So I went to see a new psychiatrist today about my add symptoms.. went like this.

me - I tell him all my symptoms.. my scores on the online tests.. etc..

him - how about we start you on some ritalin

me - actually I think i'd like to try concerta

him - writes me a script for 18 mg.


of course I'm very happy to start on the Concerta and really hope it works for me, but on the other hand I find it funny how he knows about all my anxiety/depression/history of addiction/ and just throws a script at me.

oh well, downed pill #1 about 20 minutes ago so I'll keep ya'll updated on if it works / doesn't / side effects / etc..

Are you cured yet? What kind of Dr. was this btw?

of course I'm very happy to start on the Concerta and really hope it works for me, but on the other hand I find it funny how he knows about all my anxiety/depression/history of addiction/ and just throws a script at me.Whoa, just a second dude, lemme turn that to another angle for ya ok? :D

If he knows all about your history of addiction, then maybe he knows that its extremely difficult to abuse Concerta? Maybe that's a good thing? Much easier to abuse Ritalin ya know. Maybe your decision to go with the Concerta was a good thing in his mind.

Just tossing that out for ya, since we have not talked for a while...how is the Concerta going? Let us know.

Crazy :)

Hey Astro Pup,

It sounds as though you have a good dr. It is also importand to be completely through in his diagnoses and the history part of your diagnoses. What kind of dr was he?

remember it take at least a month to feel the full effects of the medication . you may want to keep track of the side effects so when you talk to your dr you and tell him and he will know how to increase or decrease your meds. keep us infomed.

well it's been about 6 hours since I took my first dose.. does one feel anything in the first few hours? I hear some people say they get that speedy euphoric feeling which I didn't get (thank god for that). It feels like I took nothing at all.. no dry mouth or any other side effects either.. I guess it may be too early to tell or maybe it's not a high enough dose.. I dunno.. I'll keep with it.. did anyone else feel nothing at all on the 18 mg dose then all of a sudden get the effects with an increased dose?

Give it another day or two and see how you feel. I didn't think I had any euphoria the first time I took it, but two days later, I realized I did. Of course I knew I felt "something" too, so that's not exactly the same as what you describe. If you literally feel nothing, then your dose may be to low. Give your doctor a call, and see what he says.
I started on 18mg and worked my way up. 18mg was way to low for me. It only lasted for 4 hours, not even close to the 10-12 hours you should get from it.
I've ended up on 54mg, and I think this is where I will stay. Anything more, I know would be to much.
I'm not real sure you will get more results in a few days. Stimulants are in and out of your system fairly quickly, so it's more like...what you are getting is all you're going to get.
Pay attention to yourself though. Sometimes you may not feel a whole lot different, but notice that you are functioning a whole lot better.
Keep a close eye on your symptoms, and keep in touch with your doctor.
Good luck!

well it's been about 6 hours since I took my first dose.. does one feel anything in the first few hours? I hear some people say they get that speedy euphoric feeling which I didn't get (thank god for that). It feels like I took nothing at all.. no dry mouth or any other side effects either.. I guess it may be too early to tell or maybe it's not a high enough dose.. I dunno.. I'll keep with it.. did anyone else feel nothing at all on the 18 mg dose then all of a sudden get the effects with an increased dose?I felt that way at 18mgs. Astro. I felt a small, maybe 2-3 hour gap of some kind of odd clarity then rebounded :rolleyes: and that was awful. I also had some stomach discomfort (heartburn) for about a week, but that went away.

As I started to titrate up to higher doses I would feel this gritty kind of too-much-coffee feeling when the IR methylphenidate would hit me, and that eventually passed. I cannot claim to have felt all that speedy, but I did feel some mild euphoria as I approached longer periods of clarity (possibly because I spent so many years in a total blur) and in time that stopped happening for me too.

HTH and hang in there! :) Keep us posted.

Crazy

I am on 54mg of Concerta but started out at 27. On my 1st day, within 10 minutes my body and mind were calmer than anything I could have dreamed of - - - I literally felt like I had just had the best massage! Of course, that feeling only lasted through 2 days before my body adjusted to the meds. I was upped to 54 2 months ago because my attention, focus, and organization seemed to be falling back to their old ways. So far 54mg has done the trick. I don't think I have ever had the euphoric feelings that many people on the board have. I actually get tired from the meds (more so at the end of the day). Hope everything works out for you!

What kind of Dr. was this?

Foot-in-mouth, I wasn't sure if that question was directed to me, but if it is, here is the answer. My doc is a GP. And I just re-read my post and it sounds totally misleading. I was on 27mg of concerta for just under 8 months before making the switch to 54.

well day 2.. took a double dose of concerta this morning (so 36mg) and still felt absolutely nothing.. no change in thought.. motivation.. no speedy feeling.. no ups.. no downs.. nothing.. which is pretty much the way i've been feeling for a while now. I just feel horribly depressed lately and have no will to do absolutely anything. I dunno what it is.. shouldn't I have at least felt something? I mean it is an amphetamine isn't it? gah I dunno anymore.. i'm starting to wonder if this thought of having add is all just in my head. I have a 2 week script @ 36 mg or 1 month @ 18 mg.. I kinda wich the doc had just wrote me a trial script for 1 week rather than just a whole month as it seems to have been a waste of $80

I can understand your frustration in wanting something to work/take effect quickly, especially when it comes to meds and ADD. Don't lose hope, though. I think it is common to have both depression and ADD, so no - - - the ADD is probably not in your head. For some people the meds are felt within 10 minutes, while others it takes more time and/or days. Hopefully you will find the right dosage you need.

Pardon my asking, but are you taking anything for depression? I am wondering if you should call this new doc and explain that you have no desire to do things, as that alone is cause for concern. If the feeling of increased desire is what you are trying to accomplish with concerta, I am not sure if concerta will actually help with that (though I could be totally off on that!). I hope things work out for you. Keep us updated.

I'm with ames on this Astro. Depression can mimic ADD and vice-versa. Its a tough call! Boy, do I know it.

Please remember impatience is a hallmark of ADD too OK? We can go too far wanting an answer NOW so please take gentle care.

i have taken many antidepressants over the last 6 years but I have always been high while on them.. I was a chronic pot smoker for 10 years and just quit using it daily 3 months ago. I have used it a handful of times since then but have never gone back to the daily thing.. last time I smoked was probably 2 weeks ago and I don't want to smoke it ever again.. but It was the only thing that ever made me feel happy.. altho half the time it triggered massive anxiety and depression so I started takin antidepressants.. but the whole time smoked weed on them so I cannot determine their usefullness because I know that the pot use effected my brains response to them. I stopped takin the zoloft like 2 months ago after I figured the depression was gone.. (I was on it for over a year) and felt fine.. I'm also going through tough times in my relationship.. I posted about that a couple weeks ago on the forums.. but to make a long story short for you who don't know.. the pot ran my life to the point of where I lied to the wife about it's use constantly and she finally got fed up with it.. then we seperated and I actually managed to stop using it.. then I got off the zoloft and started to feel really good, and I guess it went to my head and I told my wife I wanted to see other people.. and now all I want is her back but she is so fed up with my indecisiveness that she is very sceptical about our life together.. she says she has gained a lot of self esteem about herself from being alone.. she even started seeing someone else.. which broke my heart because I only thought i wanted to see other people.. when in fact I was just confused and regretted making that decision shortly after I did it (I do this a lot.. typical adhd behavior.. or is it I dunno anymore) but she agreed to see a marriage counselor with me again to see if things can be saved. anyways that may be whats adding to my depression now but back to a few months ago... so anyways I started hanging out with friends more.. but every time I did I would either drink.. or get high.. but when I came home I would feel fine.. I guess because I thought I could always have that in my life as a social thing.. but I know it will catch up with me sooner or later so I know I have to put the brakes on it now before I relapse into daily use again. Anyways now that i'm totally not using at all I feel very depressed.. I still have some zoloft left over from when I stopped using it a couple months ago and I am pretty sure I should start on it again.. but I don't just want to start taking it without talking to the docs again.. but then again my next appt with the doc who prescribed me the concerta is in 2 weeks.. I guess I can call him and ask if i can start on it again.. oh and i've been takin ativan when my anxiety gets really but and it seems to work.. anyways my concertration is so bad right now I can hardly remember anything I just typed.. and I don't want to scroll up again to see what I typed so i'm just going to leave it at this.. hopefully I'll come out of this but right now I am feeling so down.. theres even a concert im going to tonight that I should be excited about but I could almost care less.. I just want to go to bed and never wake up.. bah so thats my life right now, I hope i've made some sense and if not then that too bad because I don't think I can make much sense of anything right now.... actually I could probably just keep on typing but im going to stop right........... now!

Are you taking the Ativan "with" the Concerta? That will most definitely damper it's effects.
Really, call your doctor, the dose may be to low. Give them a ring. Could just be that this medication won't work for you either. It happens :)