CONCERTA | ADHD Information

Balance get your facts straight.  If you are on this site just to bash people who choose to use medications to help their children or themselves than you should leave.  But, Concerta is not Amphetamine based.  It is methylphenidate.  In an extended realease form.  Very similar to Ritalin LA, it just has a different release mechanism. 

Balance, Get your Facts right if you are going to be negative to the things people are trying to do to help themselves and their kids

 

Pappy, if increasing the dose doesn't work, consider the dx   It may not be correct.  His symptoms sound a lot like bipolar.  Not medical advice.  But, just some food for thought.  my grandson is on concerta,,,andnow he is having rages,,which he did before,,but worse,,,don't know if it is concerta,,has anyone or do you know of anyone that has rages,,and what helps my 8y/o is on concerta.  He was on the 18 mg and began having rages I took him to his pediatrician and he said we should increase his dose and see if it helps.  He was on 18 mg for almost 2 years.  Since we moved the dosage up he has been wonderful. No more rages.  The doc said that children can become use to the dosage and it can begin not to work and that is what brings out the rages.  I don't know much about it but I can kinda see what he is tallking about.Anyone concerned or know about the long term effects of a child taking stimulants (Concerta) for years or.....Indefinitely? 
A pill for every ill, if that is the route we choose, then we must know what the side-effects are and be clearly warned by the professional prescribing. If there is contra-indication then this must dictate change, fine tuning of dosage, etc. As each of our personal chemisties is as individual as our finger prints, the process of finding chemical combination that suits us can be a long road. The use of our individual chemical profiles is the only way science will be able to deal with such Neurological Conditions such as ADHD. Chemical Profiling will provide picture and thus clearer indicator of management required. Using behaviour and thinking is the basis for diagnosis now, thus we have only 2/3 of picture, so we will continue to get posts like Mom1273's,Youtalkinto_me. Some of us are lucky and what is recommended has transformed our day to day lives into something better.

[QUOTE=mom1273]Anyone concerned or know about the long term effects of a child taking stimulants (Concerta) for years or.....Indefinitely? 
[/QUOTE]

no, i was told by my sons psych dr that if you reteach a child the good behaviors along with the meds and retrain there brain they will be able to cope wothout them eventually...this is different for each child as ryan previously mentioned.

my son is already able to slowly decrease the amount he is taking.

 

My 9 year old son has been taking Concerta (Ritalin) 36 mg for about 4 years for ADHD and possible bipolar.  (Also tried Adderall XR for two years.)  Though it did  help him in school, for years we were dealing with night terrors, bed wetting, severe mood swings, insomnia, etc.  Recenlty he also began complaining of strange things like his body tickling from the inside and new strange fears that he never had before like he was positive there were spiders in his ears.  With such new complaints, his psychologist added Clonidine and Risperidal.  Though he  finally began sleeping at night, new complaints began.  I finally read that CONCERTA can actually CAUSE psychosis as well as INSOMNIA.  I took my research to the doctor and he agreed we should take him off the CONCERTA.   Though he remained a little hyper, he immediatly was able to fall alseep on his own again for the first time in years, stopped wetting the bed and all other complaints have disappeared.  I feel as if we were adding new meds to take care of the side effects of the others which is a dangerous combination I've been told.  He is back to the child I know & love without all the crazy side effects that were being caused by the meds. (He was so focused in school, I had no idea the meds were causing the strange side effects!)  The doctor was considering diagnosis of schizophrenia due to the subtle psychotic  things he was complaining of, when it was a side effect of the CONCERTA.  He remains 'hyper' for 9 and is back to having a hard time concentrating in school---BUT he's learning to improve this on his own and doing great.  He no longer complains of strange things, no longer wets the bed, no longer paranoid with strange fears.  I was never one to talk negatively about meds but I cant beleive his improvment  after taking him off 5 years of CONCERTA.  
Also, in the past if he missed his dose of CONCERTA, he was completley out of control hyper...however I understand it was because of withdrawl effects.  A couple days...week later things began to improve.  I recenlty chatted with an ER physciain who also had a ADHD child & told me the stimulants are not a good choice for these kids.   It's so frustrating but at this point....I'm keeping him off the meds and so far things are better than they've been in years!  I pray and wish each of you luck.  
my 8 yr old son is taking 36mg of concerta also,the problem im having with him is he sneaks foods and lies and steals.he also breaks down and just starts crying for no reason at all,i'm still wondering if it is due to his med's and he also wets the bed or his pants

   I remember the good old days when you could actually trust your doctor.

   Times have changed......

   Ritalin is a close chemical cousin to COCAINE according to the Drug Enforcement Agency.

   Adderall is Amphetamine based.... just like "SPEED". It is also banned in Canada, Britain and Australia.

   Concerta is also Amphetamine based.

   Strattera just got a "BLACK BOX" warning because it has a tendency to create SUICIDAL THOUGHTS  in your child's head..... JUST LIKE ALL THE "PERFECTLY SAFE, NON ADDICTIVE .... OOPS, SORRY WE LIED.... SSRI ANTIDEPRESSANTS.

   So, I suggest you do your research BEFORE you fill the prescription your doctor gave you for your child. Check out  worstpills.org or  rxlist.com