[jossquartz]

I'm 21 years old. I was (finally) diagnosed ADHD two years ago and put on adderall XR. I was taking 40mg a day split into two doses. Long story short, my doctor and I decided that Adderall was no longer as effective as it had been, and instead of upping my doseage we decided to switch to 36mg Concerta.

My questions are has anyone else gone through this switch?

It has been about a week and I find that I'm sleepy all the time and I feel clouded. While I don't have much of an appetite, I am not getting the alertness and clarity I recieved when I took Adderall. I also take a very very small dose of Wellbutrin XL, which I started while on adderall.

Will these conditions improve? After a month or two on Concerta, can I go back on Adderall XR to find it works the same again? School starts in the end of august, and I need to come up with a plan.

[kellbell4]

I currently take 36mg of Concerta a day and have often wondered if the sleepiness was normal. I have ADD (no Hyperness) and fatigue is part of one of my problems. I used to also take Welbutrin XL and it made my mood swings very bad. I used to take Ritalin when I was in high school and it worked over all the best. Not only did I have energy but attention was excellent. Being on ADD medication actually saved my marriage (I'm 32 yrs old). I take it just to keep up with daily life. But I wonder as well if Concerta is the best one although I have researched Aderol and have found the addiction rate is somewhat high.
I have been taking ADD meds since I was 15 and it saved me from alot of heartaches in life!!!

[lorlei13]

I was diagnosed with ADD about 20 years ago. I started on Ritalin and continued taking it through high school. As I got older, I started to metabolize the Ritalin too fast and found that I was having to take a 10 mg pill every 2 1/5 hours. That was when I switched to Adderall. Unfortunately, I did not have the success with the drug that you have had. I was what my sister had referred to as "cracked out" I was very anxious and high strung. Had lost about 20 pounds in a month because I had no appetite. After that, I was put on Concerta. Although it didn't make me "cracked out", I wasn't getting the clarity, alertness and attentiveness that I got when I was on the 10mg of Ritalin. I felt the same things that you are feeling - the unattentiveness and fatigue. I then switched to Ritalin LA which did a little better and stayed on that until the Daytrana patch was released this past June. I have absolutely loved this patch as it keeps me alert and attentive for at least 9 hours. The only side effect that I have found is the skin irritation.

I know when switching to a new drug, a titration schedule must be followed in order to get the dosing right. A higher dosage of the Concerta may be needed in order to get the same results as the Adderall. Of course, I am no doctor and am only offering my advice here. I don't believe that switching back to Adderall will cause any problems but just remember that since you have only been on the Concerta for about a week that the drug may not be completely in your system yet. Unfortunately, finding the right medication, the right dosage and the right combination (anti-depressants and stimulants) takes time. But being honest with your doctor about the effects that you are feeling is the only way that you are going to figure out what medication is right for you. I hope that this helps. Good luck!

[bullfrogstud21]

Hey I'm 20 and im doing the same exact thing with the same sleepiness problem. I was taking Adderall xr and switched to concerta. Did the sleepiness ever go away? Cause I have been on it for aobut 2 weeks and about once a week i have to sleep for a entire day cause I get so drained.

[DGAUS]

Originally Posted by jossquartz

I'm 21 years old. I was (finally) diagnosed ADHD two years ago and put on adderall XR. I was taking 40mg a day split into two doses. Long story short, my doctor and I decided that Adderall was no longer as effective as it had been, and instead of upping my doseage we decided to switch to 36mg Concerta.

My questions are has anyone else gone through this switch?

It has been about a week and I find that I'm sleepy all the time and I feel clouded. While I don't have much of an appetite, I am not getting the alertness and clarity I recieved when I took Adderall. I also take a very very small dose of Wellbutrin XL, which I started while on adderall.

Will these conditions improve? After a month or two on Concerta, can I go back on Adderall XR to find it works the same again? School starts in the end of august, and I need to come up with a plan.

Well I'm nor sure when this was posted but I assume a while ago so you may have already figured it out. Anyway my son is only 9 an has been taking concerta since he was 4, he has went up every couple of years on his mg and is now at 54mg which is the highest one, once it is time for him to go up again he will have to start taking two pills, but I noticed on something I was reading about addreall that the XR lasts 10-12 hours and that isn't the case with concerta, even though it is extended release I have found that it only last 6-8 hours. My son as I mentioned takes 54mg of concerta in the morning before school and by the time he gets home it has worn off so his doctor and I talked and he is now on 15mg of ritilan for the afternoon/evening to help with homework. I also see that you mentioned that you are tired on concerta which is very surprising bc even though it mellows my son out he can not sleep at all while it is in his system. I see you said your doctor and I guess my question would be is this your primary doctor or a psychiatrist, the only reason I ask is bc some primary doctors don't have as much experience as a psychiatrist would. Now if you had been going to a psychiatrist long term and whatever meds you were on were working for you and decided to start seeing your primary just for refills that would be one thing, and if it got to the point that you wanted to change anything about the meds I would still go back to talk to the phys. about it. That is all they do is physiology and mental drugs so if you haven't been to one I would suggest that be your first step. All drugs, not just ADHD effect everyone differently and just bc it's an ADHD drug doesn't mean the mg or the doses are the same for each one. You said you were taking 40mg of the addreall so I assume your doctor suggested the 36mg concerta bc it was the closest to the 40mg you were taking, but in fact that is what I am on here trying to figure out now is how the doses compare between addreall and concerta, I believe that the concerta mg differ from adderall for example, if you were taking 40 of adderall then yo may need 80 for concerta and seeing as how there is a difference in length of time it lasts you may need something for the afternoon/evening as well depending on how you feel. If you work or go to school during the day and the concerta seems to work fine for that and then you don't do much in the afternoon/evening and don't think you need or don't want to take another med then just stick with the one time a day, but if you do something during the afternoon/evening that you need the meds to help you focus and calm down then you would want to look into another med that isn't time released that only last 3-5 hours so you can sleep at night, or go back to the adderall since it last 10-12 hours and up the dose. Like I said I would see a phys. at least once to see what they say or suggest, and to answer your questions and then once you get it all straightened out just see your primary for refills. If you have found any new info out please share it with me and if I find anything else out I will let you know

[drezebella]

Originally Posted by bullfrogstud21

Hey I'm 20 and im doing the same exact thing with the same sleepiness problem. I was taking Adderall xr and switched to concerta. Did the sleepiness ever go away? Cause I have been on it for aobut 2 weeks and about once a week i have to sleep for a entire day cause I get so drained.

i do not have any problem with adderall , yes at first, i tend to be very sleepy, but after a week, this effect vanish away.. my friend said this is just a temporary side effect... maybe you should consult your doctor with this prob.. who know they is something else to this