Concerta good for someone who has anxiety?

[topballer24]

I was just recently 'diagnosed' with add, and was put on Concerta. I have been suffering from bad anxiety and taking Ativan for it. My psych wants me to taper off of it while I take Concerta, won't Concerta make anxiety worse, or will this calm me down?

[relvinnian]

It very much depends on your individual physiology. ADHD and anxiety co-exist quite frequently, and people with ADHD/anxiety often have substantial relief from thier anxiety when taking a stimulant or other ADHD treatment that may otherwise cause anxiety in normals or in people prone to anxiety.

I have been diagnosed with ADHD, MDD, and panic disorder, and when I first bagan taking stimulants they were difficult to tolerate because of my anxious tendancies. However, after spending some time adjusting to the arousal effects, I found that I am substantially less anxious when I take my meds. I no longer take any benzos/mood stabilizers for anxiety.

On the flip side, it is not uncommon for stimulants to exacerbate anxiety in a way that does not go away with time, and causes significant distress. In these cases switching to a non-stimulant such as wellbutrin or strattera can sometimes help. Also, adding a more long term anti-anxiety medication such as an SSRI, or low doses or neurontin, lyrica, or depakote. Buspar can help sometimes, but I haven't seen much good with it.

[Chadwick]

Just try and find out, time will tell; be sure you allow enough time, that is key because the medication's effects may change with time. Everybody is different just as relvinnian said. Good luck!

-Chad

[topballer24]

Wow, after a couple days my questions have been answered. The first 2 days increased my anxiety because I was unsure how the drug was going to act on me. The third day I knew what I was in for, and my anxiety was gone, it felt great. Now I can finally get off Ativan!

[Scattered]

Glad it's working well for you. It reduced both my anxiety and depression without having to take anything but a stimulent.

Scattered

[zoneout]

Originally Posted by Scattered

Glad it's working well for you. It reduced both my anxiety and depression without having to take anything but a stimulent.

Scattered

Concerta reduced my anxiety and depression also. There is a certain calmness and confidence that I feel while on it. I actually find myself seeking out social conversations (even with strangers) which I would never do before.

Gene

[ladym]

It has reduced my anxiety as well. I think it's probably a real individual thing. I found out today that I can't tollerate Adderall, it sent me into an all day panic attack, but I'm totally calm on the Concerta.

[Matt S.]

Concerta and Adderall both gave me intense anxiety but Dexedrine has been my "med" for years as a child and that is the issue with some people (they have a med that works yet all others fail) Doctors will use them first for whatever reason (the "12 hour" advantage) but there is focalin and desoxyn also if it continues... there are other options too

[Crazy~Feet]

I am the type that will focus on her anxiety and use that for structure (not good!). I have taken my Concerta for 2 days and self-medicated in my younger days, and found that the medication, self or otherwise, when it works? It breaks that cycle . I drop the anxiety hyperfocus as though it burnt me.

I still have Xanax for anxiety, but I was always so sketchy about taking it to begin with! The docs have been shoving benzos at me for years and I have always, ALWAYS had so much anxiety about becoming addicted to the darn things that it would take a severe attack for me to take my prescribed dose. Typically I would break the dose in half, or even cut it in quarters, and still manage relief while not feeling dopey (a feeling that actually makes me more anxious, since I had that brooding awareness that I was not focused in the first place).

Just tossing my 2C into the ring for consideration. I personally consider everything I can lay my eyes on when I feel the need to find an answer. HTH, and if not I felt better trying to help .