[jhawk]

My 15 year old son will start on Concerta in the next week. He has not previously used any medications. He is your slow-moving, wonderfully likeable, but terribly inattentive type. My question is - Dr. says to start him on 36 mg Concerta, then go up to 54 mg after one week. After 3 weeks, we can add another 18 mg. However, I'm read that the starting dose is 18 mg. I've also heard that if, after going up to a higher dosage, Concerta doesn't seem to be working, that you should go down again - ADD kids often do better on lower doses. Anyone know about this? Thanks

[psisci]

ADD and ADHD are separate disorders, but different presentations of the same underlying disorder. Concerta is a good med, but 18 is where you should start, and only go up if you need to.



Dr.S.