• Basic Info
• Top Questions
• Clinical Info
• Interactions

What is methylphenidate?
Methylphenidate is a central nervous system stimulant. It affects chemicals in the brain and nerves that contribute to hyperactivity and impulse control. Methylphenidate is used to treat attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and narcolepsy. Methylphenidate may also be used for other purposes not listed in this medication guide.

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What is the price of this medication and similar alternatives?

This pricing information is subject to change at the sole discretion of DS Pharmacy. For the most current and up-to-date pricing information, please visit drugstore.com.

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What are the possible side effects of methylphenidate?

Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat.

Stop taking methylphenidate and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects:

• fast, pounding, or uneven heartbeats;

• feeling like you might pass out;

• fever, sore throat, and headache with a severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash;

• aggression, restlessness, hallucinations, unusual behavior, or motor tics (muscle twitches);

• easy bruising, purple spots on your skin; or

• dangerously high blood pressure (severe headache, blurred vision, buzzing in your ears, anxiety, confusion, chest pain, shortness of breath, uneven heartbeats, seizure).

Less serious side effects may include:

• vision problems;

• mild skin rash;

• dizziness;

• nervous feeling, sleep problems (insomnia);

• nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite; or

• weight loss.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Tell your doctor about any unusual or bothersome side effect.

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How should I take methylphenidate?
Take this medication exactly as it was prescribed for you. Do not take the medication in larger amounts, or take it for longer than recommended by your doctor. Follow the directions on your prescription label. Take this medication at least 30 minutes before a meal. The extended-release forms of methylphenidate (Ritalin-SR, Metadate ER, Metadate CD, Methylin ER, Concerta) can be taken with or without food. The chewable tablet must be chewed before you swallow it. Do not crush, chew, break, or open an extended-release tablet or capsule. Swallow the pill whole. It is specially made to release medicine slowly in the body. Breaking or opening the pill would cause too much of the drug to be released at one time.

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What is the most important information I should know about methylphenidate?
Do not use methylphenidate if you have used an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), tranylcypromine (Parnate), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), or selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam) within the past 14 days. Serious, life-threatening side effects can occur if you use methylphenidate before the MAO inhibitor has cleared from your body. Do not use this medication if you are allergic to methylphenidate or if you have glaucoma, tics (muscle twitches) or Tourette's syndrome, depression, or severe anxiety, tension, or agitation (methylphenidate can make these symptoms worse).

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What happens if I miss a dose?
Take the missed dose as soon as you remember. If it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and take the medicine at your next regularly scheduled time. Do not take extra medicine to make up the missed dose.

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What other drugs will affect methylphenidate?
Before taking methylphenidate, tell your doctor if you are using any of the following drugs: blood pressure medications; a blood thinner such as warfarin (Coumadin); clonidine (Catapres); seizure medicine such as phenytoin (Dilantin), phenobarbital (Luminal), primidone (Mysoline); or an antidepressant such as amitriptyline (Elavil, Etrafon), citalopram (Celexa), clomipramine (Anafranil), desipramine (Norpramin), doxepin (Sinequan), fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), fluvoxamine (Luvox), imipramine (Janimine, Tofranil), paroxetine (Paxil), sertraline (Zoloft), and others.

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Can I take this if I am pregnant or trying to get pregnant or if I am breastfeeding?

Methylphenidate has been assigned to pregnancy category C by the FDA. Adequate animal reproductive studies to establish the safe use of methylphenidate during pregnancy have not been conducted. There are no controlled data in human pregnancy. However, in the Michigan Medicaid Birth Defects Study involving 229,101 pregnancies from 1985 to 1992, there was one major cardiovascular birth defect reported out of 13 newborns who were exposed to methylphenidate during the first trimester. (One was expected.) (Written communication, Franz Rosa, MD, Food and Drug Administration, 1994) Methylphenidate is only recommended for use during pregnancy when benefit outweighs risk.

Methylphenidate is excreted into human milk. Adverse effects in the nursing infant are unlikely given a relatively low exposure. In one case, following a maternal daily dose of 40 mg twice daily, the milk-to-plasma ratio was 2.7. The relative infant dose was 0.2% of the weight- adjusted maternal dose and the absolute infant dose was 2.3 mcg/kg/day. Adverse effects were not detected in the infant. Caution is recommended if the drug is to be administered to a nursing woman.

In another case report, following a maternal dose of 5 mg in the morning and 10 mg at noon (immediate-release formulation), the mean milk/serum concentration ratio was 1.1 (range 0.8 to 1.6). The relative infant dose was 0.16% of the weight- adjusted maternal dose and the estimated absolute infant dose was 0.38 mcg/kg/day. Adverse effects were not observed in the infant.

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Who should NOT use this medication?

• Marked anxiety, tension, and agitation.
• Glaucoma.
• Motor tics or a family history or diagnosis of Tourette’s syndrome. However, the AAP states that the presence of tics before or during medical management of ADHD is not an absolute contraindication to stimulant drug use.
• Concomitant or recent (within 14 days) administration of MAO inhibitors. (See Specific Drugs under Interactions.)
• Known hypersensitivity to methylphenidate or any ingredient in the formulation.

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What happens if I overdose?
Seek emergency medical attention if you think you have used too much of this medicine. An overdose of methylphenidate can be fatal. Overdose symptoms may include vomiting, agitation, tremors, muscle twitching, seizure (convulsions), confusion, hallucinations, sweating, fast or pounding heartbeat, blurred vision, dry mouth and nose, and fainting.

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What should I discuss with my healthcare provider before taking methylphenidate?
Do not take methylphenidate if you have used an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), tranylcypromine (Parnate), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), or selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam) within the past 14 days. Serious, life-threatening side effects can occur if you use methylphenidate before the MAO inhibitor has cleared from your body. Do not use this medication if you are allergic to methylphenidate or if you have: glaucoma; a personal or family history of tics (muscle twitches) or Tourette's syndrome; or

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Can I stop taking the medication if I feel better?
As a general rule, you should always take your medications exactly as prescribed and do not change the dosage or stop taking the medication without first discussing it with your healthcare provider.

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I am on so many medications; do I have to take them all?
This is called polypharmacy—many different medications being used at the same time by one person. Sometimes, being on multiple medications is acceptable and appropriate but at other times it may be problematic. If you are receiving your medications from multiple physicians you need to ensure that they all know what medications you are taking. The best way to do this is to make a list of all the medications you are currently using, including all nutritional supplements, homeopathic remedies, vitamins and over-the-counter drugs (if possible, also include all the diseases you have been diagnosed with). Give a copy to every doctor who takes care of you so they have it on file, this way they can avoid duplicating medications and perhaps even try to consolidate some. After every doctor's visit remember to update the list accordingly. Also, as much as you possibly can, try to use the same pharmacy to fill all your prescriptions, this way any potential drug interactions can be caught and averted.

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Where can I get more information?
More Information

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