Concerta and Loss Of Appetite: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Anonymous
• March 21, 2011

For ADHD "My son was diagnosed with ADHD (predominantly inattentive) two years ago. I tried all kinds of non-medication treatments: tutors, 504 Plan, psychotherapy, meditation, Omega-3, diet, patience, love, encouragement, bribery... everything I could think of, but his grades continued to decline. He was finally prescribed 18 mg of Concerta. By the end of the 1st week, he was acing his tests, and his teacher said she finally has a student to teach and not just a body. The change is amazing. Slight decrease in appetite and the first couple of days it affected his sleep. Other than that, no side effects."

• Anonymous
• October 9, 2017

For ADHD "I am a 20 y/o girl. I was on 54 mg of Concerta once a day. This drug was the worst thing that's ever happened to me. It did help my grades, but I felt most of it was placebo, and the fact that the side effects were so horrible, I wanted to focus on work to distract myself. It made my anxiety unbearable and constant. My heart beat in my head. My whole left arm and pinky would feel numb and prickly. I knew I was hungry but could not eat and was disgusted by food. I fell into a horrible depression and felt just overwhelming darkness. The pros were that it made sitting in long classes and retaining information much easier. I felt excited about learning and getting work done. Overall, it helped with school, but the side effects are not worth it."

• Cha...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 15, 2016

For ADHD "I am 20 years old, and I did exceedingly well in high school and nursing school without ADHD medication. Once I graduated and moved into the workplace, my ADHD spun completely out of control. I had a very hard time adjusting. This medication has helped me think clearly, focus on tasks, and stop me from being so impulsive and rude. My appetite has gone down for sure, but I try to focus on superfoods I can eat in small amounts. I think it's important to have coping strategies and work through your ADHD before jumping straight to medications. I would highly recommend this medication for adults who are struggling, not for children, though."

• Isa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 4, 2022

For ADHD "When I took Concerta briefly, I was 16 years old. This happened to be during the shutdown pandemic, so online school was our classroom. My doctor prescribed Concerta to me for my ADHD in hopes that my grades would rise and I would focus with the distractions that came with online school. I took Concerta from September 2020 to October 2020. This was quite possibly the worst I had felt in my life, and Concerta was to blame. I am a very happy person, always willing to help others, and I’m very much an extrovert. Being on Concerta stopped my happy personality, and even my family noticed such a heavy difference. I would find myself easily irritated at the smallest things and get very upset over them. I also had no control over my emotions (I would cry out of nowhere). My appetite was probably the worst side effect. I would take the medication at 7 a.m. (before school) and not feel the need to eat anything for hours, meaning that I would go every day without breakfast, lunch, or dinner."

• Jul...
• April 8, 2015

For ADHD "I am currently a junior in high school on Concerta, going on 4 years with it, and I can honestly say it does work very well. It helps me focus a lot, and you can see the results reflected in my academics and how good they got. But the side effects are the downfall, of course. I get insomnia, and I lose my appetite completely for a whole day. And on top of that, I feel emotionless, like a robot that all it wants to do is study and focus. It takes a toll on social life, but I guess that's the price we all have to go through when taking medications."

• Anonymous
• March 18, 2009

For ADHD "I used Concerta for my ADD, and it worked pretty well. It gave me a little boost and helped me concentrate better, but it kind of just felt like I was on a controlled form of caffeine. The side effects were a lack of hunger, mood swings, and the crash was terrible. I felt tired and got in a terrible mood. So, it does help, I'm not going to lie, but I have since switched to another medicine because the side effects were too much for me."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• October 29, 2013

For ADHD "I am 15 and have been on Concerta since 6th grade. I have never really felt any side effects besides loss of appetite in the afternoon. But just last year, I started getting muscle spasms, and I began to zone out often at school. Even more recently, I have begun to have trouble with sleep and slight depression. I have tried getting the Concerta switched for something else, but it's the only medicine that helps me focus in school and helps me get good grades. I mean, don't get me wrong, it helps a lot, but I'm not sure why I'm just getting these side effects."

• Iso...
• July 28, 2016

For ADHD "I was prescribed Concerta 54 mg for two weeks, and after two weeks, my dosage was lowered to 36 mg. The positive effects: First of all, it was absolutely effective at keeping me focused, engaged, and gave me the motivation to continue working away at my given tasks. It also accelerated my perception of time. The (manageable) negatives: It made me so focused on tasks that I was antisocial. Fixating on annoying sounds, anxiety, sweaty palms, no appetite, and weight loss (25 lbs). I found I was lacking emotion, and during the long comedown, I was irritable and rarely experienced mild to moderate depression. Concerta is an effective ADHD drug, but the emotional effects can be annoying at times. It is worth consulting your doctor about!"

• Mom...
• January 25, 2013

For ADHD "My son is 6 and has been diagnosed with ADHD. Concerta is one of the medications we have tried. It does wonders for him during the day, he has gone from being the class clown to the top student. He always had it in him, just lacked the ability to stay focused long enough to show it. However, during the evening is when we started noticing the difference it made in our child. He doesn't eat, he whispers even when everyone else was being loud, he became very emotional, and he would sit with coloring books and color for hours... or sit at the computer playing games, he never slept. This was very unlike our son... he was usually climbing walls like Spiderman... running around... jumping... happy-go-lucky! He became very withdrawn. We took him off it."

• sta...
• April 11, 2013

For ADHD "I am 18 years old. I took this medication for 2 years, if I remember correctly, in elementary. Yes, it helped me focus better in school somewhat, but at the same time it had taken my appetite away, gave me insomnia, stomach cramps, mood swings, and hallucinations. If I skipped a dose, I would get physically sick. I would NOT recommend this medication."

• Dan...
• September 22, 2015

For ADHD "I've been taking Concerta for close to 15 years now since I was diagnosed at age 3. Around 8th grade, I had started getting pain in my chest, which was similar to costochondritis. The pain got increasingly worse up through high school and the beginning of college around age 18 when it stopped affecting me as much. Now I'm 21 years old (as of the 12th this month), and for the past years, I've been noticing that I've been getting increasingly anxious and worrying more than usual. In the past 5 years, on a daily 63 mg dose, I've been dealing with depression, anxiety, nightmares, insomnia, loss of appetite, and I've lost 30 lbs due to that. It's effective, but at a price, sometimes one you can't afford."

• Mor...
• June 3, 2010

For ADHD "I am a 20-year-old female and have been taking Concerta on and off for five years. I was diagnosed with ADHD during my freshman year of high school. Concerta has worked wonders for me. I started high school getting Ds and Fs and left with As and Bs. I would stop taking it every so often after lowering my dosage to see if I could manage without it, but I would almost immediately lose my organization and, more importantly, my motivation. I did experience some side effects, including appetite loss and insomnia. These were easily cured by a dose modification. I am now the proud manager of a successful business."

• Liv...
• January 20, 2012

For ADHD "I am 15 years old and was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 6. I feel Concerta is like a mental steroid. I focus 50% more and understand the things I'm taught better. Honestly, I really do not like Concerta. I have muscle twitches, nervousness, agitation, a complete loss of appetite (which gets to the point where I almost pass out due to suppressed hunger pains), tiredness, mellowness, confusion, mood swings quite frequently, irritation of the eyes, which is one of the things I absolutely hate, and more. I am not autistic, but sometimes I feel like I am during school. My social life is completely impaired. When I take Concerta, I am a very dull person. I am constantly paranoid, always worried about what others think of me."

• Ean...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 31, 2019

For ADHD "When I was first diagnosed with ADHD, I was put on a similar methylphenidate known as Matoride XL, which is a generic of Concerta, though I had some issues with this drug: anxiety, depression, lack of appetite, etc. After a while, it stopped working so well. I was put on Concerta 27 mg, and it’s been amazing. I am happier, and I am able to concentrate and contain myself while doing university tasks. I’m hoping the effects won’t wear off, only time will tell."

• For...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 13, 2015

For ADHD "Well, it started in 2014 when I was diagnosed with ADHD. And I could not focus for more than 5 minutes before doing something else, and this has helped me greatly focus and calm me down. We also own a farm, and I drive a skid steer loader and drive a tractor. Also, doing fieldwork takes a good deal of focus, and now I can easily do 5 hours of bale loading and not get distracted, which is a lifesaver. One downside is that I lose my appetite, but it's not a big deal to me."

• Tyl...
• August 9, 2009

For ADHD "As an adult with ADHD, Concerta is the way to go. Focused and able to complete tasks. Although the lack of appetite and sleep come into play, the time-released 18 mg works better for me than the 27 mg. With 27 mg, I was tired and moody."

• Van...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 14, 2016

For ADHD "I've been taking Concerta since 2003. For me, it's the only ADHD medication that works. It calms me down, I talk at a speed others can understand, and my thoughts don't run off. The side effects I get from it are loss of appetite (growing up I was underweight for this reason), trouble sleeping (I ended up needing a medication for this but am currently not on one), dry mouth (drink lots of water). I have also been diagnosed with major depression and bipolar after years of taking Concerta (diagnosed in 2007 and 2013 respectively, both are genetic in my family). Drugs affect each person differently. If you decide to take Concerta, I would suggest keeping track of your side effects and how often they occur and talk to your M.D. or N.P."

• Bri...
• September 8, 2015

For ADHD "I was diagnosed with ADHD a little less than a year ago at the age of 12. At first, I loved it because it helped me get so much work done, and I stopped getting in trouble and annoying people. After about one month, I started realizing that I wasn't eating because the medicine was destroying my appetite, and I liked it. I started using the drug more for weight loss than anything, and I went from a happy, bubbly 115 lbs to a lifeless 95 lbs. At 5 ft 8 in, that's severely underweight and unhealthy. I kept taking the medicine, but I became increasingly more depressed and anxious. I was an outcast, but I was too obsessed with losing weight to care. After the school year finished, I took a break from the medicine, and I am now a happy, healthy 13 yr old."

• Man...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 4, 2019

For ADHD "Makes you feel pretty weird for the first few weeks, I was getting headaches and crashing after a couple of hours. However, your body gets used to it, and after a while, my performance on tests improved drastically. It did decrease my appetite quite a bit, and I ended up losing 15 pounds. I took it for ADHD but was also struggling with anorexia, so my doctor took me off it as it was making me lose so much weight. This medicine really helped me in school settings, and I would recommend it in moderation for people struggling with ADHD as it’s not as intense as Ritalin and only lasts for a few hours. I 100% preferred it to Ritalin and lorazepam."

• Lor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 4, 2015

For ADHD "I like this medicine since it lasts 12-14 hours. It helps with depression as well, and it helps me in college. Without it, I wouldn't be doing as well. It helps me stay on task and focus so I can get my work done. There aren't many side effects to this stimulant, maybe insomnia and a suppressed appetite, but that's all. I recommend this medicine for people with ADD, ADHD, and depression. It really improves the quality of your life. There isn't anything bad about this medicine. I hope it works for anyone who needs it."

• Kai...
• February 20, 2018

For ADHD "I was seven years old when I was diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed Concerta. I took this medication for three years, and there were definitely a lot of changes. Yes, I was able to focus in school; I remember that. I remember while on the medication I always wanted to try and do my best. But I was never hungry, never tired, never wanted friends, never wanted to talk. I was like a zombie. I remember being bullied by other students because they thought I was weird. I remember crying all the time because I was always sad. Once I stopped taking the medication, I finally gained weight and started talking, as well as paying attention in class. Concerta may have helped me focus more, but it took away three years of my childhood that I can hardly remember now. I will never be the same."

• Lil...
• September 23, 2015

For ADHD "I first started taking Concerta about 2 years ago. I'm almost 13. It works okay, but I have been losing my appetite far too much. I'm already really underweight, and this drug makes it worse. I've also run into sleep paralysis once or twice."

• Pia...
• January 9, 2016

For ADHD "I was diagnosed with ADD at the end of grade 6 and started taking Concerta in grade 7. I had no idea I had ADD and just thought everyone was like me. I had no enthusiasm for anything with school, but after I took Concerta, I was like ADHD. So much hyperness and wanting to work. After raising the dose to 36mg, I started to get very anxious about my heart feeling like it was beating too fast and was having like a panic attack or something, so then I dropped back down to 27mg. The side effects I have are weight loss/loss of appetite, heart palpitations, sleep paralysis, feelings of excitement. It works for me, but I hate the side effects. I also lost 5lbs in one week when I first started and 20lbs in 2 years."

• cls...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 10, 2013

For ADHD "I was diagnosed with ADD 2 weeks ago, along with depression/anxiety at the age of 33. My doctor wanted to treat the ADD first, thinking the other issue would clear up, so he started me on 18 mg of Concerta. The first week I would take one pill, and then this week increase it to 2 pills. I haven't been on this medication like others have, and I am experiencing so many side effects... i.e., nervousness, no appetite, headaches in the morning, can't sleep, paranoid for no reason. I feel like it’s doing the opposite of what it should. The first day I actually was able to just focus on one task and was able to get the laundry done. I will be talking to my doctor about other medications."

• Anonymous
• September 15, 2015

For ADHD "I was diagnosed with ADD about ten years ago. I was prescribed Concerta by my doctor, and it wasn't an easy transition. I got tons of work done and all, but it killed my appetite during lunch hours, and as a result, I lost weight. As time went on, I got more used to the medication, and I've since regained my weight (for the most part, I've still got a high metabolism, and as a result, gaining any kind of weight is difficult for me) and can still focus on my schoolwork. Part of this can be attributed to getting older and all, but I think the medication has certainly helped. For reference, I'm a 6 ft tall guy who weighs around 125 lbs."