Every medication has the potential to have negative side effects, even those we consider to be generally “safe” such as Tylenol. Many medications have side effects that are not discovered until numerous years after it has been sold and marketed, simply because different people will have different reactions to different chemicals and foods. There are no two people who are exactly the same, which is why there is no way to know for sure all of the potential effects of taking a medication and how it work and how the body will respond to it. This especially holds true for newer drugs that come on the market. Methylphenidate, which was first available in the 1960′s, has been around long enough that most of the side effects from using it have been discovered and recognized. However, Concerta is only an 8 year old medication and it is important to know that not everyone reports side effects to the FDA. An extremely useful website for determining what findings have been found with medication is the FDA’s MedWatch site.

Here is a brief list of the most common occurrences when taking the medication:

Loss of Appetite
Insomnia
Stomach Cramping
Headache
Irritability, Aggression
Nausea
Sadness, Depression
Dry Mouth
Tics, muscle twitching
Increased Risk for Upper Respiratory Infections

Some of these signs may appear after using the drug just once or for a few days or weeks and then go away after the body has adjusted to the change. For others there may be no symptoms until after they have used it for an extended period of time or dosage has been increased. For many, making small adjustments in dosage amounts have been successful in taking the medication. It should also be noted that children and adults may react differently. It is generally not recommended for children under the age of 6.

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s prescriptions, you should speak with your doctor, especially if the symptoms they are experiencing after use are severe or very noticeable. Being able to communicate effectively with the health care professionals you trust will help you be able to make the best and safest decision for your child’s well being and health.

Do you have any experiences with Concerta side effects? Share them in the comments below.

But when attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is properly diagnosed, for many parents choosing to medicate your child may be the best solution in conjunction with behavioral therapy. Most professionals, despite what the media would make you think, do not automatically prescribe Ritalin or Concerta just because parents can’t stand their child’s behavior anymore. Usually it is only after an extended period of time with behavioral therapy proves ineffective and other alternatives do not provide relief do physicians then suggest the possibility of using pharmaceuticals.

It is important for parents and children to realize that ADD is not just a label for poor behavior. While it may seem unfair to view it as a disability, realizing that it is a medical condition equivalent to other manageable diseases and conditions such as diabetes that need constant monitoring and controlling can help you understand why using medicines may be eventually the only option that can actually result in great improvement.

Much of the concern of using medications for ADHD stems from the potential side effects, which are often loss of appetite, insomnia, lethargy from too high of a dose, and other potential problems resulting from family genetics and history of other diseases. Most physicians will require a full report of family history as well as do a thorough physical exam before prescribing ADHD medication treatment. For example, if there is a history of heart disease or sudden unexplained deaths in a family, most doctors will require testing such as an EKG and a full cardiology exam before writing the prescription to ensure that the child’s genetic disposition does not put him or her at an increased risk for using drug treatments.

All pharmaceutical drugs pose a risk to all people, regardless of age, gender, race, or family health history. Often times an underlying and undiagnosed condition are the culprit in severe side effects or complications associated with using drugs to treat the disorder. If ADHD medication side effects are a primary concern for you, your doctor should be willing to discuss the potential risks with you openly. It is then necessary for you to decide if the potential risks outweigh the possible benefits and vice versa. For example, if your child’s diagnosis is something that makes him or her do dangerous things that may cause injury to oneself or others, it is likely the potential benefits far outweigh the risks. It may also be necessary in cases where daily life has become so unbearable that both the parents and the child can no longer cope or function with other tasks. When all other possibilities for treatment have been exhausted, it is likely that prescription drugs may be able to provide a huge relief for both parents and child.

Finding the proper treatment and dosage is usually the most difficult part for parents and physicians to determine. Most doctors will begin at the lowest possible dosage and then monitor the child’s changes in behavior and progress in order to determine if the right treatment has been selected, or if a higher dosage may result in a much better outcome. There are many different types of brand names for the different prescriptions available, the most commonly known one being Ritalin. Concerta over the past few years has become more popular, and there are also other types as well. Almost all of the different drugs are some type of form of the stimulant Methylphenidate. While Ritalin is the one with the most bad press, it is also the oldest one that has been in use, which makes many doctors feel most comfortable with it because it has been studied for a long period of time (several decades) and is considered to be one of the safer ones.

However, one of the problems with Ritalin is that it is not long lasting. Most dosages may wear off after only 4 to 6 hours, which is barely enough to cover a school day, let alone make it through homework time or other activities. Because of this shortcoming, there are now several extended release formulas available which generally last 12 hours or so, depending on the child’s reaction to the product.

Your doctor should be able to provide you with adhd medication comparisons to help you determine the best treatment options for your child. Since medication legislation, dosages available, new brands and developments, and other important information often frequently change, rather than list all of the possible drugs here for you to compare and decide, we feel that it is best for you to speak about it with your doctor, who should have a list available for you to look at for weighing the pros and the cons.

A well qualified and experienced physician/child psychiatrist will be able to tell you from personal experience as well as the latest news releases and information updates which medications for ADHD are considered to be the most beneficial and pose the least amount of risk for side effects complications to your child. Remember that everyone’s personal health history and situation is different, which is why you will much likely be at more benefit to speak with your doctor than rely on information you read on websites.

Having open communication with your child’s doctor will greatly help clear up any confusion you have, as well as address your fears, hopes, and concerns. Your child’s physicians should be seen as your biggest assets and allies in controlling, managing, and effectively living with ADHD, as they are able to assess the situation objectively and suggest the best possible solutions.

Setting Realistic Goals
In order to determine the best course for treating ADHD, it’s important for parents to assess what problems need to be addressed the most importantly and set realistic goals for their child to meet. There should be several “long term goals” that will be an overall objective, as well as immediate goals that can be reached. For example, having B average grades could be a realistic long term goal for a student who is struggling greatly in school. A short term goal would be to complete homework assignments on time. It is best to choose more specific goals in order to decide the best course of action. It is much easier to break down and work on small parts of a larger problem than to just lump together one general statement of “do better in school”.

Courses of Action for Treatment:
Once the goals are decided upon, the next step is to decide how those goals will be achieved. It will vary largely on the degree of your child’s ADHD, their age, and what activities have been done before, if any, to determine what things should be done to reach the goals. For example, if the goal is to get homework completed on time, setting routines and teaching organizational methods should be part of the treatment plan.

Courses of action can include any of the following things:

• Family and Individual Counseling sessions
• Educating Family Members/Caregivers about ADHD
• Behavior Therapy
• Social Interaction/Building Activities
• Changing Environmental Influences
• Parenting Skills and Support
• Medications or Other Alternative Therapies

Rating and Measuring Component
In order to determine if treatment is being successful or ineffective, there must be a measurable component. For example, a goal may be “Jenny will do her homework without verbal prompting at least three times a week.” By attaching a number to the goal, parents and caregivers will be able to tell if she is meeting the goal or not based on how many times they need to ask or remind the child about homework per week. Another method of assessing an improvement or change in behavior is through assigning a rating scale. For example, hyperactivity may be related on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being calm and 1 being very hyper. The goal could be “Jenny will reduce her hyperactivity from a level 10 to a level 3″. When the treatment plan is reassessed, parents could then say that they feel the hyperactivity level is at a 7 or an 8 for example compared to the 10 when they first started the program.

Creating an ADHD treatment plan should be highly individualized for you and your child’s needs. No two children are alike, and therefore there is no “standardized” method of treating problems. However, it is likely that nearly all plans will include and involve the above three items. By determining goals that can be realistically met as well as long term goals, deciding on the best course of action to meet those goals, and assessing periodically the effectiveness of the actions to their relationship to the goal, you will likely begin seeing progress within just a few months for the smaller goals and feel that the long term goals are no longer so high out of reach.