Well it sounds like you are on the right track. Doctor may have to add something else with the Concerta discuss this with them. No medication is going to take the ADHD away totally. You could overdose them and make them a zombie but no one wants to do that. You have to ask yourself "Is he better now than before medication?" It sounds like the answer would be yes. They have to work with the medication and learn how to calm themselves down. The meds can do wonders but he has to be able to understand that he has to do some work to.
Have you thought about behavioral therapy? The reason I ask is, my 4yr. ds is also just like the way you describe yours. He is on the same Medication (Concerta 27mg.) the only thing different is he is also on Clonidine .1mg to help him sleep and also it is supposed to help with the hyperactivity part. He just started this one 3 nights ago and it does help him go to sleep but haven't seen the other effect yet. So I will let you know. They say it could take a week or so to build up in his system before I will see the calming effect.
Hope this helps and Good Luck I know how frustrating it can be!
Our 8 yo son was diagnosed with ADHD-combined a little over month ago. He is MUCH more hyper than inattentive. He was put on 18mg of Concerta, quickly upped to 27mg, and then upped again to 36mg. At 36mg, he absolutely could not fall asleep until midnight. We took him back to 27mg and he has an occassional night of difficulty but generally is doing much better with the side effects.
My questions is: When do you know if you have the right dosage? What am I supposed to see? I have heard parents say that their child is "under control" after meds. He is definetely doing much better at school and we see improvement at home. I would not say, however, that he is calm and under control. He is still the most active child in a group, he still talks almost non-stop, and is still very busy. If the dosage is right, what happens to these behaviors?
If hyperactivity is still a problem, you might discuss guanfacine (tenex) with the doctor. It is like clonidine but less sedating. My daughter is on guanfacine to augment concerta and is doing gread 24/7. The guanfacine is given am and pm and we have the option to add it after school. The combo is great for school and the guanfacine has a calming effect as once the concerta is worn off. Guanfacine has been tested (and should be approved next year) for ADHD. The guanfacine alone, was not quite good enough for my daughter at school. More information:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061116/nyth220.html?.v=2
http://www.peacehealth.org/kbase/topic/detail/drug/hw164961/ detail.htm