difficult child and concerta

[carolanne]

Can anyone tell me about concerta? I met Jess at her new apt(twit was out) and she told me about how she is feeling on this medication. She said she feels more nervous, can't sleep, cries alot....and I noticed she has lost major weight....she always was thin but this is walking corpse thin and she is so pale. I also noticed she is twitchy....something she has never been.

We chatted for a bit and I asked about how she wound up on it....she said a worker at the home "diagnosed" her as ADD and the psychiatrist put her on it.

Now, doesn't ADD show up earlier than 17? I never had complaints about her from her elemetary school. She could always sit and read a book for hours....wasn't fidgety at all.

I told her she needs to tell her psychiatrist and maybe be re-evaluated.

On the plus side, the apt is spotless(can't say that for the building....ugh), her cupboards are full, she has a menu on the fridge for monthly meals and is keeping every receipt she gets. She even handed me $12 for the phone....I said I would pay it for a bit but she insisted. Didn't have the heart to tell her it was $45 a month but am proud she gave me what she had.

So any input on this drug?

Carolanne

 

[Big Bad Kitty]

Well, My DEX took it for a period of time as an adult, and it helped him focus. I was always told that if someone truly has ADHD, this is the reaction that one would have from concerta (or any stimulant).

Now, I have another friend who gets concerta and uses it as diet pills. She does NOT have ADHD, but the side effects are much like you are describing: nervous, no appetite, thin, her house is immaculate because she is always on the go...you get the picture.

ADD is NOT the same as ADHD. The H in ADHD is what makes you need a stimulant. My DEX had the H, which meant he was hyper, and the stimulant calmed him down. If you are not hyper, and you take a stimulant, it will stimulate you.

And I would bet that is what you are seeing. She probably needs to get off that medicine, and talk to her doctor again.

 

[KFld]

There are many adhd medications out there now, and what works for one doesn't always work for another. Not sure what the history is or how many she has tried, but she should tell her doctor these things.
My difficult child never liked the way any of them made him feel. That is right, my son the drug addict didn't like the way adhd medications made him feel. Kind of ironic huh???

 

[LittleDudesMom]

Carolanne,

It is strange that your daughter would be diagnosis'd at 17 with add for the first time. However, you just never know. I think some of the things she is experiencing could be attribtable to the medications. The lack of sleep is fairly common - what time of the day is she taking the medication and what is the dosage?

The anxiety or nervousness is a side effect as well.

I must say though, that BBK's statement that stimulants are only used or good for adhd is incorrect. The inability to focus is greatly improved by the correct stimulant. Stimulants are correctly rx'd for both add and adhd.

It's really good that she is taking care of her place and giving you the money. She's trying to be responsible and I think it's great! I hope you guys can sort out this medication issue.

Sharon

 

[jbrain]

Hi,
my son wasn't diagnosed with ADHD til he was 20 and in college. He aced elementary school and middle school but had trouble with high school but I thought he just wasn't trying--teachers kept saying he wasn't working up to his ability. He did manage to do pretty well in 11th and 12th grade and did very well on his SAT's. He had the inattentive type--he wasn't hyper, he couldn't concentrate.

It wasn't til he was in college and getting in trouble with drinking that he was assessed and told he most likely had adhd. He read up on it and fit nearly all the criteria. He began taking Concerta and it did help but he too lost weight and after awhile just didn't like how he felt so he quit taking it. He has done neurofeedback and that seemed to help more than anything.

He is now co-owner of a restaurant (he is 23), works a zillion hours a week, but that is how he has always been--I guess it is a sort of hyperfocus--when he is interested in something he goes all out.

What I feel bad about is that I didn't recognize the problems he was having in high school. He kept everything to himself and I was too busy with difficult child 1 and all her problems to try to find out what was going on with him. He told me later he felt stupid and wondered why his friends seemed to have no problem with concentrating. Everyone told him he wasn't trying and yet he felt like he was trying as hard as he could.

Anyway, a long post to tell you that you can be diagnosed as an adult--in fact many adults are diagnosed when they have their own children who have adhd--kind of an "aha" moment I think!

P.S. Both my dtrs also have taken Concerta and Strattera. difficult child 1 probably really does or did have adhd (inattentive type) and difficult child 2 was misdiagnosed with it--she actually has a dissociative disorder. Neither of the girls stuck with the medications--they didn't like how they felt. difficult child 1 sold hers at high school for other drugs--nice, huh?