Does anybody have any advice on taking concerta. I just started a couple of days ago on 18mg and I am going to increase to 36mg. It usually wears off right around the time I get out of classes for the day and need to start studying. Does anybody have any advice since i am new to this whole thing. I thought about taking it later in the day around 12 noon, but was concerned about sleeping (im a med student so i don't sleep any earlier than 1am anyway, lol). I also though about overlapping/spiltting my dose to last through out the day. Any advice

Hmmmm, it should be lasting about 12 hours....or maybe the dosage isn't high enough for you? Maybe ask your doc. I take 36 mg of Concerta in the morn roughly about 8 or 9 ish, and it lasts me nearly 12 hours. Not really sure what else to tell you. But, you could always try taking it later like you mentioned....for a couple of days and see if that helps?

i have long days too, so my doc said I can take half in the morning and the other half 4-5 hours later (so I get about 14-16 hours total).
thats what works for me.

um....what do you mean half?

well, sort of half. half the total dose. i take 36 mg first thing in the morning and then 18 mg a bit later. so not quite half, but 2/3 and then 1/3.
sorry for the confusion (which i assume is due to the fact that you can't actually break a concerta pill in half).

later,
dave

I hope I am not deviating from the thread too much, but doesn't taking that later dose cause sleep problems?

I cringe if I wake up too late on a Sunday (like today), and take my 54mg at 9:00 instead of 6:30. I am fairly certian I will have trouble sleeping tonight.

I can feel my meds wearing off after about 13 hours, but the affect on sleep lingers on for a few more hours.

taj, I can't remember if it felt like the 18 mg dose wore off sooner or not.

I assume either the 18 is not enough, or you have a fast metabolism.
Either way, I wouldn't try to address the wearing off issue, until you are ramped up on your dosage, because it will most likely change.

I am a member of my church's choir and praise band - so practices at night were a BIG problem with my meds wearing off. My doc put me on Methylin (a generic form of Ritalin?) that I take around 4:30. It helps for the rest of the night and I have no probs falling asleep. (Of course, my celexa for depression doesn't hurt ;) The one time I took half a pill of concerta around that time - I had a HORRIBLE time getting to sleep later.

Hope this helps :)

Taj, I started recently myself and had the same problem. Bumping up to 36 mg worked for me. I like yourself am a 1 o'clocker--but lately with Concerta, I find I need more sleep. I had massive sleep issues when I first started--but it passes. From day to day, I find my medication lasts longer on some days -- I take mine at 8:30 and sometimes feel it wearing off at about 9pm. But take today, took it at 7am (had an early test) and am still going (about 1 am), after some naps (that I was able to take due to pure exhaustion). I have had major exams this week, so I feel the medication affecting me a bit more (sleep less, etc). I had a really bad headache today and was extremely tired and could bearly take a nap (due to the concerta). It would be nice for these wierd weeks to have a shorter acting drug. I hope this helps.

I'd try staggering the dose. You will probably need to take a little more to cover the whole day. Unfortunately since concerta is only available in a few sizes and can't be split, it does limit your options somewhat. I don't think it's designed with "night owls" in mind. You might ask your Dr for a few pills of regular release ritalin (methylphenidate) that you can take late in the day to cover your study hours. I find these last about 4 hours, so I take my last dose at 6pm so that I can sleep by 12pm, my usual time (with a 2 hr "cooling off" period in which to get sleepy)
Good luck,
Greg

yes, i recognize this *very* well!
i've been on concerta for eight weeks, and i'm on 54 mg, which i take at about noon. i used to take it at about 10 am, but then i'd *always* feel the minute it so to speak "went out of my system", because then i'd get louder, more "adhd" and *very* tired...
if i was with my friends then i'd feel "embarrassed", because i could "hear* myself becoming louder, but there was nothing i could do about it....
so, i started taking concerta at about noon instead, and now it works better for me!

i've talked to my doctor about this problem (which is the only negative thing i have to say about concerta), and i've asked her about maybe taking ritalin (in order to become more "flexible" timewise), and because she doesn't know very much about adhd, add or the different medications (she's an expert on schizophrenia and bipolar disorder), she's going to talk to sweden's to adhd researcher - professor christopher gillberg.

Just started concerta the other day 18mg were almost unnoticable - when I came down, I was not in the best of moods.

Today I took 36mg and I probably should have watched the clock (I have to wake up in 4 hrs) and I am as far away from sleep as I am from being non-add

(holiday yesterday - so my hours got a little messed up)

I started on 18mg last Saturday and am on 36mg now. I know it wears off late at night, because I get super tired...but it takes me several hours to fall asleep!!

I take it between 5:30am and 8:30am, and I am still wide awake at 3 or 4 am the next morning!! Does this wear off after a few weeks? I don't know how long I can last with one - two hours of sleep at night, I am so tired! Oh, it makes me tic a lot when I am relaxing or trying to sleep, too!

Frustrated....anyone here try adderall before the concerta? if so, how did it work for you, were there less side effects?

Cyndi

You might want to try a different sustained release version of methylphenidate if the Concerta is lasting as long as it does, or even try a regular release, if you don't have a problem taking pills in the middle of the day. The drug lasts longer is some people than others - in you it's clearly lasting for longer than the 12 hrs it's designed for - at least that would be my guess.
Concerta has a very high tech delivery method, but it's not the answer for everyone - I'd ask your Dr about other options if the sleeplessness continues.
Regards,
Greg

Are you all talking about the time release Concerta that you are not supposed to split up??? I wish I could half mine. It wears off and I am a wet dishrag the rest of the day.I am a member of my church's choir and praise band - so practices at night were a BIG problem with my meds wearing off. My doc put me on Methylin (a generic form of Ritalin?) that I take around 4:30. It helps for the rest of the night and I have no probs falling asleep. (Of course, my celexa for depression doesn't hurt ;) The one time I took half a pill of concerta around that time - I had a HORRIBLE time getting to sleep later.

Hope this helps :)

Concerta pills are NOT a medicine that can be cut. It ruins their time release mechanism. In essence, if cut you'd be dumping too much medicine in you at one time and it wouldn't sustain itself as it would with the time release mechanism intact.

Some people do have to taken Concerta twice a day. It lasts from 8-12 hours depending on the person. Very few people have 8 or even 12 hours days though.

One thing that we have to realize is that most of the research done on these medications have been done on children and children don't have the same responsibilties as adults.

My advice is to keep a written log of how the medication is working for you and bring it with you to your Dr. Communication is key so you and your Dr can titrate the medication and find the right dosage.

that is what I was thinking. But that is the only way Concerta comes? Time Release?

Concerta is a time release version of methylphenidate (Ritalin). It'a high tech - using an "osmotic" membrane with a small, laser drilled hole in the bottom - as water enters the pill, the drug is pushed out of the hole. This happens over the course of 8-12 hours, depending on your body.
You will have to take "regular release" methylphenidate 3 or 4 times per day, but you can take it when you feel you need it. This is one reason I don't like sustained release as much as regular stimulants - you have more control with the regular pills.

wow - hadn't thought of *that* before...
:o
maybe i should ask my doctor to prescribe some "regular" pills as well as the sustained release kind...
:)
the fact that i now (i'm on sustained release concerta, 54 mg) have to *"plan"* my days (i e i have to think ahead of what i'm doing in the evenings - if i have meetings to go to etc), and thus plan my intake of concerta after this "schedule", almost makes me feel like i have *diabetes*, or something...
:(
maybe if i take the sustained release concerta in the morning, i can take one *"regular"* concerta in the afternoon, on the days when i have to be "alert" for a longer period...
:confused:
input, please!
:D

That sounds like a logical plan to me. I would mention it to your Doctor.
Regards,
Greg

My advice is to keep a written log of how the medication is working for you and bring it with you to your Dr.:cool:
that is a *good* piece of advice, right there!!
i'm going to try "the written log thing" for the next week and a half, which is when i see my doctor again...
:)
ever since i started noticing the effects that concerta has on me/my life/my behavior, i've wondered about this one thing: does the brain "use up" the concerta *faster* when it's subjected to more stimulation/impressions/"what's the word i'm looking for?" (i e when i'm around other people) than if it's "resting"?
:confused:
i've made this observation (it may be a very "unprofessional" observation, but still...;-) on several occasions during my almost 15 weeks on concerta, and i've tried searching the 'net for clinical or "unprofessional" (i e from other patients) observations, but so far i haven't been able to find anything on this subject...

Your brain doesn't use up the methylphenidate (the drug in Concerta), your liver does (the liver cleans just about everything out of your blood). But your brain does get used to the extra dopamine, so it tends to be less effective towards the end of the day - many people take a larger dose in the afternoon than they do in the morning for this reason. Plus many people have a natural tendancy to feel sleepy or groggy in the afternoon (for me it's around 4pm).

Gabriela,
The website below has personal reviews of all kinds of drugs - all from the end user perspective. Keep in mind that you will often hear more negative things than positive on sites like this - people having positive experiences often don't search for a place to tell people about it - so "take it with a grain of salt", as they say.
This is the review page for Concerta/Ritalin/Methylphenidate:

http://www.remedyfind.com/rem.asp?ID=4997

I hope you find this usefull.
Regards,
Greg

thanx, greg!
:)
(how come my doctor hasn't told me i was wrong in asking about concerta in the brain??? i'll ask her next time i see her - on the 22nd!;-)
:D
take care!

/gabriela