I'm concerned about my 7 yr old son. He has been taking an 18mg dose of Concerta since mar/april of this year. He has lately been showing some increased signs of anxiety. He picks at his fingers and bites his nails, picks at the bottom of his feet and occasionally when he gets very frustrated or upset he hits himself in the head with whatever he has in his hands. He has been having some trouble focusing and concentrating at school and has just started taking a 27mg dose of Concerta as of today. Has anyone else seen this sort of behavior? Is it common with ADHD kids or should I be concerned it is a side effect of the Concerta?

I'm concerned about my 7 yr old son. He has been taking an 18mg dose of Concerta since mar/april of this year. He has lately been showing some increased signs of anxiety. He picks at his fingers and bites his nails, picks at the bottom of his feet and occasionally when he gets very frustrated or upset he hits himself in the head with whatever he has in his hands. He has been having some trouble focusing and concentrating at school and has just started taking a 27mg dose of Concerta as of today. Has anyone else seen this sort of behavior? Is it common with ADHD kids or should I be concerned it is a side effect of the Concerta?


While I don't know your particular situation, those activities sound like typical symptoms of ADD. Maybe as he is growing and building up tolerance to the medication it is having less effect in controlling his symptoms? Not sure, but let us know if things get better or worse on the higher dosage. Oh, and you could also think about taking occasional "med holidays" like some weekends off of the medication to help regulate tolerance.

I'm concerned about my 7 yr old son. He has been taking an 18mg dose of Concerta since mar/april of this year. He has lately been showing some increased signs of anxiety. He picks at his fingers and bites his nails, picks at the bottom of his feet and occasionally when he gets very frustrated or upset he hits himself in the head with whatever he has in his hands. He has been having some trouble focusing and concentrating at school and has just started taking a 27mg dose of Concerta as of today. Has anyone else seen this sort of behavior? Is it common with ADHD kids or should I be concerned it is a side effect of the Concerta?

I've read that what you're describing is a med side effect. Not sure what to tell you. I had real problems with anxiety when the dr. started me off at 25mg- it turns out that was too high to start. I was petrified all day long and could hardly move from the anxiety. I also had tics. When I came off & started again but at 18mg I was fine.

Is it possible the dose is too high?

I've read that what you're describing is a med side effect. Not sure what to tell you. I had real problems with anxiety when the dr. started me off at 25mg- it turns out that was too high to start. I was petrified all day long and could hardly move from the anxiety. I also had tics. When I came off & started again but at 18mg I was fine.

Is it possible the dose is too high?

I'm just wondering how the "anxiety" is manifesting. Yes, anxiety is a possible side effect of meds. But she describes his problems as: "He picks at his fingers and bites his nails, picks at the bottom of his feet and occasionally when he gets very frustrated or upset he hits himself in the head with whatever he has in his hands", all symptoms of ADD, not so much anxiety.

Thank you for your comments. We are now on day 3 of the increased dose and I am hoping to see some change in the next week. I have tried giving my son a "break" from the concerta over weekends and it seemed like that messed up his system a little bit. It would then take a couple of days being back on it in order for him to feel like he had things back under control, so I am hesitating to do that again at this point. Hopefully the next week or so will show some improvement on the higher dose.

He started out on 18 mg back in April of this year. It really seemed to help him a lot, he even noticed the difference in his ability to concentrate. I did not notice any of the things I am noticing now when he started this medication. It is just recently that I have noticed these other symptoms. We are trying a little bit higher of a dose to see if it helps.

Just an update... Its been about a week and a half now since my son started the higher dose of concerta. He is doing very well. I have noticed changes in him at home and his teacher has commented also on some small but positive changes in his ability to concentrate and get tasks done in the time allotted. The anxiety like symptoms have almost all gone away. He did have a little trouble towards the early evening hours as the medication wore off, he would suddenly be extremely sleepy and ready to go to bed by 6:30. That seems to be getting a little better also. No other negative side effects that I have noticed. I have started him on some childrens vitamins as he doesnt seem to be eating a lot, but thats been an issue for awhile now. Thanks for your comments.

Thank you for the update, glad to hear he is doing well!

If his appetite and not gaining enough weight for his age are a problem you could try getting him to drink protein / breakfast milk mixes. I like carnation instant breakfast with Splenda (sugar really messes me up), tastes like regular chocolate milk to me. They have other flavors too.

I am on my third week of Concerta and I also get very drowsy when it wears off, some days are worse than others. If it becomes a problem for homework or other evening activities one option is a supplemental dose of IR ritalin to smooth things out a bit.. generally it only lasts 2 to 3 hours I think and generic IR ritalin is really cheap. If you are worried about a supplemental dose then exercise at this time is incredibly helpful alternative!