Description
Advantages
Longest acting of the oral meds (with exception of Jornay), “smoother” effect throughout the day. An excellent choice to initiate first-time treatment of ADHD. Generic often covered by
insurance, and the generic from Patriot is exactly the same as the brand, but significantly cheaper. It is necessary
to specify “generic from Patriot” (see below).
Disadvantages
Moderately expensive.
Excerpt from the book: ADHD Medications: Does It Work and Is It Save? Available on Amazon
Ritalin LA was good as a long-acting medication for ADHD, but in 2000, Concerta was released by Janssen Pharmaceuticals. It was a game changer. Three years after its release, Concerta accounted for 26 percent of all medications prescribed for ADHD.
Concerta is a long-acting preparation of methylphenidate, and although it only lasts a few hours longer than Ritalin LA, those few hours make all the difference. Ritalin LA lasts about eight hours, but Concerta lasts about 10–11 hours. That means that a dose of Ritalin LA given at 7 a.m. will wear off around 2 or 3 p.m., whereas Concerta will last until 4 or 5 p.m. No longer would you have to worry about your child getting medication at school. Concerta instead will be wearing off around dinnertime, allowing appetite to return. And Concerta wears off gradually, so that emotional lability is much less likely or even absent. Concerta is ideal for this situation because a second dose is usually not needed.
Concerta extends the medication time duration in a way like no other medication. In order to achieve this extended-release effect, Concerta uses a unique technology called osmotic-controlled release oral delivery system (OROS):
