Concerta Questions??? | ADHD Information

Thank you SO much! That really helps. I should be starting my per any minute now, so the PMSing is in full swing! Maybe I will feel better once I start. I am cutting out my caffeine as much as I can, and  got some sleepy time tea, so we will see how tonight goes! Oh, I have been drinking SO much water! I should be drowning! It's funny because my 13 year old has been on it for 3.5 years and he never drinks water! I never told him the side effects because I wanted to see how he truly reacted to the meds, and he never complained of headaches or thirst.  He had trouble sleeping and was moody the first few weeks, but since then it has been a dream for him ~ Lifechanging~ So I hope I have the same reaction - We are so much a like, it will be interesting ...

 

I've been on 36 mg. of Concerta for 3 years now and I feel it works great. The first week was the worst.

I totally agree with Diane V. drink lots of water I have been on it 3 years and still I get cotton mouth and need to take water everywhere I go so I can keep the cottonmouth feeling subsided.

Sleep was terrible the first week too. It got better slowly for me and I am able to sleep all through the night IF I take my meds early like between 8-10am but if I take meds late or drink a caffeinated beverage before bedtime I won't sleep until 2 or 3am.

I basically just learned what my body was reacting like and then worked around it like when the med. rebounds around 4pm-5pm I try to eat at that time so I don't feel so tired for that 45mins. to an hour.

Also I notice that during PMS the med. doesn't seem to work as well and my add symptoms are worse even on med. but seem to get back to normal by the end of the week.

Eventually my appetite did return (unfortunantly for me LOL) and I do still get achy shoulders kinda like you described about your neck and that comes and goes but it's definently not as bad as when I started the med.

I know I gave you more info than you asked for and that these symptoms may not be the same as you experience but just wanted to give you a little insight incase you do experience them as I am on the same med. and dosage.

I'd give it two weeks. You should be able to take tylenol, aspirin or ibuprofen for the headaches. Try to overhydrate a bit and see if that helps too. Lots of water.

Day 3 of Concerta 36mg - a few questions -

1. How long do the headaches last, and has anyone found a med that helps with them? Mine are weird neck aches at the base of my head -

2. It was very hard to sleep the first night, but last night was SO much better. I am a sleeper, I NEED my sleep, so has anyone done anything to help them? ie - melitonin, velerian, ect?

If it wasn't for the headaches it is so far so good, I feel motivated yet calm, have moments of contentment - I have to make myself snack which helps with the moodiness from hunger - I know the side effects go away, but what is the norm? 1 week? 2 weeks? Thanks for sharing your experiences!

I'm taking my 6year old son off vyvanse and trying concerta tomorrow. Anything I should be worried about? I am suppose to go to a black tie ball tomorrow. Do you think I will be able to leave him with my parents? The vyvanse had terrible anger and anxiety side effects. Does that happen with Concerta?It is hard to know how a person will respond to a med; even to the same med in a different formulation. You might want to start the med when you will be with your son to observe. I worry less when I can do this, and we have not had any bad side effects.OK day 3 and i don't see anything results with Kenny and 18mg concerta. Now what? dr says he doesn't way enough to really up the dose.  Military School??? J/K!!! (I tell my boys that might be the next stop!) I am sorry your doc wasn't more help, did he mention trying a different med? Is he a behavior specialist? Sometimes regular MD's are not as familiar with add medication - you could always check with your ins. and see if they have a specialist? Sorry couldn't be of more help :(  So he started today? I would wait it out, ( I guess you have to if your doc isn't in!) My son was moody the first week when he started, but he never had anger issues. I didn't feel moody or angry though  when I started, (just the head aches).  - I know how hard it is because everyone is so different. I would take him out to play if you can, and try to be really loving with him, even if love is the last thing you feel! Sometimes I notice that comming back at the anger and disobedience with extra softness can really help. I call it "holding time" -  when one of my boys is in a rage, I try to lighten up the house with music, or have him pick out a fav book for me to read, I get silly, and smile, (even when I feel like leaving the house crying! :)  I know it is way easier said than done, but it may hold you over until Monday! 

Did you ever try Vyvanse?

OK 18mg Concerta NOT WORKING! I have a monster again. It's a Saturday so I can't reach the dr. GREAT!

I have taken him to a psychiatrist and I don't have much faith in her. She was the only one I could find that didn't have a 6 week waiting list and took insurance. Out psychologist is calling her b/c he's not sure what she's doing. I'm feeling like this is a losing battle.

 

I recall reading somewhere on this site that Concerta isn't a weight based medication so it shouldn't matter what your son weighs.  My son is 8 and weighs 65 lbs and is on 36 mg of Concerta and a 20 mg bumper of Ritalin at noon.  And we still don't think the medication is right cause now afternoons are good and teacher is complaining about more inattention in the mornings so I think we need an all around bump in medication.  I would talk with your physician again and ask why he doesn't want to bump the medication - or like suggested take to a specialist.

No! Keep your chin up! Just keep calling! They may say there is a waiting list, but they will give in if you bug enough:) Stick it out and do what you need to do for your child, it will get better! God bless! concerta is definitely not weight based and 18mgs is a very small amount.  Sorry to say, but the psychiatrist doesn't know too much about ADHD meds if she won't raise the dose.

My son is 8 and concerta took about a week and a half to really start working well for him.  But he did go up to 27 a month ago.  Problem now is that he can't fall asleep with the higher dose and he has literally no appetite until really late at night.  Last tuesday night he could not fall asleep until 1:30 a.m.  We finally let him join us in our bed and that did the trick we were all exhausted waiting for him to fall asleep.  When he was only on 18 mg he had trouble falling asleep but not this bad.  Our doc prescribed Ritalin LA but I'm reading it has larger rebound affects and you have to take it 30 - 45 minutes before breakfast.  Since he can't fall asleep until really late he can barely wake in the morning.  So now the problem is how could we get him up early enough to take the meds 30 minutes prior to breakfast we are barely getting out the door on time as it is.

joejoesmom, I just want to say, try not to be discouraged I SO know how you are feeling right now. Always remember, you are Mom and you have to do what is the BEST for your child's overall health. IMO this means maybe tolerating some behaviors in order for them to eat and sleep normally. Keep advocating, kept rying, but dont settle for things that you feel are not right for your little guy. IMO not being able to sleep until 1:30am is unacceptable. Barely eating is also not ok, if they cant make up for it at breakfast and dinner. Some kids have a hard time taking these meds, my daughter is one of them. If it helps RLA was one of our better meds. She did not do well on Concerta AT ALL. RLA was smoother. She did have some rebound with it and we dealt with it with food/caffeine or an afternoon booster. It was not unmanageable. We have finally settled on Strattera because of all those issues above, but it has its cons too. But for us, overall, it is working for now and she is eating and sleeping. I really have been stepping back and deciding what is best in the big picture though.

 Uggg! I had a whole page written and my 2 yr old DD came over and pounded on the computer!:) Anyway I was just saying that one of my boys friends is taking a med that makes him not eat all day, even at school, when I offer him a snack, or invite him to eat lunch with us he says he only eats breakfast and dinner, he also twitches a lot. I know how I feel if I don't eat all day, so I can only imagine how a growing 10 yr old boy deals with the grumpy tired feeling ! I feel bad for him and his mom because I know they have tried other meds also. I say all this to let you know that you are not alone, sometimes it is so hard to find the right combo. Just keep trying and do what feels right! Maybe gowing back down to 18mg for now might help? At least for the weekend, then you can all get some rest. I hope you have a good weekend!

 

 

Hi everyone, i live in Ireland and my 10yr boy has adhd. we have been on concerta 36mg for over 2 years. Some rebound in the morning, and loss of appetite, but we were ok with it. My biggest problem is that it seems to be to much for him, he is really quiet and a little sad (not depressed or anxious, just sad). His school have recognised this and wondered if his meds were too much, so we started 18mg before easter. This works great, he is bright and bouncy, but school say it is impacting on his school work. But they also say they much prefer this bright boy who now gets in as much trouble as every other kid (0n 36mg he never got in trouble).

Some of the posts mention 27mgs, is this an available dose, as I cannot get it here. I'm wondering if i should give him 10mg ritilan in morning to help him at school, but this also made him really quiet and sad. I want to keep my happy boy, but do not want his work to suffer, any suggestions?

Thanks for all the suggestions. I have decided to start trying the LA
Ritalin starting tomorrow. I always like to start the meds when he's home
with us. Today is a big soccer game and I don't want the new meds to
mess him up he's an awesome player. The are starting him on only 10
mg for this first week and then up to 20 if we feel we need it.   
Considering he has been doing so well in school on the 27 concerta I
hope this won't mess him up. They are starting the Cat 5 or 6 testing at
his school and I don't want him to score poorly his grades have been all
4's on Concerta 27 but he only got a 2 for listening of course. Today we
also have a big passover dinner with my husbands Aunt at her Assisted
Living place and I don't want him acting all wild in front of all the elderly
people. LOL Might scare them half to death. Last night he fell asleep at
11 on the Concerta. I don't mind so much on weekends but weekdays
not being able to get up for school is a bear. Oddly enough he was up by
7:00 today. LOL To the lady in Ireland a special Hello, my mother was
Irish her madien name was O'Dea. I look very Irish myslef too so top of
the morning to you! My husband and I want to plan a vacation to Ireland
some day. As for the dosage of 27 Concerta yes we have that in US. It
seems strange they would not have it in Irleand I wonder if you can find
out and get it. That may help your son the 18 was too low for my son
and the 27 is good for school but like I say the eating and sleeping
problems just really increased once we switched to that dose. Good luck
trying to find it maybe it would be the perfect fit for your son.   Anyone
else have experience with Ritalin LA?  I would try giving it to him super early, Concerta can be taken on an empty stomach but I know it is nice to have them eat a huge meal in the morning, (expecially if they aren't eating during the day) so I know it can be hard to get up that early and make breakfast also. How long has he been on it? My son only had a hard time falling asleep the first couple of weeks, then it was fine. Sometimes if he forgets to take it on the weekends I will give it to him as late as 12:00 and he still goes to sleep fine! You can try a long hot bath, and all that stuff we do when they are babies as far as the 'bedtime' routine. No TV for an hour before bed helps also. I do a reading or toy time for that hour, it's just quiet time in their rooms from 7:00-8:00. It helps all the boys settle down, (and helps me clean up and get ready for bed also!:) Then I go in and pray/tuck them in around 8:00. I hope this helps, it's all easier said than done! :)

I have found that melatonin works great! I give Kenny about 1 dose. Most of the bottles of have found have it coming in 3mg so I cut it up and he sleeps like a lamb. You'll know if you have him too much if he doesn't want to get up in the morning. I only give him a 1/4 of the pill during the school week.

Kenny (6), 18mg Concerta, processes his day during the night. Since he seems to be having trouble with anxiety, he has me up all night with his night terrors.  1/4 of the pill seems to get him through enough to be able to function in school the next day.

I am looking for a new psychiatrist. This one doesn't want to treat his anxiety. 

Thanks Mom of 4 I have tried the bath and bedtime reading we have done that for years but now it just won't work.  Before Concerta he would be in the bath by 7 in bed reading by 7:30 and asleep no later than 8:15.  Now it's so terrible I have even tried putting him to bed later like 9 thinking he might just fall off faster that way.  My doctor did switch us to Ritalin LA the pharmacy told me he can take it with food but it works better to be taken 30 - 45 minutes prior to eating.  He does like to eat a big meal in the morning like today he asked me for left over meat loaf from the night before, mashed potatoes and green beans.  He ate quite a large plate but the night before when I served it for dinner he ate almost nothing.  I'm so sick of him not being able to eat and sleep I'm starting to think the meds just make it all worse.  He's great while at school but we get the mornings and nights when he's all hyper and can't sleep or eat.  And I don't think he eats really anything at school.  It's all very sad to me to see that.  I hope Ritalin LA will be our answer but I was also reading that Concerta has the lowest rebound affect and that Ritalin LA has a bigger rebound affect.  Not looking forward to that.    To Wits end I wanted to try the melatonin and his doctor said the tenex would be better.  Now they are telling me that the tenex needs to be stopped very slowly since it's a blood pressure medication.  I kind of wish we never started the tenes although it has helped somewhat with his agression when the meds start to wear off but as for sleep I'm starting to wonder if that is what keeps him up.  He's only taking a half pill at 5:00 p.m. so I gave him ony a quarter yesterday and then back to the half tonight.  I guess I'll keep cuttnig it out slowly I'm crossing my fingers about the Ritalin LA.  Have either of you tried that med?