This is my first time to post on the boards. Iam a 46 yr. old female with adhd and I started ritalan in early July, I was taking 10 mgs in the am and pm and couldn't handle the coming down so my Dr has put me on 20mgs of concerta but it is a pill not a capsule.Has anyone else been on the pill form and if so does it work as well? I start back to college in a couple of weeks and I really need it to last longer. Thank you

Nanc

Hi,

My daughter (15yrs.) takes Concerta and prefers it over regular methylphenidate (Ritalin) because it lasts longer. As far as I know, Concerta comes in dosages of 18 mg, 36 mg and 54 mg...so I am curious about the 20mg Concerta that you are taking. The Concerta that my daughter takes is a pill, not a capsule. An 18mg Concerta pill is similar to 3 doses of 6mg of methylphenidate released over the course of approx 12 hrs.

Good luck at college!

My son takes 54mg Concerta. From what I understand, Concerta only comes in the pill because the way the pill is made controls the way the medicine is released over time. This is why you should never crush it or break it.

I have never heard of a 20mg Concerta pill. I did hear that there is a 27mg pill.

Good luck,
Neelie

Ya..... CORRECT!! As the post before mine stated CONCERTA ONLY COMES IN PILL FORM!!! If it was in a capsule the release could not be properly controlled. :)

"Ah! the clock is always slow, It is later than you think."
--Robert W. Service

Thanks for the replies. I have been reading the board for awhile and I never seen anyone say anything about 20mgs either. The reason I asked about it being in capsule form was the leaflet that was given to me at the pharmacy stated it was in capsule form but that's not what I got.Iam going to ask my Dr.when I see her in a couple of weeks about the 20mgs never heard of that either.As for school I need all the help I can get!!

Nanc

Hey Buggy,
I was in college myself not long ago...got my AS anyway. I graduated December 2001. I am 42, this is to tell you you are not alone in age or ADD. Mine is not ADHD. I was taking 20 mg Ritalin in the morning (an hour before my first class (9AM). Another 20 mg Ritalin at noon, because my first afternoon class was at 1PM. I also took one at 5PM on those days that I had my evening course (at 6PM). That was 2 days a week. I only took the Ritalin during the week. The rest of the time I was off of it (except for studying for and taking finals). Because of this drug "holiday", my system didn't get accustomed to it. The dosage didn't have to be altered and I stopped taking it after finals. I never took Concerta. My son takes that. He likes it much better than Ritalin. There is no 20 mg Concerta and NO capsule form. I brought up the Ritalin issue because you may want to reconsider that, if your course schedule is irratic. Good luck in college! It can be a hassle, but it can also give you some wonderful memories.

It's nice to hear from someone else who has gone to college. My classes are just two nights a week, wed and thur from 5:00pm-6:50pm, both of them and I was kinda concerned about how long the concerta would last so far it's been great, no crashing! That was enough in itself to just stop taking it. As for the 20 mgs I was taking reg ritalin 10mgs in am and afternoons. But my dr. told me we would change to concerta and so when I picked up my new script it say's 20mg on the bottle, if it doesn't come in 20mg I would like to know what it is! I will also talk to her about only using it while Iam in school as I don't want to build a tolerence to it I have high blood pressure and I think that's why she's not going higher on my doseage. I take meds for the blood pressure but it still raises it a little.Iam glad you brought up about the dose it's possible the pharmacy made a mistake thank you.