heyas,

I was taking ritalin 40 mg per day (10 mg every 3 hours), and it was working. My psych switched me to concerta (36mg), as i wanted something longer lasting, and she said it was identical to ritalin in ingredients but 12 hour action. However not only do i not feel it working, but i am getting moody and cranky on it. Concerta is no way relieving my adhd symptoms and i have difficulty concentrating on anything. over the last week i have supplemented it with some left over ritalin since the dose only lasts 6 hours even when i drink loads of coffee with it. I see a vast improvement in my mood/ attention when i do so. I'm considering switching back to original ritalin because of this. My question is has anyone experienced better results with a 54 mg dosage (should i consider asking for a higher dose?) or should i go back to what works??

thanks

ally

I think your doc is wrong in the ritalin/concerta conversion. You need a higher mg of ritalin to get the same effect as ritalin ....so for 40 ritalin, you would definitely need 54 or so of concerta ....don't ask me to fully explain the math ... but here it is ...
http://www.addadhdblog.com/concerta-getting-the-right-dose/

So the answer is yes, you should consider 54 or concerta before giving up on it .....

Also, The time release concerta is only releasing half of the dose. 36 divided by 2. So your really only getting 18 Mg of ritalin at two different times a day. Thats a a huge difference and your going to get moody when your only getting half of what you use to get. Also, Dont increase you dose on your own. Always consult a doctor before doing so on adhd meds. they're very dangerous drugs when abused.:)

hope that helps.

thanks for the replies guys. i admit i did try out a higher dose without consulting my doctor because she couldn't see me till friday. i was really cranky, had a horrible headache and was still tired after sleeping for 12 hours the night before. I told my dad that i was going to have another one 3 hours later because he was getting annoyed that i was irritable. but he agreed because he said if it didnt work we were going to switch bak to ritalin neways. So i had what i thought was a whopping dose 2 x 36 but for some reason it wasnt so whopping. it didnt make me feel high or like i was abusing drugs- just normal and happy and the bad side effects disappeared. Now of course i realise the consequences- if i tell my doc that 72 mgs worked she will think im abusing, but my dad wants me to stay on 2 concertas a day till i see her to avoid me going bak to my usual self. (i never realised what a ***** i was till i took them and thought of the consequences of my actions to others!). But i have to say i prefer two doses of this now than the ritalin because overall its smoother and i feel more normal- just able to concentrate and not binge/purge when the dose runs out (im bulimic as well). but cos of the expense i may just consider going bak to ritalin annyway. ahh decisions. the thing im worst at!

failurebydesign-

I read your post. I don't think that your doctor has prescribed you the right amount of medication that you require . First off , when you were initially rx'd 36mg of concerta that is only like taking 7.9 mg of ritalin three times daily so it makes sense that you were not experiencing much return from that dosing regiment as compared to your previous ritalin ir tablets. You should also know that since concerta releases 22% of the medication initially and then the rest throughout the day in three equal doses. It doesn't surprise me to notice that 72mg of concerta gave you a good response, as that would be about 15.8mg of ritalin 3 times daily, and probably gave you a little bit more benefit than your used to if your body is used to 10mg three times daily. You should call your doctor and tell him this and that you need to have your dosing increased.

Here's what you can do ... just meet with the doctor and say you sort of like the Concerta, but you're wondering if you need a "little" higher dosage because ...

Often the doctor will then take the hint and increase your dose ... but there's nothing wrong with say, "i wonder if I do better with a higher dosage."