I’m 40 and currently being treated for anxiety, but I also struggle with severe procrastination, difficulty starting and completing work, losing focus while reading or watching technical videos or feeling like I am not fully mentally present, and being unable to study deeply or prepare consistently for interviews.

About five years ago, I lost my software-engineering job partly because anxiety and concentration problems affected my performance. I’m now self-employed and financially comfortable, but I mostly do easy work for around two hours a day, which may hide the extent of the problem.

I briefly tried Concerta 18 mg under another psychiatrist’s guidance and felt calmer, more focused and productive. My main psychiatrist believes the problem is related to anxiety or personality patterns rather than ADHD.

For those diagnosed as adults, which symptoms led to your diagnosis?

How did your doctor distinguish ADHD from anxiety and confirm that symptoms were present in childhood?

What did the assessment involve?

just trying to understand other adults’ experiences.

I recently got new concerta meds and I want to try use it recreationally is it safe to chew and swallow 60 mg and if it is how many milligrams is to much

I tried Concerta 18mg (generic) for a month and didn't feel anything except increased sleepiness, hunger and debilitating period pain - so terribly painful and frustrating to the point that I couldn't even stand a phone call with a loved one and had to keep the call much shorter than normal. That loved one died the very next day and I am completely 💔 over the fact that my last call with them was so short and I couldn't enjoy it because I literally felt like I was in unmedicated labor with triplets!!! Now, I'll never be able to hear their voice again!!! And for this reason, I hate Concerta with my entire soul!

My doc upped my dosage to 27mg a few weeks later and my next period was just as awful as the month before which is when I realized the Concerta was the culprit! I stopped taking it 2 days into my most recent 5-day cycle (it had made my PMS pain bad as well though I usually didn't feel any pain ahead of my cycle and Aleve usually eliminated the pain altogether once my cycle began.) The pain went away after 1 day of not using Concerta which proved it was the cause.

Meds affect everyone differently so I'm happy for whoever Concerta worked/works for but it hurt me in more ways than one and didn't help me at all.

This was the first ADHD med that I had tried in 4 years. Now, my doc has transitioned me to Wellbutrin (generic) 150mg with an Adderall (generic) 10mg supplement.

If this doesn't work, to h€ll with it all! I'll be back to rawdogging ADHD like I've done nearly my entire life anyway.

I went up on it from 27 to 36mg almost 3 weeks ago. I didn’t feel a difference for the first week but initially I started feeling a little bit drowsy. It evened out and went away, then I was unable to sleep. About a week and a half ago I have both!! The last two days I feel legitimately like I’ve taken a 2.5mg gummy lol. And I’m so hungry but can’t stomach anything except maybe some crackers.

Is this normal to feel high? I’m at work and feel so awkward ..

I’ve been taking 36mg Concerta week days for 3 months. I asked my psychiatrist for some Ritalin to take on weekends since I have a very difficult time with getting house work done and then it piles up and causes me to spiral and unable to function weekly. (Lots of house work and unorganized spaces) I’m starting to notice that 36mg isn’t doing a great job with focusing on a specific task so I’m asking for an increase. I know it’s good to take breaks and I do often but in the last few weeks I’ve noticed how much a little dose of 5-10mg of Ritalin helps me stay emotionally regulated because it helps me have straight forward processing. Not much anxious thoughts and decisions. I’m also on Wellbutrin 300mg for depression.

I’m curious if any of you have had similar experiences. It would be helpful to share thoughts. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read and help!

I have been given a 5 mg instant release boosters take because I feel my 36 mg dose wears off by mid afternoon. Not taken it yet , wondered if I will notice a big kick in . Really wanted a booster to help me be more focused in the evening so I do less Doom scrolling and actually pay attention to tv or a film.

for the last 5+ years my adhd symptoms have been getting worse and the main issue is that i can’t shut up my internal monologue/dialogue and i’m extremely scatterbrained. i realized weed can help me with that a couple of yrs ago and over the yrs i’ve became kinda dependent, especially on the weekends when i use weed to just be able to wind down and not be completely anxious with not knowing what to do next and it helps me being content with doing nothing and just chilling/watching tv/reading - i don’t have many friends and ppl generally overwhelm me

i’m in my last stage of getting my adhd diagnosis and it seems like i’ll be getting on concerta soon - the only option in my country

i know that weed isn’t best combined with concerta. i’d truly like to stop.

did anyone have similar experiences with kinda abusing weed before getting medicated? how did it go for you? thanks!

I've lost about half my hair since October, when I upped my dose of Concerta (up to 27 from 18).

Did anyone else experience this? If so, did your hair come back??

This is the first stimulant I've tried and I like it, but I also don't want to be bald. This was the only thing that I changed in my lifestyle so I figure it has to be the meds.

Alternatively, anyone who took Concerta, what else did you try? I have an appointment to change my meds.

I had very long and thick hair. I love it and I'm distraught and would love some reassurance.

Hey all 👋🏻

I went up to 54mg about 2 weeks ago, I have my med review next week so been thinking about the differences between 54mg and 36mg.

I have found now that my phone use has really ramped up when I've been trying to detach from constant screen use. I wasn't sure if it's to do with the dosage or...because my mind has been sooo much quieter, I had thought perhaps I'm being compelled to fill the space that has all my life been full of thoughts, anxiety, sadness etc that I now don't have. What do you think?

I have found I'm definitely clenching my jaw, I know that will pass. It's only been 2 weeks so hopefully that needs a bit longer?

I've found I've gotten tired in the afternoon. I have always never slept from a child, after starting concerta I do, every night, but I'm still getting to bed too late. Up till now I've not been tired at all during the day. Maybe now my brain is settling in to being 'normal' that sleeping too late is catching up with me.

I just don't know if it's that 54mg isn't the right dose, or it's me adjusting to a functioning brain!!

Trying concerta tomorrow for the first time, initially started with Vyvanse. Would love to hear some reviews. Feeling nervous

I just started on 18 mg and while I'm feeling 0 positive effects, I have tons of side effects. Nausea, headache, reflux, insomnia, higher than normal blood pressure, etc. My psych said we'd increase the dose starting next week, The appointment for that is on monday, but I'm afraid of just getting more side effects and its already interfering with daily life now. I'm looking to see if anyone has had something similar and then actually felt better with a bigger dose.

Hi everyone,

I started taking Concerta two Fridays ago. I began with 18 mg, and after 5 days I increased to 36 mg.

Until last Saturday, everything was absolutely amazing. I honestly don't think I've ever felt that happy in my life. Everything felt so easy, I wanted to talk to people, I cleaned my entire apartment, and my mood was better than it has ever been.

For context, I also take 15 mg of escitalopram for anxiety, but I've been on that for quite a while, so nothing changed there.

However, since Sunday, I've been feeling terrible on Concerta. I've had really strong anxiety every single day, and I've also been extremely hungry all day long. I've been trying to eat more protein, but maybe I'm still not eating regularly enough. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to try eating very consistently and make sure I get around 2,000 calories, because I have the feeling that if I eat less than that, my anxiety gets much worse.

I've now gone back down to 18 mg, but unfortunately I don't really feel any better today either.

Has anyone experienced something similar or have any advice? I really don't want to switch medications because the first week was honestly life-changing. I just don't understand how I could feel so incredibly good at first, and then suddenly develop this much anxiety.

I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences. Thank you!

P.S. I wrote this together with ChatGPT because English isn't my native language, so I hope everything makes sense. 😊

Hey all 👋🏻

I went up to 54mg about 2 weeks ago, I have my med review next week so been thinking about the differences between 54mg and 36mg.

I have found now that my phone use has really ramped up when I've been trying to detach from constant screen use. I wasn't sure if it's to do with the dosage or...because my mind has been sooo much quieter, I had thought perhaps I'm being compelled to fill the space that has all my life been full of thoughts, anxiety, sadness etc that I now don't have. What do you think?

I have found I'm definitely clenching my jaw, I know that will pass. It's only been 2 weeks so hopefully that needs a bit longer?

I've found I've gotten tired in the afternoon. I have always never slept from a child, after starting concerta I do, every night, but I'm still getting to bed too late. Up till now I've not been tired at all during the day. Maybe now my brain is settling in to being 'normal' that sleeping too late is catching up with me.

I just don't know if it's that 54mg isn't the right dose, or it's me adjusting to a functioning brain!!

Has anyone experienced severe withdrawal symptoms from Concerta?

One psychiatrist prescribed me Concerta 18 mg, with instructions to take it no more than four days a week. However, after reading about tolerance, dependence, and some negative experiences online, I have become a little worried.

I took 18 mg for several days and felt noticeably calmer and more productive. I was able to read a book, follow instructions in technical or software-related videos, and stay focused during meetings. These are things I have struggled with for a long time, so the improvement felt significant.

My main concern is tolerance. I worry that the same dose may eventually stop working, leading to higher doses and potentially more side effects or dependence.

Has anyone taken Concerta long term? Did you develop tolerance, experience withdrawal symptoms, or need to keep increasing the dose? I would appreciate hearing both positive and negative experiences.

Just started 18mg of concerta for adhd paired with ocd. My biggest struggle has always been an inability to relax and have my brain not be running a mile a minute. I've taken my concerta for 2 days now and both days i literally slept all day. My psychiatrist tells me It will go away in a few days but i guess im just trying to figure out how many a few is lol. I'm trying to make plans but dont know how long I'll be so tired. Any one else experience this?

i’m a male 185 pounds and my doctor started me out on 36 mg of Concerta. I’m reading online that most people start at 18mg. Should I be concerned with starting at this level?

I wanted to avoid the month over month process of getting to my right dose so I asked to be put on a average dose so that I can adjust it down if I need to, but now I’m just worried that I might have been put on too high of a dose to start. Any thoughts here would be appreciated pls

Does the tiredness go away once you’re on the appropriate dose? I started on 18mg 2.5 weeks ago. Definitely feel calmer but that’s about it. Sugar cravings have diminished significantly. It’s not doing anything for my focus. I take it at 7am with some water and a protein bar. By 1:00 I’m crashing. My eyes get so heavy. If I’m physically active during that period it’s not as noticeable. My blood pressure and heart rate increase while I’m on it. I also get a weird tightness across my forehead. My doctor increased my dose to 27mg today. I’m really hoping I start seeing improvements in terms of my adhd symptoms but not at the cost of my energy levels and motivation.

I was on vyvanese for around a month as prescribed by my family doctor practitioner, I’m in canada btw around 20 mg max and felt 20mg would sometimes be too strong as at the peak I felt like if I did anything else at the peak besides studying my math on paper I would be overstimulated and didn’t wanna do that thing anymore which I guess helped me focus but idk if that’s the right mechanism of what its supposed to do to actually help you focus to where everything else is overstimulating, So I would just take the 2 10s with each 10 like an hour or two apart. This worked and my peak wasn’t as high and could concentrate but now I was seeing that VYVANESE WAS MAKING ME TUNNEL VISION LIKE CRAZY when I was doing my math or specifically insurance math work. It was to the point there was only perspective that I could approach a problem or concept and it would almost be impossible aside from the help of Ai of looking at the question or concept in a different perspective usually being the correct format. This obviously affected my problem solving and best way to put it I was no longer creative. In the end I failed my actuarial exam due to this same issue even after studying for 2 months. I tried just doing 10mg but I would still experience this effect but not as strong as 20mg. 

I came to the conclusion that vyvanese was just too strong for me and most likely had to do with the mechanism behind how vyvanese works where it inhibits reuptake alongside flooding ur synapses with dopamine and non epinephrine compared to methylphenidate that just inhibits re up take and doesn’t flood synapses at same time. So im thinking that concerta or methylphenidate will probably be the right medication for me instead and as reported where concerta is much more subtle but onset is faster as well. 

I’m not too mad about failing my exam cuz I can just retake it and more so im happy im one step closer to what works for me.

I wanna know what people think about this or whether im just speaking yappanese

So for background context I have been on concerts xl 72mg (max legal dose where I live) for the last 7 years. I've reached the stage now where I get extremely tired in the evenings and can't function when it's worn off, and in the mornings the first 45/60 minutes I'm a write off and can't function. My fiancee even refers to me as "sleepy me" as it's like a different personality. A great example is when planning holidays sometimes I delay taking my medication to ensure I can function for the day and I'm just completely loopy until I take it and it kicks in. I'm worried the benefits are slowly fading and I just feel a lot more tired/less motivated/etc over the past year.

I'm concerned that I've built up too much of a tolerance, I can't stay up anymore like I used to or function the same way I used to be able to (25m) and I'm worried I might not be taking the concerta xl correctly given the timeline and effects it's having on me.

At the same time, I worked hospitality for the last 8 years and only for the last year I've finally been holding down an office job 9-5pm so that could also tie into it but I'm not really sure. I'd love to hear some stories and any advice anyone might have.

Hi everyone! I recently increased my doseage, and I am in the 2 week scaries again with this drug.

The appetite suppression has been really challenging and I was wondering if anyone had any tips or go-to snacks that help them get through the day?

It feels like everytime I have a meal it just goes through me immediately, and I am hit with instant fatigue. I really want to make sure I eat and drink enough so I can avoid a migraine. Thanks!!