Posted by fachad on January 17, 2002, at 8:12:14
In reply to Stopping Concerta _ Side effects, posted by Stewart on January 16, 2002, at 16:29:26
First, you are taking an extremely high dose of Concerta! Whoa, 72mg 2X day= 144mg/day.
Are you taking two 36 mg pills in the morning and then two in the afternoon?
(FYI, my insurance BC/BS will only pay for ONE Concerta tablet per day, regardless of how the doc writes the script. Arrgh.)
Anyway, Concerta, which is methylphenidate is not physically addicting like SSRIs or benzos. You will not have horrible miserable "discontinuation symptoms" like the flu or shocks like you get when you stop SSRIs.
You will not have convulsions like if you stop benzos. You may feel somewhat down and lethargic, but it is nowhere near as serious as stopping something like Effexor or Paxil.
I know this from first hand experience of abruptly quitting Concerta (54mg/day) several times and from quitting Effexor, Zoloft, and others.
Because you dose is so high, you would probably do better to taper. Gradually reduce your dose and see how you do at each step down, and use that info to determine when and how much your next step down is.
If you are taking 2 36mg tabs twice a day, you could start taking 2 36mg tabs in the morning and just one 36mg tab in the afternoon.
Try that for a week and if you are doing OK, then start taking one 36mg in the morning and one 36mg in the afternoon. Do that for a week. Then just one in the morning for a week, then none.
Or you may find that the medication is helpful, without oppressive side effects, at at lower dose.
I'm NOT a Breggan disciple, but his book Your Drug May be Your Problem has good advice on how to reduce dosages or quit psych drugs with minimal suffering.
> I am on multiple meds for depression and various mood disorders. I am taking 72 MG of Concerta twice a day. I need to stop. The medication is too much for me. I don't trust my present doctor. How can I safely wean myself off WITHOUT the use of additional meds like sedatives and minimizing withdrawal and mood shifts. Would Neurontin be helpful? This stuff is awful for me and I must stop taking it. any relevant experience or suggestions would be apreciated.
poster:fachad
thread:90507
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020116/msgs/90586.html