concerta

It has been a lifesaver for my kiddo…even she noticed the difference in her abilities to concentrate.

I agree with Pattim. It’s been a godsend for our child who started medication at age 10. He’s been on Ritalin for a year. We are now in the process of switching to Concerta (ritalin in a time release form). He is now able to concentrate in class and at home and his grades have really improved. Homework no longer takes 2 hours — and I don’t have to get his attention back every 15 seconds. Gotta do the homework before the meds wear off though. Otherwise, it’s back to the same old hassle.

Our child also struggles with dyslexia and related LDs which really gave him some severe self-esteem problems. In my mind, the biggest improvement since Ritalin is not the grades themselves but the improvement in his self-esteem now that he knows he CAN get good grades.

Talk with a knowledgable professional about choices on medication. My impression is that different sub-types of ADHD respond better to different medications. See Dr. Amen’s site (the brain place?) for info on sub-types and his research on medication.

We have another ADHD child we don’t medicate. But, like you, it got to the point with our second child that it was just to difficult to manage what was expected of him in school. I would try it for awhile and see whether its benefits outweigh your other concerns.

It’s funny but ya’ll are discussing both medications my kids happen to take. My younget is on 54mg of concerta a day. And my oldest is on two 5mg spanules of dexedrine per day.
My youngest has or had language delays. Mostly word retrevial,conversing at a rate of speed which is considered conversing. He is also formally DX with CAPD,but his biggest difficulties stemmed from A. not being able to retrieve the words quickly enoug to effectively participate in class.When tested he was in gifted range of knowledge.
He was taking Ritalin SR 20 Mg per. day At first, this dose seemed to be too much,then definitely not enough. The one thing I can say,and my Dr. blew me off about it was,he talked much more and seemed to have better language abilities when the medicine wore off,or didn’t work at all? The chattering was very hyperactive and void of a effective flow of ideas,but he was talking! not that he didn’t talk before,it was just a noticable difference. Again the Doc. didn’t want to address it,and everytime I mentioned it he would kind of change the subject. No doubt,because he either thought I was nuts,or didn’t know what to say? THEN,when his behavior was getting worse,he changed him to concerta 54Mg. Now,let me say, this Doc DOES know meds,he just doesn’t really get into the educational problems,except behavior. The way he explained Concerta: The capsule is water resistent. There is a hole in the top of the capsule made by laser. Inside the capsule is a type of sponge. When the capsule is swallowed and is moistened with stomach contents the sponge expands,as the sponge expends the med is pushed out of the capsule and released at a much smoother rate then SR is.Now,because the mechanism of the med is used by a “sponge” so to speak 20% of the med could be left inside the capsule and not released,therefore you have to go up to a larger dosage to make up for the loss,compared to Ritalin SR or others. The difference in his language skills were incredible! Okay,whether it was from pure development,or Concerta,my son his doing SO much better in the Language ability department? The Doc? He still blows me off,but he did comment that he much more spontanious with his conservation with him last week. But what does a Mom know? His behavior? MUCH better. he was starting to exhibit oppositional defiant symptoms,the teacher would redirect him and he would blow up,get very upset,and not able to take responsibility for his actions,if he was disciplined he would go off,and not be able to calm back down. When first started on Concerta my Doc. stated we might have to add clonidine,but to wait and see if he could start deesclating himself first. He immediately turned around. He started staying on task for a much longer period of time. The times that he was redirected he didn’t lose it. He was able to take responsibility and Clonidine was never needed. This indicated that the oppositional symptoms were TOTALLY within his control,we just didn’t know this until the Concerta was started. He gets hungry,can sleep,and over all things are GREAT! Okay,sorry for rambling,my coffee has kicked in:-) I just find the language part to be interesting and I have never heard anyone else ever mention this,and as it relates to meds? All I can say about this is,I was at a loss,if his language skills appeared better off meds,I sure didn’t want to make them worse with meds,just to maintain appropriate classroom behavior.Even though it wasn’t correct language ability it was some ability. But the Concerta doesn’t seem to effect it either way.

No one med works for every child so even if Concerta doesn’t work, don’t give up. My son does very well on Adderall, Concerta makes him worse than no meds at all.

my son didnt do well w/ritalin on the tova and when referring me to the dr who would actually prescribe the meds I was warned by the testing psychologist NOT to let the Dr talk me into concerta as “if ritalin doesnt work, concerta wont work”.

Sure enough the doc was a concerta fan-said sons poor reaction could be cause of the abruptness of ritalin and concerta was smooth. Suggested we think about it for future because it lasts longer

2 weeks into school, i think the adderall is helping but hard to tell. Language probs just as you described are a big part of my sons issues. And, interetingly enough, his speech is worse-slp talked to him in hall 3rd day of school and called to up his iep from 2/wk to 4/wk. I never even thought about the meds-just assumed hed gone backwards over summer

Thanks for sharing this. I will monitor his speech w/o meds and seriously consider trying concerta. Already I see an issue with adderall-he studies with so much less frustration when hes on it.But i cant help w/spelling, etc. til evening when 2nd dose adderall has worn off-i ‘m thinking 3 doses is unreasonable but hes already falling apart w/homework at night and its only week 2 of school! Concerta could make a whole day w/2 doses, right??

Hi Everyone
My son is 7 and just started the second grade .. he had been on adderal since the middle of kindergarden and he seemed to build up a tolerance. we tried other things but dexidrine didn’t help and conserta made him WILD. we took him off meds at the end of 1st grade and he was off all summer. This year when school start boy did he hit the fan. Over 9 detentions the first week and a half and the principle was threating a suspention. I tried adderal again on a thursday but he seemed sad and supressed then on friday I tried conserta again and sure enough he was full of energy and all over the place but he was focused and he got a good report from school .. that night he had a hard time falling to sleep and I had desided to try something else or settle for the adderal when my husband stepped in and said … that boy was so good today and he was acctually being himself not a zombie but our high spirited little gift. He was right… it was Gabriel he was being a little wild but he was focusing and obeying the rules. I have admitted that I need to except him and love him for who he is so we have desided to fly with the conserta and see how it goes this past week he has done great in school and he has had no detentions .. the only side effects I have noticed would be Awful apetiet (of course) .. it is taking him longer to fall asleep .. and he seems to be more aggresive occationally .. he has gotten really upset a few times this week and he has had a hard time getting over it or dropping the subject .. that is very unlike him .. but we will see how it goes .. Jen

Actually it lasts all day. One dose. But the trick is,and this is one thing my Dr. stressed. You must give a larger dose then what is normally given,due to a percentage of the med that is losted.I know a kid who is maybe ten pounds lighter then mine. He is tall for his age,anyway,they are close. Mine was taking 54 mg’s,while this kid was taking 32mg.”s. This kid didn’t do well on it and they placed him back on Adderall. I don’t have any research on this,but all I can tell you is my kids language skills went way up,after he started Concerta.This kid does have some language problems,I noticed it today when talking with him,but he’s back on Adderall?…. It’s a hesitation kind of conserving. Like he’s having to pull the words out of his head.There not coming automatic,know what I mean?

Even though it contains the same ingredients, just in a different delivery system, Concerta did NOT work on my son. It didn’t address his concentration problems, as if the dose was too low, yet made him anxious, as if the dose was too high. We went back to regular dose Ritalin, which works fine for my son without any side effects.

So, just be aware that, as always, different meds (or even the same meds in a different delivery system) work differently in kids. Don’t assume that if Ritalin works, Concerta will too. Conversely, Concerta may work even if Ritalin doesn’t.

JulieinSC

My daughter was on Ritalin and then on Adderall. She was not on any of them very long because she wasn’t sleeping at night! Six or seven hours of sleep a night is not enough for an 8 year old.

She also has problems with anxiety and so the new doctor (I switched and I like this doctor much better!) prescribed Zoloft. It seems to be helping her a little bit with temper tantrums and even with her anxiety. She still has problems with concentration, organization and other ADD symptoms, so the doctor may try Concerta. I’m concerned that either Concerta will exacerbate her anxiety and that she won’t be able to sleep.

The doctor wants to see how she does in school with just the Zoloft. We will see.

Margo

You know, I read all these responses and I don’t get it. Someone explain to me why we have to drug our kids. Aren’t all people different and doesn’t that make us all special. Turn everyone into Zombies. Label them and get on with our own lives!!!!!!!!!!
Then problem is today is everyone is so busy with theirselves they don’t have the time to love and listen to their own children. Do you all know what these drugs do in the long run?
I’m going thru the motions right now with my son’s school, making him a conformist. He has a genius IQ, hypersensitive hearing, and is bigger than most 4th graders (and he just started 2nd grade). His only problem is that he is too smart, hears too well and looks older. Nobody wants to deal with it and I am damn sick of it. I’ve raised him to be an individual and thats wrong? I’m frustered and read all these things about meds.
Ok, I’m in the phase of frusteration and denial. My son was selected for the gifted and talented program for 2nd grade. He was one of 23 out of over 800 1st graders. Now this @!#$ starts with the teacher. He’s a happy kid, never complains, gets angry, or has a fit about anything. What do they want?
Somebody please help me. I’m a single mom and he is everything to me. I can’t fail at this.

Thanks

Just a comment, my sons take ritalin, not the high tech concerta, but they are anything but zombies. My oldest would probably have failed several grades by now if it weren’t for the meds and the attention he has gotten from his teachers. It won’t work by itself, but the teacher help won’t help without it. I get a little flustered myself when I hear folks talk about it only being used to create zombies or to make kids conform to the class.My boys are not behavior problems, never have been, hope they never are. They take it so that they are able to focus, stay on task, finish work and pay attention to the teacher so they can learn what it is she/he has to teach.And it is working.Obviously not for everyone but then some folks can’t tolerate sudafed either(at least not in the recommended dose).You must do what is best for your family, with as much information you can get from qualified people.By the way, People magazine ain’t it.Or whatever tabloid catches your eye.Talk to the doc,read all you can,be informed.

You are your sons best advocate. Find a place he can “shine” with the gifts and abilities he’s been given. It won’t be easy but there are teachers, programs, schools that will understand and welcome your child’s abilities and allow him to succeed.
‘Good Luck!

To Kim:

Our son was more of a zombie in school BEFORE he started taking Ritalin. Now he has come out of his shell and started participating in class. His grades are way up because his mind is now available for learning. The zombie thing is a widely over-used generalization.

Each child’s situation is different. Our oldest child is not medicated. Our pediatrician gave us three factors to help us make decisions about when to get help:
- Is his work on grade-level?
- Does he have friends?
- Does he have a positive sense of self-esteem?
Our oldest has no problems in these areas, so our pediatrician said just ignore the teacher’s (very irritating) suggestions to medicate. We worked on behavior modification instead. Occasionally, through the years, a few other teachers have found his fidgetyness annoying. But other teachers coped with it just fine and found him to be a bright and engaged student. Things got better in middle school when he could be placed in classes specifically designed for GT students.

On the other side, our youngest child has significant issues in all three categories. He is now takes Ritalin and we have seen great improvement in all three areas.

Evaluate your child’s situation with the help of a qualified professional. Gain as much knowledge as you can. Evaluate your child’s sense of self-esteem. Then see if you can put the wounded parent feelings aside and assess the situation as objectively as possible.

My impression is that ADHD is a neuro-transmitter deficiency. I do not feel guilty medicating our child so that he gets a biochemical that he doesn’t have enough of.

My 13 yr old has been on 36mg. Concerta for about 6 mo. now. He has been doing great. But, now he is telling me he is tired at school and that the medicine is making him sleepy. Is that possible? Maybe he needs an increased dose? He is now doing poorly in several classes. I just hate to increase. In the mean time we are looking at more sleep and diet. Do you think a big lunch decreases the effect of the medication? He eats pretty healthy food. He is epecially during his PM classes. Any comments?