@Marla@chaos.social This would happen for me when my levels of *something* were too high.

A bit of background: I cannot currently take Ritalin because of (likely unrelated) kidney issues, but when I did, I did so on a 'flexible schedule'; I would take my normal dose for as many days as it worked, then as soon as I started feeling jittery or have a sense of palpitations, I would *stop* taking them.

The few days after that, where I wasn't taking them, I would feel 'right' again and my brain would work again, as if I *did* take my medication. Eventually I started getting jittery or defocused again, and I'd *start* taking them again.

And so on, in a cycle, toggle whether I'm taking it or not based on how I was feeling, rather than a fixed schedule. This worked really well! As far as I could tell, I was keeping a level of *something* in balance, something affected by the Ritalin; too much build-up and I'd get jittery, but too little build-up and I'd also get jittery.

If I went 'off schedule' for too long - whether by taking it or not taking it! - I would often start feeling similar to how you are describing.

An important bit of context is that I had narrowed down a very specific dose; I was taking 1 and 1/6th pill twice a day, and anything other than that (less *or* more) wouldn't work properly and make me restless. I used tea and sometimes coffee shortly after taking the Ritalin to 'fine-tune' the exact dose. It's possible that with a less accurate dose, it's harder to find the "toggle point" too.

(All of this was okay'ed by my doctor; they gave me a 'safe range' in which I could try out different dosages and see what worked best for me, and they had no objection to the tea/coffee either as long as it was done carefully.)

I don't know whether this works the same for everyone, of course, but I hope it's helpful in figuring out the right dose!