ADHD Medication Side Effects

Short Term Concerta Side Effects

The information on Concerta’s side effects come from the clinical trails undertaken during the approval process for its use an ADHD medication. It was tested on over 2100 people, some of whom were healthy adults but most were patients diagnosed with ADHD.

In a four week trial of children, the following Concerta side effect were reported. The percentages indicate the number of patients reporting side effects whilst on Concerta and those reporting side effects whilst (unknowingly) on a placebo.

Headache 14% / 10%

Abdominal pain (stomachache) 7% / 1%

Vomiting 4% / 3%

Anorexia (loss of appetite) 4% / 0%

Nervous Dizziness 2% / 0%

Insomnia 4% / 1%

Upper Respiratory Tract Infection 8% / 5%

Cough Increased 4% / 2%

Pharyngitis 4% / 3%

Sinusitis 3% / 0%

Trials on adolescents found a very similar level of Concerta side effects to the trials on children. One notably difference is that a notably increase in accident injury occurring when on medication compared to the placebo ( 6% to 3% ). This may indicate that heightened energy levels and improved concentration may cause adolescents to take part in new, higher risk activities.

Long Term Side Effects of Concerta

Unlike comparable drugs such as Ritalin or Adderall there is useful information on the long term side effects of Concerta. In two trails (one involving just children and the second a mixture of children, adolescents and adults) 6.7% of the patients discontinued using the drug because of side effects with insomnia being the leading cause.

One of the Concerta side effects reported in long term studies was facial tics. After an average of 7 months of treatment one study of 682 children found that 1% of patients developed facial tics. In a second study lasting 27 months, 9% of patients had developed tics.

In common with other stimulant medication there is a danger of patient’s abusing the drug. Patients with a history of drug or alcohol should not be prescribed Concerta. There has also been concerns that long-term use of ADHD medication in childhood may make patients more liable to legal and illegal stimulant use in adulthood.

Side Effects

Because of its long history as an ADHD medication Ritalin has not gone through the same testing and approving process required by more modern drugs such as Adderall and Concerta. Unlike those drugs, a detailed breakdown of Ritalin’s side effects is not included in the labeling information. However as Ritalin is the poster-child of the ADHD medication debate it has been widely studied.

A four week study into Ritalin’s side effects in children compared to a placebo treatment found that insomnia, appetite disturbance, stomachaches, headaches and dizziness all significantly increased when using the drug.

Another study looking and the side effects of Ritalin and Dexedrine found that the ’side effects’ reported for the medication were more frequent and more severe before the use of Ritalin started. Only in appetite problems were the Ritalin side effects worse than those reported before the medication started.

Some mental health problems can arise as a side effect of Ritalin. Hallucinations, delusional thinking, or mania in children and adolescents without a prior history of psychotic illness or mania can be caused by Ritalin at its usual doses. In short-term trials 0.1% of patients reported mental health problems compared to 0% of patients receiving a placebo.

Contraindications

Contraindications are signs or symptoms that medication should not be prescribed or taken rather than specific Ritalin side effects. The most worrying of these is the potential fatal effect it can have on patients with structural heart problems. It is not clear if or how Ritalin effects these problems but there have been a handful of cases where Ritalin users with heart defects have died suddenly.

In common with most stimulants Ritalin should not be taken by patients with motor tics or with a family history or diagnosis of Tourette’s syndrome. A side effect of Ritalin is to aggravate those symptoms.

Long Term Ritalin Side Effects

Does Ritalin have any long term side effect? We don’t know. Despite Ritalin being prescribed to patients for months or years at a time. The manufacturers have never run any long-term studies to establish Ritalin’s effectiveness or safety. However some evidence of Ritalin side effects over the extended usage has been found.

One area that has been a studied is whether stunted growth is a Ritalin side effect. On average, a total of about 2 cm less growth in height and 2.7 kg less growth in weight over 3 years. It is recommend that children taking Ritalin have their height and weight monitored.

There is also concern that long-term use of stimulants can lead to drug dependence. This is not a specific Ritalin side effect but a problem that effects all stimulant medications. Care should be given when prescribing Ritalin to people with a history of drug or alcohol abuse. There is some evidence that suggests that extend Ritalin use can lead to problems with cocaine use in later life.

Side Effects

Adderall’s side effects, or contraindications as they are properly known, identified in the drug trials are in most cases mild and relatively infrequent. During Adderall’s drug trials poor appetite, stomachaches, and insomnia were the generally reported side effects by parents but headaches were rated notably more significant when children were receiving higher doses of Adderall.

The frequency of these side effects do vary from trial to trial depending on dose and age of the participants. In trials on children, loss of appetite occurred 10 more often as an Adderall side effect than the placebo or chance frequency. It affected 22% of those taking Adderall. Insomnia was seven or eight times more likely and affected 17% of those on the drug. In adults headaches were twice as frequent (26% of users) and loss of appetite ten times more likely (33% of users).

The data doesn’t reveal how many users suffered multiple side effects but at least 20% of all users of Adderall suffer a side effect and it could be 40% or more.

Adverse Events

An adverse event is a significant change in health whilst taking the medication. These may not be an Adderall’s side effect but if it occurred during a clinical trial it has to be recorded. Generally an adverse event is serious enough to cause the patient to stop taking the medicine. Often these events are unrelated to the drug being tested. During two trials of Adderall, 2.4% of participants stop taking the medication due to adverse events but 2.7% of the patients receiving the placebo dropped out because of them.

In larger trials where Adderall was assessed for side effects over longer-term usage the adverse events were:

Half of these patients had been taking Adderall for 12 months or more.

Other Long Term Health Risks

In addition to trial data, longitudinal studies and individual reports by doctors have indicated other Adderall side effects.

Psychosis is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state in which thought and perception are severely impaired. Persons experiencing a psychotic episode may experience hallucinations. Amphetamines (one of Adderall ingredients) have been known to amplify exisiting psychosis. It is unclear if long term usage will cause psychosis in a previously healthy patient.

As Adderall is a relatively new drug, the longer term effects are not known but some data has indicated that it and other stimulants may stunt growth. Other research suggests that children with ADHD are more at risk of stunted growth generally.

Sudden death in Adderall users is linked to those with patients with existing heart problems. Only twenty five patients have died after taking any form of ADHD medication and many of these may not be connected to the medication.

Addicition, Withdraw and the Central Nervous System

Long term use of amphetamines generally leads to the body building up a tolerance to the drug. This forces doctors to prescribe higher dosages or switch the patient to other, possibly less suitable, medications. The constant stimulation of the central nervous system may lead to dependence on the drug with severe problems when the drug is stopped. Long term usage may also increase the chance of cocaine addiction, a stimulant similar to amphetamine.

Adderall Use, Abuse & Addiction

Addicted To Adderall

Ritalin and Cocaine Addiction

ADD / ADHD Medication