Here is my question.

I've taken Concerta 36 mg. for about two weeks now. The difference has been amazing, and I don't need to tell anyone who has experienced that Eureka breakthrough moment how it feels.

My doctor told me that I don't have to take it everyday. He said that if there's ever a day when I don't have any errands to do, I can skip it and be content in doing nothing. The thing is, I never want to feel like I do off my medication again. I love being able to concentrate and get things done. I feel like this is how I should be.

Everyone around me has noticed an improvement. However, people closest to me are concerned. My boyfriend says that I'm addicted, and should only take the pill "sometimes". He says that it scares him that I need to rely on a pill to live. My mother did some amateur Googling and calls my medicine Cocaine, and me a cokehead :p . Like my boyfriend, she said that I need to lay off the medicine, and that it should only be used to help me refocus my behavior to how I should act while off of the medicine, not while on it. Instead of being happy that my life has changed majorly for the better, everyone is always concerned about me.

So, is it really that bad if I don't want to get off Concerta? The way I see it, when I have an asthma attack, I have to use my inhaler, and I'm not addicted. If it isn't that bad, how do I convince them that Concerta has virtually no negative side effects for me and it helps me tremendously? I also see a psych and do cognitive therapy, exercise, eat better, etc. But clearly Concerta has helped the most.

Thanks.

No, absolutely not! I take concerta and ritalin plus meds for other conditions. I never-go off- off them on purpose. Yes, I can forget a dose, but my life is so much easier and I function so much better! Stay on your meds. Get a new doc if this one doesn't listen to you! My doc tells me not to skip! Why should you struggle one day and not the next? You know yourself better than anyone-follow your heart while you use your intelligence!

RADD

While experiencing the improvement that your med makes is a sign that it's working, you can't conclude that because you feel better, the problem is done with. Not taking medication regularly is one of the biggest problems in health care. Of course you should keep taking your medicine. Hopefully, your doctor was just trying to let you know that if you miss a dose, no biggy. Your boyfriend and your mother .... let's see, I don't want to get thrown out here... they are badly misinformed. I hope you don't live with either of them. Smile at them and ignore them.

You should remind them that they are not the ones who have to live and function every day with adhd. Furthermore, you can remind them that you are under a doctors care and that taking the medication every day is normal when you have adhd. Lastly you might tell them that you do not appreciate them labeling you "cokehead" or "addict", snce you MUST be medicated in some form in order to function like a "normal" person and that you are NOT a drug abuser.

You can probably throw in the words "abusive mindset", "ignorant" and "double standard" just to set them straight on how YOU feel about it.

Me :D



Here is my question.

I've taken Concerta 36 mg. for about two weeks now. The difference has been amazing, and I don't need to tell anyone who has experienced that Eureka breakthrough moment how it feels.

My doctor told me that I don't have to take it everyday. He said that if there's ever a day when I don't have any errands to do, I can skip it and be content in doing nothing. The thing is, I never want to feel like I do off my medication again. I love being able to concentrate and get things done. I feel like this is how I should be.

Everyone around me has noticed an improvement. However, people closest to me are concerned. My boyfriend says that I'm addicted, and should only take the pill "sometimes". He says that it scares him that I need to rely on a pill to live. My mother did some amateur Googling and calls my medicine Cocaine, and me a cokehead :p . Like my boyfriend, she said that I need to lay off the medicine, and that it should only be used to help me refocus my behavior to how I should act while off of the medicine, not while on it. Instead of being happy that my life has changed majorly for the better, everyone is always concerned about me.

So, is it really that bad if I don't want to get off Concerta? The way I see it, when I have an asthma attack, I have to use my inhaler, and I'm not addicted. If it isn't that bad, how do I convince them that Concerta has virtually no negative side effects for me and it helps me tremendously? I also see a psych and do cognitive therapy, exercise, eat better, etc. But clearly Concerta has helped the most.

Thanks.

My mother did some amateur Googling and calls my medicine Cocaine, and me a cokehead. Like the other people that have posted here, I also feel annoyed by what your mother said to you.

It's best to take your medication every single day, regardless of what other people's uninformed prejudices are.

Best of luck! :)

Hey there,

that's really ignorant to say. Just shows a lack of knowledge on the subject. For some reason specialy parents seem to have a problem accepting ADHD. It's like that for me and I have read that quiet a few times here on the forums.

About taking them daily, I found that it's easier to deal with the changing perception when I take them regulary and without breaks.

T

Hi Selby,

I don't want to pile on here with criticism of your loved ones. I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone in this area.

My mother has difficulty understanding my situation and is often less supportive than I would like. I have come to realize that when she is disrespectful to me she is actually acting out of her fear that she did something wrong that caused my mental ilnesses and/or that she thinks that I'm trying to blame her for my illnesses. Neither is true, of course. I'm just trying to find the best way to live my life. I know that she did nothing wrong and I suspect that she is an undiagnosed adult ADD.

Since I call myself a Christian, I try to be the bigger person and not get into catfight with her. It is hard work, and I fail sometimes, but still I try.

Take care of yourself.

YES - I HATE NEEDING to take medication and i do feel it is BAD. in my family, this sort of thing was always frowned upon as a weakness of character.

then again, those hypocrites keep being angry when i dont take mine. go figure.

I too am on a sort of "prn" plan with my meds; take as needed and like you i take them when i have to. if im just sitting around i sometimes dont bother. my dr said thats fine. when you're a kid, they often put you on the weekend and summers-off med holidays to check if the meds are still needed, and to allow for a more normal growth pattern. who woulda thunk though, that we'd still need them 20-some-odd years later?

Instead of being happy that my life has changed majorly for the better, everyone is always concerned about me.
This, in my mind, is the crux of the problem. I am very concerned that friends and family members seem not to care about whether this improves your life at all. It is also concerning that they all seem to believe that there is nothing wrong with advising someone to ignore their doctor and stop taking psychiatric medication. Really now, reread that last sentence and tell me that they are acting in a rational manner.

As for amateur googling...oy, I think I can guess which websites she was looking at, and they're all run by, or at least paid for and hosted by a religious organization that believes that psychiatric treatment, especially medication, is a tool of the devil or Xenu or whatever name they use.

You could always shut her up by saying "While i do agree with you that methylphenidate shares some pharmacodynamic properties with cocaine, their pharmacokinetic profiles are very, very different." Also, I presume that she does not allow her dentist to use novocaine on her when filling cavities, as novocaine (procaine), along with benzocaine and lidocaine are all basically forms of cocaine that do not pass through to the brain. Of course, presumably she never goes near a surgery ward or emergency room, since they keep supplies of liquid cocaine on hand there to use as an anaesthetic in certain cases (one of which being sinus surgery, as I found out).

One other option might be to see if your mother or your boyfriend would like to come with you to your next appointment with your doc to discuss their concerns? Or I'm sure that your physician would be happy to discuss this with them over the phone.

And you should insist that if your mother is going to do research on the internet, she needs to be using

http://www,pubmed.gov

If she finds it too difficult (even I have trouble with it sometimes), then there's at least http://scholar.google.com

So many people are ignorant when it comes to AD/HD medication. It's tough when it's somebody close to you. You pretty much have 2 choices your can try to educate them about the truth or you can try to ignore their opinions. It sounds like they don't understand Adult AD/HD too well either. If they did they would realize that it affects all areas of our lives.

Maybe you could buy them a couple of books about Adult AD/HD to read or send them to some web sites that aren't trying to make money off of scaring people about AD/HD Medication.

Yeah, I agree your bf and mom are quite uneducated about this whole subject matter.

However, to answer your original question: no, I don't think it's bad that you don't want to get off of Concerta. I try to take "med holidays" from time to time as I am one that very easily builds up tolerances to these types of medications. But I do not like who I am off the meds! As my psychiatrist even put it: I'm "too spaced out." I don't function well, I'm all over the place, and I'm just a mess, plain and simple. I don't think there's anything wrong with me liking the fact that I'm functioning, doing well in school, etc. However, these meds CAN be addicting if taken in high doses or for extended periods. There is always that warning that comes in the leaflet you get when you fill your prescription. I have to be extra careful, because I've had drug abuse issues in the past; however, I find that when properly medicated for my ADHD, I have no desire whatsoever to use drugs or alcohol. Quite amazing to me really. Anyway, good luck with informing your bf and mom, and welcome to "clarity!" Ha!

however, I find that when properly medicated for my ADHD, I have no desire whatsoever to use drugs or alcohol. Quite amazing to me really.Yeah, they've done studies that have shown that ADHD people on medicaton have a much lower rate of substance abuse than those not medicated. Studies have also shown that people with ADHD who are unmedicated are often at a higher risk for substance abuse if not treated. Probably involves dopamine pathways somewhere...while the main executive functions use dopamine in the frontal and prefrontal regions (think right behind your forehead), pleasure and addiction are mediated by dopamine elsewhere, in te nucleus accumbens, I think. Of course, it could be completely unrelated to that, and have more to do with the ADHD predisposition towards risk-taking behavior and a lack of concern or comprehension of consequences.

Or it could be because untreated ADHD tends to result in chronic underacheivement, which can be very depressing, and depression can definitely lead to drug use.

Also, someone mentioned the need for information from a website that is run neither by anti-drug zealots or drug companies who may have a financial conflict of interest. One of the websites I prefer, and one that I've often recommended for friends and family is the website of the National Institute of Mental Health, which is one of the organizations that make up the National Institutes of Health. NIH is the largest source of federal government-sponsored research in the nation. All of the information and studies that they publish are funded from federal research grants, no pharmaceutical money involved. Congress appropriates money to NIH, and NIH distributes it to each of the Institutes, and then each Institute sponsors research.

The website is http://www.nimh.nih.gov

And the ADHD page is at:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/adhdmenu.cfm

There's also a link to the National Library of Medicine's ADHD page:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/attentiondeficitdisorderwithhyperactivity.html

All of these are part of NIH, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, one of the agencies in the federal government that is truly non-partisan and fairly apolitical (with the exception of NIDA, sometimes).

And in case anyone cares to ask, no, I have no financial conflicts of interest with regards to NIH or HHS. That's the beauty of these resources, nobody has any conflict of interest, their money comes from essentially anonymous tax dollars.

I "need" my thyroid medication (yes, I could live without it and be cold, lethargic and brainless---but then there would be lots of other problems). How is that different than you "needing" your medication?

My daughter's doctor does not like med holidays until youv'e been on the med a long time and see clear potential benefits from a holiday.

It can be awful to deal with family/friends who have only heard the negative press put out by the xenu crowd and the other competators to the med companies or to phsychiatry in general. I had to deal with husband's friends and family who are all part of the xenu crowd. They are not even allowed to surf the net without a filter program installed (this make is hard for them to get information that might counteract what they have been told). After I provided reams of studies, data, consensus statements and unatractive info on the "doctors" on the CCHR website, they no longer give me a hard time about my choices for my daughter.

I find that when properly medicated for my ADHD, I have no desire whatsoever to use drugs or alcohol.I've noticed that as well. It's so nice to be clear-headed, I haven't really felt like clogging my brain up with anything just for the sake of recreation lately. :D

For Selby, I'm sorry your family isn't more supportive. I think that's pretty common, though. A couple of weeks ago when I started taking Adderall, the first thing my mom did when I told her was send me an email about how she thought I should just exercise and use herbs instead of medications. Of course, she also said she felt the same way for people with depression and high cholesterol (both of which she's had). :rolleyes: She just has this kooky new-age idea that pharmaceuticals are "bad" and should be avoided at all costs. I reminded her that the herbal remedies that she touts aren't regulated or scientifically tested in any way, and that I do exercise and try to eat well and get enough sleep, and that Adderall has been helping to get me motivated to do those things. She piped down after that. :D

I think most people who disagree with medication for AD/HD probably don't really believe that it's a real, physical disorder. Maybe they say they do, but if they really understood that, they'd have no more problem with AD/HD medications than meds for diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, or any other chronic physical disorder.

I need the dexedrine and I don't care how many obese people got addicted to it in 1975, I need it and take it to treat my adhd.

These are fear based responses and sometimes the fear is based in ignorance...a complete lack of knowledge. Sometimes the ignorance won't go away with more knowledge.


My boyfriend says that I'm addicted, and should only take the pill "sometimes". He says that it scares him that I need to rely on a pill to live.
It's easier to find a new boyfriend that works for you than an ADD med. Get a new boyfriend. He is a moron and has no compassion. If he had any brains he would know it takes more than 2 weeks to become an addict and concerta is such a LOW dose of amphetamine. Also, if he was worth keeping he would be more concerned about how scared you might be about having to take a pill for the REST OF YOUR LIFE to fit into his linear world. BTW, I'm a guy, with ADD on Concerta and I say keep the Concerta and ask Santa for a new boyfriend. (sorry, I'm married. :D)



My mother did some amateur Googling and calls my medicine Cocaine, and me a cokehead :p . Like my boyfriend, she said that I need to lay off the medicine, and that it should only be used to help me refocus my behavior to how I should act while off of the medicine, not while on it. Instead of being happy that my life has changed majorly for the better, everyone is always concerned about me.



Uh..er...how do I say this...your mother is part of the problem.
You're an adult now right?

And you're just now dealing with ADD?

"Sorry mom, you didn't deal with it well enough when I was a kid so you ARE NOT qualified to be my medical advisor".

You doctor prescribed this medication--not some street corner drug dealer. Your mom obviously has NO idea of the HUGE differences in the actual amount of amphetamines in Concerta vs. some street drug.

Selby, after a year of taking Concerta you will no doubt be researching ADD deeper than you have. You are and will be more of an expert on the subject than any non-ADD lay person. Be your own champion of your health and sanity. Stop expecting to have approval from anyone but yourself and your medical team. Anyone who doesn't support you is not worth keeping close--immediate family included!

One last thing, feeling "normal" and getting things done without massive frustration is almost instantly addicting. It's what most linear thinking people are trying to avoid feeling and why they get high all the time...to try and be as creative and clever as us! :D

LOL people amuse me

My mom takes thyroid medicine. I can't believe she has to take a pill for the rest of her life to live properly. I think she is addicted to synthroid! I'm going to start calling her synhead. I think I'm going to get a new mommy who doesn't take thyroid medication.

Hah while typing this post I realized Vickie made the same point.

selby would you prefer to enjoy your life while medicated, or suffer for the next 50-70 years of life because of the boyfriend you are going to dump in 3 months and the mother who hasn't taken a single biology course in her life?

I started a thread about this a few days ago in that I dont tell people I have ADD.The only person who knows about it is my doctor and two of my closest friends who understand and accept it. I live with my boyfriend and he doesnt even know that i am taking anything. He too doesn't like meds. He barely even takes Advil. Most of these people who will say stuff about it are the first people who will ask you for a pill here and there to stay awake to go to the bars or to study for grad school exams. I want to avoid dealing with the double standard and people asking me for it. I didnt tell my parents/brother/boyfriend for the exact same reason you are posting here. I want to avoid having people pass judgement on me. Unfortunately, there is a stigma assocaited with people who take ADD meds. It shouldn't be this way but it is. However, in some ways I see why people feel this way. It is the people who abuse it that set us up with the idea that these meds are bad. I find it so much easier to keep it private and go on with my life. I would love to be fortunate enough to be able to be open about it with my social/family group, but I'm not so this is why I decided to stay private.

[QUOTE=selby]Here is my question.

I've taken Concerta 36 mg. for about two weeks now. The difference has been amazing, and I don't need to tell anyone who has experienced that Eureka breakthrough moment how it feels.

My doctor told me that I don't have to take it everyday. He said that if there's ever a day when I don't have any errands to do, I can skip it and be content in doing nothing. The thing is, I never want to feel like I do off my medication again. I love being able to concentrate and get things done. I feel like this is how I should be.

BE THANKFUL! A lot of people get better and think they should get OFF their meds!