Hi,

I can't tell you if the Concerta is causing the emotional changes in your son but you might want to talk to the doctor about it. If it is causing him some problems, he may be able to switch to another medication. It is also a possibility that treatment of ADHD brought out the depression. This can happen if someone has both ADHD and depression. Once the ADHD is treated, the depression is more visible. Again, the doctor should be able to determine that.

I recently started taking Vyvanse and I love it! I haven't noticed any negative side effects with it. Having ADHD has absolutely nothing to do with your intelligence. It would be equivalent to saying people who need to wear glasses or contacts are stupid. Medication is a tool to help you perform better, just as eyeglasses are. My IQ is over 140 and I love taking my medication because I am able to use my intelligence to its fullest now!! I could have gone so much farther in my career if I had only known about this earlier and been treated.

Tell your son that many people believe that Einstein, Ben Franklin and Thomas Edison, just to name a few, had ADHD. And so does Bill Gates! My neighbor also has ADHD and his IQ is over 180!

Elaine

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My son is 11 and is going through the same thing. His medicatoin (metadate) quit working as well when he was about 10 and we have been trying to find the right combo since then. We've tried Concerta, Adderall, and different doses of each. We are now trying Strattera. Nothing seems to make a huge difference OR seems to cause anger/defiance, etc. I'm struggling with this and would like to know your take AND anyone else's on: Do medications cause these types of mood swings? Is it puberty and we just have to deal with it until his hormones stable out? ARGH! I've seemed to notice that the emotional behavior responses seemed marked in the a.m. or p.m. when the medication is building up or going out of his system. Have you noticed this? I've read that refusing to take medicine is a normal part of adolesence. This is so difficult for my son and I worry about how he perceives himself. He's recently said he's a failure at everything, nobody likes him, etc. Any adivce from anyone? Is anyone dealing with the same thing? At the very least, it would help to know that I had company. Thanks!

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My daughter was on Concerta as well. Yes, I know for a fact that the Concerta causes depression. There are even studies that it can cause suicidal thoughts in adults and children. My daughter experienced dark thoughts about people breaking into our house and killing us. She had nightmares and her appetite decreased. She didn't sleep well. The lose of appetite is typical with most stimulant medications. We went so far as to take her to a psychologist. Once we took her off of the Concerta, she no longer had the dark thoughts and nightmares. We switched her to Adderall. She also gave us problems with taking pills including Adderall. She just didn't like taking the pill and felt that it got stuck in her throat. We have just recently switched to Daytrana(we're on week 3). This is a patch that goes on the hip or butt and gets into the system transdermally. It is time released and seems to be working well. She is concentrating in school, her behavior is improving, and she doesn't give me a hard time about putting the patch on in the morning. I hope that this information will help you. Good Luck to you.

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Sometimes a second opinion from another doctor can help a lot. Finding a doctor who is extremely educated and well versed in the treatment of ADHD and the various comorbidities that can accompany it is worth his weight in gold. I know of quite a few examples where another doctor was able to recognize something that other doctors had missed. Someone who is well versed in dealing with complex ADHD problems and understands his medications well can make a huge difference.

One woman I know has an 11 yr. old son and had problems finding medication that worked for him. She was having a lot of difficulty with him especially dealing with issues at school. He had been put on Ritalin and had terrible nightmares. She immedicately took him off of it and continued to take him to different psychiatrists who didn't seem to be able to help him. I told her to try another doctor who had a great reputation for figuring out complex problems, esp. regarding ADHD and other mental health disorders. It turned out that her son had child onset bipolar disorder in addition to ADHD. The Ritalin had triggered the hidden bipolar disorder. Once his bipolar disorder was treated and stabilized, he was able to take ADHD medication without a problem. She said he is like a different child now. Most psychiatrists are not proficient in recognizing and diagnosing child onset bipolar disorder. Until more recently, it was believed that only adults had bipolar disorder. And the disorder is expressed much differently in children than in adults.

My son and daughter were both on Concerta and had no significant problems with it. As my son grew older the Concerta didn't seem to be working as well and the doctor switched him to Vyvanse. He said that in many cases, Concerta works fine for children but as they get older and reach their teenage years or adulthood, they may respond better to Adderall or Vyvanse. Each individual and their circumstances and additional conditions they may have can affect the outcome of treatment. And people differ in their response to certain medications and how they metabolize medication.

Be proactive, learn all you can and let the doctor know what problems your child is having and when they occur. If the doctor can't seem to figure out what the problem is, get another opinion. Many times there is a solution, you just have to find the right person who is able to figure it out.

Don't give up. There is an answer out there somewhere.

Elaine

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