I am so at a lost cause as what to do. My 11yr old son has been on Concerta for about a month now. His Dr prescribed 18mg for one week, then straight to 36mg. I noticed a difference in his attitude right away. He was extremely negative. We did see a difference in school, but his teacher said he just wasn't himself. He has been on 36mg for about 3 weeks now, and yesterday was an awful day. He slept through his alarm 3 times. He has never done that in his life!
He complained of being extremely tired. He went to school anyway and the teacher said she almost sent him home as he was extremely lethargic. She also said he had been acting very odd. She said he was doing fine before taking the meds. He did have problem completing assigned tasks etc, but she said she is willing to work with him. Last night he was walking around the house at midnight! He said he was hearing clicking noises and he was scared. This is a child that has always been asleep by 9-9:30pm. Then he said there was a tune from a commercial that he couldn't get out of his head. Obviously, I am not sending him to school today. He's still sleeping right now. I feel awful giving him the meds with these side effects. I don't think I am going to give it to him anymore. I also want him to succeed in school and have friends etc. I wish there was just some miracle cure. I am moving back to California next summer so that he can go to school with his old friends he grew up with, and I'm thinking that will help with his low self-esteem. However, it is a private Christian school and I just hope he can deal with the academics. Can someone out there just tell me if I'm doing the right thing. Thanks!

you need to call his doctor and tell him what's going on. sounds like his meds need adjusting/changing. what works for one kid doesn't necesarily work for all. concerta is not the only option.

good luck.

I agree with Pembroke. You really need to contact the boy's doctor and report this change in him.

I called my son's doctor this morning and told them I wanted to take him off the meds because of the bad side effects. The receptionist told me that the Nurse did not need to talk with me if that's what I have decided upon. I guess I'll see how it goes. Wish me luck!! Thanks for your support.

I am not a doctor but what I don't understand is why the doctor put him on 18mg for a week then immediately titrated to 36mg. I was always under the impression that the way to go is see how one dose works for a while then move up after some sort of evaluation.

I am not a doctor but what I don't understand is why the doctor put him on 18mg for a week then immediately titrated to 36mg. I was always under the impression that the way to go is see how one dose works for a while then move up after some sort of evaluation.
My doctor put me straight on to 36mg and I had never tried medication before. He was fairly certain it would work but it doesn't help me much.

I think it depends on the doctor really, some start off really low and titrate up and others just go straight in and see what happens. I would have preffered to start low and titrate up but I didn't really have the time for all that because I had some major exams coming up.