Do I just need to give it more time?

[Anonymous]

Today was my fourth day on Concerta. The first day all I felt was relief. Suddenly, everything was manageable and I wasn’t so overwhelmed or frustrated. I did have a VERY hyper period between the first and third hours, and then the headache and fatigue when it wore off. Insomnia.

The second day, I noticed it less. Again, the hyper period between hours 1 & 3, but other than that I was fine. Hubs said I was a completely different person, less “all over the place, not trying to do five things at once.” Less of a headache, but much more fatigue. Couldn’t sleep.

Yesterday was the best day yet. Still with the hyper, jittery period, but I was able to handle taking my son to Target and trying to keep him next to me and focused without losing my mind, which has never happened before. I was very calm all day. My husband said that for the first time in a long time, he felt like he could have a conversation with me instead of just wanting to get off the phone or go in a different room. Less of a headache, less fatigue, and I finally got some sleep.

Today was a completely different thing. I felt wound up all day, instead of just the first two hours. I was dealing with more stress than normal, trying to get a refund from a company that was reluctant to give it. I was much more irritable than normal, easily frustrated, yelled at my kids for no reason, tense… It was not good at ALL. I had a headache all day.

I don’t understand why the medication made me better for three days and then suddenly, drastically worse. Was it just a bad day? Were the first three days the placebo effect? Or do I just need more time to adjust? Thank you so much.

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[gforcewarp9]

I can’t understand why no one has responded to you yet, but here goes: I’ve never taken concerta before, but definitely talk to the doctor. Maybe there is somewhere else here that people are posting about Concerta where you might get more of a response. I posted about my ritalin exp, and I didn’t really get anything useful from anyone, I have to say. They all just told me to–talk to my doctor, which is of course what I told you (!) but only because I haven’t had any experience with Concerta. One thing I do know about a.d.d. drugs are that everyone reacts differently, and it’s always a bit of trial and error at first when your trying to find something that works. I haven’t found the answer quite yet myself, I have a hard time adjusting to the feeling of not feeling like myself–but I’m going to keep trying, so I just think that’s what you gotta do. I wish you luck!

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[Ivriniel]

I don’t know if anyone can answer your question in regards to the meds suddenly making things worse. I know that another poster here has talked about how Concerta worked for her for two weeks, and then suddenly stopped, just leaving her with anxiety.

Like gforcewarp9 said, you really have to talk to the Doctor.

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[dspicelady]

Hi there. I am just starting week 3 of 27mg of Concerta. The second week was a hit and miss sort of thing. I still had that electrical-current-buzzy thing happening, headachy, but still focussed. This week, I just feel….normal. But not the normal I felt unmedicated. Normal, like how I imagined others felt. Able to just do stuff without feeling overwhelmed and burnt out before even starting. I used to be exhausted and miserable by midafternoon. This week, I’ve got all of my Christmas shopping done, wrapped, house clean, and I even made cookies tonight. (I’ve been planning to make these cookies for 2 years, no joke). There isn’t that pressured, hyper need to keep moving, but rather a calm, motivated “heck, I feel like doing_____. Well, why not!”

You might need to chalk it up to a bad day, and give the meds more time. Medication doesn’t change how we’ve trained ourselves to react to stress.

But definitely mention this to your doctor.

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[Anonymous]

Ask your doctor is good advice. Could be different things interfering; hormones, anxiety…

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[Anonymous]

I almost lost faith in meds but when I got the right one it worked totally and completely without side effects. After that it was a matter of doss and timming cause it does ware down

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[Anonymous]

80 mg of Ritalin a day for the past 15 years

Finally got me through School

unfortunatly after all these years I may be starting to become immune, according to my wife

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[Dennis]

ADHD meds that are stimulants work right out of the gate, if you have the correct dose, and a med that will work for you.

For example- Me

I started with Ritalin, which worked well enough, but I had big rebounds. The food budget was going broke, and the night cats did not like my company.

I then tried Concerta (doctor recommended) but I ended up on the largest dose without the same positive effect I had on Ritalin.

I now use Adderall, which I tweaked as recommended, and find it most satisfactory when I use it.

Things to consider when trying meds for the first time:

– there is the expectation that you will feel remarkably different when you take ADHD meds. You might. You might not. I find that people around me notice the benefit more than I do.

– the dose is quite personal. What works for me may not work for you, even if we match physically.

– the meds are a tool. The med does not cure ADHD, because ADHD is not a thing that you can cure. Also, ADHD will not go away if you eat less sugar, or eat more fish oil, but doing both those things might make you healthier.

– meds do not guarantee a good day. Lack of meds does not guarantee a bad day.

– ADHD very often has company. It’s called a co-morbid. A co-morbid such as depression or Tourette’s or an anxiety disorder might be the culprit. A problematic co-morbid will have priority over ADHD treatment.

– don’t forget side effects. Some are eventually tolerated I suppose. That’s probably another reason the protocol calls for the smallest dosage to begin and tweaking as needed.

Bottom line- Always go see your doctor with any concerns!

Dennis

Guitar Hero

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[trashman]

Ihave found that i did not know what to expect when starting my meds but then my wife said to me that i would not sit here and read and try respond to these forms so thinkind of that i would say they are working. the other thing i had to relize was it would not fix all my other learning dissibilitys just slow my brain down so i could work on those.if you do that i am learning now i have started my long joruiny of mybe learning to read and write and focus longenough to learn so to all of your patience and kind words thank you. so life goes on .learning to slow down and let the world catch up without geting bored. so again i say to the future.

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[Anonymous]

I thought I would update I went back and forth for a while, thinking either the dose was too high or that it wasn’t high enough. A lot of the problem was that I had to physically adjust to it. Eventually I leveled out, and my doctor and I determined that I might benefit from a higher dose- which is giving me an entirely different set of issues. It’s helping my brain, but it’s tough on my body.

The statement above that the meds won’t fix a bad day are completely accurate. It is also true that I don’t really feel any different when I’m on them. My husband can always tell whether I’ve remembered my meds that day, though, so clearly it’s having an effect.

It’s a fascinating adjustment- it’s like everything in my life is changing for the better, but it’s not everyone around me that is functioning better; it’s me.

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[Anonymous]

Bell….Glad to here you are leveling out, Finding the right meds & right dose can be a roller coaster, it took some exsperimentaion with me as well to get it where it worked. My wife can also tell when I have forgotten my noon med, It works best for me to take 1 dose in the morning 1 at about noon. The best help for us has been my wife becomeing more educated about ADHD, She now recognizes when I am “OFF THE BEAM” as we call & does not take it personally or blame me & we can discuss what is really going on.

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[Patte Rosebank]

@Bell, another possibility may be that your symptoms may fluctuate during the month. I find my symptoms are generally worse during my PMS week, to the point where I even have to take a bit of a higher dose of my meds (under my doctor’s supervision, of course), just for that week.

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[Anonymous]

My symtoms are definitely worse during my PMS week too!! I don’t think the Concerta I take has any effect during that time. Everything is a huge struggle. But once it passes, all is good. Until the next month, when it starts all over again.

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[Anonymous]

I totally agree with the comments since my last input, however I have to say, the future may tend to fluctuate slightly in terms of the timeing of your dossage as I belive after better than ten years latter, I am discovering. But it does still work!

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[Author]

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