Yesterday I noticed after taking my first dose of Concerta 36mg is that I have seemed to lose a bit of awareness with my surroundings while driving. I am a really good driver, 27 yrs old with no traffic tickets or wrecks, very careful. But today and yesterday I noticed that I wasn't seeing things like I normally do. My reaction time is weakened it seems.

I almost ran into a construction vehicle that was parked in the middle of the road. Usually I would see this way in advance but this time it wasn't until I was right on it.

Also, I notice my typing skills have decrease too. I am making alot of careless typing errors and mispells.

What's the deal???

That's interesting. My doctor seemed extremely concerned and precribed stimulant medication for me immediately, bypassing several of the customary tests and documentation, when I mentioned to him that I'd had trouble paying attention when driving and that sometimes I'd worried about getting in wrecks (although I never have gotten in one). Like I'd be driving along and something like a weird bag or shoe along the side of the road would catch my attention and I would actually turn my head to keep looking at it. Or something on a sign or in a shop window. I was kind of ashamed to have to actually verbalize that level of distractability, but I felt better telling him of my worries. I guess he validated me in spades!

Well, now that I take medication, I am able to pay close attention to the road and not even 5 kiddos bellyaching in the back seat distracts me or causes me to feel nervous.

If you have just started taking medication, remember there is a period of adjusting dosages and so forth.

Well I know that some of the stimulant prescriptions bottles do have a labels on them warning about operating heaving machinary.

My reaction time is slower than normal also. I never pay good attention when driving either, but I haven't noticed if I am any worse now that I am taking Concerta.

If the Concerta is making your focus worse, it may not be the right drug for you, or the dosage may be too high. Increase in attention is the primary reason to take a stimulant. But in amounts beyond the theraputic dose, it will make attention worse. 36mg is not a lot of methylphenidate, but you may react to it more stongly than other people? If I were you, I'd see my dr and either try a different drug or have him/her adjust the dosage.
Stimulants do have the warning labels about operating machinery, but that is very much a "cover-your-a**" move by the drug companies, since America has more Lawyers per capita than anywhere else in the world (or does it just seem that that?).
Regards,
Greg

Problems driving, scared stiff, and wondering what's happening to me.
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I am suddenly very concerned about my driving! In February, as I was cornering on my street, I braked on dry sand spread there for an earlier snowstorm, and slid diagonally into an approaching car. There was some sheet metal damage but no injuries. I got a ticket, too, for "driving inappropriately for conditions." I have been pretty upset about this and beat up on myself for weeks, even though it was so nearly a "Just Plain Accident," and there was no way of going back and changing history.

Okay, now I am feeling much MUCH worse, because I was involved in another accident two days ago! I was waiting to turn left across a 4-lane street/urban highway. The traffic was bumper-to bumper in the lane nearest me, and no traffic light. A woman in a van stopped for me and waved for me to cross in front of her. Well, I stupidly depended on her wave and started across. Suddenly a speeding car in the lane beyond appeared "from nowhere." I braked, but in a second my front bumper had made a crease all along the side of his his rental Chevy as he passed by in front of me. I had only a smear of his paint on my bumper. When the cop came 20 minutes later, he gave me another ticket for "improper left turn." Naturally, the driver who waved for me to c'mon just looked straight ahead and drove away.) Nobody was hurt at all, thank goodness.

Now, I want to erase it all and start over, but I can't. I am still upset. I had considered myself a skilled and safe driver (if a bit ADHD over the years). What's wrong with me now? I take 5 mgs of methylphenidate (generic Ritalin). On both of the days when I was in those minor accidents, I had taken one pill in the morning and then no more doses. Both accidents were about 5 1/2 hours after that. Could it be that coming DOWN from a dose makes drivers more accident-prone than either those who keep the dosage level OR than those who don't take stimulants for ADD at all?

I go to the psychiatrist this afternoon, because I am nearly out of my meds. I will ask him (even though I don't want to talk about this ever again). I will tell you all if he says anything meaningful about this. Your comments and observations would also be welcome. I have to drive. My disabled husband can't, and I have to do any driving necessary!

I've noticed that when I am on my Concerta I seem to notice MORE of my surroundings and actually slow down and drive at (or very near) the speed-limit.

I also don't have to struggle to stay awake while driving. Something that I really had to do before I was prescribed Concerta. Once I even lost that struggle and crashed! Luckily it was not too bad to myself or others. The car suffered about $2000 though.

Brent

I'm an excellent driver...No accidents, no tickets, couple close calls....Hit a deer once but that was a no fault no tickets given.

I tend to hyper-focus when i drive...i'm totaly unaware of wht's going on inside the car.

...Hit a deer once but that was a no fault no tickets given.


Clearly the deer should have been ticketed! I would have complained about that one!

Brent

You're the deer left the scene also...I could have sued the deer.

i don't have a driver's license.
i just never had the money to pay for the driving lessons, and so, here i am at 37, with no driver's license...

one of my friends has "taught" me how to start a car, shift gears and (everything we talk about in here is *confidential*, right?!;-) she's even let me do some actually *real*, *live*, *on-the-road-with-other-cars-around* driving, and both the other drivers, me, her and her car *survived* this!
;)

last time she gave me "driving lessons" was about a year ago.
since then, i have (as most of you probably know) started taking concerta (it's been over 9 months now, and i still think this med is a *lifesaver*!;-).

now, my friend has a third cousin who's actually a driver's ed teacher.
yesterday i was invited to my friend's parents' home for tacos. it was me, my friend, her parents, her third cousins, the girlfriend of one of her thrid cousins and her son, and her third cousins' mother, and then there was me.

*ANYWAY*: i spoke to my friend's third cousin (the driver's ed teacher), and somehow it was decided that today, at 3 pm, she was going to give me very first *official* (although still *illegal*, since i haven't applied for a learner's permit yet...;-) driving llesson!

she did however ask that my friend took me for a "test drive" *before* the actual "lesson" - since it had been a year since i last sat behind the steering wheel of a car.

things went rather well - my friend actually said she thought i was a better driver now than she remembered me being last year!

then came the actual "lesson"...
in a - for me - *totally* new car...

she told me what we were going to do, and she took notes the whole time - i e: she was very thorough and *serious*, which i liked!

when we were through (after about 90 minutes), she told me what she had observed. she said that i was very much like the rest of her "students", but that she thought that i definitely would be able to get a driver's license some day!

now, this has been a *major* thing for me, because when i learned about my having p-acc (partial agenesis of the corpus callosum - read about this at nodcc (http://www.nodcc.org)), i thought that i would *never* be able to learn how to drive a car...

she lives in stockholm (three hours south of where i live), and so i can't be her "student", but she did give me some "homework", and she told my friend about that, and so now i'm going to apply for a learner's permit, so my friend (who, in my opinion, is a *great* driver;-) can be my "instructor", and it's all legal!

before we parted, she even gave me a driver's ed text book/work book, so guess what my *new* "obsession" is?!
:D

i actually felt *calmer* and more capable of observing what the other drivers where doing, and so i think i'd be a *better*, *safer* driver *with* concerta than without it!

:) I am a commercial driver license holder!! I used to drive school bus. Before meds I would have a hellious time trying to stay awake behind the wheel (not a good thing to have drive a bus of kids) since meds I don't have the problem unless I am actually tired!!

The 5 mg of ritalin and the 5 1/2 hours from Ace!!
Yes Yes Yes.. ritalin cycles quick!! 4 hours I have found and it is completely out. At 3 it starts to diminish.. so it would explain the inattentiveness!! And if I forget doses I notice that it cycles out even faster.. so Dr switched me to Concerta cause of the extended release!!

~Flakeygirl~
5 kids in the backseat!!! I have that with my own family but can you imagine 35 kids :eek:

Lilgoomer

You're the deer left the scene also...I could have sued the deer.

But his defense could be Chronic Wasting Disease and He only had half a brain left :D