They tentatively brought up ritalin when my boys started entering their school age years. Absolutely no.

Sure, we had more work. They are active boys. But guess what? They are excellent athletes now. And all are fantastic writers receiving accolades- my oldest son was in trouble for plagiarism in 4th grade. The school believed there was no way he could write so well. Lol, they finally had to apologize ;)

I am so sorry you fell victim to the chemical conformity, but I am very happy your mother seen the light so to speak and pulled you from the abyss.