hi there im new here i have a 11 year old son who has recently been put on concerta for adhd and have noticed that he tends to be more moody and gets very angry easily and im wondering if it is a side affect he was put onto this drug from equasum {spelling?} and was supposed to help him for him starting high school since being on concerta i have noticed lots of problems its supposed to be a 12 hour but only seems to lasts about 4 hours.... he was also put on amoxotine and his tics are worse.. is this due to change and new medication or maybe because he has started high school which i know is a very big change for him.... hes due a review soon with the doctor which i will mention things ive noticed am just wondering how the drug works for you do you benifit from concerta????
Last edited by mod-anon; 10-27-2008 at 11:20 PM.
Reason: starting a new thread with this post.
I am a 55 y/o female only diagnosed 2 years ago. I was on Ritalin, 10 mg, the first year. The results were iffy. A new doc suggested Concerta. We played with the dosage for a couple of months, and now I have been at 36 mg for several months. It has been much more helpful than Ritalin was. (Of course, they're both Ritalin, but concerta is time released.) It is much more effective throughout the day and does not cause the tremor, rapid heart rate, and feelings of anxiety that I sometimes had in the past. ADD meds work very differently for different people, and it isn't necessarily related to body weight. Some adults do well on doses substantially lower than those some children require. It can take some time to find what will work the best for each individual. Some people who don't respond well to ritalin(in any form) have good results with Adderall. Good luck, and don't give up.
hi there thanks for your post.. my son is on the same dose as you.. he finds that it only lasts him for 3 or 4 hours by dinner time he doesnt get much effect from it and has problems at school in the afternnon. the doctor told me it should last 12 hours.. how long does it last for you??
It does last all day for me. I usually take it around 7 AM and it takes me through a long workday. But, these medications really do vary greatly in how they affect individuals. Adults don't necessarily need larger doses than children. And I am a petite woman and have always had a tendency to be rather sensitive to medications. Your son may very well need a larger dose. And sometimes, even with the time release preparations, doctors do prescribe a short-acting dose for late afternoon. I don't know how long your son has been on meds, but it can take a while to find the right med and dosage. There are lots of options. <removed> Keep working with your doctor and good luck.
Last edited by mod-anon; 10-26-2008 at 11:10 PM.
Reason: do not instruct members on how to find websites.
hi there im new here i have a 11 year old son who has recently been put on concerta for adhd and have noticed that he tends to be more moody and gets very angry easily and im wondering if it is a side affect he was put onto this drug from equasum {spelling?} and was supposed to help him for him starting high school since being on concerta i have noticed lots of problems its supposed to be a 12 hour but only seems to lasts about 4 hours.... he was also put on amoxotine and his tics are worse.. is this due to change and new medication or maybe because he has started high school which i know is a very big change for him.... hes due a review soon with the doctor which i will mention things ive noticed am just wondering how the drug works for you do you benifit from concerta????
Hi helen,
I have a son who has been on this medication for about four years now and who is 14. I have in the last six months had to up his dose he now has his concerta with an extra 20mg ritalin La. I found at school he was acting upon stupid impulses in the last two periods at school, now he has incresed doses he is better. He does still get into trouble and although I am not happy he is still getiing into trouble. I am happy to say the majority of hiw mister meanas are purley due to the nature of the beast of adolescence and not adhd.
A learned educational psychologist that I know has informed that the transtion year first year of secondary school ( high school)is traumatic and even more so for children with learning disorders such as adhd. THe frustration could be due to the fact he is forced to move around a lot more than in primary school instead of dealing with 2 to three different teachers he is dealing with 12 or more. I found my son was the same in year 7 ( first year of secondary school), very grumpy. this was due to the fact he being bright could easily slide thorugh primary school upon his acquired knowledge, He was grumpy because he could not do this anymore, he simply had to have the taste of acedmic sucess. He also had to learn how to learn.
As ,my [peadtrician has said to me in the past some children with Adhd can have a underlying frustration disorder, which needs extra medication. I would say that in your case it may be due to a combo of adjusting to new meds, secondary school. If it persists though is worth talikng to the school psychologist and your pedatrician.
It does last all day for me. I usually take it around 7 AM and it takes me through a long workday. But, these medications really do vary greatly in how they affect individuals. Adults don't necessarily need larger doses than children. And I am a petite woman and have always had a tendency to be rather sensitive to medications. Your son may very well need a larger dose. And sometimes, even with the time release preparations, doctors do prescribe a short-acting dose for late afternoon. I don't know how long your son has been on meds, but it can take a while to find the right med and dosage. There are lots of options. <removed> Keep working with your doctor and good luck.
hi there thankyou for your reply my son has been on meds since the age of 6 years but was recently changed to concerta for starting high school which was about 6mths ago ready fir starting in sept this year,, i found that the other meds had a better result for him i think that he does need a larger dose as this seems to cause him probs in the afternoon the school is great with him and give him lots of support but he gets so frustrated as he seems to be having alot of difficulties since changing to concerta and having amoxotine aswell. ive asked for a urgent appt with his adha doctor so will discuss with her about the probs and dose.. thanks.
hi artsy70 thankyou for your reply i also think its due to change of meds and starting high school its very different to juniour school for him.. the school has now been great with him and there are maybe more underline problems he's having other than adhd my son has been on concerta for about 6mths and ive noticed that it doesnt seem to help like his previous meds he had ritalin a couple of years ago and that seem to make things worse for him. he had equasium before the concerta but that would only last for the school day.. he also takes amoxotine which i think also needs increasing however i have noticed that his tics are worse.. ive asked for an urgent appt with his adhd doc to discuss meds as he's had major probs at high school and was being excluded and put on half days in which did him no good but after chatting to teachers have managed them to allow him to stay in school for a full day. my son has to removed from class by the afternoon as he carnt cope in the classroom but once taken out and with someone one to one is a completley different child. hopefully given time he will settle and the meds to a dose that suits him. theres so many different meds now that i wish i could find the one that will make his life easier for him and then at times i hace to allow that he is getting older which must have a big impact on him. have you found that as your son has got older his symptoms are less or are they the same ?
Taking naps when on stimulants isn't uncommon. As Jane once explained the phenomenon to me, often we're short on sleep, but our ADHD brains aren't active enough to realize it. Taking the stimulant makes the brain active enough to realize it's sleep deprived and you end up taking a nap.
I haven't experienced this on ADHD medication, but I did when taking a cocktail of other stimulants in attempt to lose weight before my ADHD diagnosis. Make sure you're getting 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep every night, and you may find that this issue improves.
In regards to Concerta, I found its effects somewhat underwhelming myself, I had more luck with Ritalin (ironic, since they're both Methylphenidate) and Dexedrine.
hi there just read your post can i ask do you manage to sleep 7 or 8 hours my son is 11 with adhd and takes concerta and amoxtine he has terrible probs sleeping and takes melatonin which i must admit he sleeps better than he used to but only for about 5 hours which i feel if he had a good nite sleep he would be so much better.. is this a side affect from medication or adhd??
hi jane before taking the medication he didnt really sleep at all just a couple of hours at a time at nite, since being on meds he does sleep couple of hours more around 4 or 5 tops so i suppose is better than before but i would have thought maybe a couple of hours longer he will be awake till 1am -2am then awake by 5am-5.30 i was told the amoxtine would help but still the same.. i know how i feel when not had agood nite's sleep lol i think at times he could do with a good 7 or 8 hours maybe im expecting to much but i feel would improve some of the mood swings..
Yeah, that's common with ADD'ers, though most of the ones I know will periodically crash and sleep for a solid day.
Does he get enough exercise? Does he worry a lot? Is his room dark and quiet enough? Maybe he needs to spend a few hours winding down in the evening, away from TV and such. Or, maybe a diet change could help.
If you've tried all these simple things and he still doesn't sleep, then I'm not sure.
hi jane yes ive tried all those things he's very energectic always on the go bless.. i aslo know he worrys over lots of things too which i try to reasure him as best as i can. every night is has quiet time but still makes no difference maybe thats just the way he is.. he has never crashed for a day either im hoping that at some point his sleeping pattern will change as he gets older thanks for your reply
Hi helen,
I have found that as my son has gotten older he has seemd to grown out of one phase of behaviour and into another( ha ha ) In regards to meds my sons peadtrician did say to me that it is possible to take the 4 hour ritalin just until the 12 hour ritalin kicks in.I found that using the short acting ritalin as he got older the rebound was more likely to cause frustration as it wore off.
When my son was in the first year of secondary school we had the same problem what I ended up doing for my son was in the morning I gave him the 4 hour ritalin and then at recess time around 11.oo we ended giving him the concerta.That worked for a good two years or so.Then we found he was getting grumpy at recess and we opted for a small top up dose of Ritalin LA. He is 14 now and he takes Concerta 56mg and a secondary Ritalin LA 20mg and that combo is fine. We find it wears off around 4pm, but thats okay.We don't give him any for afterschool homework as he does not sleep. We have had strange epeisodes with Clonidine ( catapres) which was given to help sleep. We don't use that anymore as he got really bad night sweats and nightmares.
With my sons behaviour behaviour there was usually a underlying motivation. I suspected he may have secondary learning issues but they were masked as he is very bright, which is half his problem.
Two years ago I made the bold move to home educate all four of my children for 12 months via a supported correspondance program. I found this was extremely stressful but at the same time, I was able to find out the exact reason for my sons frustration. I found that although according to the Wisc he is almost in the Gifted range, the reason why he appeared to be acheiving at the same level as his peers at not to his true intellectual ability is that he is dyslexic and has working memory deficits.
I subsequently have gone on to do a couple of teacher training courses in special education so I was able help him with some of his weaknesses.
It helped him immensly to experience acedemic sucess rather than being put down for not trying or being labelled as lazy/does not want to learn.To cut a long story short he is now back at regular school and he does all the work and extension given, the downside is that now he has worked out that once he does what is required and the extra extesnion given this entitles him to a stuff up allowance. This ensures that I am on a first name basis with the principal.
The other thing that may be happeing to you son is he is experincing the effects of anxious arousal. This means the student becomes hyper anxious as they are unable to process all the external stimuli that is bombarding them all at once. This slowly builds up like a volcano throughout the school day, when all of a sudden it becomes too much and the student explodes in hyper frustration. One on one eases this sceanrio. Perhaps knowing this is a pattern perhaps he could be given the task of going to fetch things form the office or somthing else at the end of the day, or be allowed to go for a short walk around the class etc. This is what my sons school did for my son that ten minutes in the last period of the day has been the saving grace for my son and school.
I have found over the years that up until now my son has behaved badly to get out of tasks that he intelligently knew he was not able to do.Throughout primary school he was able to do all his work upon his acquired knowledge ( head stuff). It was not until secondary school that his deficits were unmasked.
I would suggest that perhaps a underlying learning disorder could be the reason why you son is feeling frustrated. It is important that you make note of the class and time of this bahaviour. It if happens everyday at the same time it could be a medication issue, eg silly impusive beahaviour at the end of the day regardless of what class he is in could be indiciative that the concerta is not holding him, alternative doasage/combo needs to discussed with you doctor.
If he is acting up repeatedley in selected classes such as english of heavy acedemic subjects could be indicative of potential learning issues, eg dyslexia, auditory processing diffiucluties, or a possible pragmatic deficits,and many others which are worth further investigation. The other tricky thing is that Adders vary form day to day it is the nature of the Adhd. I have often wondered if in fact he may be schizoprenic , we have had that checked but the pscyhiatrist told me that how the disorder can appear. i I feel for you as I have been in your shoes, there is hope at the end of the tunnel I am just coming out the other side now. The Adhd lessons as boys get older than comes the challanges of adolescence, that can't be controlled by medication only remedey is endurance by the parents. ( ha ha ). keep smiling jell.
thankyou very much for your post and your advise its reasuring to hear from someone who has experianced the same. i received a appointment today with my sons doctor to discuss problem and about medication i think there is a under masked problem but unsure what it is. he managed well at primary school but has found high school very difficult which the school have been very supportive and have been acomodating his needs whilst preparing to have a statement and other things to see if there is anything else as he stuggles to stay in class.. the teacher has suggested maybe torrets as he has a lot of ticks which i have noticed myself over the last 6 mths his behaviour changes from one thing to another. he used to take the 4 hour ritalin but didnt do much for him especially the dinnertime dose didnt seem to have any effect at all so he was put on concerta most of his probs appear to be in the afternoon around 2pm so maybe like you suggested he needs something to do for ten minutes also i think his meds need changing to a higher dose and maybe the strattara needs increasing and given in the morning instead of evening which i was advised. my son also will play up when he doesnt want to do a task or finds it difficult to do. its all a learning curb i suppose for high school.
it was nice to read that your son was able to go back to regular school as i was having concerns that my son would'nt manage main stream school. will have to see what the doc says next week and see if i notice a change with the meds and will also keep a dairy of when his behavior worsens. thankyou for your advise and tips. i will try also to educate myself will have to look and see what is available for parents as i havent managed to in the past and just been left to it really.
Hi Helen,
Ritalin has been known in some cases to exacerbate tics in children who have the predisposition to develop these. I would also suggest that perhaps maybe your son could see a educational phsychologist=, i know they are pricey, been there X 4 ( I have four children all with varying Learning difficulties. I have 2 bright kids with Adhd, both are also mildy dyslexic. The youngest child is dyslexic and has a non verbal Learning disorder.Lastly my oldest child has passive add ( dreamy daydreaming type) who also suffers from Dyslaculia ( maths blindness).
Once you know what you are dealing with it makes it easier to plan a method of remediation.I know psychometric tests cost but they are worth it. If you are after a really good book that is helpful for reading about Adhd is Dr chris green's book " understanding Adhd. Another really helpful book which has a couple of really helpful chapters relevant for teachers is' ADD and your child 'written by Australian psychologist Ian Wallace. I have found these helpful , as they do not go into the psycho babble a lot of the other books I have read on Adhd do,Both are written in laymens terms. I hope this helps .
thankyou for your post very useful ! lol my son has a educational phsychologist going to see him in school on monday arranged by school so will hopefuly have what they say or think about him im hoping that by the next to weeks i will have some answers from the phsychologist and the doctor too and maybe she will ajust the meds. i think the tics are a effect from meds i did ask the doctor last time i saw her if the meds could be doing it and she said she felt not.... as i suppose my son has always had some form of tic before meds it just seems now since the meds changed have become more regular and seem to change from different things he does. i will also look for the books you have recomended as i havent been before. thankyou for taking time to read my posts and reply you have been very helpful and im all ready with questions and idea's to doctor and school from your knowlege of adhd, i have three children and its seem i have only one child with adhd, you must have your hands full with 4 children and there adhd.... you must have a tower of strength which i admire as i know how life can be with just one child with adhd, your experiances and knowlege is grately appricated, once again thankyou
Re: Concerta for ADD 
Re: Concerta and my son 
