Concerta

[Corriel]

I started taking 18 mg of Concerta once daily about 2 weeks ago. Oddly I have noticed two things:

1) I can no longer have my daily/morning coffee without severe nausea (even the pharmacist didn't have it as one of his warnings).

2) Despite the fact that it keeps me awake to the point that daytime napping is not possible I still feel exhausted most of the time which doesn't make much sense to me.

Has anyone had anything like either of these things happen while they were taking it? Any thoughts?

Thanks!
Corrie

[Soportsmomma]

Hi. I'm new here. I was diagnosed with ADD about 6 months ago. I take Adderall. Since the whole MS symptoms coming out in full force, I have found them to be a great help. Specifically, the instant release. After 12 or more hours of sleep I have to literally drag myself out of bed. I take an 10 mg instant release with my coffee and within 1/2 an hour, I am good to go! That is, if the rest of my body cooperates with me! If you haven't tried Adderall or another med that come in instant release, perhaps that might help you? The plus to it is it wears off well before bedtime...

[Corriel]

That sounds about right. It's making work extremely difficult too.

Sigh. Just sitting makes me want to sleep. Lol.

[Sailorsong]

One of the old heath pages that no longer exists talked about how there are different forms of fatigue. That drug only works on one form of fatigue (which is the one that makes you need to sleep).

Another form of fatigue is when you just haven't got the energy to do things. This is the type of fatigue you are talking about and that I know quite well. I can sleep for 12-14 hours and still not have the energy to do anything. Probably the best way to explain this is that is is like you just finished running a marathon. You aren't sleepy, but you no longer have any energy left to do anything other than sit.

Dennis

[Corriel]

Thanks Dennis! My pharmacist said that I am one of the unlucky 1-10% with the nausea. Not sure how I can be exhausted during the day if the stimulant can keep me from napping (nighttime sleep is unaffected).

I gave decided to drop this one and hope to try another med over the summer. I had my fill of nausea (albeit on a more disruptive level) with Tecfidera.

C.

[Sailorsong]

I found this on Drugs.com

Common Concerta side effects may include:

    feeling nervous or irritable, sleep problems (insomnia);

    loss of appetite;

    nausea, stomach pain; or

    headache.

So it is probably that the combination of the drug and coffee is the cause of the nausea.


Dennis

[Corriel]

Thanks ess! He only mentioned Concerta at the time amd zi have wondered if anyone here prescribes Adderall so I will add that to my list for my guy at our next appt.

[essdipity]

Ugh, that really sux. Can't remember whether you've tried Adderall, but it works decently for me, nothing earth-shattering. I really don't like the idea of taking this type of med, though have never had any bad effects from it at all. The only side effect I've had is some appetite suppression, not at all a bad thing for me :-) I generally take it only on PT days or when I have to accomplish stuff involving a lot of physical activity.

ess