HI CR12345MR
My daughter is also on Concerta and beginning to think it hasn't worked at all. What is your daughter taking now? Mine is been on it for two months. She is taking 27MG, I don't see any difference as far as her school work goes.
What has made her mood improve? thanks much
I'm on 72 mg of Concerta, and have been for almost six months. It works pretty well for me, the only problem is when it wears off (my doctor is considering a lower dose in the evening) and sleeping. He gave me melatonin for the sleeping, though. It's the same as any medicine, for some people it works, for others it doesn't. It definitely hasn't made me more whiny or depressed, though.My son is 6 yrs old and has been on Concerta for about a year now, and for at least the last 6 months I have notice his mood swings becoming worse and more often. His behavior consists of: non stop complaining about everything, back talking, wining, nervousness, doesn't seem to care about much, not concentrating at school (sometimes but not always), not finishing all school work, and getting him to do homework in the evening is a chore. No matter what I do his never happy. Some of the things my son says to me, his dad, his step-dad, and step-brothers are horrible and very mean. My son and his step-dad used to be close but now it seems that my son only wants me to do things with him, not to include his step-dad. He even makes comments about being nervous when his dad comes to his soccer games or school functions. I guess what I am needing to know is, am I wasting my time with this medication? And is Concerta the reason for these bad behaviors? Also, is there something else I can do or give to my son to help him with ADHD that isn't going to have these side effects? I'm really at the end of my rope I need someone to explain this to me. I miss my happy boy.
Welcome sunflower,
There are many things that could be happening, and sorting it all out can help point to posible solutions. What kind of doctor diagnosed and is managing the treatment for your son? I only ask because pediatricians are not as good at all of this as psychiatrists and these meds do work is they are at the wrong dose or are the wrong med for the person. You and the doctor are a team working toward the best treatment for your child, for now and as his needs change.
If the med is at too low of a dose, your son is still dealing with the difficulties of having ADHD and this can cause anxiety. Can you identify the source of the anxiety? Getting the proper dose of med may be enough, or a second med for anxiety might be needed (but if continued stress from ADHD symptoms is not addressed, the anxiety will not be releived). Also, the period when the meds are wearing off can be tough for kids and they can exhibit all kinds of issues during this time if rebound is occuring.
Read ogram's marble system thread (top thread of this board) for a positive reinforcement behavior plan. These kids do much better with a reward system than having things taken away/punishment for bad behavior (negative reinforcement).
Kids with ADHD are thought to lag thier peers in maturity by 1/3. This means your 6 year old needs coaching and guidance as though he were 4. You need to teach him how to express his anger in appropriate words and praise him each time he makes even baby steps toward the behavior you are seeking.
I have been through all of this with my daughter, peeking in full rages at the age of 9 (ADHD, anxiety and depression causing school failure and conflict at home). This year, with appropriate meds (concerta and guanfacine), a positive reinforcement plan, and coaching on behavior, my daughter is succeeding in school, getting homework done easily, is happy and pleasant most of the time.
There are many supportive people here for you though this tough journey.
Sending a hug.
I'll add my 2 cents here but realize I'm not a professional.....just a mom whose son has these same challenges. My son is about to turn 14 so I am 8 years farther down the ADHD road than you are at this time. My son also takes Concerta. He is actually on a combo of Concerta/guanfacine(Tenex)/Zoloft.
My very first thought that came to mind reading your post was your child's behavior may be rooted in anxiety. Anxiety shows up in all sorts of behavior in kids......but my doctors told me that in younger kids it often times shows up as intense anger. Some parents mistakenly believe than anxiety only shows up as fearful behaviors...... this is NOT true and couldn't be farther from the truth. Please discuss this with your own professional.
For us.....until we treated the underlying anxiety..... treating the ADHD was fruitless. My son in the younger years did show some signs of being wired for anxiety as a baby and toddler, however, overall he was this wonderfully happy boy, full of energy and questions, affection and smiles. It wasn't until first grade started and the demands of school started increasing that I saw my little guy start slipping into a more moody, angry, and disturbing emotional state. Each higher year in grade school resulted in increased demands and increased anxiety for my son. It makes me tear up to even think back to that time. By 4th grade, the anxiety about school reached an all time high and we sought professional help with it. He started therapy and was put on Zoloft which for him, was a miracle drug. (It doesn't work for all though).
By 5th grade, we started stimulants to treat pretty severe inattentive symptoms of ADHD. We tried to start stimulants in 3rd grade, however, we had a really bad reacton to Adderall and it literally scared us away from all stimulants for 2 more years. We were ignorant and uniformed about how stimulants work and in hindsight, it was a really bad decision to abandon our attempts to find the right stimulant for 2 whole years. Lesson learned. Very hard lessoned learned. By the way...... I'm not dissing Adderall.....it is a great drug for some kids....just because my kid had a terrible reaction to it doesn't mean others don't do well with it. Brain chemistry varies from child to child.
My son's formal dx is ADHD Primary Inattentive with Generalized Anxiety. At one point he also was dx'd Dysthymic, which is low grade persistent depression....kind of like an ongoing negative attitude about everything (see's the glass half empty instead of full).
With proper therapy, both psychotherapy and drug therapy, my son is doing well now. The key breakthough for us was to find a psychiatrist to manage his meds tightly....we've tried many many meds and lots of various doses. Another breakthrough was to find a great psychologist (we wanted a male psychologist) who does cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which anxiety usually responds well to. The third thing we did to help our son and whole family was get parental training on how to best discipline my son, plus I myself went into therapy to better understand why I was having trouble consistently following through on discipline. All I can say is that all this effort paid off. My family is by far better functioning now than it was when my son was in elementary school.
Good luck and hang in there. These are tough issues. Okiemom
okiemom39095.3000694444Hi, our experience with Concerta was that it made my dd depressed and withdrawn. She only lasted about 6 weeks before we switched, and her mood drastically improved. In hindsight, the 36 mg dose was too high, and the 27mg was too low as far as attention was concerned. It took about a month after the switch, but her mood did improve.