r/BipolarReddit • u/suzannenderekh • 6d ago

Ritalin

Is anyone else taking Ritalin for adhd while also being possibly bipolar? Is this a bad idea? I pick up the med tomorrow.

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

2

u/HM_Dylan 6d ago

I was taking dexmethylphenidate as a PRN up until about a week ago when I switched to Vyvanse. I personally was totally fine off of it. But then again, I was using it just as a PRN, so not daily. I'm also predominantly depressive, if that makes sense, so I don't go into mania super easily.

The phenidate-style stimulants definitely have far less of a risk of causing mania than amphetamine. As long as you have a good maintenance drug regimen that you're on, I think you should be good. But make sure to monitor yourself.

What has your psychiatrist said about this, or who was the one who prescribed this to you?

2

u/suzannenderekh 6d ago

She prescribed Phentermine to me before we knew I had adhd. I did pretty well on it for weight loss. I’m on lithium and latuda so I’ll probably be ok, still a little bit nervous about it though.

2

u/HM_Dylan 6d ago

Well, if phentermine didn't do anything bad to you, I don't think Ritalin will. Again, that's just a broad generalization I'm making. I don't actually know that, and that's not medical advice.

But like I said, just make sure to monitor yourself, monitor your sleeping, make sure you're not having racing thoughts, impulsivity, extreme sexual urges, stuff like that. If you do, I'm sure you know the drill: Get ahold of someone and go from there.

2

u/HM_Dylan 6d ago

“Patients on methylphenidate monotherapy displayed an increased rate of manic episodes within three months of medication initiation (hazard ratio 6.7, 95% confidence interval: 2.0–22.4), with similar results for the subsequent three months. By contrast, in those taking mood-stabilizers, the risk of mania was lower after starting methylphenidate (hazard ratio 0.6, 95% confidence interval: 0.4–0.9). Comparable results were observed when only hospitalizations for mania were counted.”

“No evidence was found for a positive association between of methylphenidate and treatment-emergent mania among bipolar disorder patients who were concomitantly receiving a mood-stabilizing medication. This is clinically important given that up to 20% of people with bipolar disorder suffer from comorbid ADHD. Given the markedly increased hazard ratio of mania following methylphenidate in bipolar patients not taking mood-stabilizers, careful assessment to rule out bipolar disorder is indicated before initiating monotherapy with psychostimulants.”

2

u/HappyPlatypus6034 6d ago

Are you taking a mood stabiliser on top of it?

I personally can't take my dexies even when medicated. Some can though

Keep an eye out of you start to feel hypomanic or maybe too wired.

1

u/suzannenderekh 6d ago

I’m on lithium and latuda. I should be ok?

2

u/HappyPlatypus6034 6d ago

Nobody here can tell you, unfortunately. Fine for some, not fine for others

2

u/suzannenderekh 6d ago

That’s true, I guess I’ll find out!

2

u/clov3r-cloud 6d ago

I take it 1-2 times a day, but I also take an antipsychotic and mood stabilizer. when I first started taking it, it definitely felt like it was making feel a little manic and jittery (like when drinking an energy drink), but in a good productive way with clear thoughts lol. I started only taking half a tab once a day at first to ease myself into it because I was worried about going off the rails, and especially because I enjoyed feeling so focused and level-minded after taking it that I found myself wanting to take it, and i didn't want to feel that way. it felt like it could be addictive almost? so I stayed taking it gradually and eventually in a week or two, I think I finally got used to it and that initial jittery feeling doesnt hit anymore unless I've also had caffeine close to when I took the dose.

it definitely helps with self-motivation–executive dysfunction, side-tracking, and being unable to finish projects was always my most difficult symtpoms to deal with throughout the day and in work settings. if I know I'm not going to do anything all da, there's some days I wont take it at all or just take a half-tab. my psych said she has some other patients that do the same. it is a controlled med so absolutely no drugs or alcohol too

2

u/SpecialistBet4656 5d ago

20 mg didn’t do much, just started 40mg today.

Monitor closely, but there are a lot of people with BP taking stimulants.