Ritalin® effect
Ritalin® is used for the treatment of hyperkinetic disorders and so-called attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, AD (H) D in children from the age of 6 and for the continuation of therapy in adolescents.
Ritalin® can also be used for compulsive sleep attacks, so-called narcolepsy.
Ritalin® contraindications
The following circumstances / diagnoses speak against the use of Ritalin®
- Hypersensitivity (allergy) to methylphenidate (active ingredient in Ritalin) or any other component of Ritalin
- Anxiety disorder
- Anorexia (side effect of Ritalin: loss of appetite)
- Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (sudden twitching especially of the face, neck and shoulder area)
- schizophrenic disease
- moderate to severe high blood pressure
- Arterial Disease
- Cardiac arrhythmias
- acute stage of stroke
- Hyperthyroidism
- Increase in pressure inside the eye (glaucoma, glaucoma)
- Pheochromocytoma
- enlarged prostate with residual urine
- with or within 2 weeks of taking MAOIs
- pregnancy
- past drug addiction
- Past drug / alcohol abuse
Ritalin dosage
The attending physician prescribes the dose appropriate to the patient individually of Ritalin®.
Therapy is with lower dosage started and then at intervals of one week in small steps increased. As with other drugs, that applies here too Dose as small as possible to keep side effects as low as possible.
The effect occurs within one hour of ingestion, if the dosage is sufficient.
The Ritalin tablet is taken with about half a glass of water with or before a meal.
Duration of action of Ritalin
It usually takes about half an hour after ingestion for Ritalin to begin to work. The maximum effect is reached after about two hours. The Ritalin is then eliminated from the bloodstream with a half-life of around two to three hours. This means that four to five hours after ingestion, the blood concentration is still around half of the maximum value. Accordingly, a relevant duration of action of approximately four to six hours can be assumed.
Duration of treatment
Treatment should not indefinitely respectively. About every 12 months should the drug may be discontinued on a trial basis under medical supervisionto see if therapy can be continued without the drug Ritalin®.
Overdose
If too high a dose of Ritalin® has been taken, it can lead to
- accelerated heartbeat
- Cardiac arrhythmias and
- high blood pressure
come.
Likewise can
- a headache
- confusion
- Tremble
- Nausea and
- Vomit
occur. If there is an overdose, a medical check-up must be carried out on the patient, serious consequential damage to avoid.
How does Ritalin work in children?
Ritalin and the active ingredient methylphenidate intervene in the transmission of information between nerve cells in the brain. To do this, one has to visualize the structure of a synapse, i.e. the connection point between two neurons (nerve cells): From the end of the first neuron, transmitters (messenger substances) are released into a gap between the two nerve cells. These transmitters move to the second neuron and activate it. However, so that the activation of the second neuron does not persist permanently, the transmitters are added to the first neuron again over time.
This is exactly where Ritalin comes in: it inhibits this resumption and thus ensures stronger, longer activation of the second neuron. In this way it has an awakening effect on the child, which also includes an aspect that promotes concentration.In the case of ADHD, the effect of Ritalin mainly relates to the alleviation of the attention deficit and less to the hyperactivity.
Also read the article on the topic: Therapy for ADHD
How does Ritalin work in adults / healthy people?
With regard to this question, it must first be made clear that ADHD is not a pure childhood disease, but also occurs in adults and that many patients are affected by ADHD beyond their childhood. In principle, the mechanism of action of Ritalin in adults with ADHD is exactly the same as in children: The active ingredient strengthens the neuronal transmission in certain areas of the brain, thereby increasing the ability to concentrate and focus, among other things. However, another aspect must be taken into account here, the dose: While the low doses used in children are mainly intended to have a calming and concentration-promoting effect, the higher doses used in adults, in addition to promoting the ability to concentrate, also have a certain drive-enhancing or even stimulating effect. It is not for nothing that there is a close chemical relationship between methylphenidate (Ritalin) and amphetamines (see below).
In adults who do not suffer from ADHD, Ritalin has, in addition to its stimulating effect, an appetite-suppressing effect, so it is occasionally misused to lose weight. In addition, feelings of restlessness, an increase in blood pressure and a racing heart can occur.
How does Ritalin work as a drug?
There is a close relationship between the active ingredient methylphenidate (Ritalin) and amphetamines. The latter were developed decades ago as a stimulant for soldiers and in principle develop their effect in the same way as Ritalin, namely by increasing the concentration of transmitters in the synaptic gap between two brain nerve cells (see above). Since Ritalin can achieve an effect in higher doses that is almost equivalent to that of amphetamines, and it is also much easier to get, Ritalin is sometimes misused as a drug.
It is then often used as a stimulant for particularly high occupational stress and the doses taken are steadily increased. Such abuse is dangerous, however, and can have serious, sometimes even life-threatening consequences. Therefore, Ritalin should only be taken on medical advice and only in the prescribed doses.
Successful treatment of Ritalin®
Should the hyperkinetic symptoms does not improve in the course of a month despite the doctor's dose adjustment, treatment with Ritalin® must be discontinued.
What can you do if the effects wear off?
Occasionally, in the course of Ritalin therapy, there may be a certain development of tolerance, i.e. that constant doses of Ritalin achieve an ever smaller effect. In this case, it is advisable to consult the attending physician. Together with the patient, he can re-evaluate the situation and consider whether a dose increase is an option.
In such cases, however, the patient's behavioral problems are not only due to ADHD, but also to other factors, such as a disorder of social behavior or even a depressive episode. As a result, treating ADHD with Ritalin alone cannot be the only therapy, but must be supplemented by other measures.
