WELCOME -
I TOO WAS STARTED ON CONCERTA BUT 36 MG TO START AND I NOTICED RIGHT AWAY AN ABILITY TO FOLLOW A CONVERSATION. IT WAS MEMORABLE. I BEGAN IN APRIL AND BY AUG. WE INCREASED IT TO 54 MG I THINK. PROCRASTINATION AND SOME ORGANIZATION IS STILL A STRUGGLE AT TIMES. PERHAPS YOU SHOULD DISCUSS YOU DOSAGE WITH YOU MD?
BESIDES THIS FORUM THAT I JUST BEGAN TO USE. I HAVE READ A BOOK SUGGESSTED BY MY MD. "DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION" BY TWO MD'S WHO BOTH HAVE ADD ALSO. EASY TO READ, I FOUND VERY HELPFUL.
HANG IN THERE! LISA-50
Hi All,
I am 44 and was diagnosed 4 weeks ago. I began 18 mg Concerta 10-4-04. My question is, should I feel anything? I was told the med should work immediately, but I feel nothing. Please help!
Hi I have recently started meds. I am 49 and have raised 2 adhd boys, I just started meds about 4 months ago and they seem to make a big difference. After the doctor finally got the dosage of concerta, we added ritalin as a boost in the afternoon cause it seems to wear off. You may want to check with md about a boost if the meds aren't working. You can mix meds if needed, just be sure to keep communicating with your Dr how it works. Don't Give up when they find the right dosage and or combo, you will see a big improvment! Good luckI started adderall a week ago for my ADD and I am not feeling any better yet either, my doc said it does take a while on this med. I have just noticed irrability and having trouble feeling content when the meds wear off. Anyone taking adderall??
Hi Folks,
I'm Graham, 55 Male Divorced. UK resident
5Yrs back thought I had Tourettes, 6 months ago Diag confirmed, my son is also adhd and has probs at school, mother refuses to acknowledge Tourettes,
Taken loads of info to his school hping they will read it, they havent really read it thoughrly yet but I'm banging on the door and I think Im getting through to them to be proactive.
My situation now is that I'm on Paroxetine (paxil) 20mg for agravated deppression and concerta XL for my ADD (confirmed)
I'm going through hell with headaches and my Tourettes have come back with a vengence. as well as OCD, ODD, Moods, all my little comorbid buddies from Tourettes
This is a roller coaster for me, trying to get doctor appointments (haha) before I explode, now I have read that with Tourettes I should not be taking Concerta XL,
The thought of challenging my phsyc really upsets me.
any ideas excluding suicide ?? :-))
I am 44 and tried ritalin when I was first diagnosed in the spring. It seemed to help somewhat, but made me very, VERY sad and unhappy. So much so that I haven't tried another drug yet. I haven't found an ADHD specialist for adults here so feel like I am a guinea pig for the doctors.
I am now trying St.John's Wort, fish oil and fish liver oil, and a real (absorbable, therefor expensive) multivitamin. I'll let you know how it works. I use lists, reality checks and am trying some of the other stuff for organisation that the books recommend.
Right now I am reading "You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!, A self help book for adults with ADD" by Kate Kelly and Peggy Raimundo. It is good, and since they both have ADD, it is laid out in an understandable and readable format. Another book that I have is "Women With Attention Deficit Disorder" by Sari Solden. I like it too as it addresses women's issues, such as the sheer volumn of things we are expected to accomplish in a day.
rainraven
I have now switched from concerta to strattera. I'm at 40 mg for 2 days now. Makes me a little drowsy with headaches. I can see this is not going to be easy finding the right combo of meds. Like you Rain, I am in an area with no support groups, specialists or coaches. I just do a lot of reading.
Talk to your Dr. and let them know that you don't believe it is helping.
There are other dosages and other meds out there--- With Wellbutrin, it took exactly 6 weeks for it to kick in.
Essielou
Hi Fraz,
I was diagnosed earlier this year at age 45. It has taken some time to get the correct medications and dosages worked out. I ended up on Concerta (36MG) and it seems to work well. It is no cure to be sure, but it allows me to make it through the day and keep things going pretty much forward.
Proper diet, exercise, and rest along with your medication can help significantly.
I also found that once I was on Concerta, I tapered off my coffee drinking. I do not drink any caffeine now and it seems to help as the Concerta can work steadily throughout the day without the caffeine "roller-coaster" disrupting thing.
I am 45 and diagnosed about 4 weeks ago also. I was put on Stratera- 60 mg and it worked great. I felt a big difference. My brain slowed down and I finally got some sleep. I could actually function. Then, the doc switched me to Adderal. It was terrible. I never slowed down. In fact I just got faster. I decided to go back on Stratera. It works for me and is not as harsh. Good luck with you meds. Maybe drugs aren't enough; maybe you need omega-3 essential fattyhey
18 mg is nothing but they generally start on low prescriptions because they want to drug you out. they want to go slowly up until you are sure you get the right perscription
im 15 i take 54 mg and 1 and 1/2 pills of ritalin Which is way more than you are taking
btw I read "Driven to distraction" it was increadible.... sometimes i there describing something ... in the back of my head i say "sh*t how many times have i done that" lol anyway
Good luck and all the best to you
- Amanda
dosage varies a lot from individual to individual with concerta :) i feel a big difference in mood when i go from zero to 18/day - it stops a lot of the negative gyration my mind likes to do unmedicated, and it is easier for me to say what i'm thinking. but concentration is still quite difficult. 27mg makes conversation very easy and concentration easier but still difficult. i may try higher doses soon because the effect is still subtle at 27 and through using the drug i have stopped being afraid of getting addicted (I have stopped for a week or a month a few different times with no bad side affects at all, except being ADD again hehe)
my brother on the other hand finds 72mg/day is good for concentration. like me, he can go from full dosage to nothing the next day/week and have no negative affects. but like you he felt almost nothing on 18/day.
try a higher dosage when the doc lets you, and see what happens then :)
also for me regular exercise is as important as medication in terms of making me feel well. maybe you're already set in that department though :)