[cmlwtcos]

So when I was in 4th grade, I was diagnosed with ADHD and I've been on medication ever since. I first took Strattera but that wasn't helpful and then was switched to Concerta about a year later. I've basically been on Concerta ever since but almost all of junior high and a few parts of high school I didn't take it. My mom would come in the morning with my meds but I was just cheek it. Anyways, in 11th and 12th grade was when I really started regularly taking Concerta as well as this year in college. I've been really unhappy with it and I don't know if it's just me or the pills that do this... Anyways, are these just common side effects, or should I go in to my doctor to try a different medication?

1) increased anxiety (I already suffer from panic attacks and anxiety...)

2) obsessive skin picking (It's crazy, I just pick at everything and make like holes in my skin)

3) complete lack of appetite (I've lost so much weight. I've had anorexia for almost three years and I'm sort of trying to recover and it's making it worse.)

4) clammy hands and feet (Slick with sweat and ice cold. equals grossest feeling everrrrr.)

5) social withdrawal (I think that's what I should call it. I don't talk and get nervous around people, like I'm super shy and introverted. Naturally, I am an extrovert and have been told that I'm a spectacular conversationalist.)

6) uncreative (I'm a performance poet and a ceramics major at uni but when I take Concerta, it turns off all inspiration.)

7) passive and apathetic absurdism (Really hard to explain how I feel on Concerta. It's bizarre how different I am on it.)

I don't know if "not liking how I feel on it" is a valid reason to switch medications if it's something that everyone feels on it. Do you take Concerta and have these feelings too?

I am 19, female, 5'3, 90 lbs, and take two 18mg of the brand name Concerta around 8:00am.

Hello clmwtcos. I don't know the answers to your questions but I'm glad you posted your concerns. Tomorrow i'll be seeing my doc with the plan being to try Concerta. I'll be keeping your post in memory to compare with what I may be feeling over the next while.

Mind you I have been told it's ADD without the hyperactivity. I'm described as being somewhat creative myself. I've always worried about meds interfering with that part of me and I'm a little apprehensive this time as well. I've haven't been on anything for the ADD to this point. Actually I tried it a couple of yrs ago but migraines due to high blood pressure stopped the treatment until my blood pressure was corrected. It has been and here iI go again. I only spent maybe 3 wks at it before and with the headaches and all, any changes we'ren't noticed before it was stopped.

Perhaps now that you're an adult the Concerta may have outlived it's particular uses for you? What I'm suggesting is that maybe one of the other stimulant meds in the same category might be better tolerated? I don't know much about these drugs yet but i do know some medications benefits may wane over time. Having an adult physiology now might have changed your bodies tolerances and the ways it processes the meds as well but I'm no Doc on that matter. What I do suggest and believe you are right...is to contact your Doc and tell him what your concerns are.

Could make a difference? I don't know but really the best step I would imagine. I'm looking forward to tomorrow....well mostly, because I know there may be some light shone on my own behaviors. If it doesn't work I'll likely be asked to retry with a similar med in that family. I think that's standard procedure for most Docs out there. If one ain't cuttin' it try another. That's why several types exist. You probably know all that but I'm just covering my bases.

Maybe i'll see a post later down the line where you're commenting on how you're feeling lately. I know in the next month or so I'll be posting something about my own experience with this for good or bad for gen'l interests sake.

Wordy quizzickle....I'll top this off with a good luck and see you around. My final thought is to address your question once more. i'd at least voice my concerns/observations to the Doc and see. Can't hurt...might help. Seeya'll.

[cmlwtcos]

Originally Posted by quizzickle

Hello clmwtcos. I don't know the answers to your questions but I'm glad you posted your concerns. Tomorrow i'll be seeing my doc with the plan being to try Concerta. I'll be keeping your post in memory to compare with what I may be feeling over the next while.

Mind you I have been told it's ADD without the hyperactivity. I'm described as being somewhat creative myself. I've always worried about meds interfering with that part of me and I'm a little apprehensive this time as well. I've haven't been on anything for the ADD to this point. Actually I tried it a couple of yrs ago but migraines due to high blood pressure stopped the treatment until my blood pressure was corrected. It has been and here iI go again. I only spent maybe 3 wks at it before and with the headaches and all, any changes we'ren't noticed before it was stopped.

Perhaps now that you're an adult the Concerta may have outlived it's particular uses for you? What I'm suggesting is that maybe one of the other stimulant meds in the same category might be better tolerated? I don't know much about these drugs yet but i do know some medications benefits may wane over time. Having an adult physiology now might have changed your bodies tolerances and the ways it processes the meds as well but I'm no Doc on that matter. What I do suggest and believe you are right...is to contact your Doc and tell him what your concerns are.

Could make a difference? I don't know but really the best step I would imagine. I'm looking forward to tomorrow....well mostly, because I know there may be some light shone on my own behaviors. If it doesn't work I'll likely be asked to retry with a similar med in that family. I think that's standard procedure for most Docs out there. If one ain't cuttin' it try another. That's why several types exist. You probably know all that but I'm just covering my bases.

Maybe i'll see a post later down the line where you're commenting on how you're feeling lately. I know in the next month or so I'll be posting something about my own experience with this for good or bad for gen'l interests sake.

Wordy quizzickle....I'll top this off with a good luck and see you around. My final thought is to address your question once more. i'd at least voice my concerns/observations to the Doc and see. Can't hurt...might help. Seeya'll.

I think I will go talk to my doctor about it. Maybe I could try some other medication like Adderall, I mean, classes end in 4 days so I could try it out over summer holiday. I can tell from days that I do take my medication and that days that I don't that I have not out grown either the attention problems or my hyperactivity... I had mentioned that in junior high I would not take my medication, it was because I had these same feeling back then.

I don't know how Concerta will be for you, but most of the other people I know who have taken Concerta claim it's just a catalyst to their anxiety, to which I concur. For me, artistic inspiration is very important and without it, I genuinely feel hopeless. It's a huge problem when I'm working on a piece for my class and I draw up a blank.

I, too, suffer from migraines, though I have never thought to associate it with Concerta. Because high blood pressure runs in my family on both sides, my doctor has voiced concerns about taking stimulants.

Good luck on the Concerta, tell me how it goes for you!

[ifnotnowwhen]

Hello everyone. I was officially diagnosed with ADHD just over a year ago (although I always knew something wasn't quite right). My doctor at the ADHD clinic has had me on Concerta since the beginning. My immediate advice to the person that started this thread would be to definitely speak with your doctor. The side effects you are describing are certainly not conducive to helping you live life with your disability. Concerta is definitely not for everyone. I did struggle with it in the beginning until I was able to find the proper dose that worked for me (54mg - which I take at 630am). I do have side effects from the medication but it is my responsibility to be able to manage them. My appetite is definitely a lot less than it has always been, so there has been some weight loss, but what I do though is worked hard at making sure I have food at my desk or in my gym bag.
I also find that I sleep quite deeply, so of i stay up too late I run the risk of sleeping right through my alarm. So, I make sure I am at least in my bed at the same time so that I don't become distracted and find a good reason not to go to bed. The proper sleep then allows me to get up and take my meds on time. This is super important for me. I take my meds at 630 am weekday an weekends. Taking it without a consistent schedule doesn't workout well for me. So I do my damnedest to make sure things do workout well for me.
I have to remember that the medication is just one part of the entire picture. The other parts are all about behavior, routines, habits, feelings, thoughts, attitudes, etc. My meds allow my brain to focus on the task at hand (sometimes too focused), which in turn provides clarity, mindfulness, and awareness of what is going on; both inside and outside. As long as i don't forget that, that my meds will not magically cure me, I am able to take full responsibility for my life and do everything in my power to live as happy, joyous and free as I can. Anything that gets in the way of that, or jeopardizes it, cannot be a part of this journey. As I mentioned earlier, there was a point in finding the right dosage with Concerta that I thought I was going insane. I was jacked through out the entire day, wasn't eating, was angry and miserable, and was only sleeping three to four days of the seven day week. Deep down I knew this wasn't normal, but the twisted part of me craved the chaos. It was a dangerous situation to be in, and eventually I gave myself a swift kick in the ***, saw my doctor and went down to the dosage I am on now. Big difference between the two. Feeling that way and living that way was not happy, joyous or free, so i owed it to myself to change it.
Your side effects do not sound like they are contributing to a serene existence my friend. See your doctor.
Stay strong my friend.

Mark