Posted by Jean-Louis on August 24, 1998 at 17:58:29:
Hello everyone! I thought I would share my Ritalin experience in hopes that others may benefit from it. I'm a 57 year old male episodic sufferer for the past nearly 20 years. Cycles come on every 3 years and last from 3 to 4 months. I do not smoke or drink and have been a vegetarian for 30 years. Other than for the Demon, I'm in excellent health and have had zero medical problems thus far. Like most of you, I've tried every medication posted on this board with varying degrees of success. Most did not work, including Verapamil, Depakote, Sansert, Lithium, Diflucan, Propraponol, Candida liquid, Feverfew, etc. The only one that provided any kind of effective relief was Prednisone. In this cycle, it too failed. I get anywhere from 6 to 8 attacks daily - the kind that makes you want to blow your brains out. I'm convinced that the mixing and ingesting of all these drugs aggravates the frequency and intensity of the headaches. Having read Dr. Mellick's Ritalin's posting, and out of desperation, I set out to find a Doc that would trial me. I was turned down by 4 GPs and 2 Neuros (one considered to be a leading headache specialist in the country). I finally got a prescription from an old standby doctor that had been helpful to me in the past and knowledgeable about headaches. On 8/17, I was up to an average of 6 attacks during the day and 4 during the night. Prednisone had run its course. I got the Ritalin 20mg SR (coated slow release)prescription filled on 8/18. As soon as I got home I got hit with a vicious attack. I cut one tab in half (10mg) and chewed it. To my amazement, the attack was aborted in 10 minutes and I had no further headaches that night. The next morning I took a 20mg tab and it held me clear from headaches until 10 PM, at which time the headaches came back with a vengance. I did not take another dose in fear of what the side effects might be. The next morning I took another 20mg tab but the headaches persisted until 9 PM, at which time they stopped completely until the next following night. Since then, I've been getting headaches 2 to 3 times a night (between 1:00-6:00PM). They last 10 to 15 minutes and are mild to moderate (no screaming, pacing and thoughts of suicide). Major improvement - my body feels like it is draining itself from all the medication I've taken (hurting everywhere) and my brain seems to be telling me that I'm about to break the cycle. The only side effect I'm aware of is the inability to sleep. This I resolved with a nightly 10mg tab of Ambien which gives me a solid 6 hours of sleep. Time will tell the full extent of my Ritalin experience but at this point I am grateful to Dr. Mellick and Dr. Dasher for sharing and caring and getting me back to feeling like a human being. For those who are free of high blood pressure and heart problems, Ritalin may be worth a try - it certainly seems to be working for me while all else failed. I will keep you posted.
Wishing you all pain-free days ahead.