andres
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Posts: 52
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Post by andres on Jul 16, 2014 23:47:24 GMT
So, this is the end of my third day on 18mg of Concerta. Can definitely tell when the drug is working, the main differences being the feeling of relaxation, much better memory recall (I'm usually always umming and ahhring, struggling to pluck the right word out of my brain, which I often fail at doing), thought and speech much more articulate, and a little more focus on tasks. Tics are also more subdued while the mph is working.
First day took it at 1pm, fine all day, sleep no problem. Second day, took it at 8am, good day but felt fairly rotten 7 pm onwards - anxiety, mental fog. Sleep no problem. Woke up with a bit of anxiety today and a dithering brain (as per usual), decided not to take meds until later as I was going out this evening and didn't want to be like I was last night so took them at 11am - had half an hour or so of slight anxiety at 4/5 ish but good for the rest of the day. Still wide awake, but this might be the booze from the evening.
All good so far.
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Post by grumpy on Jul 18, 2014 19:34:40 GMT
Hi glad your seeing the good things its doing. But the bad things are due to the dose being to low and it takes time to start seeing the bad getting better.
When I was on 45mg ( fast release ) 3x 15mg daily I was getting some crazy crashes and anxiety come downs I used to have to start them at 1pm - 2pm to have a fab day and my last dose of the day I used to do at 10pm so I could sleep as with out my brain would not shut diwn , I done that for a few weeks and it worked OK.
I'm now on 54mg concerta xl in the morning and I have 15mg ( 3x 5mg tabs ) as when I need them in the evening.
Don't ask how I'm getting on I don't like to say for the first week as it takes a few days to get used to a dose but already I can see I'm nearly there on my right dose. I think 72mg concerta Xl in the morning then a boost at night will get me just right. I do have my 54mg in 2x 27mg tabs so I still got to play around them yet maybe one a few hours later then other etc.. But for now just roll on and wait via week.
Don't worry about the anxiety I have a anxiety disorder and over the last few weeks anxiety has got so much better until today when in the bath it hit me out if no where but I have to just roll on a few weeks and let the meds do there thing
I started on 3x 5mg fast release tabs a day and even tho I got a good idea on I was on the right track when the meds switch off its a hard hard feeling to deal with but you have to up dose slowly
I pretty much went up 15mg every 2 weeks then after 45mg its gone to 4 weeks I've learnt always right the first week off on each up dose
What I would also say is always eat well before taking and name sure you eat at meal times and try to do things at the same time each day so it becomes routine , and stay away from fizzy drinks well I do as they seem to have a bad timne with me on meds I seem to get crazy heart burn and belly pains.
But just try and bare with the downs they do get better and more apart but will pop up now and again like me today , I got up more early then normal , less sleep then normal , started meds more early then normal , skiped lunch ( just had a little snack on the go ) , then feeling run down I had a bath in the stuffy weather and anxiety hit me hard and my thoughts went all over the place and that was on meds. A hour later I calmed down and but still feel a little on edge but I done bit to myself.
Its all trail and error and trying to get it right for you
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Post by grumpy on Jul 18, 2014 19:44:50 GMT
Also try not to drink booze why your getting the dose right that can add to the come downs and not help you out on getting the right dose , since starting meds I have not drunk a drop and I used to need a beer is toip just to sit down and watch the footy or boxing. This footy world cup was the first time in 15 years I've not drunk with footy and I watch every game and felt good ( as I always needed beer or two to focus on things )
But in this nice sun I do fancy a nice cold beer but don't feel like I need one if that makes sense ? But soon as my stable join the right dose I'll have a couple if cans just to enjoy a cold beer not come I need it to focus haha
But do try and not drink why you get to right dose , I know the downs can be a but hard at first and a beer could chill you out it take the edge off but its all part of getting the right dose and your body used to the meds
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andres
Member's posted somewhat
Posts: 52
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Post by andres on Jul 20, 2014 15:56:40 GMT
Thanks for the advice grumpy - taken on board. It's been a bit up and down all week, glad to hear the anxiety calms down because it's quite bad at times! Worse than without the meds. Have been on 18mg twice daily since Friday after speaking to the psych, things better on the come down anxiety side of things, but the good effect of the MPH is definitely subsiding; I guess you always feel it more for the first few days. Will put up a full report when things have settled.
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Post by grumpy on Jul 20, 2014 17:00:07 GMT
Hi yes first few days you might aswel chuck out the window there's far to many ups and downs. I always right the first week off as a getting them used to them even on good days.
I not been on the concerta that long I was on the fast release ones and I was all over the place with anxiety on and off as just as the meds kick in and you get used to it they stop and you crash it was 3 times a day and doing my nut in haha.
Since starting the concerta I'm finding it much smoother and not clock watching but I will admit I am having a little anxiety why on the them but that's only as I started something new the effects and the way they work seem much smoother and better.
I also found my anxiety was worst on the lowest dose then each time it gets put up you get anxiety thinking it will get worst but in fact it then gets better.
I told my pysch a few times my anxiety felt bad but hey said I will have to suffer it and it will pass and it is slowly last week they was well shocked in my progress but then I started concerta lol so I started to worry a little
But the anxiety on a crash is madness and your mind doing over time , racing thoughts etc. That's why I have 15mg of fast release in case of a crash like that if I did not have them I would not sleep and be fidgeting with anxiety lol and racing thoughts keeping me up till 6am
Just try your best to get in a routine I'm on 54mg concerta then 15mg fast release at night but still having to take the concerta at mid day or later to get a full day on meds so I am ADHD minded all morning which is bad very bad but I do think my next dose of 72mg concerta and a 15mg at night will do the trick but still early days on this dose.
Just bare with it each dose at first I thought not much more or I don't mind waiting master in the day too take it but that's not right you want to be better on meds 100% so its inportant to get the right dose. You should not have to feel like you in a bad way at the end of the day.
Just bare with it each time you find things get better slowly but remember there will be bad days still when they happen and you crash and anxiety hits you hard.
Are you doing any vitamins ? Might sound a little funny but when I first started meds I was all over the place with meal times sleep and whast food I was eating but soon as I got my sleep , eating and started taking vitamins things are getting better slowly it could just be in my mind and that I'm used to the side effects now but really since doing the above things have got better.
Vitamins I'm taking first thing before meds are multivitamins ( bit if everything ) then zinc , magnesium and omega 3 fish oil. Only cost me about £6 for over a months worth and you never know it could be that helping.
Don't think I'm 100% stable on meds though far from it only been on them a a little while but I can set progress now not just from the good effects as they was always there but from the bad things and its only been last few weeks the bad things are slowly and I do mean very slowly getting better.
When I started meds I thought great pop a few pills and no more ADHD I thought great a few weeks to get stable and im happy hahaha but then I found out on here its not that simple can take months to get stable if not longer and then once the meds stop working you go back to your normal way but it feels 10000000% worst then ever as you have had that little break then your crashing at the same time and anxiety kicks in. Its not a nice thing once you start meds and it gos back to normal and you think that's how you have been all them lodst years.
My other half now when I get up and am on one ( as she calls it ) or ADHD mode knows once I start meds it will be a better day lol when the meds switch off at night I understand what she put up with for over 10 years as i cant handle 1 hour if it now the poor cow haha
Sorry for the long message back but just wanted you to know your not alone on the bad things and if your like me they really wind you up as you can see the good and just want to get there , but it takes time as many on here have said to me in the past and they was right.
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andres
Member's posted somewhat
Posts: 52
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Post by andres on Jul 21, 2014 11:29:40 GMT
Cheers Grumpy At the moment, on this dose, my appetite is fine and I'm eating at normal times, but I'll definitely be getting some vitamins in. Totally cut out caffeine now as I think that may have been exacerbating the anxiety. Had a can of red bull the other night, stupid thing to do I know, and the anxiety was really bad on the come down! Have you tried splitting your dose so you have some in the morning and then some at 1/2 ish? Since I've been on 36mg, I've taken one at 8 and one at 2 and there doesn't seem to be a crash at the end, the odd hour or so of anxiety here and there but not a whole evening of it. This is only my fourth day at this does so who knows what it will be like in the next few days.
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Post by grumpy on Jul 21, 2014 15:46:47 GMT
Your mad drinking red bull hahaha
Make sure you do get the vitamins etc... And most if all routine !!!
I really don't like playing around with my meds my pysch is spot on I trust them with my life. I never went looking for ADHD as I did not know or belive it when into adulthood.
I had it as a kid and said it would grow out of me ( not much help back then ) so people just thought I was off my rocker lol
After seeing my pysch the first time and saying about my anxiety and crazy thinking they turned to my other half and said is he always like this and smiled ( I was fast talking , fidgeting , butting in talks , not taking in what they was saying ) when my other half said yes they asked about adhs in my family. When I said yes I had it as a kid ( did no it think to say it as if honest I forgot lol ) then I said my chilkd and over family members have it , thast was it a screening was set up.
For me over the years from age 16 to 29 I have gone doctors and mental health in other places I have lived and I have been told I have
PTSD
Anxiety due to taking drugs ( estacy and cannabis )
Anger problems
Etc.. Etc..
And other crazy things that did not make sense
I even flipped out at one doctor a nearly went for him when he told me I was just depressed I have never been depressed and he had the cheeck to tell me it was smoking fags ( as this was before I started drugs ) that I was over the top and tried to give me anti depression pills age 16
So my pysch now is spot on , on everything I never take more then they say and only when they say. I did say about splitting dose but they want me to stick on the 54mg then 15mg fast release at night to get to sleep.
We had a good talk and we both sort of belive / hope that next meet in 4 weeks once I'm settled on this dose , that a concerta 54mg in morning then a 27mg concerta in afternoon will get me stable on a normal day but I will have spare fast release 15mg just in case of the late nights out or early day starts.
For me at the start i could not see the end there was talks of trying different drug types dex etc.. ( if others did not work )
But now I can see the light and feel so close its great
But for me also eating is fine sleeping I need to be on them to sleep of my racing thoughts keep me up and I end up blasting the TV out to try and get a sleep for hours.
Only side effects that gets me a little via the nervous feeling , little bit of fidgeting , the no sound of racing thoughts in my head ( yes it dose freak me out a little having no racing thoughts or slowed down ) and of course the anxiety but over a few days it gets better then week by week better and better. But week 3 its just a case of sticking to routines.
Please keep this topic updated be nice to see how you get on
And go get some vitamins !!! And cut out the red bull haha !!!!!!!!!
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Post by supine on Jul 21, 2014 17:27:08 GMT
Hey andres, I take 54mg daily (36+18) and I have another 18mg on standby to have around lunch-time if I think I am going to need to be sharp in the evening, that works out pretty well for me. Mostly I just take the 54mg though. I too have cut out caffeine, it really does make me go into shaky overdrive mode - horrible. Now that I am totally settled on a doseage and have my life in some semblance of order, I can say that the things that really make a difference are routine, exercise and healthy eating (and cutting out the rubbish). If I need to work in London, I have to get up at 6am to travel in etc. If I'm working from home I still get up at 6am, but I use the time for something else, like going to the gym, watching a movie before anyone else is up, go for a swim, play some golf, read a book - and I still start work early and finish early It's very important to I get to sleep well before midnight too, preferably around 10pm. Life doesn't always line up like this of course, but if I use these timeframes as a basis I find I have a lot more time to do the things I enjoy, which has been a revelation to my over the last year!
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andres
Member's posted somewhat
Posts: 52
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Post by andres on Aug 1, 2014 9:12:48 GMT
Been away at a elongated wedding for the past week, it's been quite hard to not drink booze so consequently, unsure about how the meds are working. Thanks both, you words and advice are appreciated.
I've been on 36 in the morning and 18 at 2pm for a week now. Things have definitely settled down, very little anxiety and the effects of when the mph is working / not working is less distinct. My brain definitely seems calmer, and I can think things through in a more methodical way, but definitely feeling tired throughout the day now, and motivation is dropping. Past 7, thoughts become more disorganised and find it harder to extract things out of my memory. Think my dose is being upped again today so let's see what happens.
I now have a big pot of vitamins, Grumpy; I haven't had any yet, but they are there ready to be eaten!
Now to start forming a new routine!
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Post by grumpy on Aug 1, 2014 14:51:15 GMT
Very good on stocking up on the vitamins !!!
This might sound a little crazy but do your vitamins at night after the effects of the concerta dies downs , long story but I have had better effects of the meds doing this when I was doing everything at the same time meds did not feel as effective and crash was harder.
This might be silly thing to say but I did a little reading up and a fair few said the same on the net , doing them at night has been great.
Vitamins are so overlooked sometimes and a good point to start at I belive.
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