ritalin or concerta | ADHD Information

hi just wonderered if anyone had an opionion on which they thought worked better my boy 9 is taking ritalin once a day 2 tabs in morn in wears off in bout 4 to 5 hrs he has only been taking 4 school.we having been talking 2 people we know they have a daughter with very simalar problems 2 my son and she now takes concerta 18mg it lasts 12 hours and they have seen a lot of positives.i am trying 2 see our pedatrican 2 talk about changing his meds getting 2 c this doctor has been a challenge in its self.any thoughts appreciated.he has been diagonised with mild add.and has sleep and appetite probs with the ritalin and i guess he will have the same with concerta. shanameggs39341.710474537They are the same med, Methylphenidate, Concerta is longer acting  than regular Ritalin.

they are both methyphedinate but are absorbed differently. There are several other methyphedinate medications also. As Vickie says every med is different and every person reacts differently to each. My daughter did much better on Ritalin SR and Ritalin LA than she did on Concerta or regular release Ritilan.

Good luck, it's worth trying something else if what you are using doesnt work for your child.

hi,

my daughter who is 9 was on ritialn  then on concerta, i was told it did the same thing but it was just a diffrent label, sally is now not taking anything as she has tic's, but i would say ritialn worked better for her and she seemed much better, i found concerta took longer to work and did'nt have the same affect.

hope all goes well

take care,

People respond differently to the different meds, even to different formulations of the same med. Concerta is smoother for some, ritalin is best for others. It is a matter of trying some of them out. Good luck with this journey.

thanks 2 everyone 4 replying i will consider what 2do and hopefully get 2 see our pedatriacan soon.thanks again

My son is on concerta. he has been for 3 1/2 years. We went through the appetite and sleep problems, however, once we got the right dose and dealt with the side effects for "a while", both got better.

My son is 10. He was at the same dose for 3 years and started growing fast last year. He went up 3 pant sizes and gained 20 lbs. Doc said his body adjusted to the meds.

He had a med increase over the summer and still hs no sleep issues, however, does not eat all day until after 7pm.

We chose concerta so he didn't need to go to the office at school. We wanted the privacy thing, (live in a small gossipy town, etc) but as time goes on, we may try ritalin. I hear good things from those who are on it. Very positive results. 

I hope this helps!