New and a Concerta question

[floridamom]

Hi, I'm brand new here, and promise to post an intro on the welcome boards in the next day or two. But I have a quick question. Ds has been on Ritalin LA, 20 mg. It works well, but doesn't last as long as it's supposed to. He had his ADD re-eval yesterday, and his dr. said she'd like to try him on Concerta. At first it was going to be 18mg. Later, her nurse called and said I should give him 36 mg. instead. She said it's because of having been on the type of Ritalin he was taking. She said 18mg of Concerta would only work like a really low dose of Ritalin.

It just seems like a high dose for starting a new medication. Maybe I'm overreacting, but I've heard so much about Concerta making kids so emotional, that I can't imagine *starting* with the 2nd highest dose. Any thoughts?

KC

[crillmom]

my son was on ritilan 1o mg 3 x a day. we decided to start concerta so he would not have to take all those pills, we started right away on 36 because that is equivalent to what he was taking in ritilan. the transition has been smooth, it works for him exactly the same as if he was taking ritilan 3x a day. ritilan la is equivalent to 36 of concerta so your child should really have no problem

[brookesmom]

I haven't had any emotional issues, just appetite issues. My dd started at 18mg but was bumped to 36mg within a week so it sounds reasonable. She started Concerta in October and has been on 54 mg since February. So far it has been great.

[floridamom]

crillmom said:

we started right away on 36 because that is equivalent to what he was taking in ritilan. the transition has been smooth, <snip> ritilan la is equivalent to 36 of concerta so your child should really have no problem

Thank you. That's exactly how they described it to me. I guess just the sound of 36 mg. seemed like a lot. I'm going to get it filled tonight, but we're going camping with Cub Scouts this weekend, so I'll wait until Mon. to start it. I'd rather we go with the known med. while we're out in the middle of nowhere. And we homeschool, so a weekday is actually the perfect time to try something new.

KC

[finnmom]

Floridamom and welcome.

You´ve already got some good advice´s, but here´s an other experience of concerta. My ds has been on concerta for 1 and half year now, first on 18mg and now couple month´s on 36. I think the dosage has a lot to do with kid´s weight and hight, so if they think your son is big enough for this doese, then I think it´s okay. I´ve been very happy with concerta, it has worked wonder´s for us.

[AnneM]

floridamom and a big welcome!!

Can you tell us how old your son is? The reason I am particularly asking is that from what I have seen, heard and read the dosage of concerta (or ritalin or adderall etc) WILL need increasing as time goes on ... for this reason alone I am not in favour of making the dose too high at a too young-an-age .... I personally believe that if a child is under 12 the dosage should be kept lower which in turn gives the lee-way to increase as the child gets older. I am not (personally) in favour of high doses for young children because then you may well find that by the time they are teenagers they are on huge doses ... !! (By the way that is my PERSONAL opinion and in no way documented!)

My son who is now nearly 17 was on Concerta from age 13... The maximum he went to was 54 mg. He is pretty much off it now but was on Concerta for 3 years... We also never saw any "emotional" side effects (although I DO understand they can happen) but like brookesmom a lack of appetite was the major concern.... although this DID improve with time ... but even to this day if my son has taken concerta he will eat dinner LATER than when he is not on it ...

Please let us know how it goes and WELCOME ABOARD!!

[mothercat]

My son Jared is on 36 mgs of concerta and has been for awhile...no side affects to speak of and it works very well. He is 60pounds and 12yrs old..they take him off meds for the summer for growth spurts.

[floridamom]

Thanks for all the answers, and the welcomes. I did finally get around to posting an intro, but wanted to answer here too. Ds is 7.5. He's tall and thin, but has always been that way. With Ritalin, I always made sure he had a good size breakfast before giving it to him, and he ate a decent dinner. I know Concerta works longer so we'll just have to see how the dinner thing works. I did end up giving him Concerta over the weekend even though we have some Ritalin left. It really seems to work well. I only hope we don't end up with a dose problem due to starting so high.

KC

[mothercat]

Unless I am mistaken concerta doses can go much higher ..Jared stasrted on 36 and hasn;'t had to have an adjustment in two years.

[Linda]

Hi KC...I posted a welcome on your other thread....crillmom has got it right about the dosage. Let us know how it goes.