Ritalin

Ritalin Abuse Causes, Statistics, Addiction Signs, Symptoms & Side Effects

What’s Ritalin?

Ritalin is a medication that’s usually used to treat ADHD. However, it’s also a drug that’s consistently abused to attempt and get high or concentrate on school work. The generic name for Ritalin is methylphenidate, also it’s a potent psychostimulant. Ritalin enhances the levels and efficiency of hormones in the brain. This is accomplished by cutting the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine. It’s pharmacologically and structurally similar to cocaine, but it’s not as robust nor do the effects last as long. Ritalin is also utilised to increase or maintain attentiveness, treat Narcolepsy, combat fatigue, treat depression, treat obesity and enhance concentration.

Ritalin is the most commonly prescribed psychostimulant and also among the most abused drugs in the usa.   It’s usually not synthesized but stolen. In actuality, Ritalin is one of the best 10 stolen prescription drugs in the usa. It comes in a number of different forms such as patches, pills, liquid, and capsules. The capacity to develop a Ritalin dependence is raised when Ritalin is inhaled or injected. The effects are felt much faster (in 5–10 minutes when inhaled and 10–15 minutes when injected) and greatly intensified. There are a few symptoms experienced such as abdominal pain, anxiety, headache, pupil dilation and psychosis.

Other titles for Ritalin include Kiddie Coke, Skittles, Vitamin R, Smarties, Poor man’s cocaine, Diet Coke, Rids, Kiddie Cocaine and R-ball.

Ritalin Addiction Treatment

Gradual reduction of Ritalin is the very best way to stop the addiction. | At times, an antidepressant may be employed to help with the withdrawal symptoms. The first step to finish a Ritalin addiction is to admit there’s a problem. The next step is to get loved ones involved and then seek assistance from a Ritalin addiction treatment centre. This is the safest and best means to end the dependence. They’ll have the ability to aid you in reducing the intake of Ritalin. This may take a stretch amount of time to finish, but it is a lot safer than suddenly stopping. There are lots of sources which may assist with quitting a Ritalin addiction. Take the first step and reach out to talk with a loved one or a professional.

Statistics of Ritalin Abuse

Ritalin is a powerful stimulant and several figures address stimulants as a class and frequently don’t address Ritalin individually. The first statistic is about stimulants rather than specifically about Ritalin. Other statistical data follows:-

  • An estimated 9.0 million individuals aged 12 or elderly (3.6 percent) were current users of illegal drugs other than marijuana in 2010. Most those users (7.0 million individuals or 2.7 percent of the population) were non-medical users of psychotherapeutic drugs, including 5.1 million users of pain relievers, 2.2 million users of tranquilizers, 1.1 million users of stimulants, and 374,000 users of sedatives
  • Now, between 1.6 percent and 3.4 percent of students in those grades have abused Ritalin from the previous 12 months, with slow (no significant) declines continuing this season in grades 8 and 12 .
  • Hispanics do have the highest reported levels of use for a number of drugs in 12th grade–marijuana, inhalants, cocaine, crack, salvia, Ritalin, and crystal methamphetamine. In 8th grade, however, they tend to come out greatest of the 3 racial/ethnic groups on almost all types of medication
  • In 2010, an estimated 3.0 million men aged 12 or older used an illegal drug for the first time over the past 12 months. This averages to approximately 8,100 initiate daily and was comparable to the estimate for 2009 (3.1 million). A vast majority of the past year illicit drug initiates reported that their first drug was marijuana (61.8 percent). Approximately one quarter initiated with psychotherapeutics (26.2 percent, including 17.3 percent with pain relievers, 4.6 percent with tranquilizers, 2.5 percent with stimulants, and 1.9 percent with sedatives).  A sizable percentage reported inhalants (9.0 percent) as their first illicit drug, and a small proportion used hallucinogens as their first medication (3.0 percent)
  • Since it was first quantified in 2001, Ritalin use has declined in usage by roughly one half of 12th graders and by greater in the lower grades

Reasons For Ritalin Addiction

There are a large number of motives as to why a Ritalin dependence is developed. The reasons can vary from trying to stay awake and study for a test to attempting to numb the pain of some form of trauma. Ritalin is addictive and also the effects closely resemble those of cocaine and amphetamines. This mode of ingestion helps boost the effects of Ritalin raises the possibility of developing an addiction. Withdrawal symptoms can quickly happen if the medication is abruptly ceased. A Ritalin addiction treatment program can help out with ending the dependency.

Signs of Ritalin Use, Addiction and Dependence

When someone is abusing Ritalin, they exhibit signs of being under the influence of this drug. | There are numerous signals and indicators which could be seen to help assess if a person has a Ritalin dependency. These signs will be exhibited both emotionally and physically. Some of the signs are under:-

  • Increased aggression
  • Nausea
  • Hearing voices
  • Visual hallucinations
  • Urges to harm oneself
  • Euphoria
  • Paranoid delusions
  • Paranoia
  • Abdominal pain
  • Angina (chest pain)
  • Cardiac arrhythmia
  • Pupil dilation
  • Tachycardia (rapid resting heart rate)
  • Stunted growth

Ritalin Effects

Ritalin addiction has a vast variety of negative effects.  These effects touch all facets of the individual with the dependency. It negatively affects their physical, psychological and personal lives. Some of these harmful effects include:-

Physical signs:-

  • Abdominal pain
  • Alopecia (loss of hair)
  • Angina (chest pain)
  • Cardiac arrhythmia
  • Nausea
  • Pupil dilation
  • Tachycardia (rapid resting heart rate)
  • Stunted growth
  • Diaphoresis (perspiration)
  • Dizziness
  • Headache
  • Libido increased or diminished

Psychological signs:-

  • Hearing voices
  • Paranoid delusions
  • Depression
  • Visual hallucinations
  • Severe anxiety
  • Euphoria
  • Urges to harm oneself
  • Increased aggression
  • Grandiosity
  • Confusion
  • Irritability
  • Anger
  • Dysphoria

Personal signals:

  • Career is destroyed
  • reduction of household
  • Important connections are lost
  • reduction of cash
  • Stops doing enjoyable activities
  • Spends more time alone

Ritalin Withdrawal

It’s relatively simple to come up with a Ritalin addiction, but finishing one is considerably more challenging. | If Ritalin is suddenly discontinued, the consequences of withdrawal will happen. Some of the symptoms include extreme fatigue, disturbed sleep patterns, depression and irregular heart rhythms. Although Ritalin withdrawal is normally not life threatening, it may lead the user back to abusing the medication as a result of intense discomfort. The severity of the withdrawal is joined to the period of time Ritalin was abused, the quantity used, dosage strength, dose frequency, previous use of cross-dependent or cross-tolerant medications, and the way the dose is reduced.

Additional Articles About Ritalin

  • When used exactly as prescribed, Ritalin is deemed safe, and that’s why it’s so often prescribed for children. Although Ritalin increases the amount of dopamine in the brain, like other stimulants, the controlled dose prevents the chemical changes from  causing the euphoric effects of illegal stimulants.
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