Advise about Concerta and addiction?

[Dvussmile]

My 17yr old daugher is a recovering Meth addict, she is also trying to deal with ADD. Her doctor recently changed her medication to Concerta (methylphenidate). Is this a form of Meth?

My concern is that in the past week her deminor has completly changed, almost like she is on Meth again. (we know for a fact she isn't) She has no highs or lows, no reaction to anything around her and no motivation for anything.

What if any is an acceptable medication to help her with the ADD? At this point I don't what to do to help her!

[angela20377]

hmm well, i'm guessing the above posts didn't provide too much help.
swim has dealt with meth addiction before and although I don't know how long its been since swiy's daughter has done meth, the last thing a doctor should be feeding a recovering meth addict is any kind of amphetamine-based medication. (concerta) methylphenidate is closely related, and often produces some of the same effects as amphetamines. for alot of people including swim, methylphenidates like ritalin or especially concerta (which is time released) makes them edgy and uncomfortable.
the only non-stimulant form of add medication that I know about is strattera but honestly, meth addiction is already an uphill battle and giving swiy's daughter any form of stimulant medication is just doing to make recovery more difficult in swim's opinion (and experience).
i sincerely hope that the doctor didn't know about the meth when he switched her to concerta because that seems to be really, really stupid to put a kid on a close relative of the drug they've been struggling to kick. there seems to be a communication problem with the doctor if a parent is having to come to an online forum to get this kind of important information. (no offense meant to you)

god, america's health care system is fucked up(sorry this isn't the first time swim has heard of this happening with a doctor, and its really struck a nerve this time)

Reputation Comments on this post:

Good advice!

[Lehendakari]

I agree with Angela, tell the doctor about her previous meth addiction and if he knows it already, go to another doctor.

On the other hand, the fact that your daughter doesn't have motivation could be caused by the addiction itself. When you quit any drug you've been heavily addicted to you are in a state of anhedonia, emptyness, craving and dysphoria. She has to find her way to enjoy life without meth and that isn't an easy task.

Quitting meth is very hard and it can take years to overcome cravings and be normal again.

As angela said, I would avoid medication for ADD as most are stimulants, I suggest you discuss with her doc about alternative ways to treat ADD. If your doc insist on medication, modafinil (provigil) and atomoxetine (strattera) are proved to be non addictive compared to other ADD medication

[Myzel]

Sound just like she is acting exactly how she should be when coming off Meth. Swim is not sure about her doctors intentions in prescribing her a stimulant but as you can see on the directions that came with the medication it says to talk to your doctor about history of drug abuse. So swim would make sure the doctor is aware. If the doctor is aware of the her situation it might not be a bad idea to get a second or third opinion.

Originally Posted by Lehendakari

Quitting meth is very hard and it can take years to overcome cravings and be normal again.

Yes staying clean is possible and worth it..

[oxycontinuosly]

adderrall is a 4 salt amphetamine that is way more efective than ritalinthey are expensive if you dont have coverage so ya aderrall [paris hilton woulda never made it out of jail if sh wasnt loaded on adderall and thats from her mouth

[oxycontinuosly]

dvussmile there are many alternative to ritalin...theres dexedrine..same stuff the air force gives to pilots keeps you alert and interested concerta

[Myzel]

Originally Posted by oxycontinuosly

dvussmile there are many alternative to ritalin...theres dexedrine..same stuff the air force gives to pilots keeps you alert and interested concerta

Um correct swim if he is wrong but swim thought the point of this thread was to get someone off and away from Amphetamine like substances..

[angela20377]

haha well dexedrine is definatly not a step in the right direction because if swim recalls correctly, dexedrine is pharmaceutical grade methamphetemine.
and as for strattera and other meds of the sort, swim believes that no medication would be better than strattera as it makes her groggy, unmotivated and somewhat delirious.. but everyone responds differently..

[Myzel]

Dexedrine is acually dexamphetemine not Meth. Either way . I yes swim agrees that no medication is better than that nasty Strattera ugh yuck.

[angela20377]

oops, i knew that didn't sound completely accurate. sometimes i think there should be an anti-strattera subforum on the amph forum, so we can all express our disgust with strattera and warn poor souls who are instructed to take it. (just kidding..sort of..)

[highganja99]

Concerta is a good ADD drug generally as it warrants less potential for abuse intranasally and by IV (IV would probably end up in death or at least life threatening consequences.)
Oral there is potential for abuse if the spansule (tablet, capsule) is chewed instead of swallowed as 12 hours of dose is release instantly, although not a large enough dose to do real harm, it still is more likely to cause addiction. Concerta contains methylphenidate, its effects are similar to amphetamines but most SWIY's on this forum will protest that spped and ritalin have small similarities but large differences in effects. methylphenidate is not structurally similar to amphetamines as its base structure is piperidine derived not like the amphetamine structure. it may be good SWIY's daughter is taking concerta, it will quell any cravings for meth while not causing a high, also (this is a long shot) methylphenidate may change the buzz from meth or completely kill it for her as methylphenidate reduces the amount of dopamine receptors it the brain over time (Peter Breggin's Book on Ritalin Says This) therefore it is logical that less meth reaches the receptors, so get less high from meth, the unfortunate consequence could be that if meth is used three times as much will be needed for her to acheive the same effects as before.