began to suspect that I actually had a legitimate need to take the drug because I suffer from mild O. C. D and the symptoms became milder (I take no medication for this, just sporadic therapy sessions). This assumption may be based on a psychological need to make excuses for taking the drug because a) the academic benefits were so good for me that it felt like cheating (some might say it is) and b) guilt may well play a role in this assumption because I took the drugs while telling no one, not even my partner.

Ritalin does calm me initially, but because I become so focused, disruptions become highly annoying. I would snap at someone if I were deep into my reading or writing. Ritalin gives me great focus, but I still have to discipline myself because I can become focused on the wrong things. For example, while researching a paper, I would sometimes find myself going of on some tangent and getting hopelessly lost on something, ending up doing nothing relevant anyway. Ritalin is great for focus if I stay on the right task.

Articulation in speaking and writing: Ritalin does not make me more intelligent, but it is fantastic for finding the words I need to express my ideas and arguments . I have to be careful while I am around company, because it can cause me to talk too much. I was already a chatterbox, but I had to remind myself to shut up many times. Writing skills are greatly improved, I start writing with more structure, finding words more easily. My arguments become more logical and flaws in others arguments (in research, in the media, and general discussions and debates) are glaringly obvious. For friendships’ sake, here is another opportune time to shut up. This has another drawback if you feel the need to correct everyone on the internet. Do not go there on Ritalin or you will end up writing a thesis on some message board to make a point.

Obviously, these qualities are all beneficial for academic achievements; in my writing, for exams and discussions in class. My average went from a 71.6 to an 82.4. I went up two grades. I am nearing the end of my fourth year, and my average has more or less stayed the same, fluctuating slightly higher after I managed a perfect score in one of my exams. My first practical performance report during my second year was marginal at best. My third and fourth year practical performance reports were excellent. Ritalin helped me understand writings that were complex and theories became intelligible. It helps me see patterns of thought, and tedious tasks seem, well, less tedious. Connections between theories and theories and practice also became clearer.

Drawbacks: I have already named a few. Others are:
1. Tolerance is built up fairly quickly with Ritalin, so I did not take it every day unless it was exam week or I had a lot of assignments to hand in.
2. If taken every day for more than a week when I had a heavy workload, on the 8th or 9th day I would crash despite taking a dose. On that day, I could not focus and drive would be very low. It is as if my mind has been overworked and says enough is enough.
3. Sleep is only hindered during the initial times I take Ritalin, although this process starts again if I stop taking them for more than three/four days. This is also a benefit if I have a lot to do and need to stay up.
4. I lost weight on Ritalin because I did not take it regularly.
5. Tunnel vision: every distraction becomes highly irritating like I have already mentioned. Important things can become irrelevant, liking paying the bills on time (guilty as charged). Focusing on my studies sometimes made me shove everything else to the periphery although this may also be influenced by my O. C. D.
6. Sex drive swings from high to non-existent, although I think the Ritalin emphasises the hormonal imbalances a woman goes through every month.
7. Energy levels remain practically the same on low doses.
8. While researching or writing a paper, I have to be conscious of my focus because I can go overboard on the details and write forever. Case in point: my thesis advisor demanded I stopped reading material for my literature review and made me stop writing otherwise I would have never handed it in. This can also be O. C. D influenced.

Some people reading this may think that what I have written here is too good to be true. However, I am not claiming it is a ‘Limitless’ type of experience by any degree. The effects of Ritalin may have been beneficial to this extent for me because I am naturally driven and organised.

Exp Year: 2011-2013	ExpID: 99641
Gender: Female
Age at time of experience: 36
Published: Nov 29, 2024	Views: Not Supported
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Pharms - Methylphenidate (114) : Performance Enhancement (50), Retrospective / Summary (11), Alone (16)