Concerta side effects and a few questions | ADHD Information

Do you guys know anything about any deaths resulting from use of Concerta or side effects from long term use?  My son is seven. He took Ritalin all last year, but the emotional side effects were horrible!  Now he has started Concerta and has less of the side effects, but I am concerned about the long term effect of amphetamines on his body.  I have heard about the deaths from Adderall XR and Canada having withdrawn it from the market, but how does Concerta compare?  Any info would be appreciated. 

P.S. His Dr. assures me that Methylphenidate is one of the safest drugs on the market.

Hello,

I wish I did know more about the long term side effects.  I have a list of questions I want to ask my Dr. on friday.  I really think I want to change to adderall because it has been around longer and the fact that you can get that in a generic brand.  I am not a Dr. so I do not know what the differences are.  But from what I have read.  From the posts on here and through info of the web.  I think the Dr.s like to start you on the small stuff first.  I think adderall is the next level of stimulant medication if concerta does not work for you. 

Brandi

Thank you everyone for you reply.

I have an appt. with my Dr. on Friday.  So I will be discussing this with him.  I am wondering if he world change me over to Adderall.  I would like to be able to get something in generic. 

Brandi

You doctor probably has you on too high of a dose.  The dosage is not based on weight.  My son Matthew is 7 and weighs 53 lbs.  He was started in August 2005 on the lowest dose of 18 mg for a month which did not help him and then was increase this month to 36 mg which seems to be the right amount for him.

The side effects for him are appetite suppressant and trouble going to sleep at night.  We make sure he has a big breakfast because he doesn't eat much of his lunch at school and most of the times only picks at his dinner.  I have to lay down with him at night to get him to go to sleep but he usually doesn't fall asleep before 10 p.m.

Concerta may or may not be the right medication for you but before you jump around from one medication to the other talk with the doctor about starting you on a lower dose of Concerta.

Good luck.

Kristine

Brandivk,

yes, there is a generic form of Adderall and its definately cheaper. My
prescription of Concerta cost me a whooping of bucks (with GHI
medical insurance and at Walgreens). I dont know if that's abnormal or
not. I checked the preferred formulary list and Concerta is one of the
medications it covers so I really don't know what's going on.

And as for the medication wearing off? yes. The natural high may just be
gone, but I can still experience some of the effects. Because it's so
subtle, I'm not sure if it's only that I think it's working. The worst
part of the experience is insomnia. I have a hard time falling asleep and
even when I sleeping, I feel as if my mind's still more active. It's odd,
really.

But for whatever it's worth, I'm switching to Adderall because I cannot
afford to pay 82 bucks for Concerta. And generic Adderall is only about
40 something dollars without insurance so it'd be even cheaper with GHI.
Talk to your doc about it. If Concerta is not helping you at school, you
should definately change the med.

P.S. you and I are similar on the sleeping and doodling in class.mutton38612.7928819444

Hello

In reference to:  Adderall

You may want to consider other options if you have a predisposition for any type of panic attacks,anxiety or depression.  This medicine, (Adderall) will bring it out in you if you do.  You will feel totaly exhausted, grouchy, moody, and utterly hopeless with yourself, when you are coming off this drug. 

I do know that there are people out there that do truley amazing on it. They are so lucky. 

But, like I said, if you have a predisposition for any type of mood problems, even if you are not showing them now, they will show there ugly little heads, and you won't know what hit you, on this medicine. You never know what lerks in family genes.

Lots of Luck

  I've been on Concerta now for about 6 weeks and can tell you this is a wonder drug for me personally. I noticed changes for the positive the first day or so after taking it. I too have Inattentive ADD, and it gives me the perk I need to want to motivate myself. As far as side effects I experienced they have been extremely minimal. The only complaint I have is the loss of appetite. I have to force myself to eat other than that I have no problems getting to sleep, or anything else (Except for the boost in energy, which I feel is a plus).  Concerta isn't for everyone, and theres nothing wrong with testing the waters with other meds until you fing the right one for you.I just started taking concerta too. So far it's been working pretty well for
me. I've noticed a incredible speed up in my work esp. since it would
used to take me one hour to get a half an hour task done.

I'm not feeling a lot of extra energy or a sort of "caffiene boost" like when
you've had a cup of coffee which I think is a good thing. Meaning: It sort
of allows you to be your normal self, but with extra focus. Concerta also
helped me slow down the dozen or so thoughts in my head so that I can
concentrate on what's more important. I'm getting more things done
now.

As far as side effects go, I do get occasional slight headaches and
sometimes a barely noticable feeling of a constant throbbing in my head.
But I've started it so it might be normal. As far appetite goes, I must force
myself to eat. You should at least give it two weeks for youe body to
adjust. I'm a college student too with similar problems that you went
through.    

After two weeks, if the side effects do not subside, perhaps your
medication dose is too high. 54mg of Concerta does seem high for
someone to start with. Weight has a lot do with the dose too I suppose.
I'm 5'4" 110 pounds and have been prescribed only a 18mg dose of
Concerta and I can already feel the effects. Even though this seems to be
working, I'm considering switching to Adderall XR partly because it seems
to be effective and the cost for Concerta is a little too high for my tastes.
Good luck on everything and I hope your school work improves.mutton38611.4298263889

Mutton,

Thank you for your reply.  I think the concerta is way to expensive also.  Can you get Adderral for a cheaper price?  With my insurance I pay 50.00 for concerta I wish they had a generic for it.  There is a generic for adderral right.

By the way I am 5'7 and way 160 so maybe that is why he started me on such a higher dose than you.  I also get the feeling like the medicine is wearing off  sooner each day.  Do you feel like that?

Hello Everyone, In advance I am sorry this is so long! 

My name is Brandi and I am 22 years old.  I am the mother of a 1 year old sweet baby boy named Tommy.  I currently work about 30 hours a week for a law firm and attend school at our community college part time.  I am working towards a nursing degree  .  When I started back to college in January of 05.  I noticed something just was not right.  I new I always lacked in the academics dept.  But when I was going through school I just thought it had to do with the fact I was not interested in what I was being taught.  I would sleep or doodle in class it was horrible.  I really do not know how I graduated.  So now that I have started college.  I thought it would be easier becasue I wanted to be there and learn the info to better myself with a college degree.  So now here I am frustrated with myself because I was still doing the same thing and feeling the same way.  Mainly overwhelmed because I just could not pay attention.  It seemed like no matter how much I studied I still just would not do that good.  So I think I have been dealing with this since I was a child. and just now started to do something about it. 

I have recently been diagnosed with Adult ADD inatentive type.  My Dr. started me on some medication called concerta 54mg.  Of course I only take it once a day.  I started this medication on Tuesday the 13 of September.  So I have not even been taking it a whole week.  But until I go back to my Dr. next week I have a couple of questions to ask.  I would like to know if any of you have had the same side effects I am having and if they go away with time.  Or maybe I need to try another medicine.

The first day I started the medicine I noticed a BIG difference.  My ride to work was actually nice I was not looking all over the place daydreaming.  I was paying attention to what was important.  ME DRIVING!  All day I was pumping out work.  I seemed like I had the drive I should have to get things done.  Honestly I felt like I needed to be doing something at all times.  Then about 5:00 pm hit and my head started hurting and I felt like I was in a fog again.  It felt like the medicine had worn off for about an hour.  Then it kicked back in.  It was not as effective as it was earlier in the day but I could feel the medicine again. 

Well over the next two days my headache came sooner about 2:00pm instead of 5:00p.  When this happens I just feel like I am looking at my papers at work with a stupid look on my face.  I can not focus on the work I am trying to do.  This is a horrible feeling because I feel great up until that point.  I have felt normal over the past few days.  Well, at least untill my headaches come.

Also,  Everynight I have taken this medicine I have been dreaming.  They are intense dreams.  When I wake up I do not feel like I have gotten any deep sleep because of all the dreams.  I feel tense.  Like I was tensed up in my dream and just could not relax.  My upper shoulders hurt and the nape of my neck feels sore.  I also have noticed that I get up earlier and even though I do not feel like I got deep sleep I do feel like I got enough sleep.

Last thing I promise:)

Before I started taking this medicine I had no problem going back to sleep in the middle of the night.  I have started waking up about 4:00a and it takes me right at a half hour to an hour to go back to sleep.  I have also noticed my appetite has decreased a lot.  Not completly but I don't have the urge to eat as much as I did before.

Thanks, if you actually got to the end of this.  Any info would be greatly appreciated.  I would love to hear personal stories.  about how it worked or didn't work for you.  Or what you next step was in the event it did not work.  And also does it seem like the medicine is not working for me.  Is there anything else that would be better.

 

Concerta is a Methylphenidate based medication and not an amphetamine
like Adderall. Methylphenidate is absorbed much more slowly into the
body than an amphetamine based medication.

Most of the sudden deaths that occur with Adderall has a lot to do with
patients with a history of cardiovascular problems.