Looking for Feedback on Concerta? | ADHD Information

I'm a newbie to the site, diagnosis & stimulants.  While i'm just just intially browsing through, I see much more talk about Adderall than Concerta or anything else.  Any feedback on Concerta?  I'm trying to figure out if its working.  I'm primarily the inattentive type, but still a TALKER.   Thanks!

I took Concerta once and stared at a wall for an hour.My doc wanted me to give it time & take it for another 10 days, but I'm getting so depressed and BLAH... I called him & told him I wanted to switch to adderall, people on this borad seem to like it better overall.  What do you take/how do you feel?I'm supposed to be on the phone with doctor now for something, but I don't remember what it was so I just kinda forgot about it and stopped caring and came on here and hour ago. (i should probably get that adderall lol)

Hey SpaceyLady,

What dose are you on? Usually they start you at the lowest dose available (make sure you do not have side affects), then titrate you up to an effective dose (with the fewest and most tolerable side effects if any). In the early studies done by the manufacturer, the most effective doses for kids was 36mg and 54mg, and for adolescents was 54mg and 72mg. There are more studies for higher doses and for adults.

My daughter takes concerta (on break until school starts so she can gain some weight). On 18mg we saw slight improvement; on 27mg she does very well on this dose but it does not last the full needed time (school and homework). Because she is tiny (has always been small-is 55lbs at 10 years old) and has lost a couple pounds on concerta the doctor is not able to raise the the dose (to try to get a longer time) but will add a second dose after the first one wears off during the day. He has also added guanfacine (Tenex) to help with hyperactivity, memory and weight gain.

I'm on 72mg, which is making me a depressed zombie.  Getting to the higher doses also seems to be having the opposite effect that it should, for I'm WAY distracted! I even rear-ended one of my neighbors with my kids in the car! My psych wants me to wait it out & bring me up by another 18mg in 5 days.  If that doesn't work, he wants me to then try adderall.  He told me this yesterday(before my fender-bender), but I'm so depressed that I just left him a msg thta I wnt to try the Adderall NOW!  I can barely function at work. so frustrating, and being an impatient ADDer, its even more maddening!  sorry for the rant!

I take concerta and it helps me.  I am the major hyper type and it calms me down!!!  I was just upped to 72 mg a few days ago and the doc said I could go up to 108mg.

When I started on 36mg I noticed an immeadiate difference in the positive direction, but the doses ended up lasting only about 7 to 9 hours, I went to 54 mg and noticed improvement, but was having major rebound issues in the evenings.  Now up to 72 mg and have stayed fairly calm and sleep nicely at night. 

I think you should give it a chance like the doctor says before you try something else - it takes some folks time to get the right meds and dose!!! 

When I went up to 54 mg, I noticed that duing the first few days my body must have been adjucting to it, I was a little groggy in the morning for a few hours after I took it, but the rest of the day was fine.  Now I am adjust to 72 mg with the effect of a little tiredness in the morning.

You can give it time or talk to the doctor about it.  Good luck.

Mi mars,

Is your son miserable until his meds kick in or after he takes them? Is he getting poor sleep and that causing the bad mornings?  You should be able to discus the fine tuning of the meds with his doctor.  THere are lots of ways I have seen others on the boards handle their individualization of thier medication.

good luck.

 

Hello my son is 8 and just started concerta this month.  we started out on 18 mg and then 36 mg now he is on 54 mg.  we noticed a difference on 36, but didn't last very long so we moved him to 54, which last about 10 hours.  however, i noticed on the 54 mg. that in the a.m. he is miserable...arguing with everyone, not able to stay on track, just a miserable person.  he isn't normally like that.  when he was on the 18 and 36, he woke up happy....has anyone else experienced this with their child or themself.  he was on focalyn xr before concerta and it only lasted for 5 hours so it wasn't effective for school.  not sure concerta is right because of the mornings.  any advise will be helpful!!!

Thanks for the reply, k-

I'm pretty well-versed on release times, mechansims of action, and the like, probably because I've always liked science.  It also helps that I work for one of the major drug companies.  Everyone IS absolutely different(that's what makes us the world go 'round) and metabolizes things differently...However, being in the business I'm in, I know there are usually side effects to the drugs that don't make the top 3 or 4 in the patient instructions, but can affect more people than the %'s look like.  After poking around some more, I do see that some people become depressed on Concerta, but I'm sure it could also happen on Adderall, Ritalin, adn the rest of 'em.  (Seems like I've read more about irritability with Adderall, though??) But some sie effects are transient,and go away after a couple days, weeks or whatever.  That's what I'm trying to figure out.  I feel so bummed and out-of-it, and it's very hard to do my job because I talk to people all day about subjects where I need to be quick and well-versed.  I just don't think I can wait two weeks just to see--can't have 2 weeks of sick days.  I'm really happy it's working for your son...I feel like if I could have been more focused throughout my schooling, I could have been the Doctor instead of the rep.  Good luck with everything...every day, some scientist, somewhere is getting closer to figuring people like us out! :) And my appetite has been shot, but for me, that's okay, because a lot of my impulsivity came out with food!

 

Hi,

my son (8 yrs and diagnosed with rare chrom disorder with adhd and anxiety)took concerta and I thought he did really well on it, but the school didn't like it.  Maybe becuase it didn't kick in when they wanted it to.  At the right dose, I think it's good.

I think the thing you guys want to pay attention to is release times.  There is a big difference in these "methyl" long acting drugs on the release times and the amount that gets released.  It's different from straight acting ritalin, in and out in 4 hours as I'm sure you're aware.  It's laid out for you in the paperwork.  For example, I believe there's a difference between Ritalin LA and concerta.  I believe Ritalin La has 2 release times..with concerta it's leveled out a little more.  The paperwork will show you a graph of how much med is released and how many hours into the dose it's released.  That's why one med can work for one person and not for another, depending upon their lifestyle and when they need it the most.   One med may have a slower, steadier release, while another may have one boost at the beginning, then 3 hours later another boost.

How is your appetite?  My son is so tiny..always been small like your dd vick.  I notice he binges in the evening when I want him to go sleep, but I just let him eat...ice cream, bread, etc.  I know he's not lying about being hungry.

We tend to just trust the med and the doc.  Find what works for you.  I have no idea about adderall, which many of you seem to be on.  I will look into it.  Look at the paperwork and your lifestyle, talk to your doc about the meds release.  They tend to rollercoaster, so find which ride is the best for you.

Btw...my j got off concerta becuase he refused to swallow the pill (the bus, goes in, comes out in the u know what). can't blame him, he's 4 developmentally. We are considering the patch now...

Take care, and thank you again for your posts, they give me insight into my child's future.  A valuable thing to have that I bet your parents didn't. Sorry so long...

Hope....k

When I was on 38 and 54mg of concerta it was wearing off after 7 to 9 hours, the 72mg, so far is more effective for me.  I have only dosed up for 3 days now though - I will see how it does!!  

 

I feel so dumb-I just started a thread on this. :P  I started on a really low dose, and just got bumped up to 38 MG-but my pediatrician (I'm 15) says it's possible to go higher.  I definitely focus better, and it helps a bit to calm me down, too.  But it wears off after 7 to 8 hours.

Just my take!

Vickie:

Finally, after a year of searching for one that worked well with my son...and the best thing is the school system we belong to pays for it!!!

Mars

Vickie, thanks for getting back to me.  He is miserable before his meds kick in.  I talked to his counselor today and she said to try switching our a.m. routine around.  Right now, I have him getting up, making his bed, getting dress, eating breakfast and then taking his meds.  She said reverse it and see what happens.  It might be too much for him in the a.m. to do it all without meds.  I never considered this because for a year before meds, this program worked and I had not problems.  I think I just get used to how easy he is once the meds kick in so I forgot all the fustration of the a.m. routine.  Sometimes I give him melatonin before bed and that puts him right to sleep and the a.m. seems a bit better when he gets a good rest.

Thanks again!

Mars

Hey Greys_girl_2006,

My daughter's doctor said that the way to get longer effect was to either go up in dose or take a second dose later in the day. He bases it on how well a dose is working and if there are any side effects. Since my daughter is losing weight on 27mg, we will opt for the second dose in the day (at least until we can get a handle on the weight issue). If the weight was not an issue, he would have just increased her to 36mg. We will work with this when school starts.

Hi Mars,

It sounds like you have some good guidance in your counselor.

Good luck

LOL! Tripple digits isnt dangerous. I took over 170 mg of Concerta when i
was on it. But it eventually stopped working.My friend takes it and he says it REALLY works. How powerful is that stuff?

He gave me some and knew that since I was tolerant to amphetamine I would have to take a dose more stronger. It was around 4-500mg or something like that. I thought going that far into the triple digits was dangerous but I was alright.

That was the time I stared at the blue wall for an hour and half and studied it, thought about what the wall has seen and what it was like 30 years ago, and how it feels and how wonderful that wall was because it was offering its service to shelter us and not even charge us. It was a magnificent wall.