I am on Concerta 54. Well I started taking it again about a week and half ago. The first couple of days I felt slowed down and almost drugged but very relaxed. It seemed to wear off quickly tho in the first few days. I seem to remember someone mentioning it needing to build up in your system. I could be wrong about that tho. I did have a head ache for those first days and nausea but not anymore. It does supress my appetite and I've lost a ton of weight which I didn't have that much to begin with. Caught a view of myself in a side mirror today and I look like a stick. I'm currently dreaming up ways to get food down. If I smell or taste food while on Concerta, it's almost revolting. This is not such a good thing if you're not overweight. You need food to stay healthy and not have your hair, teeth and nails fall out...;)
I also experience dehydration and my skin looks dehydrated and older...mouth like the Sahara desert. Also in the first days, if I was on a computer or watching a television when it wore off, I found it hard to tear myself away and I got very little sleep since I have to exhaust myself (and then some) to go to bed....hyperfocus in strong effect. I start and obsess over a lot less projects involving gathering data...would gather info on something obessively to use in the future for something but then lost interest and didn't want to throw it away due to all the work I put into the gathering of it. You should see the stacks of paperwork that are slowly dissolving in my home.

Positives: I'm much more calm, less impulsive and I don't interrupt conversations. I don't react when my boss tries to push my buttons and say things I will later regret. I don't go on shopping sprees and buy things I don't need or can't afford....have saved a lot of money recently. I know when to quit something...less perfectionistic. My self esteem has improved...course, that could be because I decided to write out a list of my positive characteristics and when I took a good look at it (keep it in a place you will see often), I had a huge change of personal belief in myself. Why have I been so down on myself all these years and found it hard to take a compliment? I got a lot of good stuff goin' on... :D

I know there's more but I can't think of them right now.

Just wanted to share,
Donna

Where you given 54 to start out with? I was given 36 and I took it for a week and really couldn't telll a difference when reading for school. On the 6th day I popped 2 (36mg) pills and I could tell a difference. I might tell my Dr. to give me a 54mg script to try instead. Did you ever have a problem reading books? Didnt know if know you are able to read and comprehend better as well.

I had taken Concerta and stopped thinking I didn't need it...no longer in stressful job. When I did the consultation for going back on, he decided to return me to the amount I was formerly on. I don't have issues understanding what I read, now remembering...that's another thing. :)

Donna

Concerta is a great delivery system for methylphenidate. I'm glad to hear it's working well for your purposes.

I've stopped and started concerta a few times myself and started up on the 54 mg every day (instead of just school days) and I can see a huge difference, that I never noticed before.

Cyndi

Wow you were started a lot higher than I was. My doctor started me last week on 18 mg Concerta. It made a big difference. My anxiety, irritability, and spaciness improved dramatically. I'm still not focusing as well as I'd like or getting as organized. But it's only been a week. Maybe I need a higher dose for that stuff.

Scattered.

I just started on 18mg today after being on Adderal XR. I don't know if 18 is ultimately going to be high enough for me. I'm quite sleepy right now, towards the end of the day, so I definitely didn't get that jittery sensation. That must be because I've been on Adderall XR for a couple of years.

First week or so I got real sleepy with Concerta but I don't think I was getting enough sleep before and the Concerta helps me relax which makes me sleepy. Not that I'm going to bed earlier the effect of that has dropped way off. The doctor raised my dose to 27 in the morning and 18 around noon. Seems to be the right combination for me. I get all day coverage and still sleep well. I'm much more relaxed and am getting better organized (though still have a ways to go).

Scattered

i started concerta 18 about a week ago. first stimulant med ever tried and I think it gives me an energy boost for about 8 hours, and that's cool because lack of energy is a big problem for me. However, I feel like I still have brain fog, hopefully either uppered dosage or switching to adderall will remove it

Hi, please disregard this message, I wanted to start a thread LOL!:D :D :D