20y old has been on it for 9 years...now on 54mg.

He initially lost a ton of weight (never has liked breakfast, didn't eat lunch, starving around 4pm (eats dinner 1) and then eats again around 9/10.

Weight lost leveled off pretty quickly (6-9months?) and stabilized (though his eating patterns remain the same.)

He is a mess when he doesn't take it - tangential, hypersensitive, pressured speech, etc. He is "fine" when it's in his system. We have never done breaks on weekends/holidays/summer.

After a three year journey to find the right ADHD med for DS (now 10), Concerta (ER, 18 mg) seems to be our answer: We’re on day 4 and it seems to put him in a great mood, and activities are holding his attention for so much longer. So far, no negative side effects. I’d started to just accept that nothing would work. I realize it’s early going (he hasn’t even tested it out on a school day yet) but what is this strange feeling of hope??

We switched from vyvsnse to concerta ER because the doctor said it may be more effective for his genetic makeup. We had one day of 18 mg and he said he could really the difference in focus but he also felt really angry and irritable for no reason about 5 hours later. He hated it. We are going to try it a couple more days but my kid is 16 and knows his body more than me.
We are supposed to go up in a week to 36 mg but I’m nervous. Has anyone experienced the irritability and does it go away? Vyvanse seemed to be much smoother.

My son (inattentive type) is on 36 mg with Ritalin booster as needed in the evening. He doesn't have much of an appetite at midday, but will eat a second dinner before bedtime - otherwise he wakes up with a rebound appetite in the middle of the night and then ends up eating junk-ier foods.
I agree with other posters that getting nutrient/protein dense foods during the times where his appetite is more present is key.

Not sure if my input is helpful since I’m an adult, but sharing just in case.

Taking 36 currently with evening Ritalin booster as needed, but started with 18 many years ago. It works great for me (combined type) but it is imperative to stay on top of meals/snacks to avoid the afternoon crash. However, it didn’t affect my appetite/weight much. I am less susceptible to sugary treats now.

I find that I am a little more irritable when interrupted during a task, especially towards the end of the day when the medication is wearing off. Transitioning between tasks is still challenging but still better than when I’m off meds.

For those with daughters- it seems to stop working when I’m on my period, hence the Ritalin booster. I just try to accept that things will be much harder for a week or two.

No big side effects, but it didn't work as well as other methylphenidate meds. They all have different delivery mechanisms and speed of the extended release, so you just haber to keep trying.

Ds 13 is on it and has been since age 6. At age 5-6 we tried all the meds and found they all had exactly the same side effects but concerta had the most school day coverage for ds. He’s on 36 mg. Used to be on it for hyperactivity and now it’s a combo of the two, but the hyperactivity is greatly diminished and tbh ds is at a super rigorous school so I’d be nervous to go off for focus at this point. He’s almost to the point where he doesn’t need the meds for hyperactivity but not quite. We sent him to sleepaway camp on just 18 mg and got fine but not amazing feedback at the end of summer (compared to last year where on 36 he got glowing reviews). But 18 still does something for him. He’s 6 feet tall fwiw.

Definitely moderately but not entirely zaps his appetite and makes his personality dull. But the “full” personality is what gets complaints from camp…..

Fyi—18 isn’t even a therapeutic dose according to our psychiatrist. They start you there, but 27 is actually where you see effects at least for us.

It’s been a game changer. Never looked back

Concerta has been amazing for my kid; she's on a much higher dose tho.

We actually had a different experience. My DS tried Concerta last year in the 6th grade. After fighting with our insurance for weeks to even get approval to use it, it didn't work. We upped the dosage several times until insurance told us that they would no longer cover it at all because the dosages were not working and they would not approval additional increased dosages. We also tried Vyvanse, which did not work either. We now in the search for something else.

I was also told that some patients feel a difference between Concerta brand name and generic. Probably due to delivery and consistency of ingredients. Our pharmacist said if you start with Brand name and it works, do not then switch to generic.

I hope Concerta works for you.

Our child started with Vyvance, which worked for a while, then child said that they didn't like how it was making them feel (HS). Switched to Concerta, now in college is at 36 mg, works.

We found the key in MS was large protein breakfasts. Breakfast burritos with grilled chicken or steak for example, I would make a weeks worth over the weekend for them to have that week and freeze, they could heat up in the microwave in the morning and grab on the way out the door even if running late. And high protein snacks when they come home hungry - bean veggie burgers were a hit, quick to heat up and eat when child came home from school

Concerta was extremely effective for my dd’s focus and attention, but we eventually discontinued it because of the side effects: she had no appetite, even when it was out of her system, and it gave her flat affect. Her personality disappeared and she was kind of robotic.

Same profile and dose, but for DD (middle school). Appetite disappeared during school hours so she would throw away the lunch I packed her. Got pretty skinny and started taking better notes in class (said she suddenly felt she should!), but overall not much change in academics and said she couldn’t really feel a difference. It didn’t even touch our main issue at home, which was conflict seeking behavior and unprovoked irritation with everyone. Because of the appetite issue and no real benefit, we discontinued rather than up the dose. Good luck!

Adhd DS - mainly inattentive. Prescribed 18mg. Any concerns?