User Reviews for Concerta oral

I was diagnosed with Inattentive ADHD when I was in my early 40s. I have struggled my whole life with being able to focus my attention on tasks, and didn't realize I could have ADHD until my kids were diagnosed with it. I was reluctant to take any medication at first, but after talking with my therapist and my psychiatrist, I decided to give it a try. This was a game changer for me. I'm on a lower dose (27mg), but it has made a huge difference in my life. For the first time in my life, I don't have a hundred thoughts running through my brain at once and I can focus. I had no idea what it was like to have a quiet, focused brain until I started taking this medication. Tasks that use to take me hours now take half the time and I can plan and organize my life which I was never able to do before. Read More Read Less

Im 16 ive been on this drug for 11 years. It doesn't give you focus at all and i black out often with it, cant sleep, and most of the negative side affects happen to me. The werid thing is i took 6 or 7pills (56mg) one day (dont recommend) but i got three days ahead of everyone in school for every subject and it seemed how its desricbed in this article and i had no side affects and i was happen i had really control. But 56 x 7 = 392. It was a bad idea but it payed off. so my conclusion ( ik i make no sense cuz my brains running rampage cuz the drug does nothing.) The drug is good if your really underweight (ex i was 12 and weighed 60 pounds with the 56mg pill) but when your at the recommended weight for it. it doenst do anything and if you start to build a immuity to it. but if you take crazy amounts it works great. I would recommend to any parent to have food out about 9pm-11pm in case your childs pill wears off cuz you get a huge hunger if they are on the pill. Its really expensive aswell. Read More Read Less

extended-release works great for narcolepsy but takes about an hour and a half to really kick in, plus if you fall asleep before that, in my experience, it cancels out the drug for me and I'm able to keep sleeping throughout the day.

although i can focus better im having a tough time in the bedroom with getting it up and when i do, i dont go very long.

My son is 9 years old and has been taking Concentra for 3 weeks. Before I say anything, understand both my ex-husband and I were very reluctant to have our son take any medication for his ADHD, seeing as he had a mild case of it. For years (5 years) his teachers have suggested it ... their arguments were; he's not focused, he is compulsive at times, distracts other students, very chatty, and has a hard time completing classwork/tests. He has always brought home passing marks, however, we noticed his grades going down slowly slowly as the years went by. Despite our efforts to hire tutors, join after school sports (martial arts), supplements, and put him on an I.E.P. in school (individualized education plan), nothing was helping. So here we are - our last resort. Let me tell you, what a difference. After just 3 days, his teachers noticed a difference in our son. After 1 week, I received emails from 2 of his teachers (French, English) expressing how amazed they were with our sons concentration level, enthusiasm, and completed class assignments. I obviously needed to see it for myself, so we decided to tackle some homework over the weekend, and Oh My God, I had to pinch myself. He was so organized, focused, and determined to complete his work all on his own. I was blown away. So, my son takes his medication at 7am every morning. It usually takes affect in 30 minutes, and lasts till 4pm. Once it wears off he's back to his usual self, which is a relief for me, because I love my son just the way he is. We only agreed to have him take Concentra to improve his academics in school. It's working! There were no major side effects, only a headache and tummy ache on the first day. Nothing else since. Over the summer we agreed to have him stop taking Concentra, and then start again 1 week before school. I hope this review has helped you. Good luck and I wish you the same success. Read More Read Less

I wasn't diagnosed until later in life and now I can't help but wonder what my life would have been like had I had this medication earlier. I see all of the things that I would or should have done while I was young. This medication would have probably helped in so many ways. It would have help me come out of my shell. I think I missed out on so much because I put everything off till the last minute and then rushed thru it and did a half-assed job and didn't want to give oral presentations. Anyway I would rather take a bad grade than talk to the class. I think this medication would have made a difference. I have only been taking it for just over 2 1/2 years. I started at 18 mgs. and am now up to 36 mgs. twice a day with no side effects. Although I think I'm starting to buildup a tolerance to it so I might have to talk to my Dr. about my dose being increased. I have also found that the generic brands don't work nearly as well as the name brand. There is about a 3 hour difference in the effective time that it works.Read More Read Less

WebMD asks for a brief description, but the reviews are rampant with simplicity. So, I'll specify. I was diagnosed at 26 and started at 18mg XR. I went to 27mg, 36mg, then 52mg. It's the only medication I'm on. 36mg has been wonderful for my life. 54mg was god awful. Know what dosage is right for you. Do NOT go above it once you're aware of it. Know your limits. Before I get into it, a side note: Be careful of other reviews. It's ill-advised to read reviews by caregivers and people who are underage. Caregivers do not speak from personal experience, just from what they see. Minors generally lack the maturity to form nuanced opinions. This is not to be holier-than-thou, simply a statement on getting an in-depth, well informed opinion. Yes, opinion. This medication generally treats people differently while providing similar effects. What you read can be wildly different than what you expect. The internet seems to only work in extremes. Take what I say and what others have to say as what it is; their personal experience. Back to the review. I have been diagnosed with ADHD, inattentive type. During the pre-screening, questionnaires, etc., I have gotten a 11/12 on likelihood and 5/6 on severity by a Nurse Practitioner. Concerta Extended Release is quite nice. While getting the medication into my system, I noticed it made me irritable. Furthermore, it had me fixating on one specific thing. I lost of time easily, and days had become weeks. I got a spark of hope, my hobbies were so much more fun. I was alive, animated. I felt for the first time I had passion. My memorization was becoming superb in comparison to how it was. I was able to remember numbers, dates and times, came home with so many less "magically appearing" bruises from work from not bumping into things after looking for the thing I forgot I placed somewhere. At 36mg, it feels like it's a little behind perfect. I would consider it good enough. I've had little to no negative side effects, but the ones I had were slightly minor. I was very easily distracted, I had difficulty socializing and had no interest in talking to people. My creativity was at an all-time high, yet I didn't care to express it to others. It was a great fit for my expectations on how I want to live my life. Productive, yet reclusive. I was then told I could try 54mg, and knowing that this is largely experimentation/trial and error to a minor extent, I opted in. 54mg was horrid. Absolutely awful. I was on it for roughly a week, and every single one of those days I was worried I would die. Sitting was exhausting. Living was a Herculean task. Breathing was painful; a deep breath would feel like I had sewing needles flowing through my blood, under my skin. I was partly zombified, unable to keep up as the feeling of having heart failure ran its risk each day. There was also this odd sensation of feeling like there was an impressive amount of pressure inside my skull, and especially behind my eyes. My vision was constantly fuzzy, Concerta XR is great. No, honestly, it is. You just need to know when too much is exactly that; too much. My NP has put forward Vyvanse XR, which I agreed to try instead due to Concerta XR being the way that it was: 36mg was just noticeably not enough, 54mg was going to kill me. If it doesn't work out, I'll gladly go back to being prescribed to 36mg of Concerta XR. Perfection is the enemy of good, yes, but finding what works best for you takes time. It's a tedious path to walk, but one you have to walk nonetheless.Read More Read Less

This is the only drug approved by my provincial health plan, but when I take it, I am awake all night for nights on end, and it makes me unbelievably "jittery". I cannot sleep through the day. I have to jump through hoops EVERY time I apply for assistance and I have to change meds so I can prove this is not for me. It's not the least expensive medication on the list, but it's the only one that's approved without a hassle, and I just can't take it.

This medication along with ADHD diagnosis changed my life for the better. Unfortunately due to the combo of it being a restricted drug and forgetting to make monthly appointments for refills (thanks ADHD!) I don't always have steady access to the medication. Which is incredibly frustrating since I struggle at work without it.

I have taken Concerta before and had to go off it because I lost my appetite, but now that I'm back on it I see it was more my fault than the drug's. It helped me so much with my ADHD. I don't experience withdrawal effects, but it is a pain when I can't find the medication in any pharmacy and I'm unfocused for some time. The first day of taking it after a break is always a bit uncomfortable (I get nausea) but it gets better soon if you take it every day. My advice is to eat a big breakfast before you take it and not miss any doses if you can avoid it - if you take it on and off you may have trouble eating. Overall, it's a huge help, especially for students like myself. I remember reading reviews right after I got my diagnosis as an adult, so if that's your situation, try it! You won't believe what you can do with a little help :) It's made it possible for me to stop seeing my ADHD as my enemy.Read More Read Less

I am 22 years old and I have ADHD.Although I do benefit from concerta the side effects that I do experience is unexplainable.If I do not take it I experience extreme fatigue,hunger,irritability and mood swings.

I was recently placed on 18mg of concerta to help with controlling the symptoms of my ADD. I had to have the dosage increased to 54mg to fully notice the changes. My focus has increased, my ability to remember what I've read and heard has increased, my attention to detail has improved. Overall, my impression of this drug is positive, at least in my case. The only thing negative I have to say about the drug is that it causes a bit of bruxism and xerostomia with me. I have to drink water throughout the day, use moisturizing mouth sprays and chew sugar-free gum. For me, the positives of this drug outweigh the negatives.Read More Read Less

I started this medication and was added to my drugs for depression to help increase dopamine. I was very, very low. Not wanting to bathe or do basic life tasks after experiencing several stressful events back to back. At first it gave me a huge boost from before. Within an hour I had energy but then side effects set in quickly. Nausea, feeling like throwing up, feeling like I couldn't swallow my meds and my gut felt bloated and full. I felt like my food couldn't make ot to my stomach. It gave me all kinds of gut issues and I had to stop along with Ozempic. Together they made me feel horrible. I just cannot tolerate the side effects one more day. No one should feel like this. If you can tolerate this then this may be a decent drug to give you a boost. I was on lowest dose of 18mg. I still have side effects after stopping. Hope goes away soon.Read More Read Less

Got the depression diagnosis at 30, then ADHD at 34. It's not fun to look back and see how long I've lived so passively in my own life, but I don't wallow in it. Between Concerta and my depression meds, I feel like I'm finally awake. I got a raise at work since starting this drug. I've started going to the gym. I cook more regularly. It's not a monumental task to remember and then push myself into doing things like getting dressed or defrosting some chicken for dinner. I generally feel connected, engaged and on the right track at last. Read More Read Less

made me suicidal

I was diagnosed with ADHD at 8 years old and have been on many different medications through the years to try and find something that worked for me. Concerta started out fine, I was put on the minimum starting dose to ensure I didn't have any adverse reactions. Everything was fine, so my dosage was increased. A few weeks later I start having little twitches, nothing too serious but still concerning to me as I have never really twitched before. Another week goes by and the twitches get worse, my eyes roll back, my neck gets locked into one position, etc. After two months of this worsening to the point of testing to rule out seizures, I get told that I developed a motor/vocal tic disorder as a side effect of Concerta. I was immediately taken off the medication but the tics never stopped. I've been off of Concerta for a year and a half now and learning to cope with my tics and how they will permanently impact my life. It had no impact on my ADHD symptoms either. I had no family history of tic disorders. Please seek medical advice as soon as possible if you notice any tic disorder symptoms at all while on this medication. I was only on this medication for 5 months and it will impact the rest of my life.Read More Read Less

I'm a kid so when I took this medication 3-4 years ago I didn't care but to be honest even with higher and lower doses I didn't see a change. It was used for school but in the state I am right now (puberty) I really don't care about anything and leave school work undone and when I actually try i give up. Virtual school is the hardest time which I'm doing at the moment but even face to face school still was bad. There is 0 purpose at the moment for me to even take it since I'm calm on and off the pills. Advice from me (could be absolutely wrong) maybe not take these when you are going through puberty. I have built multiple addictions, isolation from COVID and starting to think I build up depression right at this moment nothing is helping me. I don't know if the mental state I am is from the pills or maybe a mix of isolation and pills but I know for a fact it's not helping me. I feel drowsy always headaches no appetite and I feel like s***. To sum up the rambling I made don't use these when going through puberty and maybe actually see if the pills are doing you good or not. I am currently thinking about going on a new medication or not even having meds and getting a therapist ad well as more of a social life due to me only knowing people my age from school which I do online. If I do quit the meds I will definitely try to improve my life so as therapy and have care from my family if worse depression or suicidal thoughts occur. Thanks for atleast making me a slight bit sane during childhood. To clear things up I suffer from ADD and not ADHD.Read More Read Less

My heart always beats extremely fast, but at least I’m not dependent on it..?

I am so glad that I finally found a treatment for my ADD that helps me get up from bed in a normal mood and gives me the energy to start my day. I'm thankful to my doctor who prescribed this medication for me.

This medication enables me to focus on specific activities and complete tasks. I have terrible trouble following through on tasks to completion without being distracted by other stimulus.