Can you function without sleep medication on Concerta?

[Anonymous]

Hello

I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 5, I’m now 24 and trying to find a way to remedy myself. I would love to use Concerta without using sleeping medication. It hits a little bit too close to Requiem for a Dream for me to feel entirely comfortable. I used Concerta with great success throughout high school and was able to finish University with its help but then for the last couple of years I just decided I wanted to stop and live life without it. This was actually not the best idea as I am now entrenched deeper than I was before high school after being fired and having continuous emotionally traumatic working and social experiences. I find that the stimulant effect of concerta helps me get things done but my social life suffers because I’m not in the same head space as my friends and am usually on one mission or another. It also raises my anxiety so I blush more often and then to the real question that I am proposing:

how can I sleep without medication when taking Concerta?

I will also write this diatribe just in case it resonates with anyone because I do feel quite lonely in my struggle at the moment:

I feel a bit exhausted after working so hard to finish my schooling and finding myself after two years out of school without the structure or friends that I desperately need. I do odd jobs and am trying to start my own business but find that the lack of structure and now a social group because of extreme low self esteem. I guess the thing is that concerta helped me do things that put me in the spot light (creating art, throwing parties, fundraisers, elected as part of the Student’s Union) so now that I’m struggling my people skills are deteriorating and I’m being watching and judging because no one understands what is going on.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

Have you just tried using melatonin? As simple as it may seem, it seems to help me nod off as much as the supposed sleep meds do. None of them really work well for me but the melatonin is something that is naturally occuring in the body if that’s why you prefer not to use ‘meds’.

Truly, I don’t find the concerta causes me any greater difficulty with getting to sleep than I usually have even when I’m not using it. I was one of those kids who was awake past 11 every night (I’d lie in bed rolling around while I just thought about ‘stuff’) and I still go through the same thing and I’m now nearly 55. Yes, it did drive my parents crazy staying awake but I must have a faulty sleep system since I’ve always only slept just a few hours a night. My mom used to give me all kinds of horrible stories about how I didn’t even sleep as a baby which was particularly tough on her since I also have a twin sister. The only saving grace for mom was that my twin was a really great sleeper. In fact, I think she’s slept most of her life away!

Meds are great at helping us out to keep our life on a more even keel. Well, that’s my 2 cents. Good luck at getting some shut-eye.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

I haven’t used melatonin yet. I’ll try that thanks. Maybe I do just need to accept that I need to be medicated I guess if so many other people have I can too. At some point it would be nice to not be though, of course.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

@Ana Sen, I could have written your first post almost word for word. I’m in a very similar situation. I was diagnosed in university and started on Concerta almost right away. I was amazed by how much it helped, both scholastically and socially.

After graduation, I started to wonder how much longer would I need the meds in order to function. I tried to get myself off the meds, but found that I couldn’t even make it through one day in the office without them. I’m sure this has something with the fact that I’ve chosen a career that isn’t exactly conducive to my ADHD. I haven’t been able to find the help that I need from doctors, so the meds remain currently my only means of coping with the ADHD at work. I don’t take them on the weekends, but I think I would be much more productive if I did.

On the topic of sleep, I can’t say that the Concerta really ever keeps me awake at night. As far as I know the cycle is about 14 hours for it to completely wear off, so if you take it in the morning when you get up, you shouldn’t have a problem getting to sleep at night when you want to (at least not caused by the meds).

Even though I haven’t really stopped taking Concerta, I still seem to have lost touch with the group of friends that I had throughout school, and now that I’m starting to question my chosen career path, I really wish that I had some good friends that I could bounce these ideas and thoughts off of.

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

Ana sen, I’ve been taking zopyclone for a couple of years just to get to sleep at night. I have tried several times to sleep without it and it just did not work. In my case I found that the risks of proceeding to work next day without sleep and on raw nerves did not trump my need to get off the med, so i stated with the zopyclone.

Now i’ve started on Concerta so I have my a pil in the morning to get going and one in the evening to crash out. Maybe I’m wrong but if they work, I won’t have qualms taking these for the rest of my life. I think is a small price to pay for a life well lived. The only time i would drop the meds is if some really convincing cognital behavior therapy out there keeps working after the meds are dropped.

Have you considered local support groups ? They provide both the social setting to be with people and may help you decide what works best for you… hope you find a way soon

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

Hey zjazja – is melatoning now sold over the counter at our pharmacies ? I thought Canada Health banned them. Is the stuff we can buy at health stores just as effective ?

thanks

REPORT ABUSE

[Anonymous]

You might want to switch meds to Ritlin or something with a shorter life span. Ritlin comes in a 20mg sustain release dose that works well and you dont have to remember your mid’-day dose.Or maybe taking the Concerta earlier. I know with my kids…I have to give them the medicine by 8 AM or it will keep them awake. If time permits, try exercising in the evening after dinner to use up some of the leftover energy. Melatonin is great and cheap at Walmarts. There are natural blends at Health Food stores of Melatonin, Valerian root, and Chamomile. Come in teas or pill form. Good luck and God Bless.

REPORT ABUSE

[Author]

Posts