Switching to Concerta

[Lattebon]

I was taking 10mg Ritalin 2 x a day, and then 15mg 2x a day It seemd to work fine in the mornings with only a slight headache but as the day progressed, my headache would get worse and worse and I felt kinda fuzzy brained too. The headache was what made me want to go to bed earlier rather than later. It was not fun at all. on the plus side when it was working well, i felt there were times that I functioned better, was able to filter out distractions to stay on task better than usual. That part felt great and encouraging

As I think back over my experience and the comments that I have read in this ADDforums, I think with Ritalin, the peaks may have been too much and the valleys too low for me.

My Dr. has switched me over to Concerta. (It was his plan all along to start me with ritaling and then go to a longer acting med.) From what I have read, Concerta is smoother in it's release and I shouldn't have the peaks and valleys. if that is the case, then it may work better for me.


I have the perscription, but am waiting a couple of days to fill the perscription. I am a little nervous about trying Concerta after my experience with Ritalin.

I know that it takes time to find the right dose and med. But it doesn't make trying to get there any easier.

I appreciate this forum so much, especially since i started taking meds. Where else could I go, who else could I "talk" about this? I am in touch with my Dr., and he has been great but it's nice to hear from others that are actually taking the meds too.

Any comments/ feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Lattebon]

I know that there have been some people reading this post but no comments - oh well , but I did want to let you know " the rest of the story" so to speak, in case this well help someone else out there.

I started taking 36mg of Concerta and Oh my, what a difference it makes! - breathing a sigh of relief - It's like night and day! i feel like I have my life back aagain. I have no side effects, no headaches.

I am so thankful that my daughter didn't have to go through what I did with ritalin. She was started on an Adderall XR med from the start.

[t-bird]

Hi,

I tried Concerta, then switched to Ritalin. Concerta gave me terrible headaches, I don't have too much of a difference with ritalin. Concerta was just too expensive for me.

I'm glad it works for you.

-Britawn

[Lattebon]

Hi Britawn,
Thanks for replying to my post.

Each person responds differently to each med. Having terrible headaches is not a fun thing to deal with too. I hope you aren't still getting those with Ritalin?

[t-bird]

I still get headaches but I just take 2 excedrin and it goes away.

I told my doctor, and he didn't seem too concerned, just a side effect. It isn't very bad though. It was pretty severe w/ Concerta and now I just get one headache at the end of the day.

The positives outweigh the negatives.

[Lattebon]

"The positives outweigh the negatives."

That's great to hear. Then it sounds like your headed in the right direction. it also sounds like you are developing a good patient-Dr. relationship too. That's so important in all this.

[shadowfax]

Lattebon, I just spent an hour writing to you about all the different ADHD meds I'd been taking since 1997, and I lost it all! Now I have to leave soon...sigh

So, in brief: regular Ritalin from 1997-2000, Concerta 36mg 2000-May 2004, Concerta 54mg May-Nov 04, Concerta 45mg Nov-Dec 04, Metadate CD January 05, back on Concerta 45mg Feb. 05.

The upshot is: So many different ADHD meds are available today, which is great. But the only way to know for sure which one is best for you is to try different kinds. This may take some time, but by comparing their effects, positive and negative, you'll ultimately know for sure you're getting the maximum possible benefit from ADHD medication that suits you best.

Good luck!