Quote:
Originally Posted by quizzickle
Hello Musics...sounds like a rough day. Really upset to hear this. What strength is your Concerta? What I understand from what my psy-guy said is that typically one is started on 18mg a day. Is that your dose? If it's 36 or 54 then I would think a mistake has been made. I think one has to wean up to those doses if required.
Don't get discouraged too quick. Did the doc check your blood pressure? You're young and shouldn't have issues with that but anyone can have it. The odds you do are low. Concerta and the other ADD stimulant meds can raise blood pressure a bit. Not too a great great degree but I think it should be checked.
If you're not really busy tomorrow perhaps you can wreck your Saturday a little by going to a hospital emerg. and tell them what your situation is. Also prior to doing that you might call Telehealth Ontario at 1-866-797-0000. You can speak to a registered nurse and she will research what she can and give you better advice than anyone outside the health system. She'll probably wind up telling you to go to emerg. Good idea. Just to straighten this out a bit. No sense in having this unecessarily upset you. Or perhaps not being good either. Just don't get too down on this. It may well be temporary. I don't know. Hosp. people will however and they'll advise you on what to do.
Here's a post I just found on another site...I went lookin' for info and this stood out. http://www.addforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76579 Looks like a good site actually....just found it as I googled Concerta initial side effects.
****Hiya, GingerSnap!
How long have you been taking Concerta?? I've been taking it for about a month and a half, and it took almost two weeks of juggling dosages to start to feel a new "normal." When I first started taking it, I almost quit right away--I didn't like feeling so weird and zombie-like. I felt either really sleepy or spacey all the time, but as I adjusted my dose (went from 18mg to 36, then to 54) that weird limbo stopped, and it turned into a focused energy. It was like everything all of a sudden came into focus once I got used to the right dose. For ME, it took some time to adjust!!
Also, I second Smc3rd's suggestion--talk to the doc!! She won't know how you feel or what needs to change unless you tell her. And there's no reason you have to wait for your appointment to communicate--give her office a call! I'm sure she'll be happy to help!
Wishing you a happy, healthy, focused (!) New Year!!
 FIO *****
So musics I'm glad i found that. I'm sure there are a lot of experiences to be found. I'm just ticked that it hit you so negatively so quickly. Again don't be too discouraged. You can find out soon what's going on. I don't think I can or should advise you on whether to take them today or not. Can you post the dosage tho? The telehealth line is a good start. You've waited this long to engage this med stuff you can wait until you have a definitive answer.
Also call your DOC! I have no doubt he'd see you if you tell his secretary the situation. Can you do that? That's his job too right? Maintenance and monitoring. 3 weeks or so I think is A typical wait for a second med appointment. Your reaction seems quite strong however. I think he really needs to know. Too bad it's the wkend but the hosp. and telehealth are available if you're really needing some quicker answers. Your Doc you should phone Monday. Any reason that couldn't happen?
Sorry to go on Musics. You're my test subject in real time.  I was curious to know how it's going. My encounter with this stuff will be next week. I think things might be ok...or made to be ok. Even if it's not the appropriate drug for you then that's no disaster either. As with many drugs in the same class what works for one may not work for another. There are a few on the market. Not everyone responds the same way. Diff. chemical makeup etc. your doc will sort you out. No big bummers yet ok?
Just want you to maintain the positive. Let us know what happens today perhaps. I have to ask seeing as i'll be guinea-piggin' Concerta as well. Before I forget....I'd like the dosage per day iffen you don't mind. Good luck today however it progresses. |
That was a long post haha, and I'm sorry to say I may have not read the entire thing but I got the main idea(you know). I am starting out on 18mg for 1 week, and then he also gave me 3 weeks of 36mg to start after the first 7 days for 2 weeks(then I go back to see him).
I know every drug has side effects, but I just don't think it was right of him to tell me there were ONLY TWO. The only 2 he mentioned were Insomnia and Suppressed Appetite, which I have both, plus a list of others as you can see.
I took my med this morning because I worked early, and knew it didn't do anything horrible yesterday until later on, and I needed to be able to focus at work. I could feel it working today, and I will admit that it's hard to adjust, I feel like I can see things I missed so much easier. Not all my symptoms are better, and I had a stomach ache this morning, but not too much that I couldnt eat.
I do however keep feeling this sharp shooting pain in my forearm(my right side) as if it's going through my vein. I'm not too worried about it though because it's not constantly bugging me.
I'm just a little afraid of what tonight/later on today will bring. I went into overdrive yesterday about 6ish until 1am. My coworkers are well aware that I'm on new meds and have no problem letting me sit down every 30 mins cause I feel a little tired(not sure if thats normal).
So I don't think my blood pressure is abnormally high, just a llittle elevated, and sometimes I feel out of breath from just walking around, but that's minor.
Thank you for your post! It was very helpful, and hopefully this is just my body adjusting to the new things.