Concerta Immune/tolerance Build-up (Page 2)

My son, who is 8, started 18mg Concerta a couple of weeks ago for ADHD. The first couple of days it was wonderful. He was generally happier, his concentration was excellent. He did talk a mile a minute and had trouble falling asleep at night. Both my husband and I were amazed at how well it worked. But the effect has been steadily becoming less and less by the day. It's been 2 weeks now and he's very much like how he was (impulsive, no concentration, doesn't listen etc) even while on medication. Has anyone else experienced this and if we up the dosage now, how many more times and how often would we have to up it???

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Robert, you must be awesome. Will you speak in tongues and tap my son on the head instantly curing his ADHD? or will you dance mystically round him with a coconut rattle and a chant scaring out the demons. Or will you tell me to teach him about consequence and metacognition? I too was a cynic until evidence proved otherwise... go forth and multiply, there are people in here pouring out their hearts looking for help not ill directed judgement.

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hey, you might think im a nuisance where im only a teenager. but im just trying to help, im 16 im about 160lbs and i take 54 mg of concerta in the morning. if you take it every single day you can become dependent on it and you get used to the effects (hence his return to normal behavior most likely) so i prefer to take it only 3 or 4 maayybe 5 days a week. the answer to todays problems arent drugs. they do help on occassion but that never means more is better. i am a really big guy and do competition fighting so its not like its a sedative or anything. it just stimulates your nervous system to concentrate. i hope this helps at least a little bit =)

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My son is on 90 mg of Concerta. He was on two 36 mg. tablets and Intuniv. It quit working, grades were bad, lied about homework, etc. Doctor put him now on 90 mg. and he is focusing better. We might need to up it to 108 mg. though. The doctor said he probably isn't metabolizing his pills and that is why he is on such a high dosage. We noticed the change in his behavior immediately. Concerta is great. I just hope he isn't on these pills into adulthood.

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Wow. Some of these posts so closely mirror my experience with son and Concerta. Some are flat out horrifying. My 10 year old boy was diagnosed with severe ADHD at 6. I opted to try behavioral therapy before medication so he was not medicated until 7. First he was given Adderall. He quit eating, quit playing, quit everything. Against the doctors wishes I had him switched. His psychiatrist prescribed 18 mg concerta. It was wonderful. He was a normal child. He still misbehaved here and there but along the lines of what youd expect from a child his age. In four years (hes about to turn 11) hes moved from 18 to 54 mg. Ive noticed about once a year the previous dose loses any effect it had on him. At 54mg he is now at max dosage for someone under 13 and I refuse to go any higher. 90mg? 108mg? 144mg? These doctors should actually face disciplinary action for taking a child beyond the preset dosage recommended. Even those doses have no long term studies. Granted im at a loss now. Hes falling behind in school, lying about work and generally harder to deal with. I decided to try a medication hiatus. He hasn't grown much in the last year and a half and at four years his body isn't responding at all anymore. Best wishes to everyone fighting this disorder.

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Its because concertas causes dry mouth and the lack of saliva is what causes more cavities

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my son is 9 and he started on 18 mg and now he's on 27 - he does really well at school and during the hours of 7 am to 7 pm. You can see the medicine wearing off by then so it clearly helps my son during the day.

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I need to correct something in my last statement. When the doctor upped my son's Concerta it made him buzz like he was on speed and he got aggressive so he is back down to 54 mg of Concerta and Intuniv. If your son is struggling with school have your school get him an IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) I believe is what it stands for. My son got one and he gets help at school and doesn't lie about his homework or hide it. He does his homework and turns it in and his grades have gone from D's to A's and B's. It is so worth it!

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It sounds like your son is on too much Concerta. If he can't stop talking and can't concentrate he might be on too much. Talk to the doctor who prescribes it as soon as you can.

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Blair, I mean you no disrespect for the following post. the only reason I am posting here is because I don't want your post scare parents.
WOW! Unless you are a psychologist please don't tell people how much medication is to much. Recommended doses are just that a recommendation.
While talking to my psychologist he informed me that people have different levels of ADD. Some people respond well to the recommended doses others don't. That being said I Would like to say that i am mot a medical professional just a concerned citizen.

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Thanks for saying what I was thinking.

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My 10 year old son is on Concerta for five years now, he is not on 56mg, and is showing signs of becoming immune to it...I am wondering if they will increase his dose since he is only 53 lbs and small already for his age. ..He also takes intuniv 2mg with it, but lately for the psat month he has been acting out in class and at home....it is as though he is off his meds....don't know what to do anymore, gonna talk to dr. next visit...

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ooops, I meant he IS on 54 mg...sorry, what is the maximum dose a child of 10 years old can take with his weight being 53 lbs and he is already "small" for his age, they tell me that concerta/stimulants stunt your growtih...he had a growth study and it showed he was 10 years old..lol

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Hello, just wanted to put my question in here.
I'm a 14 year old girl, 5'2" and around 110-115 lbs. A few years ago I started taking Concerta, 18 milligrams in the morning as I was only diagnosed with borderline ADD (not ADHD, I'm not hyperactive.). I have other pills for the evening that are only 2.5 grams - they are for homework if I really need it, but I don't take them very often. After a year the bottle is still more than half full.
Lately, I've been having more trouble concentrating in class and on homework. I've had no re-evaluations since I started it, and am worried that I've outgrown/grown tolerant to the dosage. I even tried taking 25 milligrams (10 of the evening pills) but it still seems to do nothing, just makes me slightly jittery but I"m still as distracted as ever.
Any help would be appreciated.
To the person who said they might need to up it to 108 milligrams - Tee, I think your name was - according to Google (I was trying to make sure I didn't take too much) 108 milligrams is the dosage you need to get high off of Concerta. I really, really hope the doctor doesn't actually prescribe that, though I make no pretenses at having any experiences in medicine.
Thank you, sorry for being so long-worded.

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Hello, just wanted to put my question in here.
I'm a 14 year old girl, 5'2" and around 110-115 lbs. A few years ago I started taking Concerta, 18 milligrams in the morning as I was only diagnosed with borderline ADD (not ADHD, I'm not hyperactive.). I have other pills for the evening that are only 2.5 grams - they are for homework if I really need it, but I don't take them very often. After a year the bottle is still more than half full.
Lately, I've been having more trouble concentrating in class and on homework. I've had no re-evaluations since I started it, and am worried that I've outgrown/grown tolerant to the dosage. I even tried taking 25 milligrams (10 of the evening pills) but it still seems to do nothing, just makes me slightly jittery but I"m still as distracted as ever.
Any help would be appreciated.
To the person who said they might need to up it to 108 milligrams - Tee, I think your name was - according to Google (I was trying to make sure I didn't take too much) 108 milligrams is the dosage you need to get high off of Concerta. I really, really hope the doctor doesn't actually prescribe that, though I make no pretenses at having any experiences in medicine.
Thank you, sorry for being so long-worded.

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My son is 8 n started out on 18 mg of concerta as well. It seems ur son is doing exactly as my son did. After the first month I had my sons dose raised to 27mg and its bn a year now n he's still on same dose n it has done wonders. Just let your dr know how he is n they will raise it. I am glad to hear that it is helping your son. Also my son has had no side effects afyer his 3 month mark except he has began eating better.

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Hi. I have a 11 yr old severe ADHD who has been on concerta 54mg for over 2 years. I have tried vyvanse, Ritalin in different strengths. So far concerta has helped a lot. I use the generic brand manufactured from Watson. Has alzo and 54 mg on it, and is cylinder shaped. I found out the hard way not all generic drugs work the same. My pharmacy changed manufacturers and I could tell a big difference in her behaviour. So please make shure you watch closely if your children's pills look different. I was also severe ADHD when I was growing up. I am 31 now and I and not on medication. Yes, I am occasionally forgetful and hyperactive, I've grown out of most of it at puberty. So just hang in there parents! A lot of times when kids hit puberty there symptoms are less, therefore less meds! When I was growing up all they had was Ritalin. It would make me jittery and my pulse fast. Thank goodness they have done more research on ADHD! I am thankful for concerta! anyone who doesn't believe in ADHD as a real illness, should spend one day w my daughter off of her concerta, and one day with! They will understand!

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Well I take 18mg n a 54mg daily. I work in the legal field and my job is stressful and high demand. I think some days it works and others it does not! However I went on vacation and forgot to bring my concerta. My family member is on adderall the pill is peach. I was there four days n I tell u what that worked a heck of a lot better than my concerta. But I don't no what to do. Any advise on either or possibly a different kind? I am 35 year old women. I don't have adhd. I have add.

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Hi, My son (who just turned 11) is on 54 mg of concerta. I have a feeling it's losing its effectiveness as he's been on it for a long time now. can I ask how much your son weighs/

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I have be tested, and I have severe ADD, I have 16, weighing 160lbs, actively play lacrosse varsity and football varsity, In 6th grade, so I was, 12 yo, my mom wanted me to be put on Ritalin, but I didn't take them. All throughout elementary and middle school i had disciplinary referrals by the time I transferred to high-school I had 4 pages of referrals with around 15 referrals per page. The work I had no problem focusing on that because I knew that my grades got me through it. But the teacher she would explain the same thing over and over again for the people that couldn't comprehend it as fast. That's when I got bored and acted up. My grades were straight A's, exceeded every class exit exams. I have 130 IQ. But as soon as I got into high school my grades went from A's to being borderline. Not because, I didn't know it. Because, i didn't care about being the high potential I could be. I am in all honor classes and the school won't take me out of them because of my tests scores. I apologize for that background story, but, I'm just trying to say just because your kid can't focus doesn't mean your kid has ADD, I'm not denying that some people are chemically imbalanced. But, the amount of people that are diagnosed with disorders are insane. I personally think most people uses disorders as a excuse, because the solution is you give your kid medications, and then they are normal. Which is the fastest and easiest way to temporally fix the problem. Why not try to find the root of the problem? But, just because you or your kid has been diagnosed with a disorder doesn't mean you have to take medication. I survived all of elementary school and middle school with straight A's, acted up a lot but that was because I was bored, the class moved to slow. I was diagnosed with severe ADD. But, people choose to act a certain way. If you let you kid get out of trouble because he has ADD, it just allows him to oh, I can act like this and I won't get in trouble. You can become dependent on concerta, you can test wrongfully positive for meth, example with, taking morphine --positive for->oxy condone, I have researched what effects conserta has and he said being an ex- coke and speed addict, conserta feels the exact same way, some people describe the feeling being incredibly euphoric. I wanted to see if conserta would help me focus in school, so I took a name brand alza, 54 around 21 hours ago, 9am, Total effects I felt, I had dehydration, excessive sweating, horrible stomach pains, clumsiness, extreme focused, excessive talking, faster heartbeat kinda like doing push-ups, jaw clenching off and on for an hour. physically can't go to sleep, it's 5am as of right now. During the school, I did all of my work, which is not normal but I wouldn't do conserta again, because i didn't feel present in my body, maybe like a observer, but, my whole point is, just make sure you know everything you can before you give it to your kid, it is very tempting, especially after the magrine, you don't want to deal with people, become very short tempered also. Just want to be alone. I did feel physically exhausted multi times today. And then, since alza is a extended release it would make you go up again. If you take offense to anything I just said, don't be offended, it was meant as general, not certain people.

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ek wil net hoor die skool het my kind van 10 jaar dr toe gevat omdat hy in die skool sukkel met konsentrasie en afwykings en toe sit die dr hom op 36mg concerta en hy het een pil gedrink en kon die hele nag nie slaap nie en sien snaakse mannetjies en goed ek wil net weet moet hy nou al op 36 mg begin hy was nog nooit op medekasie ni

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