What do concerta pills do

Taking Concerta with Zoloft sertraline can cause a drug interaction. Concerta can block the breakdown of Zoloft in your body. This can increase your levels of Zoloft. This will help prevent you from having too much Zoloft in your body. Concerta can interact with Lexapro escitalopram if these drugs are taken together. This can cause your levels of Lexapro to increase. Clonidine is a medication that can be used to lower high blood pressure. Concerta can cause an increase in your blood pressure. Taking Concerta with clonidine may decrease the effects of clonidine, which can increase your blood pressure.

In rare instances, this increased blood pressure has resulted in death. MAOIs are a class of medications that are used to treat depression and anxiety.

Examples of MAOIs include:. These medications should never be taken with Concerta. Using Concerta along with an MAOI can cause stroke , heart attack , kidney failure, and sudden death. Taking Concerta with warfarin Coumadin can cause a drug interaction. Concerta can block the breakdown of warfarin in your body. These tests will check the thickness of your blood, which is affected by warfarin.

You may have to have blood tests done more often when you first start Concerta than you did before you started the drug. These seizure medications include:. This can be very dangerous. If you need to take Concerta in combination with a seizure medication, your doctor may decrease the dosage of your seizure medication. Your doctor may also do blood tests to make sure that levels of the seizure medication in your body are not too high.

Taking Concerta with a vasopressor may not be safe. Vasopressors are a class of medications that are used to treat low blood pressure. Examples of vasopressors include:. Both vasopressors and Concerta cause your blood pressure to increase.

Taking vasopressors with Concerta can cause your blood pressure to be even higher, which may become dangerous. However, you should still check with your doctor or pharmacist before using any of these products while taking Concerta. Concerta is a stimulant medication that can cause an increase in your blood pressure and heart rate. Caffeine can also cause these same effects in your body. While taking Concerta, you should avoid consuming foods and drinks that contain caffeine.

Examples of foods and drinks that contain caffeine include:. Consuming any of the foods or beverages listed above in combination with Concerta can increase your risk of side effects, such as:. If you feel that you need some caffeine, talk with your doctor about how much caffeine is safe for you to consume.

You can also call the American Association of Poison Control Centers at or use their online tool. But if your symptoms are severe, call or go to the nearest emergency room right away. Multiple treatment options are typically used together to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD. Along with Concerta, treatment should include psychological, educational, and social therapies.

Some other therapies that may be used in combination with Concerta include:. If Concerta was prescribed for you or your child, your doctor may talk with you about other treatments that should be used with Concerta. If you have questions about other treatment options for ADHD, talk with your doctor. If you need financial support to pay for Concerta, help is available. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Concerta should be taken once each day in the morning.

It should be taken at about the same time every day. Concerta can be taken with or without food. In clinical trials , Concerta worked the same way when it was taken with a big meal as it did when it was taken on an empty stomach. If Concerta upsets your stomach or causes nausea, it may be better for you to take it with food. Taking the medication with food in your stomach can reduce these side effects. No, Concerta should never be split, crushed, or chewed.

Concerta tablets have special layers inside of them. Each layer releases some of the medication over the course of about 12 hours. If you chew or break the tablets, these layers can release the medication all at once. This can be very dangerous and can even cause overdose.

Concerta is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD. People with this condition have trouble focusing, concentrating, or paying attention for long periods of time.

They can also have hyperactivity symptoms, which makes it difficult for them to be still for periods of time. Concerta is believed to increase the levels of two brain chemicals: norepinephrine and dopamine. Both of these chemicals help you to pay attention and focus.

In animal studies , Concerta did cause problems with development in fetuses whose mothers were given the drug. More studies are needed to know if Concerta can be harmful to a developing baby. In an animal study , Concerta did pass into the breast milk of lactating females.

More studies are needed to know whether Concerta can be harmful to a breastfeeding child. This drug has a boxed warning. A boxed warning alerts doctors and patients about drug effects that may be dangerous.

Using Concerta on a regular basis can cause dependence. With dependence, your body needs the medication in order for you to function well. Dependence can cause abnormal behavior to occur in some people. If you have a history of drug or alcohol misuse or dependence, your doctor may monitor you more closely while you are taking Concerta.

Before taking Concerta, talk with your doctor about your health history. Concerta may not be right for you if you have certain medical conditions or other factors affecting your health.

These include:. When you get Concerta from the pharmacy, the pharmacist will add an expiration date to the label on the bottle. This date is typically 1 year from the date they dispensed the medication.

The expiration date helps guarantee the effectiveness of the medication during this time. If you have unused medication that has gone past the expiration date, talk to your pharmacist about whether you might still be able to use it. How long a medication remains good can depend on many factors, including how and where you store the medication.

You should protect Concerta tablets from humidity. Also, avoid storing this medication in areas where it could get damp or wet, such as in bathrooms. This helps prevent others, including children and pets, from taking the drug by accident. It also helps keep the drug from harming the environment. The FDA website provides several useful tips on medication disposal. You can also ask your pharmacist for information on how to dispose of your medication.

Concerta is indicated to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder ADHD in children and adults ages 6 to 65 years. Concerta is a slow-release form of methylphenidate, which is a central nervous system CNS stimulant. Concerta blocks the reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine in the presynaptic neuron. This increases the amount of norepinephrine and dopamine released in the brain. Therefore, Concerta causes an increased level of both norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain, which is thought to contribute to focus and attention.

Concerta is absorbed quickly after the first dose is taken. Within 1 hour following administration, the medication reaches an initial maximum concentration.

Over the following 5 to 9 hours, the medication concentration steadily increases. About 9 hours after administration, the concentrations begin to decrease. Peak plasma concentrations occurred at an average of between 6 and 10 hours. Because Concerta releases slowly over the course of a hour period, it has less fluctuation in concentration than immediate-release methylphenidate.

The overall duration of Concerta is about 12 hours. The average half-life of Concerta is 3. There is no risk of significant accumulation of Concerta. As dose increases, proportional changes occur in the area under the curve AUC and the concentration of Concerta in the body. Concerta is a CNS stimulant that can cause euphoric feelings, especially when taken in high doses.

Concerta has a black box warning for drug dependence. Therefore, it should be avoided in patients with a history of drug or alcohol dependence. Misuse of Concerta can lead to tolerance and dependence. This can lead to psychosis or manic symptoms.

Upon stopping Concerta, withdrawal symptoms may occur, including severe depression. Patients should be monitored when discontinuing this drug. Concerta tablets should be protected from humidity.

Disclaimer: Medical News Today has made every effort to make certain that all information is factually correct, comprehensive, and up-to-date. However, this article should not be used as a substitute for the knowledge and expertise of a licensed healthcare professional. You should always consult your doctor or other healthcare professional before taking any medication. The drug information contained herein is subject to change and is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects.

The absence of warnings or other information for a given drug does not indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective, or appropriate for all patients or all specific uses. ADHD and auditory processing disorder APD often occur together, and have some similar symptoms, making diagnosis difficult.

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Concerta for ADHD. Other uses for Concerta. Concerta and alcohol. Concerta interactions. On average, Concerta helps with attention for about seven to eight hours. Prescribers typically start at the lowest dosage 18mg. Here are answers to common questions parents ask about Concerta. The generic name for Concerta is methylphenidate extended release. All stimulant medications are controlled substances.

Abuse is more common with another class of stimulants: amphetamine-based ADHD medications. Adderall is an example of one. They may also be used by people who have other addictions. There are restrictions in place to reduce the potential for abuse and addiction with stimulants.

For instance, prescribers can only write prescriptions for one month at a time. And a few studies show that they lower the overall addiction risk in teens with ADHD. Read more about ADHD medication misuse.

Stimulants tend to delay sleep by 30 to 40 minutes in many kids. The prescriber might recommend a different dosage, timing or type of medication.

Some parents try pushing bedtime back by an hour to give their child more time to wind down. There are also changes in routine you can try to help your child be ready for sleep. Symptoms of ADHD can make kids anxious.

When a medication reduces those symptoms, some kids become less anxious. But stimulant medications can also increase anxiety in some kids. Learn more about ADHD and anxiety. What that means will vary from child to child. For example, it might mean your child can pay attention for 25 minutes rather than 10 minutes. On those evenings, I give her chamomile tea and allow her to wind down with a book during bedtime.

So far, it has been working well for her. I have the opposite problem. In high school, I took Concerta every morning before leaving for school at 7 AM.

I would then inevitably crash between and 9 pm, which caused some serious problems in my extra curricular activities. Falling asleep in the middle of a band concert tends to be viewed as rather disrespectful… I usually experience about a 30 minute period of complete and utter exhaustion about hours after taking the drug. I started taking 18mg of Concerta about 6 weeks ago. Two weeks ago, I tried 27mg instead of 18— because my doctor felt that it was needed and I did too. However, by the next Sunday my irritability had gone through the rood, I had developed all of the side effects including a rash.

So, after this I was moved back down to the 18mg tablet. All of the other side effects have gone away by today except for the rash. Not only does it blister and peel, but it itches. I want to rip my skin off sometimes. Diagnosed in Jan, got perscription in March, started yestorday. My son is taking Concerta We are on day 2. The teacher said today he stayed in his seat, he looks normal to me just a little calmer.

Im shocked really. He doesnt want lunch but has a big breakfast and dinner. Applesauce is too thin. Either way it works. I was scared but its okay.. Quite the opposite, we thought he needed a higher dose. Our son was a senior in high school, and has been on Concerta since Kindergarten. He takes two pills to make one dose. Otherwise he was awful in the morning. This spring he started failing classes deemed the easiest class schedule for a senior that his special education teachers had ever seen.

One class was ceramics! At first we thought it was senioritis, then we thought maybe the new girlfriend, then I asked my teen to talk to his doctor about a higher dose. That was denied because he needs to gain weight. He was in a car accident and ticketed for distracted driving, and had two more tickets in the month of April. It was the drugs! I called the doctor. My teen was 18 and I could no longer talk to her.

She called my teen back. I had him meet me there and sign the form. Then we were granted an emergency meeting with the doctor, which my teen missed!! Around this time I discovered my teen had been switched to this new generic in January, and was never notified!!! Especially to a new drug!!! It was absolute garbage for my child and did nothing for him. His senior year was ruined. He had become moody, irritable, irrational, extremely sad and lost his self esteem.

It should have been the best time of his life, and instead he chose not to go to PROM. On top of that his job was delivering pizzas. When I went to pick up the 7 day supply they asked me why not the generic by Actavis.

I called Express Scripts…again my only options were Mylan and brand name. I asked for a supervisor, and went three levels up. I was so angry, and felt betrayed! And they would gladly rip me off in the process!!! I hope all drug and PBM execs lose their jobs and drivers licenses and need to be hauled around by their parents!!! Greedy, horrible people!!! Diagnosed nearly 6 years ago primarily inattentive and since then, have been on the generic for Concerta 54mg after some trial and error.

Rare bread. I have been on Concerta 18mg for about a month now I believe. I find it really helps me focus and retain information and be able to listen a lot more carefully to people, and it has definitely reduced the urge I have to interrupt or answer a question before it has even been fully asked. It has even made my writing nicer somehow, maybe because it is slowing my mind down? However, maybe it is because the dose is the lowest and I need a higher one, but, I find it has not necessarily helped with how fast I talk or how fast I do everything, leaving me to accidentally hurt myself HA, or not fully finish my thought or add more thoughts when I am talking.

Dosage increased up to 72mg but did not feel like there were sufficient benefits so have asked for my medication to be changed again. Currently wheening off at a drop of 18mg every 4 days, and whilst i had no side effects going on, coming off is different. By 3pm i feel irritable, emotional and fragile. The Adderall worked perfect for focus but came with the side effect of trichotillomania and mood swings. So far the Concerta has greatly reduced the trichotillomania and nearly eliminated the mood swings.

Hopefully it proves to be enough though. I changed back and forth between adderrall and vyvanse for a few years. I take mg of Zoloft and 2mg of Clonazepam. In November of this year, I flew to a country where they did not have adderrall, vyvanse, or zenzeti. I started on 72mg of concerta. While the effects of Vyvanse are what I consider to be best, concerta seems to work well enough.

It does indeed give me headaches. For the first week I took it, I also experienced sleeplessness. I really could not fall asleep at night. Fortunately, the sleeplessness has gone away.

I have two children with ADHD….. My daughter is now 11 and has tried Adderall and Vyvanse in the past, both made her very emotional and moody…. Vyvanse made her very aggressive! It was so hard experimenting with the different medications till we finally found Concerta and BAM! What a difference! Her attention really perked up and because we do Karate together, I noticed a complete difference in her ability to focus and perform. She was winning medals, feeling confident and her self esteem soared!

I feed her a huge breakfast because I do notice that it effects her appetite once she takes the 27mg pill shortly after. She is a bit on the thin side, but nothing too worrisome and her energy level is still as high as always.

She goes to a private school with most kids without disabilities, and has an aide that helps to refocus her 40 percent of the time she is at school. She is on a competitive swim team and a green belt in Karate, she is able to be an average student in a highly rated school…. She recently has started menstrating so we have had to increase the dose to 36 mg as puberty has effected the effectiveness.

She was crashing and exhausted at around 4pm after taking 1 dose at 7;30 am. This higher dose helps her till about 7;00 pm. Insomnia can be a factor if she takes another pill or takes her dose in the afternoon. Her brother is 8 and takes 18mg. I notice it helps him as well, no effect on appetite, he loves his food, but it does help him with his focus in Karate. He is not as athletic as his sister, but is an academic genius with Math and science.

He is on the Autism Spectrum but is also able to attend the same school with an aide and at 8 years old, he does grade 11 math. He struggles socially unlike his sister, but they are very close with each other and big sister looks out for him. I feel Concerta has been a real life saver for our family. After my daughter tried other drugs, this one has been the only one that really worked for us. If I could go back in time and tell my parents not to put me on this meds I would.

I was actually considered a success story and I always did well in school thanks to this drug. The problem is that if I didnt take it I would end up in trouble and suspended or sent home with 8 write ups. This medicine only temporarily fixes the problem and doesnt allow your brain to cop e or to catch up. Without ABA type therapy and grounding techniques and really breaking down organizing and modeling behaviors into small achievable goals and other therapeutic activities this medicine will make your child worse in the long wrong becoming completely dependent on it.

My son was diagnosed with adhd and impulsivity symptoms in We started with the Generic version of Concerta and then decided to try the brand name after too many side effects of the generic version. My son is 9 and the 27mg dose fits him well. His spirit and happiness is our priority and we feared that medicating his ADHD symptoms would take away his lively spirit.

It did turn him into a zombie when we tried a higher dose and we quickly lowered the dose back down to the 27mg. Best of luck to everyone trying to find the right medication.

Started my LO 7 on Concerta, very helpful minus the side effects but they wear off after about 2 weeks even with increased dosage. Now taking 36mg. Fun fact: Different manufacturers of the drug have different side effects and release times.