Sons Concerta not working? | ADHD Information

Thanks for the pep talk, lol! I changes his appt to this thursday afternoon to discuss raising the concerta. It does seem to have the least side effects than most others he has been on. He is just so stubborn to change. If anything is different he won't try it. but there is no way he will make it through school the way he is now. We also have a 504 and have been thinking about an IEP. sounds very similar. I appreciate the info, thans, PamWell I finally got him to take the 45mg instead of the 36 this morning. I have no idea if it will do a thing but at least when we go to the psych in a couple of days we will know if increasing a little did a thing. he probably wants him on 54mg but I had some 27's and 18's left over and decided to try those first. I had to stand over him like a baby and watch him take his meds. At least he did it because we have new student orientation today at 8 am and he will not remember a thing he is told on the 36. I just hope it does something.

I feel your pain.  My son is also 11 years old and has tried all the long acting stimulants.   He switched to Concerta about a month ago.  This weekend  he will be going from 36 mg to 54 because his focus still isn't the best on the 36 mg.  So far eating and side effects have been the best on Concerta.  I hate to say it but I feel like singing it's only just begun because we have been down this path before.  He was on Adderall xr 25mg the longest and it really worked well.  However the not eating side effects and belly aches I could not allow to keep going any more.  Last year he lost 8 % of his body weight and he did not grow in hieght at all!  So we had to try other things.  My husband and I have discussed with our son about switching to a short acting twice a day but he hates the idea of going to the nurse during school.  I can't blame him, he feels different already because of having ADHD so I am trying to avoid it for him.  However if Concerta doen't work we may not have a choice.  One good thing this year with school is we had a 504 plan put in place at the end of last years school year and the school has agreed to do an evaluation to see if an IEP plan is needed.  Hopefully that will help him in the classroom along with the meds.

Just hang in there ...you could always have him try the 54 mg and if it doesn't work go back to the 36 mg.

Keep in touch.

Marcie

I haven't been here in a while because my 11 year old has been doing very well on Concerta 36 and Zoloft 50. This summer everything seems to have gone down the toilet. He is not this way with other people, only myself and sometimes with his father. the psych wanted to wait 2 weeks into school to look at upping the Concerta to 54 which makes me uncomfortable, and he still refuses to try the tenex. I am worried as he is finally eating and gaining weight this year on the 36 but he thinks he is sooo entitled to everything he wants. He is also forgetting to do his routine things in the am like brushing teeth and washing face and his minor chores without a huge fight. I have become very discouraged when he was doing so well then suddenly it all went to hell!I feel we should be adressing these issues before school starts not after but the psych insists. Just getting very frustrated with the whole thing again it is like we are starting from scratch. He has been on almost everything out there ecxept short acting Ritalin and I don't know if I could get him to take it during school. He is very stubborn and does things his way or no way. AARRGGHH I can't take much more of this.

Yeh my sons 54mg concerta is wearing off between 1-2.  I talked to him today again about going to the nurse once during the day so that afternoons and homework were not so hard and he doesn't want to hear it.  He is afraid of getting picked on more that what he already does from his peers.  Kids can be so mean.  He said "let's just try something different".  Well we are running out of options.  He has tried so many and Concerta seems to be the least side effects.  Has anyone heard anything about the Patch Daytrana?  That would be the last one to try.

Thanks

Marcie

Just pure speculation here,  but I would think they would last the same regardless of dosage.   It could be that with better symptom control throughout the day,  it gives the appearance of lasting longer because they hold it together better.   That seemed to be the case with my daughter.  On 18 mg,  we were having rebound/mood issues in the afternoon.   When we increased to 27 mg, that all went away.  I think she functioned better on 27 mg and hence she wasn't burned out in the afternoon from working so hard to keep it together during the day.

Thnx for all yr replies-I feel sd much better knowing that you hve all hd similar experiences. (altho' I wish none of us had to .....)

Dr still not got back to me (typical)-but ed psych has suggested that meds be taken when he gets to school rather than before he gets on bus), so will try that.....

Just wondering-this is a bit of a silly and probably v. obvious question, but does the 54mg of Concerta last longer than 36mg-OR is time irrelevant? Does it actually hve a stronger effect?

One last thing-I hear every day from my son that this kid or that got sent into the corridor for acting up etc-BUT why when my son does a/t that it must be his ADHD making him do it and I get called abt meds immediately?

Past being sad -am now angry!!!!

Sazz

 

My sons doctor said a lot of people have longer usuage with the higher dose.  Unfortunately it's so far not my sons case. He takes it at about 6:50 and is wearing off between 1-2.  Sazz does your child have a 504 plan or iep?  Sounds like if he doesn't he needs one.  There are accomadations that the school can do based on what your child needs.  Request a formal evaluation and send it to the school certified mail!

Keep us posted

Marcie

My son definatly improved his "lasting ability" from one dose to the next. now on the 54 it is lasting much longer than the 36. just how long we won't know because we have not started school yet. sazz41, it sounds like the school is giving you some trouble. there are better ways of dealing with the meds if he is having problems. our 3rd grade teacher called him out about his meds every day and what seemed like a bitter rude way. where in 4th grade he was dealt with much differently and it was that teacher that actually convinced him to give the meds 1 more try after refusing them for almost 8 months. She never called us and never had a problem dealing with him, medicated or not. It made all the difference. I truly believe a good teacher can make all the difference. HorseMom you are right they have to hold it together for so long it is hard. when given the proper dose for their needs it makes them easier to deal with.We also take at just before 7am and seem to have a dip around 1-1:30 but he seems to come back around till 5 pm. I am sorry Marcie that it just isn't lasting long enough for you. This can happen and I know they hate to go to the nurses office for a dose of whatever. We also have a 504 plan but I am anxious to see how it works in middle school with more teachers and an understanding that he should be more mature than he is. We shall see how it goes.I have heard of the Daytrana Patch it is also a Ritalin based med. If he is willing to wear it I wouldn't be hesitant to try it out. We have never tried it because my son has VERY sensitive skin issues and gets blisters from cloth bandaids. It is something to definatly discuss with your doc as it might be a viable choice. It also is supposed to work for 12 hours although I am not sure of it's track record. I am seeing a rebound off the Concerta at about 5pm. if that holds through school we will be good but I won't know until then.

I had my sons team meeting today to go over 504 plan and it went well.  I even got an email from one of his teachers after giving us a heads up when a timed math test will be.  Great start anyway  But I am cautious because it is early on and we have been doing this for so long... However this is the first official full year with a 504 plan.  So hopefully it will continue.  My son is on a team (there are three 6th grade teams) that only has 3 main teachers instead of 5 or 6.  Which going into 6th grade the school pych suggested this at the end of last year.  I think it was a good choice.  They seem to understanding that adhd is not a "maturity" thing and he does need extra help.

Hopefully your sons year starts the same way.  When does his school start? 

We have a call out to his doc to try the patch or do whatever because it is extremely hard for him after 1-2.

Thanks for your support

Marcie

My son starts school Sept. 9th, this coming Wednsday. Because he is in a special science program, he alo has only 2 teachers to deal with and a coach for PE. I think this will be helpful in dealing with the 504 and other issues as well. I hope that the patch will carry him through the day better without side effects. It was a thought from our doc but because of his skin sensitivity we decided not to  use it. let me know what happens and how it all works out.We started a bump of 5mg of Focalin before his am Concerta hoping it would make a difference in the morning cluster f around here and it did nothing at all! The doc told me it would take 15 minutes to kick in and it never did. What a hell of a morning we had. my DH is out of his mind with stress and just yells and sceamms at DS. The 54 of Concerta is working great through the school day so far. but at home it is like living in hell here. his pscych never called me back to discuss this at all so I am on my own for now. My friend tells me to give him 10 mg. but it took soo long to even show a glimmer of working I don''t know if it is worth it, plus he won't eat if Igive it early. I just had arm surgery and it is making things hard around here, my hubby resents me even more.AAhhhhhhhhh what to do?

I'm sorry you are having such a difficult time in the morning.  My son and I were too and kind of came up with a solution together after the first week of school.  I sat him down when neither one of us was frustrated and said the mornings can't go on like this anymore what do you think we should do?  He came up with a schedule of when each thing should be done by.  I give him an hour in the morning to get ready.  He can't get ready sooner then that we have tried. It's not perfect but it gives us guidelines so there is a goal to shoot for and it helps him.  I let him pretty much come up with it with a little coaching so that he was good with the plan too.  The other thing we are starting again is a reward chart because of attitudes and negetive behaviors.  Pick 5 things a day to work on and each one is worth .20 cents if he does each thing good during the day that is  a day.  My son likes money so this motivates him.  One thing you can incorporate is getting ready in the morning good.  Also have him lay out close at night. 

He doesn't take his concerta until about 5 minutes before leaving however he is taking 5mg of Methylin at 3pm when he gets home to help with homework.  It is suppose to be a short acting form of concerta.   I think it is helping.  I can tell with the hyperness.

Let me know how you make out and I'll be thinking about you.  I hope your arm is ok.

Marcie

Thank you marcie4164!! I wish you the best of luck as well!! 

omg can you believe his psych had never heard of methylin? I was shocked! So he gave me an Rx for ritalin short acting. We tried it this am and it took a little longer than 15 min but there was no screaming or yelling all morning and he even had time to spare. It looks like this is going to work but I am keeping my fingers crossed looking out for side effects. the Concerta is Ritalin just spaced out long acting so there shouldn't be a problem. just an update

 

You're kidding??  How can he not of ever heard of methylin?  It's a short acting concerta or another name ritalin..lol

Well I hope it works for your son!  So far so good for mine!  The only side effect really mine is having is he eats a little less during the day until about 7-8 pm and he has trouble going to bed so he takes a melatonin 3mg at night.

Mornings I really have to work with him to move forward and follow our chart.

Talk to you soon

Marcie

We also give our son 5 mg Melatonin before bed and it has been a lifesaver for him, otherwise he would be awake all night. so far so good, he has been on that dose for 3 years and hoefully stay there. I myself have insomnia and take 10 mg at night. I really was shocked he had not heard of the methylin. so it is day 2 on the Ritalin and things went great the 1st am and terrible day 2difference in the mix was that dad was home this morning. I asked him if he did it on purpose to piss off his dad and he said no but I think it may be part of it ie, any attention is better than no attention. I just don't know. we will see how it goes. thanks marcie!Marcie, how long does it take for the short acting Methlylin take to work? this is one of the problems. the Focalin that wass supposed to take 15 min to work took a,most 1 hour and that was short acting. We have an appt monday with the psych to discuss something that may work quicker. I just hope we can find something. his friend is on Methylin and it is doing great by him. He takes both long acting and 2 short acting boosters, works pretty fast for him. anyway just confused with all the meds again.Hello to all! I am new here to this message board! I am the mother of four children and my oldest son who is 9 was daignosed with ADD in 2008. When he was first diagnosed we started him on a 18mg of Concerta and he had alot of emmotional issues with that dosage. So he was then bumped to a 27mg and done great for awhile. Then out of the blue it was like the medication had stopped working for the good and was giving horrible side effects.   After that we discussed with his doctor a newer medication out called VyVanse and it worked great!! I mean it was just so wonderful for him and without all of the side effects. He has always complained of his stomach hurting and had a hard time going to the bathroom. Which that seems to be a normal thing with those medications. In May we decided to give him a break from his medications for the summer. He done really good and seemed to drastically change. So when school started a little over a month ago we didn't start back on his VyVanse. Of course he is really struggling with this work and being quite in the classroom. But in his accelerated math sheets he is making A+'s and his other work he is making poor grades. I am right now doing research on starting him on Glutein free diet along with his medications(maybe) and doing better at being more structured with him. I am currently trying to get a ADD/ADHD support group started here in our county. So hopefully all will go well for that and it will be something great for the parents/caregivers of this community! It may sound weird but I have enjoyed reading other posts on here about problems they are having. It makes me feel like I am not alone and neither is our child.

Spamula-I cope (?) with the mornings by waking my son up so that he only has enough time to eat breakfast/use the bathroom and dress....Any longer than that and he begins to "lose it" and becomes more and more hyper. My DH is away alot for work and to be honest things are much easier when he is not home with my son. My DH manages either ignoring all bad behavior or being really mad (neither of which help) and it is easier for me to handle my son without him...Anyway, good luck for Wednesday-I hope school will be easier for both of you this year....

Mom 7804-my son always had stomach issues on Ritalin, but they seemed to go if I gave him s/t to eat first (altho' I'm sure you've tried that )

We are still "trying" out the 36mg of Concerta given first thing at school. My feelings are that it probably won't be enough for the afternoon lessons, so we may hve to go up to 54mg (according to the psch).

  

mom7804 Welcome!  You are right you aren't alone and this group offers great support with different ideas.  Vyvansse gave my son worse belly aches.  He describe it as a scared or worried belly ache instead of the "normal" one.  He was also on adderall xr 25mg for a long time (hence the normal belly ache).  Concerta seems to be the best for him as far as side effects go.  No belly ache.  I lighter appetite until after 7pm.  We never tried the diet because any of the multiple doctors I have talked to said there is nothing proven that it works.  Good luck with whatever you do.

Spamula- the Methlylin seems to do the trick for him after school.  He is only on 5mg but homework doesn't seem to be an issue for him now.  I think it starts working with in 15 minutes so he takes it at 3:10 and then it wears off by7pm .  My son had tried focalin but had a horrible experience with it.  He was very sad and emotional.  I took him off after the first day after he begged me not to have him take it again.  That was the worst experience with these meds.  Right now I think we have found a good solution for the moment.

Talk to everyone soon

Thanks Marcie, i am going to ask the doc about it today. 15 minutes is good.Well we have stopped the bump of Ritalin in the morning and wow what a difference. he was not eating all day or night and I could not have that, the outcome did not outweigh any benifits. So now we get him up early allow him to take a 10 m9inute wake up shower and have found that when my hubby participates he does much better than for me. We also dangled a carrot before him that he could eard computer or game time if he did his homework without any problems. this has worked all but last night. He just could not do the writing assig. so I made him write 50 words on why he could not do it or relate to the book. we will see what happens, probably a fail again.

It is hard..no doubt.  My son and I had some bad mornings this past week.  I kept telling him I was going to video camcorder his behavior and he did not believe me.  One morning I did.  He saw his behavior and apologized.  I tolded him the next time there was delays or disrespect bedtime would change from 9 back to 8...We had two great mornings then this morning again we had an awful morning because I tried not reminding him and he was taking forever!  It ended with a bunch of yelling on both ends.   My sister is a social worker and swears by behavior therepy by using reward charts.  We did it when he was younger and it helped a lot...I think we are going to try it again.  Parenting is very difficult especially with a child who has adhd!

Talk to you soon

Marcie

Spamula

By the way..Your son has to wake up at 6am right?  What time does he go to bed?

he wakes up at 5:45 am and goes to bed at 9pm. he gets plenty of sleep. On weekends he will stay in bed forever not sleeping but playing computer or tv games.this am was better he got everything done with a half hour to spare to watch cartoons. that was because my husband was here. w/o my husband he has no respect for me at all. thank you all for all your support and advice.

It's worth trying.  My son is off too Middle School this morning.  The bus comes at 7am.  I know on the 36mg it will be worn off by 2-3 pm.  A little nervous for him.  This Saturday he will start the 54mg.  He never was on the 27 otherwise I would of done that as well.  That's a great idea.  When he went from 18 to 36 the first day he had a really bad belly ache.  However the next day he was better.  It's always hard watching your child struggle.  I know that my son hates that he has ADHD and has to take medicine but he hates to not be on the medicine because he can't focus and basically his peers think he is crazy.  My sister keeps telling me knowledge is power so my son and I talk very opening about it.  I got him a great book for kids with ADHD that we are reading together and he likes it because it makes him feel like he is understood and there are other kids going through the exact thing.  It's called Learning to Slow Down and Pay Attention by Kathleen G Nadeau, PHD and Ellen B Dixon PHD.  It's written for kids.  They are at a tough age. 

Keep in touch

Marcie

How did the doctors appointment go yesterday?  It is a tough age.  With my son starting school this past Wednesday and having to get up at 6am it has been a real struggle in the mornings.  Saturday he bumps up to 54mg so I am hoping that will help him in school because he is saying he is zoning and it's too hard to focus on the 36.  The concerta does help a lot with the impulse control however it definately does not last as long with the adderall.  His doctor said with bumping him up it may last longer for him.  I am hoping.

Talk to you soon

Marcie

Just the little jump from the 36 to the 45 has made a big difference here at home. Yesterday we went to his orientation and he was very excited and seemed to do better. The person that runs the science program he is in, son has ADHD worse than my son so we know he gets it! This is a big relief! Doc on Thursday afternoon so we will see what he has to say about the whole thing. Thanks for your support. I will look into the book. This is a tough age boy!Well after 1 week of the Ritalin boost in the am it seems that it is doing nothing at all. the 1st few days were great now nothing. I am thinking of asking the doctor for an increase to 10 mg and see if that helps more. Mornings are still hell around here and I can't be screaming at him to move it anymore! Very frustrated!

I know exactly how you feel and know exactly what you are talking about.  Mornings are rough!  But like I told you before I sat my son down and we both agreed we didn't want to start our day out like that everyday and came up with a schedule.  I helped but for the most part he came up with it and it gives him structure and guide lines to go with in the morning.  It goes like this with me reminding him every step of the way.

5:55 five minute warning to get up;6:00am get up and get in shower;6:20am out of shower;635 be dressed and downstairs for breakfast;6:45 brush teeth and get shoes on ; 6:55 out for the bus...We get clothes and his backpack ready the night before;  It's not perfect but it is better then when we were yelling every morning.  And I can say that if his dad is around in the morning the plan usually goes to you no what!  only because I no there are delays with reminders for him to listen but we try to work it out.  My husband will just automatically jump right in and yell.  Which always makes it worse. 

My doctor said to cut the 3mg melatonin in half for his age and wait and that might help with grogginess in the morning as well

Good luck

Marcie

BethAnn

I think that the 54mg of Concerta works best for my son better then any other medicine he has tried.  I think also with all of the medicines it alters his personality because he is a very hyper impulsive child and the medicine allows him to be able to control himself.  This is a good thing.  My son is very shy however without the medicines he chatters non stop.  It does not make him into a zombie it just allows him to control himself and act how he actually wants to act.  If your son is acting like a zombie then he might be on too high of a dose. 

My son is also on 10 mg of methylin at 3pm as a booster and that also helps.  The main thing with the concerta is my son is able to eat more and better.  He was on Adderal xr 25mg over a year and he had a belly ache every day.  It was horrible.

Hope that helps..good luck

Marcie

marcie4164, I just skimmed this long thread but wanted to ask if you are happy with the current doseage of concerta. My son was at 72 mgs when he was in 2nd grade and stayed there until 5th grade. He also takes guanfacine which helps with eating and relaxing.

My son is now 12 and we are considering trying something new. I had posted a thread asking about personality with concerta. Not sure if it has my son more quiet than his usual personality.

Just wondering.

The doctors appt went well and he decided to bump him up to 54 and we started it today. I cannot watch him as he is with a friend today. I have a neck procedure today and was unable to keep him at home. The other parents, child had adhd as well and knowledgable about these thing so he will call my husband if anything goes wrong. We found that when we first bumbed up to the 36 it did last longer although not as long as I would have liked. He gets a good 7-8 hours out of it. He metabolizes very quickly and he is already showing sleep deprivation since I bumped him to the 45, so I assume it will be worse on the 54. He is also on Zoloft for anxiety which is a double handed sword because it increaces the impulsivity. I asked the doc to look into tenex because alot of people seem to do well on this combo. he said he will look into it. Oh lordy be This is exhausting!thanks marcie for your updates as well. we give the Concerta about 7am and are not sure how long it is lasting because he starts school next week. He has a after school pill of short acting Focalin? to get him through homework but he won't take it yet or at the end of last year. he would rather cry and fight over homework. This is a tough thing to live with and tough to parent an ADHD child whew! Keep in touch and we will see how each others sons are doing!

Hi all-so glad to find a website that I can find support in. My son is ten and was on Ritalin 10mg twice a day. His dr suggested that he be put on Concerta 36mg to be taken b/f school. Concerta seemed to be the answer to our prayers  (no rages etc after it wears off etc) and I found when I was with him that he was a sweet, thoughtful, quiet and well-behaved boy. Plus-he could take it before school began and did not have to go to the nurse. However, after a week of school, the ed. psych has now said teachers are saying he is "difficult to teach" after 1pm (he takes meds at 7). I am at my wit's end-and he is in tears saying he won't go to the nurse again/thinking about if he behaved badly in the afternoons and I am worried b/c aren't the meds supposed to last for up to 12 hours? The implication is always there that they don't want my son in school.....   

Please reply if you hve any thoughts/ideas...Could really do with some support right now...

 

 

My sons Concerta at 36mg last year was wearing off around 2pm as well. The psych said he metabolizes quickly and suggested a 2nd dose of something around that time. My son has refused. so far the 54mg seems to be lasting longer but won't know until school starts how much longer. I know it is a pain for them and an embarassment to go to the nurse and get meds. This stinks. I have heard that some who use tenex with the Concerta do better. My psych is looking into it. our psych is pretty much against Tenex but I told him many people swear by the Concerta/Tenex combo and he said he will look into it before our next meeting in 1 month or so. I know how you both feel and it is a hard one,like I said my son outright refuses to take another med at this point. if it turns out he is metabolizing this dose too quickly as well, there will come a point where he will not have a choice and hopefully see it himself that the work is getting too hard. Thank god he has PE as his last class so not as concerned as if it were something else. I have no suggestions as how to handle his issues with taking another pill, as obviously I have my own. Good luck to you and I hope you can work it out, keep me informed, HUGS, Pam

My son has been doing better being on Concerta 54 as well this week so far.  He too is having eating issues however he is not having the belly aches like he was with the Adderall.  Which was usually all day long and food didn't taste good he says.  He takes it by 6:45 and he is noticing that he is having trouble focusing around 2pm which is a science class.  My son also had a belly ache this morning before the meds...not sure what it's about either.  Maybe it's just because 6th grade is so different.  He is eating more at night.  He will eat part of his dinner at 5 then will have another dinner around 8pm.  Much better then not eating at all.  We will just have to wait and see.  It can be very discouraging but I am trying to stay optimistic hoping that any side effects he has now will go away after a week or two.

keep in touch

Marcie

Just to update, my son,11 has been on the upped dosage of Concerta at 54mg now for over 1 week. He appears to be doing much better than before at the 36 or 45. I am noticing some eating issues which is too bad because he was doing much better and gaining weight this summer. He barely eats anything for lunch, and dinner isn't much better. Breakfast before the meds is even less. I don't get that part. We shall see next week when school starts how it does for school but hopefully it will do ok.