Daytrana Patch Or Vyvanse' title='Daytrana Patch Or Vyvanse' />Information on the drug methylphenidate Ritalin, Ritalin SR, Ritalin LA, Concerta, Methylin, Methylin ER, Daytrana, Quillivant XR Metadate CD, Metadate ER. With her long dark hair flying, Saorla Meenagh, 10, pictured above can execute a perfect switch leap, one leg out, one tucked under, her arms glued to her sides in. Ritalin Helps. but what about the side effects Dealing with Stimulant Side effects. The stimulants are often used to treat ADHD and other conditions. Explains the medication amphetamine and dextroamphetamine Adderall, Adderall XR, two drugs used in combination to treat attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder. Medical uses. Dexmethylphenidate is used as a treatment for ADHD, usually along with psychological, educational, behavioral or other forms of treatment. Stimulant Equivalency Table Matt Swenson, MD Name Dose Comments methylphenidate Ritalin 10 mg BID or TID Short acting 34h Ritalin, Methylin. Daytrana is a drug that comes in the form of a skin patch it is used to treat ADHD in children adolescents. This eMedTV article describes the effects of Daytrana. Daytrana Patch Or Vyvanse' title='Daytrana Patch Or Vyvanse' />The most common stimulants are methylphenidate Ritalin, Concerta, Metadate ER, and the Daytrana patch and amphetamine Dexedrine, Dexedrine Spansules, Adderall and Adderall XR and Vyvanse. We have been using these medications for years. Despite some dramatic media reports, the stimulants have a fairly good safety record. When a medication gives you a symptom that you did not want, we call that symptom a side effect. Many individuals take stimulants with few side effects. Others experience mild problems. Some are simply unable to tolerate stimulants. Often we can treat annoying side effects so the individual can continue to take the stimulant. Best Profile Pictures For Facebook more. Graduate Prosthodontics Programs there. Too many people stop their medication instead of working with their physician to find a way to decrease side effects. On the other hand, stimulants can have the potential for real side effects. This is why it is a good idea to keep in close contact with your doctor, especially during the early stages of treatment. Often we can treat side effects so you can continue to take your medication. Instead of stopping your medication, work with your physician to find a way to reduce side effects. Reduced appetite This effect may be worse in the very young. It may improve after several weeks or months. If it continues to be problematic, one may reduce the dose or time a short acting stimulant to wear off before mealtimes. On the average, the methylphenidate compounds have slightly less of an appetite effect than the amphetamines. However this can vary from one individual to another. In some cases we resign ourselves to a eating a large breakfast and supper followed by a very small lunch. A large late evening snack can also help. I see less appetite suppression in adults. I suspect that this is because that adults may eat for different reasons than children. An adult is more likely to eat for psychological or social reasons. Many adults hope that they will shed some extra pounds while taking stimulants. Sometimes they do but other times they do not. Non stimulant ADHD medications may not cause as much appetite suppression. Rebound Some people who take short acting methylphenidate or amphetamine experience irritability or depression for an hour as the stimulant wears off. Sometimes this is worse than the individuals behavior before the medication was started. One can avoid rebound by spacing the doses closer together, giving a smaller dose after the final larger dose, or by switching to a longer acting stimulant. Recently several new long acting stimulant preparations have been released. Although the long acting compounds often have less rebound, the problem may still occur in susceptible individuals. Sometimes, we add a small dose of short acting stimulant when the longer acting stimulant wears off. This can have tradeoffs. If the stimulant reduces appetite, the extra dose of short acting stimulant may create problems with the evening meal. Headache If this does not improve with time, we may reduce the dose or switch to another stimulant. Sometimes caffeine restriction helps. If one is a heavy consumer of caffeine, one should taper rather than stop the caffeine. If one stops the caffeine suddenly, the result is often a caffeine withdrawal headache. If sudden caffeine cessation happens at the same time as the start of the stimulant, the caffeine withdrawal headache may be mistaken for a stimulant side effect. Many individuals with untreated ADHD may try to self medicate with caffeine and thus have a substantial caffeine dependence. Jittery feeling Eliminate caffeine or other stimulant type medications. A small dose of a beta blocker a type of blood pressure medication can block tremor or jitters. Make sure that the individual is eating regular meals. Some people are especially susceptible to this side effect and simply cannot tolerate stimulants. In this case we may need to prescribe a nonstimulant ADHD medication. Gastrointestinal upset Take the medication with meals or eat smaller, more frequent meals. Sleep difficulty It is a good idea to take a sleep history before starting a stimulant medication. Sometimes the sleep problem is due to the ADHD, not the medication. One the average, people with ADHD have more sleep problems than individuals without ADHD. This is separate from any medication effect. If the sleep problem is truly due to medication effect, we have several options. Sleep difficulty is more common when one is using a long acting stimulant or if one is giving a short acting stimulant late in the evening. Now that there are more long acting stimulants on the market, one can often eliminate this problem by using one of the more intermediate length stimulants. Clonidine or guanfacine may help decrease agitation and may also facilitate sleep. We also counsel the individual on establishing good sleep habits. Paradoxically, there are a few individuals who sleep better when they take a small dose of stimulant in the late evening. For these individuals, the stimulant helps slow racing thoughts and helps them lie still in their beds. Sometimes, a thorough sleep history will suggest a different type of sleep problem. In this case, the individual might benefit from a referral to a sleep lab for an overnight sleep evaluation. Irritability Sometimes irritability may be due to the ADHD or another psychiatric disorder. The irritability may also be due to lack of sleep. It is possible to cheat sleep while taking a stimulant. If one sleeps less, the stimulant can mask the tired feeling. However if the individual continues the sleep deprivation for an extended time, he or she will become irritable and concentration will deteriorate. If the irritability is truly due to the stimulant, one might reduce the stimulant dose, switch to a different stimulant, add an SSRI, fluoxetine, sertraline an alpha agonist clonidineguanfacine or use a nonstimulant medication to treat the ADHD. Depression This may occasionally be a delayed effect of stimulant medication. It may be more common with the long acting stimulants. Screening for a history of depression, and treating co existing depression can minimize this. If the depression truly is related to the medication, one may switch to another class of medications to treat the ADHD. These second line medications would include the tricyclic antidepressants, bupropion Wellbutrin and atomoxetine Strattera. Anxiety If an individual is anxious, the stimulants can exacerbate the symptoms. The treatment of this side effect is similar to that of depression. It may be best to treat a co existing anxiety disorder before treating the ADHD. However if the anxiety is mostly related to ADDH symptoms, we may treat the ADHD symptoms first. Blood glucose changes Individuals with diabetes mellitus or borderline glucose tolerance could potentially see a rise in blood sugar. On the other hand, if the stimulant cuts ones appetite, one may use less insulin. Individuals with diabetes can often take stimulants, but  they may need closer monitoring of their diabetic control. Increased blood pressure Stimulants may cause increases in blood pressure or pulse. This is usually not significant at normal doses in most people. However occasionally, the blood pressure effects can be significant.