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Addiction Treatment

Speedy Recovery from Ritalin

Answered by Jim LaPierre, LCSW, CCS

Question

Have been abusing ritalin for 6 months. I take about 100 mgs a day on an average day orally and sometimes I will go up to 150 and snort some, like on the weekends. I am totally addicted and I want to quit. The comedown crash is harsh enough that I am scared for the detox. Do I have anything to worry about by trying it on my own? I am planning on holing up with a bunch of DVDs and some low dose Xanax for a long weekend to try to get this garbage out of my system once and for all. What started as an amusing ride/study aid has become something really sucky.

Ok - congrats on making the decision to stop using - you're moving in the right direction - now consider this - what started out as a study aid and fun turned into getting addicted to a prescription med.

Now your plan is to use a prescription med to get off a prescription med. I know, you're thinking it's just going to help you get off Rits and you're thinking that Xanax is a downer and unlikely to be something you'd enjoy enough to keep using.

How about you get yourself to your doctor and have a general physical and ask for their input? How about making sure you're not at greater risk. I would expect you'd only have a few unpleasant days but your heart and mind are used to a ton of speed and your liver is wondering WTF?

Good luck.

About the Expert

Jim LaPierre

LCSW, CCS

Brewer, Maine

Specialties

Anger Management, Gay Lesbian Issues, Spirituality, Divorce, Compulsive Disorders, Trauma and PTSD, Life Coaching, Addiction or Substance Abuse, OCD, Mood Disorders, Parenting, Domestic Abuse or Domestic Violence, Anxiety or Fears, ADHD, Impulse Control Disorders, Relationship Issues, Women, Loss or Grief, Eating Disorders, Depression, Finding Your Purpose in Life

License

my_license #LC9830