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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Steffany on March 31, 2001, at 17:25:46
hi. i was recently prescribed ritalin on a trial basis by a gp (i'd wanted adderall but he had never heard of it--that inspired confidence!) for ADD/social phobia. i'm supposed to take it until i have a chance to see a real psychiatrist (psychiatric nurse practitioner) at the end of may. anyway, the ritalin's been fine. i'd taken adderall in the past (not prescribed but given to me by a friend), and i had heard/experienced that citric acid negated its effects. i was wondering if anyone out there knew whether this was also true for ritalin or not. it was a very annoying thing about addrall, b/c citric acid is in everything, it seems, from soda to many vegetables to tonic water....
i've been trying to do some research on the internet and found something that said that ritalin (methylphenidate) actually contains citric acid, which makes me hopeful that maybe the two don't interact badly and i can still drink orange juice and stuff. but i don't know for sure. if anyone out there has any info, it would really be appreciated. thanks!
Posted by Adam on April 1, 2001, at 15:22:58
In reply to ritalin and citric acid interactions, posted by Steffany on March 31, 2001, at 17:25:46
Hmmm. I looked up the drug monograph for Ritalin (handy new PDR by my desk), and the only thing I could find is that, in addition to methylphenidate HCl, the tablets also contain lactose, a sugar found in milk (among other places). There may be formulations with citrate in one form or another (the acid, or a citrate salt), I don't know. Normally a drug is also pressed into tablet form along with some other "stuff" that serves largely as a vehicle, maybe to help solubility and absorbtion in the GI tract, or even to slow that down so as to even out the dose.
Citrate is one of those things you really can't live without. In fact, you couldn't easily convert sugar into energy if it weren't for the presence of citrate in your body (a la the famous Krebs cycle). Any drug that somehow was incompatible with citric acid would be a very bad thing to put in people, I'm guessing.
So by all means, drink your orange juice. Eat a couple Sour Patch Kids if you feel like it (I am addicted to foods with high amounts of citrate and acetate in them...). You'll be fine (in moderation - too much of any acidic food can be a problem) I'm quite sure!
> hi. i was recently prescribed ritalin on a trial basis by a gp (i'd wanted adderall but he had never heard of it--that inspired confidence!) for ADD/social phobia. i'm supposed to take it until i have a chance to see a real psychiatrist (psychiatric nurse practitioner) at the end of may. anyway, the ritalin's been fine. i'd taken adderall in the past (not prescribed but given to me by a friend), and i had heard/experienced that citric acid negated its effects. i was wondering if anyone out there knew whether this was also true for ritalin or not. it was a very annoying thing about addrall, b/c citric acid is in everything, it seems, from soda to many vegetables to tonic water....
>
> i've been trying to do some research on the internet and found something that said that ritalin (methylphenidate) actually contains citric acid, which makes me hopeful that maybe the two don't interact badly and i can still drink orange juice and stuff. but i don't know for sure. if anyone out there has any info, it would really be appreciated. thanks!
Posted by Sulpicia on April 1, 2001, at 16:47:55
In reply to ritalin and citric acid interactions, posted by Steffany on March 31, 2001, at 17:25:46
> Hi--
It's not citric acid per se but only the bioflavonids [sp?] in grapefruit.
I found this at Dr.Koop.com, the med checker that also does food interactions.
I was looking for adderall interactions and found that the grapefruit is a no-no
for ritalin, adderall, and dexedrine -- this last I'm not 100% positive. First 2
for certain.
FWIW, I find that orange juice decreases the adderall's potency.
If you take it with water unless you have a super slow tummy, you should be able
to eat or drink anything in about 45 minutes.
Good luck.
S.
Posted by Adam on April 2, 2001, at 0:52:37
In reply to Re: ritalin and citric acid interactions » Steffany, posted by Sulpicia on April 1, 2001, at 16:47:55
Grapefruit juice can increase the activity of certain enzymes in the liver that metabolize various drugs. I should have thought of that. Thank you!> > Hi--
> It's not citric acid per se but only the bioflavonids [sp?] in grapefruit.
> I found this at Dr.Koop.com, the med checker that also does food interactions.
> I was looking for adderall interactions and found that the grapefruit is a no-no
> for ritalin, adderall, and dexedrine -- this last I'm not 100% positive. First 2
> for certain.
> FWIW, I find that orange juice decreases the adderall's potency.
> If you take it with water unless you have a super slow tummy, you should be able
> to eat or drink anything in about 45 minutes.
> Good luck.
> S.
Posted by Steffany on April 2, 2001, at 19:45:09
In reply to Re: ritalin and citric acid interactions » Sulpicia, posted by Adam on April 2, 2001, at 0:52:37
thanks for the info. yeah, it seems to me also that one can't live too easily or healthily w/o citric acid in some form. i'd read other people on this board who said that really citric-acid-heavy things like oj and soda comletely negated their adderall or dexedrine if taken within an hour but it seemed (at least) that if taken earlier or later, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. also, i just hadn't heard too much about ritalin. i know that it's usually not the first drug of choice for people diagnosed w/add as adults. it just happened to be the only drug my dr had ever heard of in this context, so i figured it would be pretty pointless to ask him about citric acid interactions. :)
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