Concerta

48 Comments & Reviews: Concerta

1. Noted most posts are dated.

   ADHD has always been a battle throughout my life as a pre/teen ritalin 5/10/15mg doses to control all aspects from impulsivness to just getting a conversation out of me for that 5 mins
   Concertra doses started at 16mg then after few months was increses to 36mg that i largely stay with untill i was 16 (14-16) when i stopped taking then.
   at 27 i’ve now gone back on concertra started off at 18mg then 36mg and now on 54mg

   im putting together something as i largely used cannabis to treat my adhd and i feel with cannibis should be a factor as my doses increased without the use of cannabis and vice versa on the latter

2. I took Concerta XL 18mg tablets once a day for 8 days, after having a successful trial of 5mg instant release Ritalin. The Concerta pill was easy to swallow and at first I did not notice a change. A few hours after the first pill I felt a fair amount more irritable and aggressive in general. I continued taking the medication daily and each day I felt worse. My appetite became non-existent, I had stomach cramps, anxiety attacks, dizziness, sleep disturbances, low mood and negative thoughts. I felt so awful that I came off of them by day 9 because I was not eating at all and felt like an anxious wreck. The only difference I noticed was that I was slightly less hyper but my productivity and motivation if anything got worse.

3. This was the first medication my son tried. We stayed with it for almost 2 years, changing dosing, to try to get benefits. When he was on a high enough dose to get his ADHD under control, it caused massive headaches that were bad enough that he’d leave school. We ended up switching him to Vyvanse and the headaches are gone.

4. I was diagnosed with ADD when I was eight and have bben on ritalin and concerta when it became available. I’m currently thirty-six years old on 54 milligram dosage. I take wellbutrin along with concerta to take the edge off later in the evening. It works really well for me.

   The thing that doesn’t work are these new FDA approved generics. Its like taking ritalin the crash is immediate after four hours. I’ve noticed I need the OROS technology or I do not get an even dosage through out my day. The only downside is the availability. Most Pharmacies favor the new generics which do not work at all. Currently enrolled in an competitive MBA program at a top ten university so the OROS technology is a necessity as it helps me concentrate throughout the day.

   I’ve noticed some inconsistencies in the comments. Concerta only comes in a 18mg incremental dosages. (18, 36, 54) A 27mg dosage does not exist in brand name concerta. So it should be void from your decision.

   To any parents. Reviews are not going to help with your child as certain drugs work differently for different people. I will say that stimulants in my opinion work way better than non-stimulants. You’ll be on rollercoaster with your child until you find a drug that works. I would note that Concerta is getting increasingly more expensive and it’d probably be worth exploring an extended release stimulant alternative.

   It takes time to find the right dosage. Be patient with your child and give it time. What matters most is that you help your kid to reach their fullest potential.

   Also a bit of caution a lot my family members have ADHD. It seems to be genetic and predominantly is found in the boys in our family. A word on the neurotransmitter reprogramming therapy. It doesn’t work. We’ve gone through the program with my little cousin. They paid about $1400 per secession and saw little to no improvement. If a psychiatrist insists on doing it find another psychiatrist. Preferably one that does not advocate it as it doesn’t work and is a waste of money.

5. I was diagnosed with Adult ADHD this year, and was hesitant to try any sort of stimulant medications but was out of options. I consulted with several of my doctors and specialists on my medical care team, and we decided to go with Concerta ER starting dose 18mg (which was not sufficient) and moved up to 36mg after the first month. I find it works alright, but we still have some dose adjusting to do to find my optimal dosage – which seems to be more difficult than getting help was in the first place (go Canada with our free healthcare…it isn’t always so wonderful)! Although I feel like I’ve been”drugged and dropped” by my two main physicians who can’t even return phone calls or respond to pharmacy refill requests, Concerta definitely does NOT last anywhere near 12 hours! For me, after no more than 4 hours, I experience the “Concerta crash” that I’ve read about. I couldn’t really explain the horrible feeling of energy depletion, fatigue and burnout after about 3.5-4 hours after taking my Concerta everyday, until a Telehealth Ontario doctor explained it to me. I was told I need something stronger, longer lasting (Telehealth doctor recommended Focalin XR), and even suggested that I speak to my care team about an lower dose IR (such as 20mg methylphenidate IR) once just before that 4 hour crash time each day. All excellent and feasible solutions. Now if only I could get hold of and actually speak with one of my doctors!! 😬🤞

6. I have been diagnosed with ADHD since I was around the age of 12 and I’ve only been prescribed Concerta since I was diagnosed. I am now 21 and my dose is 54mg daily, when I first switched from 36mg to 54mg, I noticed I was more anxious and tired. As my body got used to the medicatio these side effects happened to decrease. I will say the only adverse effects I experience are a decrease in appetite and occasional headaches. Life in your early 20’s can feel overwhelming with work, university, and balancing a routine. I’ve noticed, when my stress levels are higher the effects of the medication decrease. I am leaning with the help of my psycartist skills that will minimize simple activities in my daily routine from getting out of control. Overall concerta has changed my life in many postive ways and I honestly could not imagine not treating my ADHD with out any medication. If you are a parent reading this, Id like to say do not let your child convince you that they no longer need their medication when they reach 18. Life outside of the routine from highschoo is 10x more difficult and their medication will help them navigate through some harsh realities of adulting.

7. Started my LO (7) on Concerta, very helpful minus the side effects but they wear off after about 2 weeks even with increased dosage. Now taking 36mg.

   Fun fact: Different manufacturers of the drug have different side effects and release times. If you switch to a different pharmacy, lets say for convenience purposes or may be a better price, call to make sure they have the same manufacturer as the one you have been taking. This ish is deep! Lol It can also boil down to which manufacturer the pharmacy is authorized to order from. Such a hassle but an educational experience.

8. My son was diagnosed with adhd and impulsivity symptoms in 2017. We started with the Generic version of Concerta and then decided to try the brand name after too many side effects of the generic version. We’ve had very positive results since. My son is 9 and the 27mg dose fits him well. His spirit and happiness is our priority and we feared that medicating his ADHD symptoms would take away his lively spirit. It did turn him into a zombie when we tried a higher dose and we quickly lowered the dose back down to the 27mg. He tells us all the time that he feels “normal” when he takes it. He’s able to control his impulsivity by at least 80%, he’s able to focus a lot better, he can communicate with ease and his stories are more linear, his appetite did not get affected but his sleep has been pushed to about an hour later. Bed time used to be 8h30 now it’s 9h30 sometimes 10. Best of luck to everyone trying to find the right medication.

9. I have been taking this medicine since I was in first grade I beleive.

   I stopped cold Turkey at 23.

   If I could go back in time and tell my parents not to put me on this meds I would.
   I was actually considered a success story and I always did well in school thanks to this drug.

   The problem is that if I didnt take it I would end up in trouble and suspended or sent home with 8 write ups.

   This medicine only temporarily fixes the problem and doesnt allow your brain to cop e or to catch up.

   Without ABA type therapy and grounding techniques and really breaking down organizing and modeling behaviors into small achievable goals and other therapeutic activities this medicine will make your child worse in the long wrong becoming completely dependent on it.

10. I have two children with ADHD…..My daughter is now 11 and has tried Adderall and Vyvanse in the past, both made her very emotional and moody….Vyvanse made her very aggressive! It was so hard experimenting with the different medications till we finally found Concerta and BAM! What a difference! Wonderful! Her attention really perked up and because we do Karate together, I noticed a complete difference in her ability to focus and perform. She was winning medals, feeling confident and her self esteem soared! I feed her a huge breakfast because I do notice that it effects her appetite once she takes the 27mg pill shortly after. She is a bit on the thin side, but nothing too worrisome and her energy level is still as high as always. She goes to a private school with most kids without disabilities, and has an aide that helps to refocus her 40 percent of the time she is at school. She is on a competitive swim team and a green belt in Karate, she is able to be an average student in a highly rated school….I don’t think this would have been possible without the Concerta. She recently has started menstrating so we have had to increase the dose to 36 mg as puberty has effected the effectiveness. She was crashing and exhausted at around 4pm after taking 1 dose at 7;30 am. This higher dose helps her till about 7;00 pm. If I give her a pill later, she won’t be able to get to sleep. Insomnia can be a factor if she takes another pill or takes her dose in the afternoon.

    Her brother is 8 and takes 18mg. I notice it helps him as well, no effect on appetite, he loves his food, but it does help him with his focus in Karate. He is not as athletic as his sister, but is an academic genius with Math and science. He is on the Autism Spectrum but is also able to attend the same school with an aide and at 8 years old, he does grade 11 math. He struggles socially unlike his sister, but they are very close with each other and big sister looks out for him. I feel Concerta has been a real life saver for our family. After my daughter tried other drugs, this one has been the only one that really worked for us.

11. I’ve been taking adderall since 2003. I changed back and forth between adderrall and vyvanse for a few years. I take 100mg of Zoloft and 2mg of Clonazepam. At it’s highest point, I was taking 6, 20mg adderrall pills per day. That’s the thing with adderrall, or any similar type medication, building up a tolerance. In November of this year, I flew to a country where they did not have adderrall, vyvanse, or zenzeti. I had no choice but to try concerta I’d tried to work without it, but the symptoms of ADHD overcome through the medication I’ve been taking for so many years, came through in abundance. I started on 72mg of concerta. While the effects of Vyvanse are what I consider to be best, concerta seems to work well enough. It does indeed give me headaches. For the first week I took it, I also experienced sleeplessness. I really could not fall asleep at night. Fortunately, the sleeplessness has gone away.

12. I was diagnosed with ADHD at the start of my graduate program and was put on Mydayis. Once starting the medication I said to my doctor, “well this explains a lot” lol…It slowed my brain down enough to start making good choices and to see things 100% more clearly. However, I was recently switched from Adderall XR (Mydayis) to 54mg Concerta. The Adderall worked perfect for focus but came with the side effect of trichotillomania and mood swings. So far the Concerta has greatly reduced the trichotillomania and nearly eliminated the mood swings. However, it doesn’t work nearly as well for focus. Hopefully it proves to be enough though.

13. I recently switch from Xendiate XL to Concerta XR after reading reviews and not getting any improvements from Xenidate. Dosage increased up to 72mg but did not feel like there were sufficient benefits so have asked for my medication to be changed again. Currently wheening off at a drop of 18mg every 4 days, and whilst i had no side effects going on, coming off is different. By 3pm i feel irritable, emotional and fragile. I make the majority of my ‘sales’ calls after 5pm and am really struggling and find myself hypersensitive to peoples comments and tones.

14. I am a 22 year old female with ADHD, either the combined type or primarily hyperactive/impulsive. Rare bread. I have been on Concerta 18mg for about a month now I believe. I find it really helps me focus and retain information and be able to listen a lot more carefully to people, and it has definitely reduced the urge I have to interrupt or answer a question before it has even been fully asked. It has even made my writing nicer somehow, maybe because it is slowing my mind down? However, maybe it is because the dose is the lowest and I need a higher one, but, I find it has not necessarily helped with how fast I talk or how fast I do everything, leaving me to accidentally hurt myself HA, or not fully finish my thought or add 100 more thoughts when I am talking.

15. Diagnosed nearly 6 years ago (primarily inattentive) and since then, have been on the generic for Concerta (54mg after some trial and error). For the most part, I’ve been pleased with how it has worked for me. However, since last fall, I’ve been struggling – primarily with anxiety-like symptoms. My job has been quite stressful for for the last year and a half so I am sure that’s played a part…but given that this drug is a stimulant, I’m sure that does not help as well. I decided on my own to stop this drug end of January and seem to have been returning to ‘normal.’ I did see my provider this morning and she has now prescribed Strattera, so fingers crossed for good outcomes!

16. works well. makes me feel happier and has improved my grades. my friend also takes it and we both think its good.

17. Warning!! A new generic Methylpehnidate ER Tab by Mylan (Manufacturers of Epi-Pen) was released in December of 2016. Because our pharmacy benefits provider, Express Scripts, uses the cheapest generic, and I thought all “bad” generics were pulled last fall it never occurred to me that my sons wheels falling off this spring were related to his medicine. Quite the opposite, we thought he needed a higher dose. Our son was a senior in high school, and has been on Concerta since Kindergarten. We’ve tried other drugs, but it is the only one that works for him. He takes two pills to make one dose. (27mg and 54mg) They only last 12 hours, so we’ve overlayed Intunive 4mg on top of it to help balance him around the clock. Otherwise he was awful in the morning. This spring he started failing classes deemed the easiest class schedule for a senior that his special education teachers had ever seen. One class was ceramics! At first we thought it was senioritis, then we thought maybe the new girlfriend, then I asked my teen to talk to his doctor about a higher dose. That was denied because he needs to gain weight. He was in a car accident and ticketed for distracted driving, and had two more tickets in the month of April. Finally I was at a parent teacher conference May 1st with two of my son’s three special education teachers. They said “he was a different kid than they had worked with for the past three and a half years.” BAM!! It was the drugs! I’ve always relied on his teachers to tell us when a new dose was needed. I called the doctor. My teen was 18 and I could no longer talk to her. She called my teen back. He couldn’t advocate for himself. I asked him to go to the doctor’s office and sign the release form. He couldn’t pull that off on his own. I had him meet me there and sign the form. Then we were granted an emergency meeting with the doctor, which my teen missed!! Around this time I discovered my teen had been switched to this new generic in January, and was never notified!!! I couldn’t believe that a PBM had the right to switch a childs medicine and not tell the parents!!! Especially to a new drug!!! It was absolute garbage for my child and did nothing for him. His senior year was ruined. He had become moody, irritable, irrational, extremely sad and lost his self esteem. It should have been the best time of his life, and instead he chose not to go to PROM. He skipped the senior dinner, skipped the senior party, and didn’t want a party at home. On top of that his job was delivering pizzas. Now his drivers license is in the hands of a judge we’ll see in July.

    If that wasn’t bad enough, I was getting the run-around from Express Scripts. When I called and complained about the garbage generic and asked my options they said my only options were that generic by Mylan or brand name Concerta at a price of around $350 for a 90 day supply. I asked my son’s physician for a 7 day supply locally and a 90 day supply via mail order. When I went to pick up the 7 day supply they asked me why not the generic by Actavis. It supplied 70% of the generic market, and was Concerta under a different brand name. WHAT!!!! I called Express Scripts…again my only options were Mylan and brand name. I asked for a supervisor, and went three levels up. That person when confronted put me on hold, then came back and said “yes, they could supply the Actavis if the script was written for that.” Then the 90 days would be the $29 for each of the two prescriptions that make the one dose. They also said that my child’s record would be labeled “Therapy Failure” for the Mylan generic. I was so angry, and felt betrayed! These people were looking out for their pennies, not my child’s welfare!!!! And they would gladly rip me off in the process!!!

    I hope all drug and PBM execs lose their jobs and drivers licenses and need to be hauled around by their parents!!! Greedy, horrible people!!!

18. Diagnosed in Jan, got perscription in March, started yestorday. My son is taking Concerta 18. We are on day 2. The teacher said today he stayed in his seat, he looks normal to me just a little calmer. I spy on him in class and he’s focused and doing his work. Im shocked really. He doesnt want lunch but has a big breakfast and dinner. I probably shouldn’t but I stick it in 1/2 teaspoon of chocolate frosting….i couldn’t get him to swallow it any other way. Applesauce is too thin. Either way it works. I was scared but its okay..

19. I’m 16 and got diagnosed with ADD last summer. I started taking 18mg of Concerta about 6 weeks ago. Two weeks ago, I tried 27mg instead of 18– because my doctor felt that it was needed and I did too. However, by the next Sunday my irritability had gone through the rood, I had developed all of the side effects including a rash. So, after this I was moved back down to the 18mg tablet. All of the other side effects have gone away by today except for the rash. It’s only on my upper body especially on my breasts and stomach areas. Not only does it blister and peel, but it itches. I want to rip my skin off sometimes. My psychologist said that it isn’t normal but the doctor thinks it doesn’t have anything to do with the medication at all. However, I haven’t changed anything about my routine nor my diet.

20. My daughter takes Concerta 18mg. When she takes it too late in the morning, she may have difficulty falling asleep at night. On those evenings, I give her chamomile tea and allow her to wind down with a book during bedtime. So far, it has been working well for her.

    1. I have the opposite problem. In high school, I took Concerta every morning before leaving for school at 7 AM. I would then inevitably crash between 7:30 and 9 pm, which caused some serious problems in my extra curricular activities. Falling asleep in the middle of a band concert tends to be viewed as rather disrespectful… I usually experience about a 30 minute period of complete and utter exhaustion about 12-13 hours after taking the drug. Then, I can’t stop eating, because the appetite suppressing side effect is gone and I’m hungry. As a college student, I’m now having to learn to focus better late at night. It’s pretty difficult on those nights when I’m trying to read or study and my average bedtime has changed to about 2 or 3 AM.

21. For me, when I take Concerta 36mg, I know it works because I find it easier to manage my thoughts and to focus on key tasks. At the same time I know that taking Concerta, though helpful to feeling motivated, is not a guarantee that I will feel motivated.

22. I am 21 and was only diagnosed with ADHD in June this year. I will never take Concerta again! After only one low dose, I got very aggressive and I felt like I had no control over my own body and mind. I got really anxious and worried. I also started to feel really paranoid.

23. I started taking Concerta (18 mg) 10 months ago for making mistakes at work. I immediately noticed a feeling like my head was clear and I could concentrate. Gradually it got back to where it was and my doctor increased the dose to 27 mg. Again, my head felt clear at first, but gradually that effect was unnoticeable. 4 months ago the doctor prescribed Lipitor for high cholesterol (just over the limit). I don’t know if it was coincidence or not, but I had more problems with insomnia (racing thoughts), but especially “foggy headedness.”

24. I was put on Adderall XR for ADHD. I started at the normal 5 mg dosage and then I started increasing my dosage according to my tolerance level. I’ve struggled with depression, so I’m on Celexa 10 mg daily as well. I decided that the stimulant medication just wasn’t doing it for me (I felt like it made my anxiety worse) so the doctor switched me to Concerta 36 mg. It was too much for me (I was like the walking dead!) so I went down to 18 mg. At first it seemed okay, but now I’ve noticed my symptoms of ADHD have been coming through.

    Not only has it been ineffective, but I’ve gained about 40 pounds since I’ve been on it. I started Concerta in October, and it seemed like suddenly I started packing on the pounds. My appetite has increased and my metabolism has slowed down it seems like. I’m 5’2”, and back when I was on the Adderall I was 110-115 pounds. Now I’m pushing past 150 pounds.

25. I’ve been on Concerta at varying doses since I was diagnosed at age 21 and I’m now 24 years old. When I first started taking them I did notice an improvement and I shed a few pounds too! The thing is that I’m now on 108mg (even tried 126mg the other day) as I have been prescribed and I get no real benefit from them. When I don’t take them, I feel very lethargic.

26. I’m an adult with ADHD, primarily inattentive. I’ve been on Concerta since summer of 2015. I am currently on 54 mg. Best effects: emotional stability, motivation, bouncing back fast if distracted or forgetful, making intent equal action. Side effects: very small and short-lived, e.g., tiny headaches for just two days, grinding jaw (minor to start with, but none of that for months).

27. I am a 54 year old female who was diagnosed with ADHD 18 months ago. I have taken Concerta since receiving the diagnosis. I noticed immediately positive changes in my behavior. During the past year I have been taking 72 mg of Concerta with no other medications. I take 36mg early in the morning, and the additional 36mg around 11a.m. I was unable to handle the total 72mg taken at one time, and it was not pleasant by 5p.m. when everything appeared to “leave” me. Now, the 36mg I take at 11 seems to carry me through the day and into the evening.

28. I am a dad with ADHD. I am taking Concerta 36mg since one month ago. It helps me enormously to focus at work, to reduce impulsive behaviors, to reduce sudden anger attack. It works well in the morning and since I take Concerta early in the morning (5:00AM) by 2:00PM I can feel the effect wearing off and by 5:00PM is completely gone.

29. Concerta 27mg is the first ADD med I’ve taken. (I’m a mature adult, and have received no treatment for my inattentive-type ADD until now). For the first four days I was astonished at how much more focused I felt. But after that, its effect was much less noticeable.

30. My son who is five years old has been diagnosed with ADHD. He was placed on 18 mgs of Concerta about one month ago. On the positive side the Concerta has really helped my son’s focusing at school, coloring/writing, and following of directions. However, his food intake has decreased and he has become more emotionally labile. Generally in the evenings, he will become irritable, weepy and/or aggressive with my wife and I. He also will not fall asleep until 12:00 PM.

31. I am a dad with ADHD. I am currently taking 27 mgs of Concerta and 150 mgs of Effexor XR (anxiety issues). I have been on these meds for over one year and they are helping me greatly. I remember having what I called the “evening” blues when I first started taking Concerta. However they seemed to diminish after a couple of months.

32. My 9-year-old son has been on Concerta 18 mg for about 10 days. He has a decreased appetite during the peak med time, not surprisingly, but I have also noticed something else. He seems to have a heightened sense of smell and a distorted sense of taste.

33. Our daughter was placed on Concerta after Focalin and Strattera created negative side effects. She is 9 and is currently on 27 mg. She takes it at 7 am and it wears off by 5 pm. It makes such a noticeable difference in how she manages her organization of schoolwork to how she communicates with others. It has overall done wonders for her self-esteem and confidence.

34. I started my son on Vyvanse then switched to Adderall after 10 days due to cost. He was aggressive and extremely emotional on Adderall so we switched to Concerta. After 6 days he developed a facial tic and rolls his eyes to the right. He does this sporadically throughout the day.

35. My son tried several stimulants before trying Concerta. None of the other stimulants were tolerable, yet his first day on Concerta was the absolute worst. However, we stuck with it and Concerta turned out to be the best stimulant for my son. Unless you are having severe side effects, give it a few days before determining its efficacy.

36. My son is 7 years old and has ADHD, ODD, and CD. We began him on medicine with ritalin 5mg to make sure it was the right class of medicine. After his doctor agreed we worked him up to 18mg Concerta, but after months we slower increased to 54 mg and added 75mg Wellbutrin. The problem is I think he has a very high metabolism for medications. His 54mg Concerta does great but he takes it at 7am and by 3pm it’s out of his system. We tried to get him up to 150 mg Wellbutrin to work as a non stimulant to help balance him out but anything higher than 75 mg makes him a zombie.

37. My 8 year old son is recently diagnosed and is taking 36 mg of Concerta. He eats a good breakfast, then picks at his food the rest of the day until bed time. He also has a hard time falling asleep which results in a hard time waking him up and him being grouchy and sluggish the next day. Up until today those were the only side effects. Now tonight at soccer he was complaining of his chest hurting and had to come off the field, he was holding the left side of his chest over his heart. It got better with time off he field, but within 5 minutes of going back on it was hurting again.

38. My 15 years old son takes 72mg Concerta at 7am every morning, by 7pm it is like flicking a switch – he can no longer concentrate or focus and studying is impossible after this time, he says his brain has ‘shut down’ for the night!

39. My daughter, now 14, ADHD, has been off medication for about 2 years. She previously tried Ritalin, Adderall, Adderall XR, and then Concerta for several years. Concerta seemed “good enough” in comparison to the others. It lasted through school and at least some homework. Then she would crash badly and become very anxious, weepy, and unable to complete homework or even enjoy her evening.

40. I have been on Concerta for almost 11years now. I am starting my Senior year of high school this August. I am currently taking 90mg a day (1x 36mg pill and 1x54mg pill). On the weekends if I walk up late I usually will just take a 54mg Concerta. Here is my list of negative side effects that I have come across.
    #1) Dizziness/ light headed: sometimes if I have been sitting for an extremely long time it causes my vision to fade out for a few seconds and my chest becomes tight feeling but both pass with a few seconds.
    #2) I am prone to migraines and the Concerta sometimes aggravates this
    #3) I have P.O.T.S (it’s when you have and extra heart beat and every once in a while it will catch and cause you to have a sudden rapid heart beat) Again Concerta does aggravate this a lot.
    #4) Concerta makes me not want to eat during the day because it suppresses my metabolism so I rarely “feel hungry” during the day.
    #5) Concerta has enhanced my severe anxiety and O.C.D, but I have found ways of handling both.

41. Concerta has worked well for me since I was 6, and I am now almost 21. A few months ago I started on a higher dose (54mg) (I was previously on 36mg). I have unfortunately noticed higher anxiety since my dosage was increased – and it is starting to affect my ability to perform at university.

42. My 12-year-old daughter, an inattentive type, has been on 18mg Concerta for almost a year. Since taking Concerta, her ability to focus has greatly improved but her appetite has suffered. Fortunately, she is naturally a heavy eater so she eats a heavy breakfast and another heavy meal at dinner. A few months after she started, she asked to be taken off the medication since she was having anxiety and mood swings in the afternoon. We found that the anxiety episodes decreased in the months that followed. There are days when she has trouble sleeping and on those days I give her a cup of chamomile tea.

43. My son started on 36 mg of Concerta (name brand) at the last 2 months of the school year when he was 9. It worked immediately. The 1st few weeks he lost 8 lbs and stayed up until midnight. But gradually he started going to bed earlier at 10 pm. In the summer I tried to take him off medication. He started having some impulse control problems at his summer program so I requested a lower dose and the doctor put him on 27 mg, which worked for impulse control. He now continues to take 27 mg on the weekend and when he is out of school. He had tics off and on before medication like eye twitching; they initially got worse but then improved.

44. My son has been on Concerta for three years with brief breaks to try Strattera and Intuniv. The downsides to Concerta are the appetite suppression and stomach cramps. The stomach cramps lasted only a few days when he would restart the medication. As far as his appetite, we try to fill him up with protein first thing in the morning before he takes his pill, then in the evening when it wears off he eats a snack and dinner. The only other problem is that it usually wears off by the time we all get home and get to work on homework. But I’d rather have him lose his concentration at home where we have the patience and time to dedicate to him rather than at school.

45. My 9-year old son takes melatonin every night to help him fall asleep (2 or 3 mg). He’s taking 36mg Concerta, which really helps him, but without the melatonin, he’d be up until midnight – up and busy in his bedroom, not just lying in bed awake. He takes the melatonin 1-2 hours before he needs to be asleep.

46. My 11 year old son has been taking Concerta since he was 5 years old. He initially was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 4. We did test out a few different medications initially and none of them worked as well as Concerta. He is up to a 56 mg dose now and we are just noticing a sleep problem.

47. My son was on Concerta for two years, ages 10 – 12. It helped him a lot during that time. He was calmer and more focused and did better in school. Unfortunately after two years he developed tics and had to stop the Concerta. The tics went away after he stopped taking it.