Concerta and Anxiety

[emtchick]

I just started taking Concerta, 36 mg. I had been on Adderall, but had NO appetite, and lost a ton of weight.

Now, I like Concerta. My appetite is fine, and I feel alert and able to focus, not in a fog.

BUT, I seem to have an increase in anxiety. I am pretty anxious in general, but not enough I was willing to medicate for it.

I need the Concerta to focus for school, but I don't like the anxiousness. Has anyone tried an anti-anxiety med along with Concerta? Did it work?

I DON'T want anti-depressants--I had tried (in the past) Zoloft and Effexor and they made me feel suicidal and worse than I had origionally. So, no, not those.

*sigh* Having just one problem would be way too easy, wouldn't it?

[Andrew]

Xanax has been working pretty well for me, though I'm on Strattera...not Concerta. Also, I don't take Xanax all the time...just when I feel that anxious "feeling" coming on. Talk to your doctor about this. Its not unheard of for stimulant-based meds to cause some feelings of anxiety, especially if you have depression or bipolar disorder.

[momof4in]

I was just wondering. I have a daughter who is 8 years old on concerta and she doesn't complain of anything.

But I was just wondering if you could tell me how i could know if she is feeling anxiety?

If she is feeling that way I would like to help her. But I don't know how she feels. She never complains.

She is on 36mg a day.


Thank You.
Lori

[Andrew]

Lori,

You might want to check in the Anxiety section here at the forums for a discussion of anxiety.

Here's a list of symptoms:

The physical symptoms of anxiety are caused by the brain sending messages to parts of the body to prepare for the "fight or flight" response. The heart, lungs and other parts of the body work faster. The brain also releases stress hormones, including adrenaline. The following symptoms can occur as a result:

* abdominal discomfort
* diarrhoea
* dry mouth
* rapid heartbeat or palpitations
* tightness or pain in chest
* shortness of breath
* dizziness
* frequent urination
* difficulty swallowing

Psychological symptoms can include:

* insomnia
* irritability or anger
* inability to concentrate
* fear of madness
* feeling unreal and not in control of your actions (depersonalisation)

[momof4in]

Ok Thank You

[monik_76]

Originally Posted by momof4in

I was just wondering. I have a daughter who is 8 years old on concerta and she doesn't complain of anything.

But I was just wondering if you could tell me how i could know if she is feeling anxiety?

If she is feeling that way I would like to help her. But I don't know how she feels. She never complains.

She is on 36mg a day.


Thank You.
Lori

I have a 10 year old daughter on concerta, also with anxiety disorder, we notice she had it because she started having fears, and also she licks her lips until she drys them out and end up really bad.

Just observe her if she is doing anything different then when she was off the concerta, and talk to her doctor about what you feel, also teachers can help, remember they observe our kids for half the day, talk to her teacher too.

Hope this helps, it did help me, and also try talking to her, and tell her it is allright to complain once in a while, and that she should tell you how and what she feels, it's the only way to help her.

In my daughter's case, she never said anything or complained because she felt guilty, once I made her understand that having ADHD was not her fault, she opeed up to me and now she tells me everything she feels.