Posted: April 03 2006 at 12:43pm | IP Logged

I have a 7 yr. old diagnosed with mild autism and is very high functioning.  It has been recommeded for him to take Concerta to help him focus better.    Does anyone have experience with this medication on what type of side effects they saw and if it helped your child.  Also any tips on how to teach him to swallow this pill?

thanks

Posted: April 03 2006 at 7:33pm | IP Logged

we noticed our son anxiety level to be worse and was up alot during the night. We have had no problems w/ Straterra.

Good luck! keep us posted.

Posted: April 04 2006 at 1:56pm | IP Logged

Thanks for the input.  We will start this week practicing swalling by putting an M&M in a tablespoon of applesauce or yogurt to see if he can swallow the whole thing together.  Not sure whether to inform teachers ahead of time or not.  Dr. suggested we did so they can help keep a log on whether he improves or starts having side effects. 

txloly

Posted: April 06 2006 at 2:18pm | IP Logged

Why not start the meds on a weekend, then you can monitor for side effects.  In a busy class, a teacher may not notice the things that you would. 

Then on the Mon, send him in without notifying them of the change.  Later that day call, if you're worried, to check on how he's doing. 

Hope the meds help.  If they do, quality of life can be improved tremendously.

Posted: March 13 2007 at 7:29pm | IP Logged

My son is 6 1/2, and was misdiagnosed as moderately autistic by his school at around age 4 (he had chronic ear infections causing profound hearing loss, and never passed a hearing test, which I know is a diagnosis pre-requisite).  

Our pediatrician specializes in ADD/ADHD and was rather distressed at the schools' cavalier attitude - he said that he was more likely mild PDD, but that the speech delay from the hearing loss was a big factor.    He started our son on morning Concerta in late October 2006 and there was an almost overnight improvement, although we noted the weight loss initially as well.  As time progressed, he added Strattera before bed in late December/early January 2007, and the mix of the two has been such that he predicts there will be no apparent deficit by age 8 to 8 1/2.  Additionally, his appetite is back to normal, and his weight loss stopped (although he does sleep more lightly than before).

As the pediatrician explained it to us, the Concerta helps stimulate construction of the neural network (I asked if it was like forcing the nerves to bridge across any lesions in the brain, and he agreed that's a good analogy) so that development was more consistent, rather than coming in fits & spurts.  The addition of the Strattera, he said, helps him to "organize" things better.  Before Concerta, he was more disassociated, and let schoolwork "pass him by".  With Concerta he was more aware that he was missing things, and getting frustrated that he HAD missed them.  Adding the Strattera helps him better focus and "cope."

Our pediatrician also commented that a California university (Irving?) was starting a study on these various meds, and he laughed that they should have come to him, because he has years of data he could drop in their laps!

On the swallowing issue, we've been very lucky that he swallows the pill whole very easily, and in fact is now functioning well enough that he knows which is his Concerta and which is his Strattera, and he brings US the appropriate bottle for his morning or evening dosage!

Posted: April 13 2007 at 11:48am | IP Logged

Dear Iansdad,

Our son is on Concerta he is 61/2yrs old he has been on it for almost a year. At first we were happy our son was doing well. Then about 6mnths into it he started not listening very distracted unfocused, refusing to work or avoiding work. He is mild PDD/ADHD he is mainstreamed 1st grade. We went back to our dx and he increased meds due to our son's weight(he is naturally a big boy) from 36mgs to the 54mgs Now he is on Rispodal at night .5mgs to help with anxiety aggression and frustration he has only been on it for a week. My concern is that I feel the Concerta is not working at its best anymore. How is the Straterra I have heard that side affects strong ones are tics, violent behaviors coming out. Have youheard or experienced any of these?

Nicole

Posted: April 13 2007 at 12:01pm | IP Logged

My son, Sean, who has ADHD and is being tested for autism, has been on Concerta for 3 years.  He is 12 now.  When he started taking medication, he started with Strattera and it didn't work.  Then we switched him to Adderral and it seemed to work for a while.  We took him off of it because he lost 20 pounds at the age of 8-9 years old.  He was also itching his nose and had dark circles under his eyes.  They said the itching was from the medication- when it was wearing off.  Now- the Concerta seems to be working a little.  He can focus more than he could before.  And now that his body is getting "used" to it- he is gaining weight little by little.  We do have to keep upping the dose though.  It is so tricky with drugs.  Oh ya- and if he takes it past 6 am- he is up all night- like until 2 or 3 am.

On a side note- but totally relevant- my autistic son, Eric, had his 3 year testing done and we had the meeting for it today.  They were talking about how he doesn't have the ability to stay focused and he is impulsive.  It sounded exactly why we put Sean on meds.  So we will be discussing it with the Drs and start the process of finding the right meds for him too- I think.  Best wishes to you and take care.

MommaNiki

Posted: April 20 2007 at 9:43am | IP Logged

My son is 10, almost 11, and has been on Concerta for a few years.  It has been a miracle medication for us, and I can't imagine him NOT taking it now.  We tried Strattera, and it was a nightmare for us.  It just didn't work at all.  He had also been on regular Ritalin before, but as most of you know, it wears off quickly and the child can experience drastic changes between doses if it's not timed perfectly.

Concerta works perfect for us.  We haven't had any noticable side effects or issues with it.  Oh, there is one thing..... Concerta's release takes a while initially to take effect.  It has a slower release time initially and increases as the day goes on.  This did cause a problem for my son who was required to be focused first thing in the morning upon arriving to school.  The medicine hadn't really gotten into his system and taken effect by that time.  To solve that problem, his psychiatrist dosed him with a low-dose of Ritalin early in the morning, which takes effect fast and wears off about the same time that the Concerta is hitting its peak.  It works perfect. 

Posted: February 11 2008 at 3:44pm | IP Logged

We just went to the new doc today, and although he and we are sort of on the fence (between attention deficit and obsessing about tv, computer, songs), we are having a go at Straterra.

Straterra is supposed to be a 'tweener, in that it IS built for attention issues but is not a stimulant like Ritalin, Methylin, Adderall, etc.  We tried two forms of Methylin - the stimulant with the least side effects - but it sort of strips Cole of his personality.  Little zombie boy.

Straterra is a tri cyclic antidepressant, and should help with some of the self stim and obsessions towards replaying movies in his head.

Anybody have anything good or bad to report from personal experience?  Many thanks!!!!!