Concerta and Anger: What Users Say

• rai...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 10, 2025

For ADHD "I want to make sure everyone here gets to see this medication from a teenage girl’s view, that's why I'm writing this. Many parents look pleased with their child obeying them when they started the medication, but they don't know what that child feels inside; let me tell you. They feel nothing. Concerta is a type of drug that helps the brain ignore feelings and focus more. Your child isn't healed; they just don't feel. I have been using this drug for over two months now; I started on 28 mg and now I am taking 36 mg. Yes, it helps improve your classes and other things, but I don't think that matters unless you don't feel anything. I am having horrible side effects like weight loss, aggressiveness, and more. But most importantly for me, I can't eat. I can't eat anything I used to love, and I feel terrible. The drug may work for you, but when your child uses this, I think you should have a talk with them about their feelings; they will tell you if they can find one ;)"

• Los...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 5, 2017

For ADHD "I have been taking Strattera 60 mg for 6 months and am a male that weighs 185 lbs and is 6 ft 2 in. The ATX (Strattera) was not enough to help my severe unmotivation. I recently added Concerta (Alza 18 mg generic) to my medications, and it has helped dramatically. Like a pair of eyeglasses, I can now 'see' my life in a better light. It will not get your work done for you, nor will it solve all of your issues that you may have, but it will make life a lot easier to live. Instead of always worrying and being behind, I can get what is really important done and get to what is important another day. My mood has not been bad, my driving is less road rageish. I'm a lot less stressed out and anxious. I'm blessed to get help at age 22. I am doing well."

• Wha...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 27, 2014

For ADHD "My 13-year-old son and 9-year-old daughter both have been diagnosed with ADHD. I, nor my husband, could wrap our minds around our kids taking medicine, but were forced to give it a try. My son started taking Concerta when he was in 4th grade, and my daughter started taking Vyvanse in the 3rd grade. The results were amazing! Their handwriting went from sloppy to super neat, reading skills increased, grades were mostly A's... and many more great results! The bad part about the pills is that they have so many side effects that were making them seem like totally different people! They were skinny, depressed, had insomnia, headaches, twitching, and were angry. We withdrew both from public school and started homeschool. Now learning at our own pace!"

• nit...
• December 8, 2009

For ADHD "This medication has made a huge improvement for my son. He is doing better in school and has no side effects, which is a major plus to me. No mood swings, fits of rage, or emotional meltdowns. I would recommend trying this medication to anyone."

• arh...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• July 17, 2015

For ADHD "I absolutely love this medication for my ADHD and as a mood stabilizer. It works wonders with little to no side effects. Coming down from it in the evenings is another story. My coming down period sucks as I just get consumed with rage."

• A...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 16, 2013

For ADHD "My daughter has A.D.D., so we tried Concerta. At first it was fine, I thought there was hope for my daughter, but after two months, my daughter started to get angry and really bad mood swings-super emotional. She told me when she's at school she wanted to scream and yell. She wanted to throw things. She didn't. My daughter is very quiet and shy and keeps to herself. I am so happy I took her off of it."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 30, 2013

For ADHD "This was a miracle that at first changed my life. I went from being always late for work, nearly losing my job to super mom! My brain was on 24/7 and never switched off. It helped me come out of my shell and be more social, more verbal at work. Excelled at work, at home I sucked! I lacked emotional judgment, was very aggressive, and easily ticked off. I became obsessive-compulsive, I would lose my mind if anything was out of place. Three years later, I just stopped cold turkey as being a super mom was just not worth it anymore. I quit my job, and my family must just accept me for who I am. I lack focus and daydream and forget to sign kids' homework, but I am me."

• 83n...
• February 28, 2013

For ADHD "First couple of days, it was working well, then I started noticing mood swings, insomnia, anxiety, anger, agitation. On top of that, lack of energy and a sore throat. It's okay, but not worth all these side effects."

• Ang...
• May 9, 2011

For ADHD "My son has been on Concerta for about 4 years now. He started when he was 6 years and will be 11 years in 2 weeks. He was put on this medicine starting with 18 mg. Over time, he was gradually put on a higher dose as his age and weight increased. He is now on 54 mg. Since my son has been on this medicine, he has developed seizures because Concerta lowers the seizure threshold. He was diagnosed last year, 2010. He has paranoia, fearfulness, psychosis, headaches, nervousness, aggression, mood swings, trouble going to sleep, and doesn't want to eat a lot. He has had suicidal thoughts and depression."

• pos...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 28, 2019

For ADHD "I started taking Concerta due to being diagnosed with ADD. I started off at 18 mg, and I could see a bit of a difference when it came to reading, writing, and focusing on what people were saying in conversations. It also helped with some of my impulsivity, like shopping and binge eating. At my next psychiatrist appointment, we upped the dose to 36 mg. BIG MISTAKE. Since I’m bipolar as well, it sent me into a dysphoric hypomanic episode. I would get angry at everything around me and pick things apart that people would say (it’s almost like a bad PMS episode, lol). This med works, just be cautious if you’re bipolar."

• Anonymous
• November 14, 2012

For ADHD "I have been taking Concerta for ADHD about 3 months now. The effects have been both positive and negative. I started off with 36 mg, and my grades were increasing rapidly, and I was more focused, but I started to become more antisocial, angry, I didn't have an appetite, I had sleeping problems, and depression. Then, about two weeks ago, I switched to 54 mg due to lack of focus, and my stomach has been troubling me. I'm having twitching problems, and I am hearing voices."

• Anonymous
• November 14, 2012

For ADHD "I have been taking Concerta for ADHD about 3 months now. The effects have been both positive and negative. I started off with 36 mg, and my grades were increasing rapidly, and I was more focused, but I started to become more antisocial, angry, I didn't have an appetite, I had sleeping problems, and depression. Then, about two weeks ago, I switched to 54 mg due to lack of focus, and my stomach has been troubling me. I'm having twitching problems, and I am hearing voices."

• Anonymous
• September 3, 2009

For ADHD "My son was prescribed the drug just before summer. It worked great at the beginning, but now since school has started, the drug is not working. He is very moody, impulsive, short-tempered, sad, and depressed. This is not my son. I also have a friend whose son is also on it and is doing great. It may be worth a try, just watch for the side effects."

• Sta...
• September 27, 2011

For ADHD "My experience with Concerta was unbelievable. I started getting hostile with everyone, banging things, flipping things, and throwing things. I had to have the police and EMT come take me to the hospital."

• Joh...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 14, 2017

For ADHD "I was prescribed this by my doctor, and it was terrible. I stopped taking it after 5 days because my doctor told me to. It made me angry all the time. It did not help my concentration. Also, 3 days after taking it, I still have shortness of breath, my heart is still beating hard, and the left part of my chest has immense pressure on it. I'm never taking this stuff again. Trust me, nobody needs it."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 14, 2015

For ADHD "I don't feel right, I can't focus, I don't want to work out, which I love to do. I don't want to drum, which I love doing too. I felt great on Biphentin, despite the anger. I tried Concerta for a day and hated it."

• LHJ...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 26, 2022

For ADHD "The first day on Concerta was amazing. I was able to focus more on my homework and felt happy and full of energy. After the first day, it still worked, but just not as much in terms of focusing on homework. But now I am starting to notice that the comedowns are really bad, just feelings of depression and unhappiness, and it doesn't work as well as it did the first day with focusing on homework. It also causes me to hyper-focus on things even when they cause me anger or distress. I don't think this is the medication for me, but I would recommend giving it a go if recommended by your psychiatrist."

• Nel...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 28, 2013

For ADHD "Flattening out the dosage peaks as these occur with Ritalin is a pleasant experience, reducing fatigue and also the moments per day being confronted with a chronic condition. Most notable side effect was extreme agitation, forcing me to quit the usage."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 10 years or more
• December 7, 2015

For ADHD "The only reason I gave Concerta a 2 and not a 0 was because when I didn't take it for two days, I could feel myself going through withdrawal. I would begin to feel tired, annoyed, and angered easily, some headaches, and so on. I have been on Concerta for about 13 years, and even with it in my system, I still struggled in school. At first, they had me on smaller doses, but they had to be increased. I've been taking 108 mg each morning, and the only thing that I have noticed a difference in is the withdrawal I go through, which can be helped by drinking coffee. By the way, I'm currently on the drug right now, and I'm supposed to be studying for my Spanish exam that I have this afternoon. So if that doesn't tell you something, then idk what will."

• Pai...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 11, 2017

For ADHD "My son, 11, had been on Concerta for two years. We took him off of this med because he was getting very aggressive, with me and his siblings, and also kept saying he was going to kill himself."

• Anonymous
• October 9, 2011

For ADHD "My 9-year-old was doing very well, but then became overly aggressive. We are temporarily taking him off to evaluate. But he was doing better in school, sports, and socially."