Concerta: Pro's & Con's?

[ctmomof2]

Hi! My daughter Haleigh (6) just got switched from Vyvanse to Concerta today so I thought I'd ask around and see what everyone that's had experience with it has to say. We're starting it in the morning.

[bugsmom]

Hi, CT! My son Josh was on Concerta for over two years and it worked great! Out of all the stims he tried, this one worked the best for him. I wish he could still take it, but when he needed to go up, due to age and size, the side effects were too much for him. We don't do any stims at all anymore due too this problem.

I found that Concerta was the "smoothest" for him. By that, I mean, that there were no peaks and valleys throughout the day. When it worked, it worked really well. Rebound was tough, but not half as bad as some of the other stimulants we tried. He had no problem with going to sleep on this either.

I hope this works out for Haleigh. I so wish we could still take it. Keep us updated.

[mary2]

My son has been taking Concerta for a while now; maybe a year. It has been great for him. He was on Strattera before as we thought it was his only choice since he has occasional tics; Strattera failed to work for him and we decided to try a stim.

My son showed a major improvement in hyperactivity; his concentration also got better but the hyper factor was like the most important change. The TERRIBLE part for us has been the appetite thing. He is never hungry and it is hard to make him eat. However, he usually has a protein/vitamin shake before taking the med, a small snack in the morning at school; another shake (similar to pediasure) in the afternoon, and he would finally get hungry at night, so this is when he eats his most important meal of the day. The Dr is still evaluating his progress in regard to body weight; if he keeps it too low and his growth gets affected, we will have to stop medication; but I want to be optimistic since this med has helped my son so much.

We are also planning to stop it in one or to years to evaluate his progress without the med. I don't want to do it yet since I feel he is not mature enough... but I do want to give it a chance; maybe, in the future, he will be able to cope without it.

[lcdc1]

I have experience as an adult on this one - it works for my ADHD and has actually been a lifesaver for me. No major side effects that I am aware of on it. I have rebound on it, but I think that is just me, I supplement with a low dose of ritalin at night. Good luck on it!

[puzzled]

My son took it for almost a year before it stopped working well, and his main side effect was the appetite. He was like mary2's child, never hungry, and lost weight on it. We switched to ritalin LA, which did not impact his appetite as much, and worked well for him, though I must tell you he has no hyperactivity issues, only inattentiveness. Due to insurance coverage, and money issues, he switched to Dexedrine a few months ago and that seems to be working fairly well too...

Good luck! If the appetite is the only side effect, there are meds to stimulate appetite, the one my son takes is periactin, an antihistamine that has the side effect of hunger/weight gain.

[ctmomof2]

Thanks for the input everyone! Today went well. I could definately tell the difference, even w/it only being her 1st day. She wasn't overly compulsive like the last few days or weepy. She was up a few times overnight so she was tired, but we gave her 2 of the melatonin about an hour ago and she's getting ready for bed now. Her ped said we could giver her up to 6mg of the Melatonin, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she goes to bed and STAYS in bed ALL NIGHT!!!! I have be up at 6:30 for a 7:30 platelet pheresis donation appointment, so I want to go to bed early tonight and if she's up, regardless if my husband is dealing with her, I won't sleep-even w/my Ambien!

[lcdc1]

How many mgs did they start her with?

[ctmomof2]

The Rite Aid pharmacy here in town only sells them in 3mgs but the doc said that if the low dose doesn't work that we could go up to 6mg. Seeing the only thing they had was the 3mg, we just gave her 2. I also checked it out on the Mayo Clinic site and this is what they said so we figured it was fine:

Sleep disturbances in children with neuro-psychiatric disorders

There are multiple controlled trials and several case reports of melatonin use in children with various neuro-psychiatric disorders, including mental retardation, autism, psychiatric disorders, visual impairment, or epilepsy (29; 30; 31; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41; 42; 43; 44; 45; 46; 47). Studies have demonstrated reduced time to fall asleep (sleep latency) and increased sleep duration. Oral doses of melatonin have ranged between 2.5 and 10 milligrams administered at the desired bedtime. Well-designed controlled trials in select patient populations are needed before a stronger or more specific recommendation can be made.

[lcdc1]

OH sorry, I meant how many mgs of concerta did they start her with?

[mary2]

Melatonin is a good aid to sleep for children who take stims. I give a 1mg pill to my son only when he is too excited or hyper at night; in about 30 mins he would be ready to go to bed. There was a dr who suggested us not to make it a habit; I mean, to use the melatonin every single day;however, he said it would be good for school days when he should go to bed earlier. On the weekends, breaks, or vacation periods he does not take the melatonin.