ritalin for cognitive problems?

hello there,

i am hoping to find out if anyone is taking ritalin for cognitive problems … like concentration / attention problems. i know cognitive issues are not as well understood as other MS symptoms, but i would be grateful if anyone had any experiences to share regarding such problems and treatment options.

thanks for anyone’s time!

Sorry, I don’t know about this from an MS point of view, but ritalin is used to treat attention deficit in ADHD so I guess it makes sense.

I found one paper on it. Here’s a link: Single dose of methylphenidate improves cognitive performance in multiple sclerosis patients with impaired attention process - ScienceDirect

Seems like it might be worth a try.

Karen x

Thought about it. Briefly. The potential adverse side effects outweigh the inconvenience and horror of having the attention span of a gnat.

If you, or someone you’re writing on behalf of, are experiencing typical MS cognitive problems, have you thought about relearning how to think in a “normal adult way” (whatever that is), by taking yourself theoretically back to school with children’s puzzles and gradually moving on to trying to learn something more complex - a new skill, perhaps?

If you’re writing on behalf of a pharmaceutical company, researcher or similar, these message boards have international input, which is very useful if you’re an individual (see previous paragraph) but won’t necessarily give you a representative view from the UK world of MS, if that’s what you’re after.

Lolli xx

LOL! How naive am I?

Kx

How suspicious am I?! La P’s probably very proud of me.

xx

omg! i come here regularly, but am extremely embarassed about admitting to cognitive problems actually, simple as that. i get the suspicion i guess, as i know people from corporations and things ‘infiltrate’ blogs and forums, promoting/researching. i don’t know what to say so that you (lolli) know that i’m a genuine person with MS! anyway, i called my MS nurse today and he said that tysabri might help with my cognitive issues, as it has for lots of other patients. he also said that i can discuss this when i’m next in to see the neuro, but there is no particular drug they recommend for these sorts of problems. thanks a lot karen for the article - that is great news. i will take it to the neuro to try to get a prescription. and no lolli i haven’t tried mind puzzle stuff, maybe i should. but i’m actually an academic and have to think hard regularly, i’m just seriously under-performing and pretty upset about it. anyway, thanks both of you for writing. all best wishes!

ps. i don’t work for tysabri either :slight_smile:

LOL! We of little faith

I bet your cognitive difficulties aren’t as bad as you think. We tend to notice our own weaknesses much more than others do. Mine have definitely declined in recent years, but I still hit ceiling on all the tests.

I hope you can find something to help you get back on form. If you do, please tell!

Karen x

Bless, I wasn’t trying to out you, honest!

Cog probs are very common indeed with MS, and they’re worth fighting against. Have you looked at Jo Johnson’s helpful materials on dealing with MS? You can google her easily (she’s the neuropsychologist, not the MP :>)

My comments addressed to “you” (the person) above still stand. IMO it takes a lot of effort and dedication, but it is possible to get your brain back on track by having coping strategies to deal with urgent problems and trying to relearn lost skills.

By coping strategies, I mean things like ALWAYS putting a timer on first before you start cooking, then ALWAYS checking the cooker and resetting the timer whenever it goes off, and ALWAYS checking whether the cooker’s on (and switching it off) when the phone rings. Building habits to cope with things you might overlook daily could quite literally be a lifesaver.

Lolli xx

thanks guys, you cracked me up! i’m totally laughing … always a good thing when MS is getting me down! it’s true karen, it’s not that bad, and it’s nice to be reminded of that - i’m sure to be fine on the tests too. but like my vision, which can be corrected to be pretty amazing, my eyesight has felt ‘off’ for years. thanks too lolli for the reference - i should look to some non-pharmaceutical ways to deal with this - I’ll look at Jo Johnson. in the meantime, i’m bringing coffee back into my life which i quit a long time ago … that should speed things up a bit. here’s hoping! all best, x

Glad you coped with our paranoia so well. (See how I managed to drag Rizzo into this? )

You might look at Ginkgo Biloba and Niacin as an alternative to Ritalin, though they’re not without their problems, hence hesitating to mention them. Coffee can have some amazing, short-term effects with MS!

Good luck!

xx

Glad you coped with our paranoia so well. (See how I managed to drag Rizzo into this? )

You might look at Ginkgo Biloba and Niacin as an alternative to Ritalin, though they’re not without their problems, hence hesitating to mention them. Coffee can have some amazing, short-term effects with MS!

Good luck!

xx

Eh? It made me type the captcha in again but had already posted? Pah!