"been on and off ritalin for yrs.  the reg. version works well for me, but its effect was gone in under 3 hrs.  the extended release was useless - i metabolize it too quickly and was oding on it after about an hr.   when i was working, it was great not wasting time getting distracted by crap: no retracing my steps to remember what i was looking for; no wondering why i had the telephone in my hand - was i calling or answering, etc?  but i didn&#039;t like driving under ritalin - i was used to having my attention all over the place and being able to see everything that was going on around me:  traffic slowing 5 blocks up; a wingnut weaving thru lanes 2 blocks behind.  i only took it while working or when i needed to focus.  same thing now."