I was prescribed Concerta at the beginning of January and this is my first prescription for ADD.

I started off at 18 mg, had a euphoric feeling for a couple days but really bad rebound, then both effects diminished and I might as well have been taking nothing.

Bumped up to 36 mg this past Monday, same initial euphoric feeling and decreased rebound if I had a bit of caffeine when I felt it wearing off, but the last couple days I've felt no good effects whatsoever and rebound has been a pain. Lots of crying over nothing, tiredness, no focus. I've been drinking a ton of water and I still feel dehydrated, but that could also just be the dry, cold weather we're having right now.

I did have one good morning on it, where I paid attention in class and got some homework done. It was great.. no euphoria, just clarity, and I assume that's what it's supposed to feel like, but it was just one day.

I'm taking the weekend off because I don't have enough left to take it every day until I go back to the psychiatrist. I don't feel any different from the last couple days when I did take it. Did anyone start off like this and have Concerta work for them? Do the negative effects persist when you find an appropriate dose, or does it just take a long time for them to go away? How about an IR dose of another drug when it starts wearing off? If rebound sucks this much on an extended release, I'd really rather not even try an IR methylphenidate because I think the peaks and valleys will just be too much for me. I liked that one day of clarity, but if it's going to be one day of clarity for every three days of feeling like crap when it wears off I'd rather try something gentler first.

I took 18mg of concerta for about a week with no noticeable effects. I then took 36 for a few weeks. I mostly felt agitated and tired but didn't notice any change in my add. I was recently put on 54 and saw a drastic improvement. Not sure if it will be the same for you.

Its possible to actually feel worse at lower doses than at the proper dose, as Ebert said. And rebound is a LOT worse on Ritalin IR in my opinion. Rebounds happen very often with any stimulant, its something we learn to live with and they may disappear or become less bothersome in time. I scarcely notice Concerta rebounds anymore; I have grown used to them and they are not as severe.

Took it again yesterday and today.. so far so good, I get lots of work done in the mornings when I take it. This morning I got caught up on balancing my checkbook, paying my bills, made to-do lists on my dry erase board that I bought 3 months ago and finally got around to using.. I love that my brain is so much more clear and I get things done on a normal person's timeframe, and I'm pretty sure most of my emotional/rebound problem last week was due to PMS since my period showed up yesterday (sorry if that's TMI).

I think I'm going to ask about continuing with the Concerta and adding in an IR just for my long days.. I have both early morning and night classes two days and the Concerta just doesn't last that long. If the ineffective days were related to my period as I now suspect, 36 mg may be enough if I have a small dose of IR to see me through the last few hours. Crazy~Feet, how's the Concerta/Dex combo working for you so far? From what I've read, it's supposed to be much gentler than Ritalin as far as kicking in and wearing off, so I think that combination could be a good option for me.

It takes a while to find the right dosage. One rule of thumb I learned is to wait at least 2 months before making a dicision to change meds or adjust the dosage.

After a shotrt while you will notice when concerta is wearing off at night. Your ADD symptoms will return.

Oh I absolutely notice it wearing off at night, my problem was that for a few days I saw no change whatsoever even within the hour or two after after I took it.. spacey, forgetting things, getting emotional.. which only got worse when it wore off at the end of the day. I've since chalked it up to PMS, this last week has been much better.

So far so good though, I really do like it when I'm on it, I just wish it would last another few hours.

18mg is a pretty low dose. You might want to try 36mg and see if that works better for you. Also, if you're drinking anything with caffeine in it that might be causing you some issues.

When I quit caffeine my response to Concerta was much more even keeled and consistent. The spacey feelings at the end of the day were less of an issue.