Experience with Concerta Long Term?

[Bahr98]

My son is 13 and has been on Concerta for 6-7 years at various doses. He is currently on Strattera 40mg and Concerta 36mg daily. He's off of Concerta in the summer. We've recently experienced another change in him (possibly due to growth or puberty), but he's very moody lately and has stopped eating his school lunch. He's also having some increased issues with emotional dysregulation/negativity. We have an appointment with his psychiatrist on Thursday due to a recent panic attack at school where he said he was having thoughts of hurting himself which scared him. I'm wondering if he needs a break from meds. Or is there a possibility that meds doses are too high?? The sudden change in him is very concerning. Thoughts from anyone with a son entering puberty and/or on Concerta?

[Pennywink]

I'm sorry to hear that, Bahr!

How long has your son been on Strattera? To my knowledge, that medication is more likely tied to increased negative thought patterns than Concerta. But others here may have different experiences they can share. Is it also possible that something is going on at school or happened in a social group?

That being said, it does seem like it's time to adjust medications. Puberty is a very common time for this to happen, as their bodies change, they need something different. 6-7 years could possibly have built up some tolerance to the Concerta as well, which would most likely just make it seem like it isn't working, but not necessarily tied to suicidal thoughts. Hopefully your psychiatrist has some answers for you.

[Elijah1]

Make sure the Concerta (I assume he is on a generic version) looks the same as the pills he took in the past. If they look different and the change occurred around the same time as the onset of his mood/behavioral changes, this may be the reason. In the past, the Food and Drug Administration had reports that changing between generic versions of Concerta was, in a small number of cases, associated with behavioral changes in the individuals.

Of course, a simple way to find out is to stop the medications for a few days/week and see how he does.