Get to know a drug: Concerta

First of all, I am not trying to attack Concerta's track record - I merely wish to give a little insight for parents or inexperienced teachers who have children and/or students on this type of medication. Alas, if it were not for Concerta, I probably would have left the teaching profession many years ago. Plus, I know that if it was not for this drug, and similar ones, some children would not be able to stay still long enough to learn anything.
Concerta helps many children to focus and eliminate distractions that would otherwise make it very difficult for them to learn in a structured environment. Concerta is for children and adults who suffer from AHDD and hypertension. There are two things that makes Concerta different and more attractive than other ADHD medications. For one, Concerta is a time-release pill. Meaning, the drug is released over time so it is supposed to last longer. The outer capsule is the immediate dose, followed by the inside of the pill, which slips through the blood brain barrier over time. The second thing is that this drug is a stimulant. How can a stimulant help someone who is already hyper? Amazingly, it has a calming effect on children who suffer from ADHD. Nobody knows how it actually works. One theory is that the brains of ADHD kids are so overloaded with hyperactivity that Concerta is too much for it to handle, so it crashes.
One thing that concerta.net says that I have to disagree with is that Concerta lasts all day long. I have found this not to be the case. I have had many students that took this drug and currently have three students who are on this drug. From my experience and observations, Even with a strong dose of Concerta, the drug is completely out of their system by noon. Say the parent gives the student the prescribed pill at 6:30 in the morning as they hop on the school bus. The drug will take about 45 minutes to kick in. So, let’s say the drug is completely in their system and is doing its job around 7:15 AM. Once lunch and recess are over it is about 12:45. By 12:45pm the drugs are no longer working and the problem behaviors come back with a vengeance (I have the behavior graphs to prove it). The problem got so bad with Ricky that we had to start giving him another dose of Concerta around 11 AM so that he would not be dancing on top of the cafeteria tables during lunch.
It does depend on the child, but most of the time Concerta will only last between four and five hours. Concerta pushers claim that one dose in the morning will continue working through the critical “homework” hours of 4 – 6 pm. That would be 12 hours. This is not the case for the children that I have known who took this drug.
Here are a two things that I think parents should know about this drug:

1) The students that I have known that have been on mid to high doses of Concerta often complain of stomach pain. Concerta.net claims that abdominal pain -as a side effect - only appeared in 5% of their tests.
2) Concerta will change your child’s personality once the drug takes effect. Hopefully these changes will be good changes. However, sometimes Concerta can make a child hollow and bland. It can turn a child who used to be glowing and alert into a gloomy and glazed-over one.