doess ritalin affect roids

[bhouse]

I take ritalin for mental reason ,it helps me concentrate.
Will this affect my gains while on a cycle.

[potent]

take a look at this:

"Methylphenidate (ritalin) is a mild stimulant to the central nervous system (brain and nerves). The exact way that methylphenidate works is unknown. Nervousness and insomnia are the most common adverse reactions but are usually controlled by reducing dosage and omitting the drug in the afternoon or evening. Other reactions indude hypersensitivity (including skin rash, urticaria, fever, arthralgia, exfoliative dermatitis, erythema multiforme with histopathological findings of necrotizing vasculitis, and thrombocytopenic purpura); anorexia; nausea; dizziness; palpitations; headache; dyskinesia; DROWSINESS; BLOOD PRESSURE and pulse changes, both up and down; tachycardia; angina; CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIA; abdominal pain; WEIGHT LOSS during prolonged therapy. There have been rare reports of Tourette's syndrome. Toxic psychosis has been reported. Although a definite causal relationship has not been estabfished, the following have been reported in patients taking this drug: instances of ABNORMAL LIVER FUNCTION, ranging from transaminase elevation to hepatic coma; isolated cases of cerebral arteritis and/or occlusion; leukopenia and/or anemia; transient depressed mood; a few instances of SCALP HAIR LOSS

be careful do alot of searching on it find out the mechanism of action for ritalin as well as for steroids and see if you can logically see any possible conflicts. from my experience with ritalin i could see it helping your intensity during a workout.

[TheGame826]

do they sell ritalin over the counter?
how much?

[TNT]

This thread duplicates one that appears in the Steroid Questions forum. In that other thread I posted a more comprehensive response; you'll find the thread at http://www.anabolicreview.com/vbulle...&threadid=9132. In that thread, bhouse noted that he takes Ritalin under a doctor's prescription, although in this thread he confirmed my theory that he is taking it for ADD (a legitimate reason for Ritalin to be prescribed).

To answer The Game's question, no - Ritalin is not available over the counter. It is a scheduled drug (specifically, an amphetamine) and, as such, will show up in any drug test (such as the five-panel drug screen used by most corporations, the military, and the DOT).

I do not know where Potent got his quote from, although I would not disagree with the list of side effects. However, I do not see it as helping with workout intensity; if anything, like any other drug, it could mask symptoms and cause a sloppy workout, which increases the risk factor. If you want to increase your endurance, you would be much safer with, say, an over-the-counter caffeine supplement like Vivarin (which is used by runners to increase cardio endurance). Keeing in mind that Ritalin is simply speed, all you're doing is creating a situation which will cause you to crash as it wears off.

[potent]

tnt you don't think that ritalin being an amphetamine would help the intensity of a workout? the "crash" you speak of is dependent on dosage. however, like you i would recommend something like a caffeine pill. by the way i got my info at www.rxlist.com

[TNT]

Originally posted by potent
tnt you don't think that ritalin being an amphetamine would help the intensity of a workout? the "crash" you speak of is dependent on dosage. however, like you i would recommend something like a caffeine pill. by the way i got my info at www.rxlist.com

Nope. The theory sounds good, but I would say that an amphetamine (whether Ritalin or any other type of speed) actually skews the intensity of a workout in the same way that a pain killer skews the feeling that something isn't right. If you drop some speed, it may feel like you're working out more efficiently but, in fact, that's all it is - a feeling. You may be exerting no more force or push than you would off of the amphetamine, since your body can only exert so much force in the first place. However, because you have an artificial "feeling" of what you're doing, you may not exercise the best judgment in terms of form or your body's limitations.

I've cited the same principle with regard to pain meds . . . In that case, your body is experiencing pain - telling you that something is wrong and you should take it easier. But if you drop a pain pill, you feel like you can push harder, end up ignoring what your body is trying to tell you ("Hey, schmuck! I'm in pain!"), and end up execerbating an injury (making it worse, delaying the healing time that would be faster if you didn't stress the injury, etc.).

So whether Ritalin (by nature, an upper) or a pain med (by nature, a downer), you create an artificial environment for your body that skews your judgment. Does Ritalin make your workout more intense? Not at all - it only makes it seem more intense, like the guy who has a few beers, pounds himself on the chest, and says, "I'm king of the world!"

By the way, this does not apply to anabolics, which have the physical effect of increasing strength. Even those that buy into roid rage (which is also a subjective concept) acknowledge that there is a real effect on the body when it comes to AS. But neither Ritalin nor any other amphetamine is an AS; in fact, it could be argued that the effects of speed is catabolic rather than anabolic.

When we talk about caffeine (used by many runners) increasing endurance, that's a different effect, because a run is different from a weight lifting session. The runner is increasing his or her speed (gee, maybe that's why they call it, um, speed), as well as endurance as far as time. When I get on, say, a Precor, I might comfortably do 30-45 minutes naturally (I could do more, but I get lazy). But after popping a 200 mg. Vivarin, I might have the motivation to do an hour or more. Even then, a large part (though not all) of caffeine's effect is psychological rather than physiological in terms of increasing motivation. But I would never presume that popping a Vivarin - or a dose of Ritalin - would, in itself, give me the ability to lift a 200 lb. dumbbell with one hand instead of a 100 lb. dumbbell. I may think I can, but reality is a good teacher.

(Reminds me of an old Bill Cosby routine on karate. You can think, "I will chop my hand through this brick." But if the brick is thinking, "Oh, no you won't," you're screwed.)

Hope that puts it in perspective.

[potent]

those are excellent points, but like you said you have a feeling which helps to motivate. now, if you DIDN'T take the tab of amphetamine, caffeine or whatever, that motivation may or may not be there and presumably if it(motivation) is not there, this can hinder your workout. so theoretically if you can forsee a lack of motivation for your next work out, popping a tab of ritalin can increase the intensity of your workout. granted you may not lift heavier, but you may do a few extra exercises being that you feel more energetic while amphetamine, caffeine etc. circulates through your blood. also if a person is of the mindset that he can lift heavier, than it is likely that he will. i'm sure everyone here has experienced how powerful a force the mind can be in weight lifting.

[TNT]

Originally posted by potent
. . . if you DIDN'T take the tab of amphetamine, caffeine or whatever, that motivation may or may not be there and presumably if it(motivation) is not there, this can hinder your workout. so theoretically if you can forsee a lack of motivation for your next work out, popping a tab of ritalin can increase the intensity of your workout . . .

Not a bad theory, potent, but a bit of a rationalization for my taste. Clever, though!

For the most part, my following comments will address using this argument as a rationale to take Ritalin without a prescription . . .

If I lacked motivation, the first thing I would want to do is find out why I lacked the motivation. In other words, if someone were to tell me, "I want to work out, but I don't have the motivation to do it," I would question whether he wanted to work out in the first place. I wouoldn't discourage him from working out, but I'd explore the why and try to get to the root of any problem.

It's like the old argument about tasking aspirin for a toothache. You may ameliorate the pain temporarily, but until you get the cavity filled, all you're doing is masking the problem.

My view, FWIW, is that rationalizations are often excuses to use a drug. We've seen that waaaaaay too many times on this board with guys who are looking for an excuse to use opiate drugs like Vicodin without a prescription. And it's the same with guys using Ritalin with out a prescription, except that the usual excuse is, "It makes me study better." Bottom line: If you have a legitimate pain, get a doctor to write for Vicodin. And if you legitimately have ADD, get a doctor to write for Ritalin.

But, in the case of the two threads in which Ritalin is currently being discussed, a physician has written prescriptions for Ritalin, and the drug is being used for legitimate reasons. And the reasons do include improving one's motivation - that's one of the goals when treating ADD with Ritalin.

And in that case, I find nothing wrong with your argument at al, potent. But the whole point is that there is a physician "in the loop" and that the drug is being taken under medical supervision. And yes, that makes a big difference, because it means there's a medical professional who knows tha patient, has examined the patient, and has made the decision to implement Ritalin as a valid clinical course of action. (I can guarantee that a competent physician would not prescribe Ritalin solely to motivate someone at the gym.)