Anyone had GOOD experience with Concerta? | ADHD Information

I'm not new to ADHD, but I am new to the medications.  I'm absolutely scared to death to give my son a stimulant.  He is 6 years old and already very small for his age to start with.  He has had behavior problems for many years now and we are finally getting around to diagnosing the ADHD.  He is mainly hyperactive, not much issue with concentration or attention.  When I say hyperactive I mean times that are total out of control hyperactive and nothing anyone does can stop it.  I've been desperate for some help with his behavior and we have been seeing a counselor for a month and saw his pediatrician today who prescribed the concerta.  I'm not sure I've read anything good about this drug.  I read threads on here that said it could make the behavior even worse in the mornings and in the evenings when the med wears off.  That is not what I need.  He did fairly well in school last year (kindergarten) but he can be a holy terror here at home.  He makes life in this house very hard on us all.  But he also seems to somewhat take it by spells.  This summer has been the worst to date, but in the past couple of days, after weeks of driving me to tears every day, he has behaved fairly well the past day or two.  Makes it even harder to give a medicine you are already struggling with giving.  Any input here is so appreciated, this is like a whole new world for me.  Thank you!  I can see this board is full of information.My gs has been on most of the adhd meds.  For the past 5 yrs he has been on concerta.[with focalin in the late afternoon occasionally for rebound]  It has been the best med for him.  He is defiantely ad HHHHHHHd. He is now 13 1/2 and puberty has hit hard.  He has grown over 5 1/2 inches since Jan.  And his script hasn't changed.Thank you all for your replies, it is greatly appreciated.  I visited the alternative board and have decided to go with DHA, EPA and PS to start with and see what happens.  If we don't get any results I still have the bottle of concerta to try. 

Granny, thank you for your comment about your grandson's growth, one of my biggest concerns was reading about stimulants stunting growth and my son is so little now, I just can't imagine if that were to happen.

Stims do not stunt growth, they do sometimes slow it but kids eventually make it up

Using a good Omega is a good idea, just make sure the DHA/EPA are at the therapeutic dose.

it was first recommended that my daughter start meds at age 5. she was also VERY small and had very little stamina. We chose to wait. We did add meds at age 9. I can totally understand you not wanting to start stimulants so young. However, we did not have the hyperactive behavior issues. She did not sit still at home or in class, but she wasnt running around crazy either. We did eventually go on stimulants. Every single med in every delivery form is SO different. So many people greatly benefit from the help they can get from stimulants. I 100% understand your fear. Just know anything you try can be stopped. The biggest plus to stimulants is it is in and out of your system. So if your child is not sleeping due to stims, you stop taking them the side effect stops. Believe me, my daughter is turning 13 next week and we've taken many different meds, any side effects she's suffered go away. Take your time deciding, you do not need to make this decision now. Get another opinion, see a psych, talk it over, be comfortable with your decision. Many, many people try supplements first, especially in young children and especially in children whos main concern is not really inattentiveness. Read the alternatives board here, there is a LOT of good information and very knowledgable people. Especially read the threads on Omega 3's and magnesium........you may see success with these and a behavior plan.........Concerta worked wonderfully for my dd for 2 years.  She was finally able to concentrate in school and actually finish school work and homework in the suggested amount of time.  My dd could tell the difference when she forgot to take it in the mornings and would call from school to ask me to bring it to her.  She was 10-11 years old. 

However this past spring she started having issues with her heart pounding.....pulse was on the average side, but the chest cavity would heave with every beat.  We stopped her Concerta and all of her old problems returned.  Her grades plummeted and she started having trouble with peers.  School is about to start and we are currently trying to figure out what we are going to do since she seemed to have a bad side effect from the Concerta.
Concerta is a long acting form of methylphenidate( ritalin) and is often the first med prescribed. Lots of kids have good experiences with Concerta, but not everyone and it depends on the child. Not all meds work for all people.  There is a chance of rebound with all meds, but not everyone has rebound. As off last week, I have turned completely against treatment with stimulants.  Reason being, they do not make you feel like yourself, no matter what anyone says.  I am 19 years old, and only took short acting adderall for a period of two years, on and off.  Combined, I would estimate it to be around 10 months.  Ten months of not feeling like myself, and unable to enjoy the little things in life and beng able to laugh at them.  In fact, my friends noticed that I no longer joked around, and just didn't seem like myself.  I was never hungry, and when I did force myself to eat, food tasted like crap.  When the meds wore off, I was usually very irritable, and not too social.  When it came to sports, I literally didn't have much energy.  I also gave the longer acting version of Adderall a try, and was unable to sleep.  After two days I gave up on it, because it curbed my appetite even more, and the insomnia increased substantially.  In retrospect, I wish my doctor denied me the meds in the first place, and suggested that I join a fitness club, i.e. YMCA.  As teens, we obviously have excess energy that we need to get rid of, and enrolling into something where you can blow off all that steam is clearly a better alternative in my opinion.  However, I am not against anti-depressants, as I currently have to take them after the stimulants have thrown me into a deep dark depression.  I am finally in remission after 9 month, and can only hope that it continues to improve.  Your child is still young, and giving him stimulants might seem like a quick fix, but long term, I think it does more harm than good.  It may not psychologically affect him now, but I just wonder if a child grows up feeling like a zombie due to the meds, how will he adjust when he's older and unmedicated? Another thing about stimulants is, that they definitely take your creativity away, and after awhile, it becomes difficult to brainstorm.  I'm not saying this is going to happen to your son, I am just voicing my opinion on my personal experiences with stimulants, and would much rather handle the matter with a different approach.  I know a lot of people on this forum would possibly suffocate if they went a day without their stimulant meds, and that clearly shows they are dependent on it, which we all know is also addiction.  If you are unsure about stimulants, I would consider contacting the doctor, and asking him for something else.  I'd give straterra a try, and if it doesn't work out, try an anti-depressant.  Anti-depressants aren't always for people who are depressed, they can be used for a lot of things.  With all honesty, stimulants are just a legal prescription analogous to coke, with a lower potency.  After all, those who abuse it, snort it, go figure.. Oh yea, and for some people, stimulants causes hair loss, just thought you might know. Johnnyboi39307.8983449074

Both of my kids have been on Concerta successfully. The oldest cannot routinely swallow pills so we had to move to focalin, which could be sprinkled. On both meds she says she can more easily "hear" the teacher and gets through her work easily. She is really happy on these meds. The youngest (always skinny like her dad) did not gain weight while on concerta so was switched to focalin and has been gaining slowly. She has gone from Ds and Fs to As and Bs and is now keeping friends. Her frustation level is much less and she is happier and more fun to be around. Both of them have expressed a desire to keep up with the meds.

The response to the different meds is different for each individual. With these meds, when they work well, they are great; but for some the side effects outweigh the benefits; this is very individual. If you do not get to an effective dose or if you see too many side effects, I would ask to be referred to a child psychiatrist experienced in med managment. They usually have more experience than a pediatrician with meds. Also, keep in mind that a med trial does not have to be permanant. If you do not like the results, stop the meds.

Meds is only part of treatment for ADHD. Look at the marble thread by ogram (top thread of the parents board) for a behavior plan that is helpful. Other things available if needed are social skills classes, and other useful treatments.

Well I know it is only day one....  but a little over 6 hours after giving my son the concerta (18mg) it sure hasn't given him a single side effect.  His appetite is there, his personality is sure the same (my mother was afraid it was going to alter his personality), and he is still active and talkative.  He isn't bouncing off of the walls or anything, but with his brothers not here to take his aggression out on, it isn't as easy to tell if there is a difference in him or not.  If there is a difference, as of now it isn't drastic.  He isn't being bad but he was still his little fiesty self when I asked him to do something.  He did jump around a bit on the couch but has since stopped.  He tends to get worse in the evenings which may not be a good thing since by then the concerta will probably be wearing off.  I guess it's just a wait and see thing.  Well, I'm going to try the concerta.  My back is against the wall.  My son has been worse.  His behavior today has been so out of control I have been in tears twice.  Thank you everyone for your input, I needed it a lot.