Hey,

I switched from 36 mg to 27 mg of Concerta app. six weeks ago, as 36 mg was simply too much!

Although I am content with this new dose, by the seventh hour the Concerta has worn off (36 mg appeared to last for nearly 11 hours).

Any ideas?

Do any of you take two Concerta pills per day; i.e., one in the morning, and one in the late afternoon?

Thanks,
Joe

Yes many people stagger Concerta doses to get all-day relief, They like to say it lasts 12 hours? But I do not believe that's the common experience. I get about 7 hours myself.

My 7 yo daughter started on 27 mg concerta after we found 20 mg Rit LA was not working enough in the PM. the LA wore off by 4:00 (9 hours).

The Concerta seems to last til almost 7:00 and has a much smoother ending. However we found that she was too active in the am. The LA was 10 in the am and the Concerta is like 6 in the am. So we now give her a normal ritalin 5mg in the am for a total 11 in the am. So far OK after 3 days.

Perhaps just try a Rit 5 or 10mg booster after 7 hours or so?

Hey,

I switched from 36 mg to 27 mg of Concerta app. six weeks ago, as 36 mg was simply too much!

Although I am content with this new dose, by the seventh hour the Concerta has worn off (36 mg appeared to last for nearly 11 hours).

Any ideas?

Do any of you take two Concerta pills per day; i.e., one in the morning, and one in the late afternoon?

Thanks,
Joe
What made you determine that 36mg was too much? I just went through the same thing after being on 36mg for 4 months have stepped down in dose.

Hey,

On 36 mg...
-The side effects were intolerable (BIG crash/rebound, grinding teeth, elevated heart rate level, decrease in sex drive)

-The 36 mg def made me focus; however, I was too focused--- so focused I couldn't think!

Joe

I take 72 Concerta! Different people, different responses! I also take ritalin-generic 2x a day! noon-20mg and 5pm-10mg. The Concerta wears off in about 8 hours. The ritalin is just enough to help me function well all day.

My combination as follows: 81 mgs Concerta AM, 20 mgs Ritalin (IR) afternoon and 20 mgs Ritalin later in the evening. I have an extremely long day due to my children's schedules and rebounding at the hour I was rebounding when taking Concerta alone was intolerable and made managing my household virtually impossible.

I attempted staggering Concerta doses for a while this summer when my days were not quite so long and stressful, and that did work well too. I am sorry but I cannot recall now how I staggered them :o and my dosage has gone up since then.

I staggered two 18 mg pills 2 hours apart in the morning and this worked very well for months. Went off the medication for several days and when I went back on, massive headaches, stiffness in the chest, elevated blood pressure. Had an EKG everything fine. Stopped the meds, all side effects gone, BP back at 118/67, so doctor said lets start this up again at one 18mg pill in the am. Everything is great again. His theory is the 36mg was too much all along and the fact that I lost about 20 pounds, this put it over the top. If the headaches or other side effects come back, we are going to try another med. The main reason he wanted to re-try at a lower dose was the fact that I tolerated the Concerta for the last 6 months with absolutely no side effects.