#focalin

been about 2 hours since i took it

Ritalin has been a hard one for me since Concerta and Ritalin are technically the same medication, but I feel like they need separate characters. They’re names for the same medication, methylphenidate, but they’re different in doses and release. I switched from Concerta to Ritalin when I needed to up my dose since the next dose up of Concerta was too high for me. The stimulant meds are squirrels!

(Pardon the old art and older art here)

Ritalin came first name-wise. Methylphenidate was synthesized in 1944 in Germany, and the man who synthesized it named it after his wife, Rita (full name Marguerite). She used the drug for her low blood pressure. It was sold by Novartis, which was known as CIBA (Company for Chemical Industry Basel) at the time (Novartis came about in 1996 after two Swiss companies, Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz Laboratories). An extended release form of methylphenidate was approved by the FDA in 2000, known as Concerta, marketed by Alza Corporation. I almost feel like, lore wise, this would mean that the chemical got a second personification. This older medication, marketed with similar tactics to big names like Valium and Miltown (that being the “Mothers Little Helper” flavor of advertisement), has been used for so many different things. Ritalin was only approved for hyperactivity in 1961, and I love this ad from that time:

Very similar to what happened with Valium and the benzos, Ritalin became controversial despite the newfound blockbuster status thanks to treating hyperactivity. Both Ritalin and ADHD as a disorder were placed on the chopping block as people compared it to illegal amphetamines (we’ve all seen someone make that “well it’s basically meth they’re selling meth!” claim, it’s been around forever). Of course, Ritalin was being used a street drug as well. Ciba was against reclassifying Ritalin, worried about stigmatizing their patients. Ritalin ended up getting banned in its parent company’s home county of Sweden in the 1970s. Even back then, ADHD was criticized for being “overdiagnosed” and stimulants for being “overprescribed.” Jump to the 2000s and now here comes Concerta, a new, young, hip take on Ritalin, now with a fun new shape and a longer duration. Look at these pills!! Fun shape!!

Give it two years and now here comes Focalin, DEXmethylphenidate. Ritalin has a sibling, a twin. Just like Celexa and Lexapro (Citalopram and escitalopram), where Celexa is a racemic mixture of its two isomers and Lexapro is a pure formulation of the active isomer only (the s enantiomer), Ritalin is a racemic mixture of its two isomers, and Focalin is a pure formulation of the active isomer only (the d isomer). It was developed to try and reduce side effects and adverse drug interactions. Focalin ALSO got super fun shapes for its pills, going the benzo route and getting a letter shape, with a D for D-(dex)methylphenidate

How cute is that?? Hell, Novartis was even gonna name it Ritadex, but the FDA was like, “come on guys that’s too similar to the other one” and they went with Focalin instead (side note but I love how all of the ADHD drugs got funny names. Adderall, like ADD, what ADHD used to be called. Concerta, like concentrate. Focalin, like focus. Speaking of which, can we tell that MY Ritalin has worn off for the night?).

So imagine you’re Ritalin. You spent your life jumping from career to career, treating depression in the elderly, exhausted housewives, helping those locked away in asylums for YEARS, then transitioned to helping children with hyperactivity issues. You become a blockbuster, huge new responsibilities are placed on your shoulders, but you’re getting recognition finally. Then, people start to criticize you, your parent company, they want you rescheduled, but even when you’re made schedule III in 1970, and then schedule II in 1971, predictions continue to rise. The movement against you expands in the mid 1970s, spreading to the diagnosis you now mainly treat, ADHD, resulting in the American Academy of Pediatrics coming to your aid, basically saying “hey guys cool it, you can use non-medication therapies if you’d like, but there’s a place for stimulant drugs in this treatment.” 1980 rolls around, the DSM-III comes out, and ADD is finally included. The text revision in 1987 changes this to ADHD in 1987. Finally it seems like things are calming down, but then another company decides to basically release a new version of you ‘toy animatronic from FNAF’ style in 2000. Hello Concerta. Then in 2002, your parent company hops on this and now you’ve got a twin. Hello Focalin. On top of that, the first non-stimulant ADHD treatment is approved that same year, and here comes Strattera.

Like I can't even have very many coherent thoughts anymore

Relationships are falling apart

I'm even starting to speak less coherently