A question | ADHD Information

The Ritalin drugs do not all work the same. We could not tolerate Concerta, but did fairly well on the Ritalin LA. Chaesmom is right check that one it is a 10 hour also so it wont be too different timewise as the 12 hour Concerta.

Our experience is this:

Jon took concerta for one month (the free card) and loved it. When we saw the price, he decided to not use it (bad insurance prescription coverage) so he used the generic ritalin. He did not like it at all, but this was generic...he said he was jittery and felt weird. He ultimately went with dexedrine, though he REALLY wants to go back to the concerta....

Chase took concerta for a time and it worked reasonably well, but he did not eat at all and lost weight, so when he needed a dose increase we switched to ritalin LA, which has worked SO much better for him.

Is ritalin LA available there? It is a long acting form of ritalin just as concerta is.....different time release form....

Yes, I did some research and we do have the Ritalin LA. I will keep calling the doc from Monday on to see what he has to say...

Good luck!

I am afraid my ds will have to be switched form Cocerta to Ritalin since Concerta supplies are not being constant at all in my country. I only have pills for him until next Friday and I am very stressed out for this.

I have called his doc and he has been telling me about some other drugstores but it is sold out everywhere. The only possible option we have here is Ritalin; actually drugstores are well stocked on this one all the time.

My question is: If both meds have the same active ingredient; aren't them supposed to work in pretty similar ways??. I am very nervous, because Concerta has done so much good to my son.

I just want some imput from those who might know something about this. I know my situation is very atypical but my circumstances are very different from most of you here. so...

Thanks in advance!!

Mariaven39228.2886574074The way my doctor explained it to me, Concerta is coated in a way which, effectively, releases the methylphenidate 3 times a day. I also have a therapist friend who takes 10 mg of Ritalin 4-5X a day. He's been living with ADHD for 15 years, and he's worked with his doctor to figure out that it's best for him to take as needed.

It really does seem like it's different for everyone.
I agree with DianeV. You lose so much more in the concerta process. Therefore most people need more concerta than ritalin for the same period. Our son is on 36mg Quick release ritalin in 3 doses over the day (12mg per dose) and our daughter is now on 30mg total QR in 2 doses (15 per dose) This replaces the 54 concerta and 10 mg QRelease they would take in the mornings. Hope this makes sense!!!We also tried Ritalin LA and found that it only really lasted 6 hours with my son. He also would have a "hyper" period in the middle of the day as the first part wore off and before the second part kicked in. Ritalin and Concerta are the exact same formulation. But the Concerta has a coating which releases it more slowly over the course of the day. (The only reason I know this is because I'm going through the same switch, but in reverse.) If you wanted to take roughly the same dose of ritalin as you were of concerta, you'd have to take smaller doses several times over the course of the day. Concerta was made so kids wouldn't have to take so many pills during the school day.

Disclaimer: I am not any kind of medical professional. Just someone who has done a lot of research for myself because I'm looking for a drug that works.
It is not quite that simple. Once you change the delivery method, things change. Some one taking 3 regular Ritalin a day and one Concerta a day will not have the same result. [QUOTE=Mariaven]

My question is: If both meds have the same active ingredient; aren't them supposed to work in pretty similar ways??. I am very nervous, because Concerta has done so much good to my son.

I just want some imput from those who might know something about this. I know my situation is very atypical but my circumstances are very different from most of you here. so...

Thanks in advance!!

[/QUOTE]

New to this, hope I am doing this correctly. I have an 8 year old boy, we have tried EVERY med. for ADHD Not 1 has worked, now his Ped. Phyc. wants to try Amblify , has any one tried it w/ Zoloft???

Thank you!!