system
Suggest treatment for attention deficit disorder
human
To get to the point....does cortisone act similar to ritalin?  I had my first ever cortisone shot for hip bursitis last month and never have felt so good and calm and focused!  I have been on Prozac for years for mild depression...but lately wondering if I have ADD...cant stay with conversations, impatience and fidgety more than usual...I am 71
gpt
Hello thanks for asking from HCM for your health related queriesI can understand your concern. Cortisone is steroid hormone and it can cause mood swings and this result in calming effects. Ritalin is amphetamine and the drug is a stimulant drug. The drug helps to control symptoms of ADD and result in improvement of concentration and reduction of hyperactivity. The inability to stay in conversations, impatience, fidgeting etc could be sign of attention deficit but need proper evaluation and treatment. Cortisone would result in temporary calming effect. So just to sum up cortisone have actions different than ritalin. In fact long term use might worsen depressive symptoms and steroids are known to cause depression. Thanks, hope this helps you.