concerta

[Isabellarose]

Hello,

Fairly new to the ADHD world my son (almost 6) was diagnosed in May. He was put on Ritalin short acting and catapres (clonidine) after diagnosis and while the Ritalin worked amazing while in his system the rebound was horrific (behaviors that were ten times worse then before meds) so we had an appointment with his pediatrician two weeks ago and he started concerta he said the long acting stimulants are released slower into the body and this generally has less of an effect on children (eg rebound not as full on) however I’m not sure if it’s just because his body is still adjusting but the concerta seems to have made him more aggressive and irritable even while it is in his system (it’s almost like we don’t notice that change in him like we did with the Ritalin) we are left second guessing if the concerta is even working for him or if these are just side effects that will settle as he adjusts to the new medication (it’s only been 2 weeks and we do have weekends med free)

I do have another appointment with his pediatrician on the 26th to check in on how he is going so we will discuss this with him but he will also be changing his catapres to guanfacine at this appointment (he did not want to change two at once)

So did anyone have negative effects with concerta that did settle or see any change once used with guanfacine?

I’m feeling so overwhelmed and anxious about the whole thing and second guessing what the best thing for my son is is doing my head in.

i forgot to mention he was started on 27mg is this too high for first time should i request 18mg or are his symptoms showing he could even need higher 36mg arghhhhh this road is HARD!!!

[Aspen797]

So sorry for your frustration. It is so hard when they’re little and we’re having to guess at some of these decisions. It sometimes takes a bit of experimenting to land on the right medication. In our experience, starting very low and going slow in increasing dosages worked better than bigger jumps. Adding Guanfacine (very low and slow) was also a huge help. It works on the prefrontal cortex and seems to counterbalance some of the downsides of stimulants. For our child it helped lessen the ‘fight or flight’, tempered his emotional regulation and improved his working memory. The stimulant helped with focus and impulsivity. If you look up “guanfacine as an adjunct” on Google you will see lots about their combined use.

[GuccisMomma]

Hello, I can only speak on the Concerta for my son. He's been Concerta since he was 5yrs old. I preferred it because of the slower release method. We started on lower doses first then increased as he grew and became older. Side affects can be irritability and loss of appetite. However every child is different. I also allow weekends, school breaks and summer of no medicine. This school year I suggested to down grade my sons dose to a lesser amount because you can still have the less medicated version of but also allowing them to focus. Do your own research and trust your gut. Your his mother, You got this!!! Well be praying for a successful outcome. We all need them. Even with several trials/ fo overs. Yes, tell the teacher to stop being an A**hole to your kid.

[Mamamichl]

although my kid isn’t that young, she didn’t do well with the stimulant we tried. Stimulant works well with my partner (vyvanse), but both my daughter and I have bad experiences with them. They raised our anxieties and created behaviors. My daughter’s doctor doesn’t want to do meds, but we are trying to push to try a non stimulant or anxiety meds, and I’m on both. My non stimulant is doing great things for me.