Robin Hood Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Anyone who takes ritalin is a chump who doesn't have what it takes to handle the measly undergrad workload. I look forward to destroying these people in med school Are you talking about those who use it illegally, or all those who take it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaronjw Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 Anyone who takes ritalin is a chump who doesn't have what it takes to handle the measly undergrad workload. I look forward to destroying these people in med school What's to destroy? It's not like the marks have any true meaning especially if a p/f format. However, nice to see we have another one of these types of people on this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarvish Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 If that's the case, then no psychostimulant can help you: you simply don't have the information in the first place. How are your study habits? Do you start studying early? Do you record lectures and listen to them/take notes multiple times? Do you memorize and understand the material enough to be able to apply it to new situations? Your problem could also be that your focusing too specifically on what was taught in class. While that is important, it could be that you're required to detect patterns that will help you answer the topics/specifics he didn't teach. Those BIO120 midterms were NOT that bad! I remember there being one really bad question which asked us for the y-axis of a graph on some random slide that you would never be able to see if you printed 6 slides to a page. After each of the midterms, I made it a point to go back and find where all the answers were hidden so I'd know where he picked his questions out from. I can guarantee that all of his questions were either from the textbook or his lectures. I realize this is way too late (5.5 months?) but you're definitely exaggerating here, I ended that course with an A due to being lazy on the first midterm. If you need ritalin to survive BIO120, you're screwed. (Unless you actually have a disorder in which case it may be the only option, but if you're who I think you are, then it's probably just laziness) ETA: This was directed at the OP, I didn't realize I couldn't quote quotes within quotes (no quoteception?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchEnemy Posted May 4, 2012 Report Share Posted May 4, 2012 ^says the trin kid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarvish Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 ^says the trin kid Hey! LOL I was just saying that all the answers WERE there, the OP made it sound as if we were tested on things that we had never heard of before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 +1… this doesn't apply to all GP's since some are really good, but only paediatricians and psychiatrists should be handing out stimulants… i think they should be able to handle refills, and of course there's that uber knowledgeable and patient centred gp who has the time and an interest, but for the most part gp's shouldn't be handing out dexedrine, and ritalin prescriptions… of course, there's always the lazy psychs too who aren't running ekg's, sleep studies if that's suspect, looking at prev labs on net care before they hand the stuff out… so it's kinda grey in the end, i guess If the OP is still looking to get stimulants I highly suggest you see a specialist, I personally believe most GPs aren't even competent to provide patients with medication. From personal experience the medication was an absolute disaster for me and you really need to get a thorough analysis done if the medication will be beneficial for you, I would also suggest getting some blood-work done, who knows you might have a deficiency in vitamins or hormones. With my experience there is some lasting side effects, but than again everyone is different in how they react with the medication. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 it'll be funny when the pre-clin slacker matches derm because their forte is likeability and selling themselves, and you're scutting it up at all hours of the night reading harrison's on call before your boards after being up for 33 hours… no disrespect to anyone that does any possible above mentioned specialties and loves it… this dude just has ROAD gunner and lambos written all over him, lol. Anyone who takes ritalin is a chump who doesn't have what it takes to handle the measly undergrad workload. I look forward to destroying these people in med school Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 gp writes the dex script to the bipolar patient on lamotrigine whose private psych records are sealed… so what are you on this for asks the gp… oh migraines nothing much our bp friend responds… oh, ok… mania, a trip across canada and steven johnson syndrome soon erupt… lol, i'm just kidding, no flame war k Just to specify, I meant stimulants; however there are certain GPs with an amazing background in various psychotropic drugs, but it's extremely rare. Just to divert a flamewar. Nevertheless, this minor error in articulating my point, is just a minor side-effect I have to deal with on a daily basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 besides that article in scientific american (i think i have that copy, lol) there's also an article in nature (the one with that huge impact factor, you may have heard of it) that argues for or against the use of psychostimulants for people in the sciences, political leaders creative arts etc. john f. kennedy, jean-paul sarte, jack kerouac, paul erdos (most published mathematician of all time), hitler, british pm anthony eden, johnny cash, william burroughs, the beatles, churchill… this is just a short list, but quite eminent list of know amp users who used it for their work just read about erdos… he actually argues that without his benzedrine, he couldn't focus on math, had no creativity, and he's the most published mathematician of all time... or there's even mullis, who invented pcr while literally on lsd, feyn man use to hit up the special k and led all the time, then there's albert hoffman… probably the most eminent pharmacologist of the last 100 years coffee and psychostims have completely different profile in mechanism and what areas of the brain they target… so not a good comparison again, i'm not advocating anything, i just love the idea of trans-humanism… i'm also into nutritional biochemistry and cognitive training, high yield retention methods, meditation etc. too… so i'm not a monolithic zealot just to be clear. if anyone is familiar with the work of aubrey de grey… this is sort of where i'm going, transcending our human abilities, and limitations, living longer, basically medicine to enhance life rather than just cure ailments... But I don't think Ritalin improves grades anymore than a cup of coffee does, medigeek; that's one of the points I'm trying to make... I personally believe that there's no "magic solution" to getting good grades/boosting IQ other than studying and working hard to comprehend/understand the lecture material. You're just harming yourself by taking the unnecessary Ritalin/caffeine pills... P.S. There's this one article from Macleans that you can take a look at that argues that Ritalin may help improve grades. Take a look: http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2009/03/09/brain-candy-can-ritalin-turn-you-into-an-a-student/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apache Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 i'm an encyclopedia, post modern everyone has their own reality and there are no normative values is the only way you're going to beat a post modernist with a bunch of info in his brain, and knows a little rhetoric (the beta-blocker juxtaposition to a downstream beta agonist was good, i know, lol)… did you know you can go down to the local nutrition store and get huperzin a, it's an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor… just like say, galantamine, so you can make your memory insane, lol... it's also an nmda antagonist (as is magnesium), read up on them, they're pretty amazing for preventing hyper-glutaminergic toxicity… plus activation leads to calcium (sometimes dec, ip2 and pkc) regulation of ampa, which is critical in long term potentiation and learning, dopaminergic map kinases are also involved in long term potentiation, by proxy, but i won't go into that… anyways, all of this stuff are orc nutritional supplements though, so could this be called cheating? it's also important to mention antioxidants that cross bob since so much auto regulation is caused by the oxidized form of the presynaptic nt. plus there's tons of oxidative damage via peroxidases superoxide, monoamine oxidases etc., which destroy presynaptic dopamine vesicles in places like the substantial nigra… which isn't good (which is one reason we use comt inhibitors in parkinson's)… mutations in the gene correlate very well with subjective well being… can't wait till they delineate that one… on an aside… those japanese people who live to be really old, eat a lot of raw fish with coq10… which is critical for complex 2 pin mitochondria… the one that isn't implicated in superoxide induced oxidative stress… on an aside… xanithan oxidase, which produces oxidative stress in breaking down coffee (an xanithane, go figure) magnesium chelated with aa's, zinc:copper supplement at proper ratio, reduced gluthionine, n-acetyl-cysteine, s-adenosyl-methionine-e (a donor in the anabolic pathway of dopamine, tyrosine, phenylalanine, inositol in powder form, high grade omega 3's, theanine, b-complex with a focus on b1, b6, and b12, coq10… also, watch hypoglycaemia and insulin spikes, i remember reading a study where 25 percent of a 250 person population dx'd with adhd had modulated metabolic response to sugars (hypersensitivity) -> hypoglycaemia-> epinephrine and glucagon -> more cortisol and mineraldocorticoids than you would like… so eat lots of protein rich foods when studying, make sure you get in your nuts too, brazil nuts are my faces, but almonds are good too… avoid simple sugars and snack on some carrots instead… plus pace while you study… increases catecholamine synth, transmission, plus increased brain oxygenation from the blood flow… there… lol, now you're cheating, the ethical way there… now you have an academic advantage lol summed it up well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Hood Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 In people without ADHD, I think Ritalin just helps them stay alert and awake like coffee. As a stimulant, I doubt it helps concentration if you're in a normal wake state. Yes, that's what my psychiatrist said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Hood Posted May 5, 2012 Report Share Posted May 5, 2012 I can't believe we got into a mini flame war over something as little as Ritalin... The internet is just stupid sometimes. Ritalin is not considered a little thing in the academic world, it's like a treasure. I went to a Winter camp during January, and had to hide my Ritalin from everybody, only my med student friend who was there knew of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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