FOCALIN Reviews (DEXMETHYLPHENIDATE HYDROCHLORIDE)Average Rating: 2.9 (33 Ratings)Filter ResultsCompare FOCALIN with similar:
Type: Rx Drug
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Results are sorted by Age oldest to youngest. Key to Ratings: 1=LOW (I would not recommend taking this medicine.) Page: 1 2 |
More on FOCALIN: Reviews Summary | Drug Safety Information
| RATING | REASON | SIDE EFFECTS FOR FOCALIN | COMMENTS | SEX | AGE | DURATION/ DOSAGE | DATE ADDED |
| 3 | Adhd | F | 65 | 2 months 10 mg 3X day | 10/29/2021 | 4 | Adult ADD | Most annoying side effects: stomach discomfort and upset at times, burred vision, fast heart beat, excessive talking, euphoria that compromises good judgement (I'll commit to doing something that I don't want to follow thru on when drug wears off), effectiveness of name brand wears off after a few years. I went to generic, then took a break from drug. Effectiveness came back even on generic after a month break. Insomnia if I took too late in day. | It works just fine, and I can think clearly, stay on task for hours. | F | 54 | 10 years 10 2X day | 3/29/2018 | 5 | ADHD | Initially made me sleepy, then slightly upbeat. This drug is a miracle! I waited many many years to finally try medication because of all the negative things I heard about stimulants. I regret it now because once I tried this I was able to concentrate, focus on one thing at a time, actually start and finish a book, clean off my cluttered desk, and complete projects at work. My boss thinks I'm a new person and so does my husband. Take my advice and tell those who tell you this is poison to keep their mistaken opinions to themselves because focalin has changed my life for the better. | It works well with little or no side effects. I did lose 15 pounds but that was because I had more energy and joined a gym. | F | 48 | 365 days 2.5mg 2X day | 5/18/2011 | 5 | Adult ADHD, some depression issues | Sleepy! Have to take a nap after dose. When I wake up, I'm fine. When it wears off, some depression/anger issues. Nothing nearly as bad as Wellbutrin. | Works so much better than the SNRIs. I'm just a little too becalmed - sleepy. I'm at 20 mg XR have only been at this dose couple of weeks. If the sleepiness/mood extremes smooth out, I'll take it till the day I die. I have refractory depression and this cures without loss of libido or flat affect. Otherwise, thumb's up! | F | 48 | 70 days | 7/5/2009 | 3 | Adult ADHD | Constant ringing in my ears & blurred vision. | I was on Focalin xr prior to being on the immediate release that I'm on now. The xr worked better for me, but it barely lasted a few hours. So my doctor switched me to the immediate version hoping this one would work better. Maybe I just have severe ADHD because I still have a really bad memory & still can't concentrate on things. I'm starting a new job soon & am very concerned about being able to focus, concentrate & remember things! I was on Vyvanse before this which worked VERY well for me, but my insurance now refuses to cover it even after my doctor going through months of prior authorizations with them :( | F | 42 | 14 days 10 MG 2X | 9/14/2019 | 4 | Add | Sleepy at first then "wake up" and good to go. | M | 41 | 3 years 10mg 1x da | 1/16/2014 | 4 | ADD | Mild depression when it wears off, very mild fatigue when it wears off, thirst. I was totally unexpectedly able to stop a 30 year finger-picking habit! | I take an odd combo of 10MG once each morning of Ritalin LA (long acting) and 5 MG of Focalin (Dexmethylph generic actually) 2x per day. For me, Focalin is better for focus and Ritalin is better for energy and willpower. With Focalin alone I am very focused -- and often decide I don't feel like using it. With Ritalin alone I feel great -- and end up working in scattered fashion on a bunch of stuff that does not really matter. The combo is best. I used to just take the 5MG Ritalin/Methylin 4-hour tabs twice daily. These resulted in a nasty 30 minute angry/irritated state about 6 hours after ingestation as they wore off. After kicking my wife's cat once too often for me to be able to live with myself (and fearing I'd do something worse) I switched to Focalin -- which does not give me nearly as much angry irritation when it wears off. | M | 41 | 1 years 5 MG 2X day | 11/17/2010 | 5 | Bipolar NOS | Decreased appetite-- that's about it. I wish I could give this drug ten stars!!! Email me to learn more about it. | A MIRACLE DRUG. Focalin saved my life because my doctor was willing to try something very unconventional for BP. It pulled me out of horrible bipolar mixed states and made me see that life really COULD be worth living again. If you have BP and your mood stabilizer is not enough, see if your doctor will let you add on Focalin. The other stimulants do NOT work for this purpose. | F | 39 | 2 years | 11/4/2008 | 4 | ADHD | loss of appetite, headache, dry outh | F | 39 | 9 months | 4/24/2008 | 4 | ADD | I experienced intense muscle pain the first couple of weeks, but that eventually went away. I also had nausea (especially in the morning) and just recently began experiencing swelling in my feet at night. | F | 38 | 4 months 10 MG 2X day | 7/26/2020 | 1 | ADD | Very, very anxious! Jittery, short of breath, very rapid heartbeat, fatigued when wears off and headache/stiff neck. Bad idea! | F | 35 | 1 months 30 | 6/16/2016 | 1 | It was dispensed in error!! | loss of hair, manic episodes, up three days at time, extreme depression, agitation, blurred vision, fast weight loss, fear, paranoia | My pharmacy was supposed to refill my adderall xr 30 but instead gave me' focalin xr 30 (but bottle said adderall xr 30) .. This was the most horrifying drug I have ever been on. I felt like I had lost my mind and was depressed to a dangerous point. The error was found and I was finally notified but the damage was done. | F | 32 | 8 days 30 mg xr 1X day | 5/5/2011 | 3 | ADD/ADHD | Finger tingling/numbness (circulation problems) | This medication worked well for my ADHD but I was taken off of it within a few days due to the potentially harmful side effects. | F | 29 | 3 days 5mg 1X day | 5/23/2014 | 1 | Adult AD/HD | Depression and Anxiety. Shaking, insomnia, headaches. Drained by the end of the day. Mind racing. | This drug helped initialy, although I didn't like the way it made me feel physically. I kept taking it because it did help me focus and pay attention. Then I fell into an almost crippling depression and couldn't understand why. I have never been depressed, but now I've had such a lovely life experience. Then I began feeling panicky and out of control. I've never had anxiety before either. Thanks Focalin! I talked to my doctor about it, who prescribed Lexapro. Thanks pharmaceutical companies! I think I'll just detox from the Focalin and look for other ways to increase focus… | F | 28 | 60 days 20 MG 1X day | 5/24/2010 | 1 | Adult ADD | Psychosis; Severe Depression; Uncontrollable crying spells; Feelings of being unworthy | Although many people have reacted very positively to this drug, I ended up at a mental hospital 3 days after I started taking it. I've never had any serious problems and I mentioned to my doctor that I was forgetting everything lately so he prescribed this to me. Seriously, it was a complete nightmare! It took about 2 days to recover, but I am fine now. Be careful with anything you take/ | F | 28 | 3 days | 6/11/2008 | 5 | ADULT ADD | Since I began taking this drug, as an adult , I always noticed some sort of anxiety, which is what I described it as... I have always constantly kept a blank writing pad next ti me, because as the effect of the medication began, my mind would began to think about all these other things (in my 'to do list') that I had forgotten..., so I would start a to do list as I am trying to study. I never thought this was a negative effect until now, where I believe I am becoming dependent on the focalin. I read how children pick their nails... I do that,,, I cant sit still, yet again, I can focus. Its a very scary feeling, and I find myself 'self prescribing' higher and higher doses, solely to be able to focus, yet again, i think I am becoming even more an anxiety driven.... Im not sure what to do at this point. My education (higher education) depends on me being able to concentrate on classes and this is truly becoming a problem.... | F | 27 | 18 months 20 3X day | 10/31/2011 | 1 | ADHD | Instability. Unpredictable mood swings and occasionally even panic attacks. | Initially, Focalin, broken into 5mg doses worked okay when I couldn't get an Adderall prescription filled, but after about a month- Every time I took it I would get hyperanxiety. Once to the point of auditory hallucinations. I tried one last time earlier today and had a panic attack. Would not recommend this drug to anyone as it has way too unstable a range of effects, both psychologically and physically. I'll be looking into a different medication option, and for reference, I did not experience theses negative effects from adderall. | M | 24 | 2 months 10mg 2X day | 7/14/2012 | 1 | ADD | This is by far the WORST drug I have ever taken in my life. Everytime I took Focalin I had these HORRIBLE jitters and I couldn't stop yawning uncontrollably. I was also very thirsty and had to drink several glasses of water all day long. I had episodes where I would get very VERY angry and aggressive and felt like I could go on a shooting spree or kill myself. I could feel blood rushing through my body and and I would get so hot to the point where you could see my hands would be very red in color. I would also get very moody (as if I were bipolar) and anxious and have awful panic attacks. I was on a normal dose for my weight. This is a dangerous drug. Don't take it -- AVOID FOCALIN. It's HORRIBLE! | I will never take it again. It is a dangerous drug and should be banned. | M | 22 | 1 months | 3/13/2009 | 3 | ADD | Very effective as far as attentivness and alertness and lasts pretty much the whole day. It has also helped with my memory and processing information more in depth with less impulsive decision making on tests homework etc. Side effects- makes me shaky and weak. Doesn't really address restlessness in class but it is still manageable most of the time. A noticeable increase in anxiety and elevated heart rate especially with small amounts of activity even just walking to class. | Still have issues putting thoughts into words. Loss of appetite but not particularly concerning having started the medication so recently. I also feel much more social and engaged in conversation. I haven't experienced any mood swings and actually keeps me pretty positive/motivated. Being the first medication I've tried it is definitely an improvement apposed to nothing but it comes with the trade offs. My doctor is concerned about the anxiety and increased heart rate so i am going to explore some other options within the coming weeks. | M | 19 | 7 days 40mg | 10/21/2015 | 5 | ADHD | slight loss of appetite | My son has tried every ADHD medicine available and this is by far the best. Focalin seems to control his impulses and increases his ability to stay focused and do well in school while still allowing his personality to come through. It has had the least affect on his appetite and sleep patterns. All other medicines we tried since he was 5 include Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta, Vyvanse and Stratterra. They all showed signs of extreme irratability and agitation, and affected his sleep and appettite. Adderal and Ritalin both caused nervous ticks and Strattera caused him to feel like he did not belong. Vyvanse caused him to act irrational emotionally. Extreme mood swings. From a mom who continues to research and stay on top of what is available and how it effects my child this is definitely what I recommend to any parent. | M | 16 | 4 years | 1/9/2010 |
FOCALIN (DEXMETHYLPHENIDATE HYDROCHLORIDE): This medication is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - ADHD. It works by changing the amounts of certain natural substances in the brain. Dexmethylphenidate belongs to a class of drugs known as stimulants. It can help increase your ability to pay attention, stay focused on an activity, and control behavior problems. It may also help you to organize your tasks and improve listening skills. FDA Approval Date: 2001-11-13 (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)