Ritilan vs Concerta | ADHD Information
I was just curious the pros and cons of ritilan short acting vs concerta. We started our son on the 5 mg of Ritilan which wheres off in about 4 hours and I feel he needs an additonal dose for the afternoon. So if he is needing like 10-15 mg of the Ritilan, would it be better to try someting like the Concerta LA? I worry about doses mid day when school starts also with the ritilan. Any input would be great!
My son is on the short acting Ritalin and it works very well for him. The long acting forms don't work very well for him because he metabolizes VERY quickly. He would metabolize the first part of the LA in only a few hours which basically left him unmedicated until the second half of the LA disolved and kicked in. My son takes a short acting Ritalin every 3 hours (sometimes 2 1/2) and that allows us to keep him medicated with no breaks during the day. He usually takes 4 doses/day and we are authorized to give him 5 if we need him to stay up late. It seems like a lot but it works for him!What side effects did you experience with the Ritilan,if any? I was told to start him on 5 mg and if he needed another in the afternoon I could give him one. But just on 5 yesterday he was slurring words and just looking in his eyes he didn't look right. On such a small dose what would that mean?
The only side effect we saw was the reduced appetite. Before Ritalin we tried Adderall and if the dose was too high he got "spacey" and zoned out. It may be that the dose is too high but it's more likely that his body just needs to adjust to the dose. Did the doctor start him at a lower dose and increase it to 5mg? How old is your son? My son is 5 yrs old and even at his highest dose he only took 7.5 mg at any one time.My son is 6 and she started him on 5 mg. I've been trying to figure out if he needs a lower dose or more time to adjust. He's been on it for 2 weeks.I'm also curious about anxiety. I've read about being mis diagnosed adhd when it is really a anxiety problem,I hear the symptoms are similar. I know the anxiety would need to be treated too,I just want to make sure we are treating him correctly.If it was not adhd and it was anxiety instead, do you know what kind of reaction he would have from the ritilan?Just trying to gather input before our next appt.Thanks so much!
My ds takes both. He takes 5mg ritalin in the morning and 54mg Concerta
as well. I only give the ritalin on days when he has school or has to get
himself together quicker in the morning. He metabolizes meds fast, but the
Concerta really works about 12 hours. He has tried all the other short and
long lasting meds already, including the Daytrana patch (took long to "kick
in"). You should consider Concerta XR for all day. DS was on short acting
ritalin and focalin at one time when he was in PK and Kindergarten. We had
to give him several doses to get him thru the day and he was so up and
down with it. It was hard to time the doses in school because he would
metabolize them so fast. DS turns 10 tomorrow. DS also takes zoloft for
anxiety.My son has anxiety also and the stimulants aggravate it! He needs the stimulants soooooo badly for his hyperactivity and impulsiveness but they make his anxiety worse. We added Tenex (generic is guanfacine) and it really helps smooth out the anxiety. He wouldn't be able to take the stims without it! I was taking ritalin 40 mg per day (10 mg every 3 hours), and it was working. My psych switched me to concerta (36mg), as i wanted something longer lasting, and she said it was identical to ritalin in ingredients but 12 hour action. However not only do i not feel it working, but i am getting moody and cranky on it. Concerta is no way relieving my adhd symptoms and i have difficulty concentrating on anything. over the last week i have supplemented it with some left over ritalin since the dose only lasts 6 hours even when i drink loads of coffee with it. I see a vast improvement in my mood/ attention when i do so. I'm considering switching back to original ritalin because of this. My question is has anyone experienced better results with a 54 mg dosage (should i consider asking for a higher dose?) or should i go back to what works??
thanks
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My daughter was on Concerta for about 2 years... she was a
zombie and lost 30+lbs.... she never wanted to do
anyways.... she is going in to the 2nd grade and we are
trying her on Ritalin 5mg... she will take 1 before school
and 1 at lunch at school... i am hoping she will do better
on the Ritalin
My son is back on short acting Ritalin after trying Focalin XR for two weeks. He is a rapid metabolizer, and the extended release meds just don't work for him. Our only issue is going to be having him take a mid-day dose at school. He is going into 7th grade and isn't thrilled with the idea, but it works the best by far. He has been on 10mg in the morning and afternoon, with 1mg Tenex in AM and then about 3:45. Today I increased his Ritalin to 15mg twice a day and it is working very well. The Daytrana patch worked so well for him for over two years, but just seemed to stop working. That's how he ended up on Ritalin.
As a side note, my DD is 15 and is ADD inattentive and OCD. She can not take a stimulant. She is on Prozac for the OCD, and Intuniv 4mg for ADD.
My kids' psychologist did her Ph.D thesis on Ritalin. She has been around a long time, and said that if patients are having trouble with meds she always asks them if they have tried regular Ritalin. Sometimes it just works best.