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Home > Community Treatment Reports and Side Effects > Methylphenidate Treatment Report
What is Methylphenidate?

Methylphenidate is a central nervous system stimulant used in the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and for symptomatic management of narcolepsy. Off label it is used for depression, especially in the elderly or medically ill.

Reported Purpose & Efficacy

Reasons and Efficacy
Purpose # of patients
# of patients with evaluations Efficacy
Major
Moderate
Slight
None
Can’t tell
Fatigue 285 76 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_none Efficacy_cant_tell
ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) 224 80 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_none Efficacy_cant_tell
Problems concentrating 87 29 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_none Efficacy_cant_tell
Excessive daytime sleepiness (somnolence) 47 14 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_none
Brain fog 32 12 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight Efficacy_cant_tell
Other 32 9 Efficacy_major Efficacy_moderate Efficacy_slight

See all 596 patients currently taking Methylphenidate

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Reported Side Effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Severe
 32
Moderate
 38
Mild
 71
None
 100

Commonly reported side effects, conditions, and hospitalizations associated with Methylphenidate

Dry mouth (xerostomia) 13
Anxious mood 10
Irritability 9
Racing heart feeling 8
Loss of appetite 8
Lightheadedness 6
See all 107 reported side effects ▼ See top 6 reported side effects ▲

Reported Dosages

Frequently reported dosages based on patients currently taking Methylphenidate. See all 88 dosages ►

  5 mg daily 10 mg daily 18 mg/24 hr daily 20 mg daily 30 mg daily 36 mg/24 hr daily 40 mg daily 54 mg/24 hr daily 60 mg daily 80 mg daily
  30 Number of Patients: 30 73 Number of Patients: 73 23 Number of Patients: 23 97 Number of Patients: 97 37 Number of Patients: 37 28 Number of Patients: 28 51 Number of Patients: 51 36 Number of Patients: 36 26 Number of Patients: 26 16 Number of Patients: 16  

Reported Stop Reasons

Why Patients Stopped Taking Methylphenidate (multiple reasons could be selected)
Reason # Patients Percentage of patients
Did not seem to work 114   Did not seem to work: 43%
Side effects too severe 85   Side effects too severe: 32%
Other 61   Other: 23%
Doctor's advice 59   Doctor's advice: 22%
Personal research 14   Personal research: 5%
Course of treatment ended 11   Course of treatment ended: 4%
Expense 7   Expense: 3%
Not indicated 7   Not indicated: 3%
Change in health plan coverage 5   Change in health plan coverage: 2%

See all 256 patients who’ve stopped taking Methylphenidate

Reported Duration See details about how long patients take this treatment ▼

Currently Taking Methylphenidate

A bar graph

0-1 month 1-3 months 3-6 months 6 months-1year 1-2 years 2 years or more

Stopped Taking Methylphenidate

A bar graph

0-1 month 1-3 months 3-6 months 6 months-1year 1-2 years 2 years or more

Reported Adherence, Burden & Cost See details from patient evaluations ▼

Adherence

Taking treatment as prescribed

Adherence of Methylphenidate

Always
 152 63%
Usually
 65 27%
Sometimes
 17 7%
Never
 7 3%

Burden

Difficulty being on treatment

Burden of Methylphenidate

Very
 9 4%
Somewhat
 28 12%
A little
 41 17%
Not at all
 163 68%

Cost

Paid out of pocket

Cost of Methylphenidate

$200+
 0 0%
$100-199
 6 4%
$50-99
 13 9%
$25-49
 30 20%
< $25
 98 66%

See more information, including instructions, precautions, side effects, and interactions.

Report created on May 25, 2012.