Update on concerta:Day 11

[Gina2005]

Well,my son has been on concerta for 11days now and Im guessing his dose will have to be a little higher.The first day was GREAT but after day 2 he was basicly back to normal again.I can see small changes,he doesnt scream as much now,but thats about it.It takes him AGES to fall asleep now too,most nights is 1:30am and he is still awake his appetite has also changed,he eats alot less now.
I knew this could happen so it hasnt been a surprise and we are hangin in there.We go back to the doctor on the 29th so I will explain this to her and see what happens from there.Do you think she will increase the dose or change his meds? Also,what do they do about them not being able to sleep? Does anyones child have to take anything to help him/her sleep?

[Linda]

:)I am guessing they will up his dose...they usually start at the lowest dose and work up to target. In my opinion I would call the Doc. and tell her what you are telling us. You may just get a script or an earlier appointment.

As far as eating try to give him a big breakfast before you give him his meds.

I really don't know about the sleeping issues because we didn't have these issues. I am sure someone here knows though and will help you.

[kstquilter]

hey gina,
we didn't have alot of these problems either. but there would be nights dd would be up until all hours. she normally got up pretty well as a whole so i didn't worry about it too much.
i would also guess they'll up the dose. she took the concerta first thing in the morning and then smaller doses of regular ritalin at lunch and after school. that seemed to help with any sleeping problems most times because the concerta was long gone and the ritalin wore off pretty quickly.
some kids fall asleep to music, tv or by reading. are any of these an option? i also had an earlier bedtime for her than her friends because it took her awhile to wind down. she did that in her room where there is no phone, tv or computer. so she could listen to music, read or wander around her room, whatever worked for her. as long as she was with us and the tv and computer, she kept too stimulated to fall asleep. she didn't like the earlier bedtime but explained that i knew she didn't go to sleep as soon as she went to bed and that it was because she needed time to wind down. we kept an earlier bedtime almost all the way thru high school. there were some struggles and we did make exceptions when necessary especially as she got older.
we did have some eating problems as well but those were temporary and didn't last long.
i agree that you should call the dr. earlier and maybe get a head start on some changes.
good luck.
karen

[gina1kid]

Gina,

Just want to say that I love your name.

My DS is on Concerta and has been for about 1 year now. He is 9 years old. So far he has not had trouble falling asleep, thank goodness. But I give him the concerta no later than 7:30 am. I also give him liquid calcium and magnesium (1 tbsp) at night before bedtime, which calms him down to sleep.

If the doctor ups the dose, don't be alarm. I would just try it and see what happens. You should be able to tell a difference right away. Many times, our kids metabolism is so fast that the medicine breaks down quicker in their system so they need an extra increase in dosage.

So far, I have been real amazed with my DS progress on Concerta.

Good luck.

Gina

[finnmom]

Gina, good luck with your app.

Lesser apetite and trouble´s getting to sleep sounds to be the biggest one´s with concerta. I know my ds eat´s a lot less than before his doce-increase, but I give him a good breakfast before med´s and let him eat at weekend´s when he´s medfree. He has never had any real trouble´s with getting to sleep; he need´s his radio on and night lamp on before he can fall asleep... Have you tried warm milk, and all the other old way´s... you might want to ask your doc if there is something to help, melatonin or something like that...