Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Ritalin for chronic pain

I've got chronic muscle pain and it interferes with my thinking. When my pain is high, I have problems with focussing my attention, controlling my emotions (anger mostly) and impulses, and working memory. I'm on Pregabalin which has reduced the level of my suffering, but the cognitive problems remain.

Ritalin treats these symptoms in attention deficit disorder (ADHD-PI). Is Ritalin ever prescribed to treat these symptoms in chronic pain?
2 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
Avatar universal
Hi Roger,
I've read scholarly articles about chronic pain patients developing same symptoms of ADD or ADHD. I forget exactly what causes it but for myself just the pain itself is a constant distraction and definitely makes it difficult to concentrate and focus on tasks and takes all my energy away causing me to get so tired I lose my patience as well. I suggest googling these words, chronic pain and ADHD. You will find a ton of validation. There's definitely a link between the two and talk to your Dr about it. If your pain doc won't prescibe it or a different. ADHD med go to your PCP and ask for it. He/she will either prescibe it or give you a referral for an evaluation for ADHD and you will get help. If you don't have insurance or a PCP look for a family practice Dr. That has a sliding scale for payment based on your income. Knowledge is power on your behalf.
  Ritalin is also prescribed for narcolepsy which is getting very sleepy and can't stay awake while driving or studying,etc.
Good luck with your ordeal. I completely understand what you're going through.
Jim
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Hi, I suffer from chronic pain from herniated discs and pain from broken and fracturing apl my ribs when my car fell on me while checking under the engine the jack broke.
  I also have ADHD and have been taking Ritalin, methylphenidate, to help focus. I've found that even though I have stopped taking high doses of narcotics, methadone and Dilaudid for breakthrough pain that when my dr increased my Ritalin dosage to 3/day it has helped my pain considerably.
   I was curious about the results of this and googled using Ritalin for chronic pain and found many articles about it helping others with and without ADHD.
Ritalin works by increasing the dopamine in our brains. Dopamine is linked to both the part of our brain that helps us focus better and the reward center of our brain that makes us feel good, haapier, etc.
  In conclusion, I definitely think that central nervous system stimulants do help relieve chronic pain, at least for me. I am no longer taking pain killers.
Good luck I know how hard it is to function with pain nagging at you dar and night.
Jim
Helpful - 0
2 Comments
Wow, that surprises me, but glad u found it worked for u.  My thot, having not tried it for Pain, is that it would make u more tense.  Which causes more involuntary muscle contraction.   Methadone was a wonder drug for me!  I used it for neuropathic Pain in my extremities for years.  
Then the formula was changed.  Same  brand, same strength, same pharmacy and everything.  The last 2 refills I took, made me feel weird.   I felt like I had taken a muscle relaxer instead.  But not every time I took it.   It also caused me to go into withdrawals made my pain worse!  That was 2009.   It took along time to realize it was the methadone. The reason it didn’t do it every time was I had poured my new refill into the previous months bottle that still had some in it.  I’d been hospitalized for a week, so had about 7 days worth of extra medication. So I just combined them. Some days it would absolutely wire me!  my heart beating so hard and FAST.  Hyper and hurting and TENSE. Tense and no relief.  Once I realized it was the methadone,  I DUMPED out the whole bottle. Really looked at them. Even tho it was the same brand and EVERYTHING, they were different. They were taller and whiter. That’s was when I noticed how bitter the new refill  was to the what I’d been taking successfully for years.  I also noticed then that it didn’t dissolve in my mouth as soon as saliva touched it, like it always had before. I did a lot of research on this over the years. Because it really affected my life and I needed to understand what was happening. I still don’t have all the answers. Would love to hear from others that had this happen.   Cross contamination is pretty high on the list. Unless someone is interested I won’t go into any further detail.  
This chronic pain is so miserable.   Once the intractable Pain law was passed.  Patients didn’t have to worry about suicide as a means of pain relief!  Then
Purdue creates OxyContin and the BIG LIE was born.  that this drug wouldn’t be so Likly to be addicting. I knew as soon as I heard it, that couldn’t possibly be true.  If anything it would be more so. Keeping levels of opiates at a daily steady level in ur blood for at least 8 hours at a time. Tho Purdue  said 12 hours of relief.  So of course having that much opiate in ur blood for hours at a time would increase with drawls, if u were unable to get more. Not decrease. I don’t know how the FDA bought into that BIG FAT LIE.  
The perfect storm was coming. Pain patients with rights to have their Pain treated, drs not so fearful of the FDA for maybe over prescribing AND the wonder drug OxyContin. We Pain patients r paying for that lie.  
Now good, we’ll meaning drs r scared.  The FDA is more present then ever, there is a law suit against Purdue wanting them to start providing the cost of treatment to some of these patients.
I once had a dr tell me it was impossible for a person to suffer from pain 24/7 without relief. He was telling me it was impossible to be in pain that much ALL THE TIME!    It was very very frustrating and demeaning. That was in 97.  Now that’s where there has been directed again.
They think that with all these new non opiate “pain killers” that r being created r the answer.  
For most CHRONIC pain patients, that’s just not true.
Now drs r starting to act like they were before the intractable Pain law was passed.    I worry about the new people getting diagnosed with chronic pain and how they will be treated.   They r set up to feel guilty automatically. Just FYI sometimes physically therapy can cause more injuries to a patient. I’m one those people. The injections of lidocaine damaged several nerves surrounding my  piriformis muscle.  The muscle that cause sciatic Pain. Feels just like sciatica.   Acts just like sciatica but isn’t.
Sorry, I got off on a rant.  Thanks for reading.  
I took methadone for 14 years or so and it worked well with the breakthrough med.  I have since moved to Florida and between the feds and the governor I've found it very difficult to find a pm Dr to continue the same treatment and after 8 months of trying I've given up. Seems the new trend is alternative treatment which is shots and nerve blocks, killing nerves,etc. All which the Drs charge thousands to insurance companies. Now what will happen to the people like me that already tried those shots and epidurals without success? Only real alternative is opiods for adequate relief but they're making it almost impossible to get it.
  Taking muscle relaxers did help some for cramps in my rib cage but doesn't help the pain from the herniated discs, DDD,etc.
  I just thought I'd pass on some info about using ADHD meds off label for chronic pain in the cns. It doesn't take the pain away 100% but helps.
Good luck to you finding relief. The Dr that told you that you can't have pain 24/7 is wrong.
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Pain Management Community

Top Pain Answerers
Avatar universal
st. louis, MO
317787 tn?1473358451
DC
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Find out how beta-blocker eye drops show promising results for acute migraine relief.
Could it be something you ate? Lack of sleep? Here are 11 migraine triggers to look out for.
Find out if PRP therapy right for you.
Tips for preventing one of the most common types of knee injury.
Here are 10 ways to stop headaches before they start.
Tips and moves to ease backaches