Concerta

Concerta is Ritalin only on a 12 hour sustained release formula. My daughter is on concerta. She does really well with it. But some days when she is coming down she is a bear. My son is on a small dosage of Adderall he does fine with it. I know our insurance has changed and the new insurance doesn’t cover Adderall and we will have to pay for it out of pocket unless he switches to Concerta.Perhaps your son is on too high of a dosage? Maybe he needs a anti-depressant like Zoloft. I have a student who is on Zoloft and it has made such a difference. Ritalin didn’t help her but Zoloft has.

:My son was on adderall and we switched to concerta. Looking back on it, it was a nightmare. He couldn’t settle down on it in the afternoon. Wouldn’t eat until about 9:30 when he took in large amounts of food. Was up late after that. Woke up in the morning first totally groggy, then totally hyper until after the concerta kicked in. He’s back on adderall. I am a mother of a seven year old boy who has just been changed from
: Adderall to Concerta. He has become more volitile expressing great
: anger and flustration in very aggressive outbursts. I’m wondering
: if anyone else who has a boy that was on Adderall and changed to
: Concerta has seen a marked increase in outbursts of anger and
: flustration with this medication.

Last week my son was put on a mood stabilizer prescription of Paxil. Since he started it he has become less volitle, agressive and angry. I received my first positive note home from his teacher saying that “he behaved very well this week and was able to focus during testing.” This is an amazing turn around for him. I have seen here at home an equally amazing turn around with him and his attitude and behaviors around family and friends. Maybe those who are having simular problems on Concerta or Adderall will want to check into Paxil. It’s not a big dose, just a half teaspoon in the am and that’s it. I’m hopefull this will be a long term solution with no increase in dosage for either of his medications.

Thank you so much for the emails. It’s encouraging that others are having simular problems. As a single mom of two boys with ADHD and other issues I don’t come across many people who know what I am talking about. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart.

My son is 14 and we recently switched him from Adderal to Concerta because wasn’t remembering to take his afternoon dose at school. After reading these parents reactions I am seeing the same kinds of behaviors in him. Only at home though. Super tired in the morning and very tempermental. From what I’m hearing keeping him on the Concerta but adding an antidepressent is what is helping. Is this correct and if this med is having bad side affects should we continue to keep him on it? Any info you have found would be greatly appreciated!!

I wrote above about difficulties on Concerta. During that time he was also taking Prozac, an SSRI he had been on for some time. It didn’t help. We had put him on Concerta because the school couldn’t handle giving him the second dose of Adderall. We now give him the Adderall in the car when he’s picked up from school at 3:00 in the afternoon so he can get through his homework. It’s not ideal as he often stays up past 10:30 (he’s 10), but it’s working a lot better for us than Concerta. The doctor said he’s had a lot of good results with Concerta, but it appeared to have severe rebound effects with my son.

My understanding of ADD and medications is that different subtypes of ADD require different medications and even then, a recommended medication is only effective in about 75% of patients. Additionally, the dosage needs to be adjusted to the appropriate level. See the subtype test at www.amenclinic.com. Also, Dr Amen’s recently released book, Healing ADD contains some of the most recent thinking on subtypes and their treatments.

Dear Kim,

I have been so busy lately, I haven’t gotten to even check my email. As I came across your question on Concerta, I decided to reply immediately. As a special ed teacher, I have only had one student switch to Concerta from the regular doses of Ritalin. This teacher is NOT impressed. It has been a disasterous change. The student is extremely argumentive, has hardly any focus and it’s been downhill for weeks! I want the “old” student back! I’m interested in knowing what’s happening to your son these days.

Sue

4/2/01

My son has been on Adderall for two years. As he’s grown, we’ve increased the dosage. The school developed a policy of not administering medication. They wanted the kids to “remember” to come to the school receptionist, to take it himself. And I paid all this money.

Concerta was a nightmare. My son had immediate side affects. So bad in fact, that I almost rushed him to the emergency room. He turned red like a cooked lobster, dilated pupils, he was cold and clammy, and had problems with vision. Forget trying to be focused. He was to ill. He slept it off, and after two days he was back to his old self.

That stuff is dangerous.

I have read your message regarding Concerta. My son started taking Concerta within the past few months and I have seem a change for the better. Now, he is also on Tenex and Zoloft - a lot of medication for a 10 year old. But he is also diagnosed with ADHD and ODD - a deadly combination. So, I am surprised to heard of your bad luck with Concerta.