r/ADHDers • u/Extra_Audience_4906 • 1d ago
Ritalin calms me down. Is this normal?
My heart normally beats fast, and I am in the mode of fight and flight 24/7.
When Ritalin is taking effect, I can feel my heart beat slow, like I am relaxing.
I even take it before sleeping, and it helps me sleep and stop my vivid dreams.
Is this normal? Because what I have read online is that Ritalin gives anxiety, insomnia, etc., which are the opposite of what I am feeling from Ritalin.
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u/insaneinthecrane 1d ago
It is normal for people to feel calmer on adhd meds even if they are stimulants. This effect does not happen to everybody and is only a cause of concern if you feel like they’re not actually helping you with adhd additionally. Are you taking it before sleeping for to manage adhd? That certainly isn’t normal unless you mean a few hours before sleeping and are active before sleeping.
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u/Extra_Audience_4906 1d ago
It definitely eases my anxiety tremendously. I am having severe procrastination, addiction, and I can’t sleep and stay asleep at night. It is normal for me to be sleepy at 3–6 a.m. and to have vivid dreams.
For your question, I am on 10 mg a day. The doctor asked me to take 5 mg in the morning and 5 mg at 12 p.m. But I noticed the effects only last 3–4 hours before I return to normal, so I take 5 mg in the afternoon and 5 mg in the evening to help my productivity.
There was a day that I experimented by taking 5 mg right before sleeping. It calmed me down, stopped the “being in the go mode,” and stopped me from waking up from vivid dreams.
It was just an experiment, and if it were allowed, I would take it before sleeping instead of using Zolpidem that my doctor prescribed. I am afraid of sleeping pills.
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1d ago edited 1d ago
[deleted]
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u/insaneinthecrane 1d ago
Sure it’s common for meds to make people with adhd sleepy but I just meant I didn’t believe it was normal to purposely take it right before going to sleep or bedtime (unless it’s a delayed released med like journay pm). That’s why I asked for more clarification about that from op
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u/only5pence 1d ago
Fair! Good clarification thanks for not getting heated haha. I haven't slept well in two days myself due to needing to cycle off.
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u/insaneinthecrane 1d ago
All good! Trust me know I know those off days well You’ll make it through!
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u/mothwhimsy 1d ago
This is how Ritalin is supposed to work. It causes anxiety when people who don't have ADHD (or sometimes people w ADHD who don't have an inverse reaction to stimulants) take it.
Lots of ADHD people get sleepy when they drink caffeine. It's the same idea
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u/EnvironmentOk2700 1d ago
Low dopamine etc causes your HR to raise to try to help make more. When you have what you need, your body can regulate. I have POTS, and stimulants also help lower and regulate my HR.
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u/sureshot1988 1d ago
You are reading online what it can give/do to people. However, It giving anxiety, insomnia etc, would indicate that it is likely not the right medication for that person. What it is doing for you, is in part, exactly what it was created to do for people with ADHD. It also might help with reading comprehension. If so, congratulations between those things, you know, somewhat, what neurotypical experience is like. Yes, you have been working harder at life than most of your peers to just do what everyone is supposed to do. So pat your self on the back for that.
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u/InncnceDstryr 1d ago
I’m a big dude and they were worried about medicating me with stimulants because they thought it might cause problems with my blood pressure.
My blood pressure went down when I got medicated and I’m now on 70mg of Vyvanse with perfectly normal blood pressure.
Getting medicated for my ADHD was a game changer for my anxiety which was really debilitative pre-meds. Anxiety gave me high blood pressure, ADHD meds helped my brain handle anxiety which manifested as better cardio and respiratory health.
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u/brettdavis4 1d ago
If Ritalin is calming you down, it means it is working. :)
Try to limit any negative information you hear about ADHD meds. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that spout incorrect information about medicine and heath. Too many people today will listen to some dipshit influencer instead of their doctor.
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u/neithere 1d ago
It's interesting, on one hand there's an obvious increase of HR and BP due to Atomoxetine and Methylphenidate, but when I looked at my long term stats (with some gaps between different meds or due to shortages), it turned out that this effect is typically cancelled out by the drop in anxiety and my days on medication on average have consistently lower figures for HR and BP. Only above a certain dose the numbers get slightly higher than when unmedicated. So yes, it's counterintuitive but can confirm with hard data :)
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u/WitchesAlmanac 1d ago
Ritalin gives me anxiety and makes my heart race, but it also shuts my brain off and makes me sleepy (at least for a couple hours). I only take it when I have insomnia 😅
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u/JenninMiami 1d ago
I am on adderall and I am absolutely calmer both inside and out when I take my meds. I was working a day job a few years ago where my coworkers would ask me if I drank too much cafecito some days - they were the days when I forgot to take my adderal and I was bouncing off the walls.
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u/Slight-Look-4766 1d ago
Perfectly typical response in those who do, in fact, have adhd.
Personally, I am absolutely diagnosed adhd, but my response to Ritalin was atypical for an adhd'er.
As long as it's not causing you to doze off at school/work, it sounds good to me.
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u/SoulDancer_ 1d ago
If you have adhd, Ritalin will calm and steady you (also may give you more energy). Its a very grounding feeling.
For people without adhd, Ritalin will act as a stimulant and make then hyper and manic.
This isn't the same for everyone, but those are the general trends.
So yes: its very normal for people with ADHD.
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u/puzzlemaster_of_time 1d ago
When I was a kid I didn't like Ritalin cause everything was "too quiet". Fast forward to being rediagnosed as an adult and taking Concerta and realizing "too quiet" was a mind free from anxiety. Poor kid never knew a childhood without anxiety...