My son (9) was taking Adderall. He has been taking it for the past 3 years. It started having a bad effect on him so we quit. I tried Vitamins, DHA and a restricted diet for quite a while but no improvements. Today he started Concerta and I wanted to know if it had a cumulative effect on anyone who is taking it. Adderall did have that effect on my son. It took around a month for it to be out of his system. He has always taken summer and weekend breaks when taking adderal. I was also wondering if people taking Concerta took weekend breaks. I know it is a new product but I would like as much info as I can find from people who are actually using the product or have children taking it.

Thanks,
Donna

No.
concerta does not built up in the body

Just curious about one thing. People on the old board have mentioned that it took awhile for Concerta to work for them...weeks even. My son switched from 20 mg. Adderall once and sometimes twice a day to 36 mg. Concerta once a day, over two months ago. He couldn't see any change...but then he's not too observant. But a few days ago we were discussing his test results in Bio class and he remarked that it seems like he's thinking more clearly. If there is no build up, why would it take that long for a result? There has been no change in dosage.

Also, to those of you taking Concerta. Does it last for the 10-12 hours for you that it's supposed to? Do any of you take a second dose later in the day? If so, does this interfere with sleeping at night? If you've been taking this for a while, how about an update on how it's working?

The doctor has prescribed a second dose of 18 mg. after school so my son doesn't totally embarrass himself by daydreaming in the outfield. Baseball can be kind of slowpaced for an ADDer.(grin)

[This message has been edited by Reba (edited 03-31-2001).]

Reba, for after school, you should consider
Ritalin so that he can have normal sleeping
habits. My son takes his Concerta at 6:30
am but by 4:30 it starts to wear off. His
MD put him on Ritalin for after 4:30 so that
he can do his homework. Taking 2 doses of
Concerta would have a 24hour effect. That's
too much. He is also asleep by 10pm, usually
9:30 so the extra boost doesn't keep him up.
I tell my son that the latest he should take
Ritalin is 6:00pm, that way he's guaranteed
a good night's sleep.

My previous email got lost....
This is what I learned about Concerta:
a. 36mg of Concerta is equiv. to 10mg
of Ritalin
b. 18mg of Concerta is equiv. to 5mg
of Ritalin
c. Two separate doses of Concerta in one
day is like having 24 hour coverage,
for after school, but not to be taken
later than 6pm, try Ritalin.
Hope this helps.

Hi, My daughter has been on concerta for 2mos now. She has done very well. I havent observed any side effects. As for the weekend
taking a break from the meds, the Dr does not recommend you do this as it is a stimulant and needs to remain in their system. He described it to me as when an addict takes a drug and than all the sudden
he stops, he suffers withdrawls and other
side effects. He said I should remain giving
it to her that it can cause mood changes if I dont. I dont like medicating her more than necessary. Thats why I did with the ritalin
during the weekends and summer breaks. With the ritalin I also noticed severe temper outburst after the drug wore off. She wasnt her self,this scared me. I really wish there
were herbal remedies for this condition instead of druging our children. Sometimes I feel guilty with all the things we hear about
kids becoming addicted to meds. Sorry I carried on but I needed to vent out some feelings . Thanks for listening. Go to a website called ADHDlivingguide.com this is a very helpful site... feel free to e-mail me at anytime Luvcarosel@aol.com Good Luck I hope the concerta proves to be helpful.

FYI Concerta is nothing more than long acting Ritalin or as it is called sustained release. This is available in generic form so if you are paying way to much for the name brand of Concerta please ask your doctor or pharmacy about switching to the cheaper generic brand.