Concerta

I can give you our experience.

My son took both Ritalin and dexadrine when he was younger and had terrible side effects with both, particulary appetite loss and withdrawal.

On Concerta, assumably because of the way it is released steadily and evenly throughout the day, the appetite loss was not nearly as bad and the withdrawal virtually non-existant.

Good luck!

Some of those with ADHD respond well only to a specific ADHD med (a central nervous system stimulant/alerting agent) vs all of them. There is no way for knowing in advance how a med will actually work for a particular person with ADHD. Some of those with ADHD fail on Ritalin yet respond to Adderall and vice versa; some of those with ADHD fail on Adderall yet respond to Ritalin and so on. Good luck.

–

Anonymous…Finally something else besides ritalin and dexadrine in Canada! I am considering switching dd from dexadrine. Can anyone give me some feedback on why it would be better? Cons as well before I see the neurologist. TIA

Concerta is the brand name - it is a time released ritalin where the time release technology used in the pill is more specialized to confer a more even release through the day. There is some kind of micro pump, I don’t remember the release technology details..

Kim

First of all what is your complaint with Ritalin? If it is the fact that it alters your childs moods, then you don’t want Concerta. If the ritalin is just giving you the Roller coaster effect than give it a try. Concerta is a time released form of ritalin, longer than sr. When I say roller coaster effect, you know the way your child acts when the ritalin starts to wear off and then it takes another 45 min to an hour for the next dose to kick in. They are often extremely hyper/and or inattentave when they come down off of the medication. My pediatrician calls this the “REBOUND”.

day 2 of Concerta and no changes, she is bouncing off the walls! Her neurologist said to try 18 mg for 2 weeks, and if no change then increase to 36. Do I have to wait this long? If she is still no responding to 18 by this weekend, is it too soon to increase? She was getting 12 1/2, twice a day before.

Our ason is doing very well on Concerta. He had been on Metadate CD, but it would wear off just in time for homework! His appetite was practically nil during the day also. We knew something was wrong when we received his monthly lunch bill from school. He has only spent $2.85 in the whold month!
Now, on Concerta, he can do his homework without a battle, and he also eats lunch! We still suppliment his diet with Ensure to make sure he gets enough calories during the day. He only weighs 79 lbs, and is a 5’3” 11 year old!
Good luck with your trials and errors! Each child is very different, but Concerta works for us!

[quote=”dianeque”]day 2 of Concerta and no changes, she is bouncing off the walls! Her neurologist said to try 18 mg for 2 weeks, and if no change then increase to 36. Do I have to wait this long? If she is still no responding to 18 by this weekend, is it too soon to increase? She was getting 12 1/2, twice a day before.[/quote]

We increased after one week, but my dd had also been on Ritalin SR and short acting Ritalin for several years when Concerta became available, so we had a good notion that 18 was not going to be enough. The thing about waiting about 2 weeks is that it can help filter out variables that may impact your child’s symptoms. I would suggest that you keep a log of your child’s behaviors and what is happening around them also. If after a week you can see that no way 18 mgs is impacting her at all, call the Dr and share your observations. With the log you’ll be able to provide more detailed information, and he may consider a change sooner.

My daughter started with Concerta this year. It has taken several months and many trial and errors to finally get the dose correct. But it seems to be working beautifully now. She is taking 63 mg. This is a big pain because it requires two prescriptions. I wish the drug company would make more does levels available so I didn’t have to pay twice.