"Bobby don’t forget to take your Ritalin", my mom would say every morning.

"Ok mom I wont don't worry about it, but I hate taking it I can never eat after taking it." I would respond

This would be a normal day from about 4th grade to 11th grade. I took Ritalin or other newer drugs for my A.D.D for a long time and with horrible side effects. The drugs would help me concentrate but in return I would get a horrible loss of appetite and nausea. Because I didn't eat I would get crushing migraines which would usually cause me to go home from school early.

These side effects were probably worse than not paying attention because instead of missing a little bit of information due to spacing out, I would miss a lot of information due to missing whole classes. If I didn’t go home early I would usually get a migraine after school and often have to go to sleep to get them to go away. This really impeded my work, and sometimes hurt my grades. I also remember the Ritalin or other drugs making me very sluggish and non energetic, and I really hated that.

Every year after 9th grade my mother would ask if I wanted to keep on taking the drugs and I would say whatever you think is best for me. The same things kept happening and it wasn’t getting any better, I started suggesting that maybe I shouldn't take them anymore. She decided to keep me on them regularly until 11th grade when I decided it was time to stop because the symptoms were just to aggravating. During 11th grade I tried a new drug called Stratera for a week or two but ultimately decided it wasn't going to work out. When I stopped taking the drugs for ADD I started feeling a lot better and felt like I had a lot more energy. I was actually happier not taking the Ritalin. I noticed that I didn't focus as well but I didn't care, I could eat lunch and go home not feeling like someone was punching me in the head.

I am way better off without the Ritalin than with it. Since I have stopped taking Ritalin I have been much happier than I was before. I have noticed that I have opened up to more people and started becoming way more vocal. While my school work may suffer a tiny bit I feel better in general and that’s way more important.