I'm quitting Concerta

[InattentiveType]

Concerta was the first medication I've tried for ADD.

For me it seemed to last a lot longer than 10-12 hours. I would take it at about 7:30-8:00am and it seemed to last well past midnight.

I always have difficulty falling asleep but normally sleep soundly once asleep. With the concerta I've been having trouble waking up constantly. This then leads to me dragging the entire next day and having to goto bed really early. Its been a every-other-day cycle. Not pretty.

I've decided to try a shorter acting stimulant.

Also, I was getting headaches somedays that I could tell stemmed from the medication. That and my head felt like it was asleep (tingly feeling).

So I think the dose might have been too high for me as well. (36mg)

Also, my concentration / daydreaming problems didn't seem to improve much, so I'm hoping something else will work. It may end up that a stimulant alone won't do the trick.

I just received a script for Adderall 10mg. I'm going to take it only twice daily (morning & lunch) and hopefully that will work out better.

[porkkana]

I've been taking Concerta for a couple of weeks now, first ADD-spesific drug for me. Did SSRI-meds for depression before but I decided to drop them at the time I started on Concerta.

I always have difficulty falling asleep but normally sleep soundly once asleep. With the concerta I've been having trouble waking up constantly.

This is my experience too. I've never had a hard time waking but nowadays it seems to be quite a battle.

So I think the dose might have been too high for me as well. (36mg)

I was initially on 18mg dose but that didn't seem to have any effect so now I'm on 36mg too.

Also, my concentration / daydreaming problems didn't seem to improve much, so I'm hoping something else will work. It may end up that a stimulant alone won't do the trick.

Dealbreaker for me. It seems that I'm more energetic than usual but all that excess energy just goes to waste . I seem to procrastinate as usual, have really hard time concentrating and daydreaming too.

I just received a script for Adderall 10mg. I'm going to take it only twice daily (morning & lunch) and hopefully that will work out better.

Adderal just got approved by the local FDA here so that's an option for me too. Although I think that I'd like try Dexedrine first since it's quite a bit cheaper than Adderal or Concerta over here. Please post any experiences you have with Adderal.

Cheers,

Porkkana

[InattentiveType]

Well,

It's been a little over a week on Adderall. I haven't had any side effects, which is good. But I'm not seeing much benefits either.

Basically same as the Concerta minus the side-effects. I have more energy but that's it. I've had a pretty bad week productivity wise.

I've been reading insesently about 802.11x security but that's not really something I need to be spending time on right now.

I have a note on my calendar to call my doctor next thurs. I think I might ask about adding wellbutrin or straterra. We'll see. I'll keep the post updated.

[nscott]

I found Concerta to be much more addictive tha Adderall, while not working nearly as well. I tried it for a week and gave up.

[porkkana]

How did you find it addictive? I've been off Concerta for four days and haven't felt any
withdrawal symptoms. Tho I didn't find it all that helpful either. It did have some effect on me getting sidetracked and all in all motivational things, but not nearly enough. I've been trying to get hold of my doctor for the past few days for a prescription of Adderall or Dexedrine. To no avail though

Cheers,

Porkkana

[strummy]

Thanks so much for all your input on medication. I have a teenage son that is on 56 mg of concerta. I have always felt that it was way to much for him but the pediatrician insisted the dose was right. He has been complaining of headaches a lot lately and has such a problem sleeping. I never connected this with the meds! Now I will pay closer attention to this and document it for the pediatrician. The doctors just always make me feel like I do not know anything. In my heart, I always knew this was no right for him. I feel so blessed to have found this site! Your discussions have been able to tell me everything my kids cannot verbalize. Thanks again.

[wesbeaty]

I am currently on 56 mg Concerta, I find it much more helpful than Ritalin or Dexedrine... Rit and Dex gave me severe headaches as a child (24yr old now) I have been off and on the Concerta and find it very very helpful in my day to day activities and my relationship with my beloved girlfriend is getting better by the day. Think I will stay on Concerta for the time being.

But as strummy noted about her son having headaches on the Concerta.... I to have a few headache's on it now and then but they are nothing compared to the headaches and depression I recieved from Rit and Dex.

just my 2 cents =P

[wesbeaty]

sorry meant to say 54 mg not 56 mg..... they don't make a 56 mg sorry for the confusion

[FearLily]

same here, i'm on 54mg Concerta, i'm doing pretty good with it, grades are better and whatnot but i do have some pretty serious withdrawl. if i miss one day i know it, by around 2:30 in the afternoon (sometimes sooner) i feel dizzy/visually disoriented with varations of lightheadedness or headaches. i don't know if its just me i told the doc and he said its more likely that comes from the zoloft i take but i took its for a few months before i started concerta and nothing like this ever happened.
tonight i had started off searching the web to see if i could get high off concerta (not that i want to or are all "lets do drugs"). its curiousity...

[Wheel1975]

concerta was not for me.

I'm currently working with a very small dose of Adderal.

It doesn't do much, but I am a dragging monster without it.

[unreal33]

I've been on 54mg concerta for about 8 months or more now. I notice it increases my anxiety level and probably does have SOME effect on my productivity/focus but I think right now what it's doing is making it hard to get up in the morning and causing me to be anxious because i can *see* what I'm not getting done at work... I just can't do anything about it! Argh!!! Any suggestions? I'm seeing a psychiatrist this weekend about maybe putting me on something different... I feel like I need an anti-anxiety med (xanax?) plus something for the ADD and for the depression I've now run smack dab into as well! I think the depression is definitely situational, but lately I've just felt like crying and don't seem to be able to get anything accomplished besides feeling sorry for myself. Any suggestions? ANY would be appreciated. (BTW, I tried Paxil and that made everything worse.. just a terrible fog around me on that.)

[Kelly]

The only problem I've run into is that I get rather cranky once it wears off - that and the fact that my pharmacy can't call my doc for a refill and I can't remember for the life of me to call him for a new prescription. *ARG*

[arkmalone]

Hey I would love to know what others are/have experienced for side effects. I have been on 18mg for about a week now and not had a consistent day yet. My experience has ranged from severe agitation, anger, emotional, flushed--easily embarrassed( bright red ears!!) tense, anxious and seldom moments of ease. Like golf-- it's those sweet shots that bring you back. Because I have seen glimpses of normalcy I want to continue , but wonder if I should expect these side effects to continue or perhaps do they go away with an actual increase in dose?

[gabriela]

Originally Posted by unreal33

I've been on 54mg concerta for about 8 months or more now. I notice it increases my anxiety level and probably does have SOME effect on my productivity/focus but I think right now what it's doing is making it hard to get up in the morning and causing me to be anxious because i can *see* what I'm not getting done at work... I just can't do anything about it! Argh!!! Any suggestions? I'm seeing a psychiatrist this weekend about maybe putting me on something different... I feel like I need an anti-anxiety med (xanax?) plus something for the ADD and for the depression I've now run smack dab into as well! I think the depression is definitely situational, but lately I've just felt like crying and don't seem to be able to get anything accomplished besides feeling sorry for myself. Any suggestions? ANY would be appreciated. (BTW, I tried Paxil and that made everything worse.. just a terrible fog around me on that.)

i kinda can relate, how's that?

i'm on 54 mg (i started on 18 mg 3 months ago, and then gradually worked myself up to 54 mg) concerta, and i'm doing okay.
(i'll tell you why i'm not doing *VERY* okay later - either later in *this* post, or in a later post!;-)

after i'd "stabilized" on 54 mg, i began seeing myself in all my "brilliant" procrastination, organization incompetency and so on....
this was *not* a pretty sight, i can tell you!

i was down (*really* down) for some time about that, but i figured i was "just" going through a kind of "grieving" process about not being dxd sooner (i was 34 years old when i was dxd 2½ years ago), and i allowed myself to feel depressed about this fact for a while.
then i sort of started feeling like "okay - at least now i can *see* all the things where i could improve, whereas *before* i didn't have a clue as to why/what wasn't working..."

realizing this made me *relax*, and because of this, i could start focusing on what to *do* about the things that weren't working like i wanted them to!

(sounds like i'm completely "cured" of my adhd and add, doesn't it? well, i'm *NOT*, and i'm *very* well aware of that! i'm *working* on it, though, and for me, that's the main thing!)

now, why am i not doing *very* on concerta?
well...
i sometimes feel like i have diabetes or something, because i have to *"plan"* my days...
if i have a meeting to go to in the evening, i have to take my concerta at around noon, because otherwise the effects of the drug has started to wear off before the meeting, and that's not a good thing...
this means that if i have any activities scheduled *before* noon, i'm not going to be at my best then, since i won't have taken my concerta then...

this is why i'm going to *tell* my doctor to prescribe ritaline for me, so i can get about four hours "extra" on the evenings when i have scheduled meetings...

apart from this (very *minor* problem), i have nothing but praise for concerta!!!

[perlguy]

I take 2 36mg Concerta in the morning, and then 1 36mg Concerta around noon. Yep, 118mb/day!

This seems to work good for me.

Without it, I am constantly dragging/tired, can't concentrate, focus, etc...

WIth it, I am LOVING my new job, happier and able to get more things done. Not everything, I am still dealing with procrastination, reading this ADD board, etc

However, when I don't have it, I can really notice a different in my concentration and attitude.

Brent