Adhd medication?

Question

My son has been given Concerta today for his Adhd. Has anyone else had these or know a child who has has im quite concerned about side effect with long term use.. Thanks.

mag3dot142 - Thanx ill do that.

Answer 1

I'm really sorry, but I don't believe ADHD exist. The child might be depressed, children as young as three, have been found to suffer from bouts of depression. Adhd is usually diagnosed to kids that have no real discipline in their lives from busy parent, or from parents that don't give a monkeys what they are up to as long as they don't bother them. I am not having a go at you , but where I live I know of several families that claim their Kids have this condition, when the rest of the community can clearly see that the kids are left to run feral, like cats, with no real care and no real substance and no real knowledge of what is right and wrong.

I am sure that this does not apply to you, as you obviously care enough about your kids to post this question, so to me I think that your child has been misdiagnosed, maybe you should look at a second opinion.

if you agree with the doctor, plse let me know more of this affliction, for my knowledge of it is biased by these families.
I in no way wish to offend you.

Answer 2

My son takes Equasyn (not sure if that is spelt right) which is a form of Ritalin this suits him really well and people have told me that they would not know he had the condition if they didn't know. The concerta didn't suit him. Its can be a bit tricky finding the right meds, but a good doctor should be really helpful. My personnel feeling is that the side effects out way the problems of not taking meds but this is just my personal opinion for my son and my family. Good Luck. its hard work with a ADHD child but you can overcome it.

Answer 3

I'm not a child (45), but I've been using concerta for at least 5 years. I don't know of any side effects that have bothered me, my appetite was certainly not affected, and as long as I take my daily dose by noon, I'll be able to sleep w/lunesta at 10 or 11 pm. I should tell you that my diagnosis is chronic depression and anxiety disorder. They prescribed concerta because I was so depressed that thinking was really hard, and I just wanted to stay in bed all day.

It helps me wake up and get going in the morning, when I'm naturally groggy. My concentration goes up 3X after it kicks in (at least an hour), but there is significant landfall somewhere around 2-3pm, and no med seems to handle that. I could take one at noon (I take them all (3-36mg) in am) but I'm terrible about remembering that dose and often go undosed and that compromises my entire treatment plan.

I tried ritalin, adderall, and every antidepressant on the market today (only a couple of exceptions) in combination and out of combination with each other.

Ritalin is bad news. It leaves you going up and down all day, even the longer lasting stuff.

Adderall didn't work for me, but my 17 yo son takes 80 mg every morning along with other meds. His diagnosis is BiPolar/ADD/PDD. If he remembers he didn't take his meds, he comes back home. He doesn't want his friends to see him "acting goofy." We've asked if he wanted to reduce the amount, he refuses. His concentration is pretty good until 3pm unless he skips lunch. At 3pm, he begins to fall asleep and can't pay attention.

Hope this will help you in your decisions about concerta. Let me recommend a web-site that I have found helpful for information about mental illnesses: www.NAMI.org. National Alliance for Mental Illness.

TX Mom
not a dr.

Answer 4

I would think we have all been concerned about the side effects at one time or another, especially as the media only appears to high light those medicated who have problems.

My son took concerta for a year after starting on 5mg of Equasym, every child reactions are differant. You know your child better than any one else.

Our concern was his appetite, he perfect on the centile ratios but Teachers, family all voiced opinions that "isnt he rather thin?" or "we cant get him to eat anything" The problem we hit mostly was he for his height weight ratio was on a high dose, and at his meds review, it was pointed out if his meds increased at the rate they were progressing they would not be able to offer the concerta at the expected increase during adolescence. Pretty much leaving with a lot to consider. In our case we took the option of changing to Equasym XL. No medication is a cure for ADHD, its a long haul of behaviour management, education, and re-education. Keeping all those boundaries in place and being so consistant.

On the concerta his pallor was pale with slightly dark shadows under his eyes, and at the review we presented a sleep diary, which indicated he was not getting enough sleep for his age, so we now use melatonin as part of our bed time routine.

My son is 10 this year and has only been on meds since he was 7, I know other children have longer meds records. As yet Im not aware of anyone in my network who has had major probs with the prolonged use.

We now use the Equasym XL with Equasym as an additional once the XL has worn off with Melatonin before bed. We still have our comedian, joker and he has gained more tolerance for his sister with more positive play. The only thing we have noticed is rather than there being a build up to an explosive episode, it impacts quite quickly on 20mg. (which for the pro's of having our quirky unique boy at home, we cope with as we have always done.) When hes at school he has 30mg, as I lost count the end of last term they just couldnt cope, nor had the resources or time to support him, that I got called in. So he has 30mg just to make it easier at school. (we are asking for a statement review as I do not believe he is getting the support and understanding he should have)

Personally Id recommend you find a support group with other parents going through the same thing, its amazing how much sainer you feel talking to other parents in the same boat, just monitor your child on the meds, any concerns contact the consultant and their support team for advice. As I said you know your own child, if your not happy say so. Its a known fact not every med works for every case of ADHD, it can be a trial and error time, before you find what suits your child and their needs best. Do give the meds a chance, do educate yourself .
After all as parents with children with ADHD we ARE their best advocate. Good luck.

Answer 5

According to Concerta's product information packet, the most common side effects of Concerta are headache (14%), upper respiratory tract infection (8%), abdominal pain (7%), vomiting (4%), loss of appetite (4%), insomnia (4%), increased cough (4%), pharyngitis (4%), sinusitis (3%), and dizziness (2%).

If your child is having significant side effects, a lower dosage or a switch to a different medicine might be needed.

Answer 6

Oh Oh Boy. Debbi V's answer is not helpful to you. How is 45yr old comparable to your child?
Be concerned and stand by him as you are doing. Check out gluten-free diets and other food sensitivities. You will be surprised how much these intolerances can effect a child's happiness. You (and your child) want him to be centered, to feel calm and have a good self-esteem.
Good for you!! Maybe he will stay on but checking into food sensitivities is always worth it.

You are a great Mom!!!

Answer 7

my son is taking concerta also he hasn't experienced any side effects so far he's only been taking for a couple of months we keep having to increase it because he's going thru puberty and he keeps growing so it's harder to get it right thanks for the question though i liked some of the answers for all you other bone heads out there tearing us parents down who choose to put our kids on medicine because of hyper activity attention deffict disorder must apparently do
not have kids i am a stay at home mom and i do care about my kids and fought the school and doctor's for along time we tried all the natural remedies out their are son who at the time was seven begged us to put him on meds because he just couldn't stay still and couldn't get anything done next time please don't answer the question was not if she should put her child on meds but what were the side effects

Answer 8

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Answer 9

I don't think they are any side-effects for long term use. I have been taking concerta for years and i am fine.

Answer 10

If it's anything like retalin, which is essentially dexedrine - do some homework. Esp on the Vietnam War, see what it was used for there.