Focalin Addiction!!
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My first semester in college was a disaster as I began at the age of 25 and only 3 months after leaving an all together different environment in the military where I served 4 tours in the Middle East. I never missed a class and yet my GPA at the end was a 1.75. I literally couldnt absorb anything in class, fought off falling asleep more often than not, and couldnt seem to apply my discipline to making myself sit and read. So, in the Fall of 05 I began taking Focalin 10mg and the difference was night and day. Not only did I retain information from class, but I was able to sit down and read without losing focus, I actually enjoyed it, and my second semester GPA was a 3.63! Now it is the beginning of Fall 2008, I graduated in May, and have started an already successful career at a law firm. I know, whats the problem right? Well, if you notice Ive been on Focalin for 3 years now and to say Im hooked on the drug would be an understatement. Ive taken enough before to exhibit at least 3 of the listed signs of overdose such as, sweating, dizziness, jittery, etc Whats worse is that my job requires me to sit at a desk all day..ALL DAY and without Focalin thats just not possible for me and I know that about myself, but I dont just take it at work. I get urges to take it afterwards and have even stayed up for 3 and 4 days taking one pill after another every couple of hours and browsing the net, reading books, writing out goals, plans, what have you and I cant seem to stop. Focalin used to make me so sociable and Id love talking about a variety of things with different friends, people from my classes, and even strangers, but now Im the opposite. Im anti-social, and Ill be as awake and as focused as you can imagine and yet I dont want to do a thing. I wont eat, but Ill maybe write for a while, browse the net a bit, read some, but nothing sticks anymore like it used to. One task, one pill is a thing of the long gone past. If I stop using the drug my performance at work will drop considerably, making me the 1.75 GPA guy all over again, but if I keep on like this I fear my performance in life will drop drastically. Im stuck between a rock and a hard place and any advice will be greatly appreciated. I need to find a way to taper off the amount because the 10mg twice a day Im prescribed doesnt even touch the tolerance I have built for Focalin over the last 3 years. Help!!

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Dillon - I'm assuming you've had an addiction to these drugs at one point and time otherwise you would not have known that they make you feel like Superman or a loser?

But then again...by the sound of your "tone" It doesn't sound like you have and that your words of wisdom spoken so intelligently were just taken from a friend of a friend of a friend?

Either way, black and white, loud and clear, you have just boldly judged MANY people for something you no little or nothing about. Even more sad, you do not personally know these people or their stories.

Had you told me just two years ago that at the age of 45 I was going to become an addict I would have laughed in your face!

Now let me ask you this...have you NEVER made a mistake in your life? Please don't judge me or any of these other posters who are dealing with a demon! They never intended for it to go this far or to get so out of control!

So Unless your name is Jesus Christ and you have never made a mistake, broken a commandment, told a lie, disliked one of your neighbors you have no right to judge anyone.

My advice to you would be to worry about yourself and your own shortcomings. Work on those shortcomings, (I don't know you but I know one of them is being judgmental) therapy is a great place to start. Work on becoming a better person, and finally go to church on Sunday and ask God for guidance and forgiveness.

I do it every single day and He walks with me every step I take. Take care of yourself Dillon...I pray this is one shortcoming you will NEVER have to live through!

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Are you people blind? Focalin, Ritalin and Adderal is all basically Crystal Meth/Ice that is legal. Yes, it's very addictive. It will make you feel like Superman when your on it and a loser when your off of it.

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Sara & Susan: If you wish to be in direct contact with one another then we need to receive a message from each of you via our contact form - and of course, the email addresses need to match with who you say you are. We hope this helps!

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I just e-mailed the administrators asking them to allow us to exchange information. If you e-mail them as well, maybe they will help us out? I'll let you know if I hear back from anyone.

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Hi Susan! Your e-mail in not viewable? There is a note stating individuals can't post personal information in order to protect privacy, except in rare cases. Hummm....I'd really like to try to make contact. Maybe if we both let "them" know we want to contact one another, they would allow it. I'm going to look in to it....

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Hi Sara! I was afraid I'd never hear from you again! When you feel up to it, why don't you email me? I'm at xxxxxx@xxxxxxx [1].

[1] Editor's note - In order to protect privacy, we do not allow individuals to post their personal contact information on our discussion threads (except in some very rare cases).

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Hi Susan...sorry it took me so long to reply. If you get this, I'd really like to talk to you. Not a lot has changed on this end. Still struggling...not really up for typing much right now, just wanted to try to touch base with you. Hope to hear from you soon!


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Addiction is not a disease. It is habit that turns into an addiction and eventually physical dependence. Calling it a disease is simply covering up the truth that your a drug addict. Cancer is caused by Body cells naturally undergoing a process called mitosis, in which the cell divides into two identical cells for the purposes of growth and repair. Cancer cells divide at a much more rapid rate than normal healthy cells. The result of this accelerated cell division is a mass of tissue known as a tumor. With that being said please explain to me how drug addiction is anywhere close to a disease? I'm only offended because many people in family have died from cancer and your saying that its similar to being a drug addict. Don't get me wrong I used to be addicted alcohol and stimulants. My advice is just to seek help, find a good support base. Talk to your doctor he is there to help you. The more honest you are with him/her the better they can help you. Good Luck! It may be hard in this uphill struggle, but just imagine the view from the top!



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Is it your prescription? It makes you feel good for awhile, but you always want more. Don't disregard me or laugh too hard, I've been there. You have to PRAY when you crave it. Please try this, and try to not be around it. If you are taking away from someone who needs it, until they can control it, because you can have more self control as an adult. You can do it, just make sure it is not available to you. Believe or not, you can do ALL things through Christ which strenghtens you!!! :>


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I'm also addicted to the focalin I'm precribed. I first heard about focalin from a friend and instead of just swallowing them, we would empty the beads into a folded up dollar and crush the beads with a lighter or chapstick and then snort the powder. The effect given by snorting it was the greatest feeling I've ever had. SO much euphoria. After doing it with him I got prescribed 10mg then it moved up to 20mg and then 30mgs then back down to 20 because insurance wouldn't pay for the 30mgs. Having said that I get 2 focalin a day, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I am addicted to snorting them just because the effect are similar to those of cocaine. My parents used to give me 2 20mg focalin in a little baggy to take to school every day. When I got to school I snorted one...ten minutes later I wanted another and so snorted that. I did this for a year and for the start it was amazing. Walking in to my first class and wanting to talk to every and I was very social and I always knew what to say after I snorted one and it made me feel like a god. A couple months went by of me snorting them every day and some times I would grab a couple more from the bottle and snort up to 80mgs and basically my life is run by focalin. I have gone on 24 hour benges where over the coarse of that 24 hours I snorted 260mgs of focalin and the next day I felt like I wanted to die.(don't do that) Snorting focalin is a huge problem for me and I accept that I'm addicted to it but it has ruined relationships with girls be cause of the amount of irrigation that focalin gives and after awhile my motivation to want to do school work, dropped dramatically becaus when I'm all focalined out after snorting 40mgs, all i wanna do is what sounds fun and I'll do anything just so that I can go home and drum focalined out or play video games or start texting 8 or 9 different girls because after snorting a focalin, your brain processes things quicker and so flirting with. girls is one of the best things ever because focalin gives me the ability to always know what the right thing is to say to a girl...I get many girls while I'm on focalin haha Even, though I am addicted, it has its benefits being that my brain processes things quicker and it let's me step back and analyze what the situation is and it gives me the aweness to know what another person is thinking and how there thinking process works and by knowing all that information, it gives me complete control over any situation just knowing that you know more than whoever you're talking to. You realize why people are the way they are and how they will react to a situation. Having the ability to understand how another human thinks and how they process things is wonderful so thanks focalin. Also after I snort a focalin I look at everything analytically and will literally process new ways to do something or how to take a smarter approach in an argument and how to manipulate the thinking of the other person and once again that give me complete control over the situation. I'm still struggling with this but I'm doing well and thank you for hearing my addiction situation.

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Dear Sara,
Oh how I wish I wouldve seen this sooner! I wouldve reached out if for nothing more but to lend an ear. How are you doing? Have you reached out to anyone? PLEASE Sara, if and when you receive this update and notice that I replied, let me know. My husband had a heart attack just a couple days before you posted so I wasnt paying attention to the replies from this site! Thats the only reason I missed it because every time I get notification of a new reply I look! Im still struggling although Ive not taken anymore of my sons meds. But you know what they say where theres a will, theres a way. Life is just toooo hard to try to fight this right now! But its also hard living with the guilt and the disgusting feeling I have about myself! - Susan


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Hello, my 8 year old son was perscribed focalin for his ADHD and took it for a little while to be abale to stay in school. but after a while i noticed that he was not the same child. he would just sit there in a daze and rock back and forth in the chair and beat his head in the sofa back and forth until he went to sleep. i stopped him from taking it and pulled him out of school because they were going to exspell him if he wasn;t on the medication to keep him calm. i home school both of my kids now. i was affraid it was gonna kill my baby boy who already has a heart merma and is ODD AND ADHD. I'D RATHER DEAL WITH HIM AT HOME THEN HIM GETTING HURT OR DIEING OFF OF THESE PILLS.

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Hi Susan. I just read your posts and can't quit crying....my situation is almost identical to yours. No one knows at this point, but I don't think I can hide it much longer. I wish I could talk to you....I don't want to stop, but I know I have to or there will be dire consequences. Even though I'm in a bad place right now, I feel like a weight has been lifted after reading about your story...

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The same thing is happening to me!
I'm a 15 year old girl and I used to be exceptionally bright in school until I was about 12 years old when I started to really decline. I couldn't do assignments, and I literally felt like I couldn't do them even if I wanted! I continued to be mediocre in school all through 9th grade, getting report cards that would have an A, B, C, D, and F on them. I had always resisted getting medicated for ADD since my brother was medicated for it and I thought it was embarrassing. Then at the end of 9th grade I finally decided to give it a go, and was prescribed Focalin XR. I started taking them and my grades really did improve!
Anyways, when I got these meds naturally I took way more then prescribed (which was/is 10 mg,) swallowing 2 then 3 then 4 then 5, not even for recreational purposes but because I wanted to be as super as possible! The results werent as astounding for me as they used to be, and then one day it occurred to me to snort the pills. I did at home for the first time, and it was amazing! Just 2 and I was speeding! Then school started and I realized how much I need them. I bring my spoons to school and crush out the beads in between class and snort in the bathrooms. Not even my closest friend in the world knew this until a couple months in, when I finally told her.

Within the last two months I've gotten out of control. Not just with the pills anymore, but theyve inspired for me to do more. Smoking weed, ecstasy, coke, pain pills and anything I can get my hands on. I have built up quite an immunity to the pills to the point that I have to save them up and plan when to use them, and dip into my brothers pills. If I don't do at least two everyday, I am completely dead at school and feel very sick. I can't stay awake in school even on double my dose, and my grades are slipping again. But now the pills aren't even about school, but everything! I'll save them up so I can snort a good amount to get high and party, for important exams, for social confidence, and energy in sports. Even worse, is I've developed a pinch of an eating disorder because instead of eating I'll just pop pills. I'm 5'8 and was relatively skinny before and very athletic, and I went from 140 to 127 in two and a half weeks, my cheeks starting to sink in and everything. My weight fluctuates often because of this, dropping as low as 126 to as high as 146. I just have so many uses for them its ridiculous! Due to my limited amount though, Ive recently started to replace them with other drugs to save my script, and am completely draining out my money which I work hard to earn.

My main dilemma though is this:My doctor (psychotherapist) is a very good person and I really like her, but I know the boundaries very clear. I cannot be honest with her about my many problems because she will tell my parents since Im a minor, and that cant happen. Not because Im just a teenager afraid to disappoint her parents and get in trouble, but because this is an entirely different game for me. My parents are strict Roman Catholics and VERY anti-substance, or basically anything. (I.e. iPods are items of Satan.) They have told me this before (in complete confidence that Ive never abused substances) that if they knew I even TRIED beer, they would send me to a mental health rehabilitation center since addiction and alcoholism runs in my family, and that once the trust was broken I would be on lockdown for the rest of my life. I am not exaggerating one bit when I say this, and Im not just trying to complain, but my parents truly are insane. So the problem is if I tell my doctor the truth that Im addicted to my medication or that I use hard dope (cocaine etc.) then she is required by her job to tell my parents. From saying nothing, I will continue to slip in school since the meds cannot sustain me anymore to benefit me academically. I have tried to conspicuously convince her to switch me to another medication or raise my dose so I have more to work with, but I do not want her to suspect that I am using them irresponsibly so I have to be very subtle. I have however told her short excerpts on my new drug use, leaving out the coke and pills, and she is worried just from that and says if I dont cut down or try anything heavier that she will be forced to take me off medication completely because she fears Ill have a heart attack from mixing the Focalin with drugs. So do I tell the truth and risk ruining my family relationship? Or keep her in the dark, and come up with different means of getting more medications and just feed into the addiction more? Neither are good options really, and my appointment is the 16th. This appointment is going to greatly affect my life. HELP!

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Michael, I find your post EXTREMELY interesting! Please, as you do more research or as more studies are done and finding found would you mind keeping this small post in mind and respond back with your new information? It doesn't matter if it's a year from now, or more, as long as we have our same email addresses we'll be notified as to your reply and able to read what it is you wrote! Thank you so much in advance! - Susan (I'm the one who revived the post in August)

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While I can't say I'm feeling the effects of addiction by taking Focalin, I do relate a lot to the original poster's predicament. I found this doing a search online for primary articles on the neurobiology of focalin and potentiality for addiction. It's more related to dependence as a response to incentive-motivation, which is a theory of addiction. In my opinion, it's perfectly reasonable unless you begin to exhibit detrimental signs like severe weight loss from appetite reduction, etc.
If you go back to the original post, you'll see that the initial positives turned to extreme negatives. This is happening to me, but I'm also aware that I have SAD (seasonal affect disorder), and that could likely be influencing this change in physiological behavior.
Research is expanding, and I'd like to consider novel ways to model this kind of behavioral development at an anatomical level by considering what's happening to things like the glutamate receptors in the central nervous system, mitochondria, as well as neuronal plasticity. There is so much to consider, but I think there's definitely an explanation for this because it's happening to many people.

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Hi.....I'm also a mom. I went to a shrink because my friend told me "He will give you anything you want"....I just wanted to have energy and lose weight. Well, I did!!! I lost 15 lbs and was SUPER woman for over a year. Then, I took too many and thought I was gonna die !!!! Since then I get anxiety when ever I took them, but couldn't stop taking them because I had them. After my last scripts I promised myself that was it NO MORE !! They have no long term studies on this medication and what if I die? What will my kids say....? "Mom was popping pills to lose 15 lbs and now she's DEAD?" .....Since I stopped I put ALL my weight back on PLUS another 5 lbs.....It's so hard not to call and make an appointment for more pills. But I keep saying to myself "I will lose the weight again NATURALLY and I will be healthy and ALIVE for my kids".....It is an addiction and I hate my friend for sending me down that path and I hate this doc for writting scripts for any and everyone......I thought about reporting him to the boards......keep strong....and take one day at a time ;) Good Luck !!!!

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Would anyone be willing to revive this post with me? I have found I am addicted to ritalin and focalin. 80% wants help, the other 20 doesn't. But I've taken the first step and informed my family so that they can support me. I've handed over my pills to my husband so that he can regulate them for me (so I only take 100 mgs a day as opposed to 200) while I try to beat this demon. For the love of God, I TOOK MY SONS AND HE HAS BEEN WITHOUT FOR ONE WEEK! AND HE IS ONLY 10 AND NEEDS IT! I'm not a horrible mother I swear, I just suffer from this horrible addiction. It's the only thing that gets me through my day! I live a miserable life and sometimes I feel like it's all I have! Does anyone know if there are any programs for this type of addiction? Or are we on our own? ANY help/support would be greatly appreciated!!!

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look...this isnt like weed...its very addicting and also very easy to become dependent to this drug.
i take it. ill pop two 30 mg focalin rx pills about once a month. and when i do, i have the best two days of my life. i dont have adhd so it might effect me differently then someone with it. when i take it i just feel pumped to be alive. i could be in the waiting room at the dmv and make 10 friends and have a baller time. just dont take this drug if you are a weak minded person that cannot control your body or more importantly your mind...
if you are weak minded and give into cravings then dont do it. just thnk, if your caught with focalin and your not perscribed to it...its a felony. so just dont be stupid and be careful with it. i personaly love it when im having a stressful week. or when i have to do yardwork i take two and just get pumped to mow the lawn. and if the john deer breaks down, its awsome to just fix it. its life crack, so be careful.

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I have adhd and for some reasOn i am perscribed a 40mg focalin and a 10mg focalin xr every morning. I accidently took 3 times tht (i take them from the bottle n 3 fell out n i didnt realize till it was to late. That was like 10/ 15 min ago. My heart rate is 94 bpr when i t usually is 67 bpr (im athletic i know my resting heart rate) am i goin to have a heart attack? I cAnt tell my parents they will think i am trying to get high help!!! They wont understand and i need to know iff imma be okAy??

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