Concerta: Should it stay or should it go?

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I've been on the generic version of concerta for a few weeks now (for ADHD), sort of in preparation for college because I will really need it then. But I've noticed that it's really bringing out my aspie traits. I had a proper meltdown yesterday too.

The extra aspieness I'm currently experiencing make it difficult to deal with this 6yo on the days that shes not in school. And I will have her ALL of July, which I cannot begin to fathom right now. No one so far seems to understand my need for decompression time. However, I think the meds help me focus on things I need to be doing.

So here's the thing: should I stay on the medication (to learn how to adapt, since I will be on it for the schoolyear), or stop it for now? I would be comfortable staying on it if only people understand these needs I have...

If you're on methylphenidate consider yourself lucky.

That stuff is just like coke.

Edit: you might need a downer if you're going to be taking a cocaine-like upper. Try a benzodiazepine.

I don't understand this at all. Please explain?

The drug you are taking has a brand name and a chemical name. The brand (commercial) name is Concerta but the chemical name is methylphenidate.

Methylphenidate is a derivative of amphetamine and blocks the reuptake of dopamine in the CNS, just like cocaine.

Did your doctor not explain this to you?

There was 0 mention of cocaine. He didn't tell me much, the only thing I know about dosage and medication was from a seminar given by my diagnosing doc (not the same guy). I retained not much from that, but there was nothing on cocaine there either.

Trust me, I'm (not really) a doctor.

Sylvr -- we have a 10yo aspie who's on 36mlg of Concerta. He also has adhd. It's helped out a lot. At night he takes Celexa (or the generic version). It's an antidepressant. We really like the results. The Concerta gets rid of the hyper-activity, and the Celexa helps cut down on the meltdowns and anxiety - not all the way, but we're going in the right direction. Ask you doctor or specialist what they think.

I've always understood Concerta and Ritalin to be forms of amphetamines. My older son took it and initially it would work and then they would up his dose higher and higher, because not only would it stop working, it also had the effect you are talking about- he'd be "more Apsie" which I would describe as more neurotic. I got the doc to get him off the uppers and change him to Strattera. It works much better for him (and also had the exact same effect on his younger brother, he's ASD). Oh, and when it wore off every night, he'd crash HARD... it was a nightmare!

I want some. I want some speed.

I am on Adderall, and I find that it really brings out my traits during certain points of the day..like when I have to be around a lot of people...otherwise, I do ok

This isn't a question we're qualified to answer. You'll need to research the effects, to see what effect it would have to stop temporarily and then start again. You need to know if this "extra Aspieness" is temporary. All sorts of things a doctor might know but probably won't tell you. crazymeds.us has info and maybe you could talk to whoever prescribed it.

I was on it for a few years for ADHD and it REALLY brought out my obsessive behavior. It also made me difficult to be around, I was kind of antagonistic and didn't have much empathy for others. IDK how you feel about stimulants in general, I don't take them anymore but Adderall helped me more than Concerta. I was much less aggressive on Adderall and it helped me focus, I did GREAT in school. It did make me kind of hyperactive but less obsessive, I didn't have to fold my dirty laundry like I did on Concerta LOL.

20# of excess body weight just melted away upon my 54mg daily dose of concerta. it lifted a wet blanket from my brain and enabled me to think much more clearly and with alacrity. the blues evaporated. but it made my temper much worse. it made me unpleasantly cross. it made me very impatient- the feeling was like somebody's foot was pressing down on my accelerator pedal without any room to actually accelerate, so i was just spinning my wheels and burning rubber in place. i didn't like that feeling, it felt like i was burning inside. it also made me hot and sweaty more than normal. and it turned-off my hydraulics, which made me feel really old and more frustrated than usual. so i switched to strattera and felt much better 'cept for my GERD. it's always something.
anyways, that was probably just me and my idiosycratic addlement which the drug didn't agree with - it may be helpful for others so i see no reason why the drug should be banned.

I was on 54mg of Concerta along with 10mg of Lexapro to treat AD/HD and depression. My company changed our insurance in a manner that it went from costing me about $30 per month to around $260 for just the Concerta (I never paid it). I simply stopped taking it. After my money leveled out a bit, I talked to my pcp and got them to give me generic Ritalin and Celexa. I simply call my Ritalin "Meth" as it is Methylphenidate. Yes, it is definitely "like coke". During the time when I was med-free, I tried self-medicating with caffeine, but that quickly becomes futile. I also did lose a lot of weight on Concerta. I'm beginning to lose it on the Meth, but not as quickly, and I do have more appetite. I have documented my experience on my blog. adhdte. blogspot. com If anybody wants to take a look. Oh, one of the bad side-effects that I got from the Concerta was that I would grind my teeth constantly to the point where they became very sensitive. It got better when I stopped, but it's back to some extent with the meth. But more controllable now.

my insurance company did that also, so that was another reason i had to quit concerta and strattera. the strattera then cost me $600 per month so i quit that posthaste.
and all this time i thought my bruxism was due to having to suffer all the brassholes at the army hospital i used to work in. in retrospect i can see it was at its worst when i was on the concerta. funny, i didn't read of that in the side effects listing. i guess they can't possibly list or even know every single side effect of a particular drug on everybody.

thanks for all the replies! i will read them all properly when i've not got a baby on my lap.

yesterday (one of the dreaded wednesdays) i simply tried skipping the meds. it went well enough, though i got pretty grumpy around 3pm (with no de-stress alonetime). that might be my best bet for now, until i can get back to the doctor, which might not be for a while. too many appointments lately.