My 9 year old started 18mg of concerta 3 weeks ago. Since he has been on it he has not been able to fall asleep before 11, a few nights midnight. He hasn’t been on electronics for a month. Any suggestions to help him to fall asleep at a reasonable time? He loves how he feels throughout the day and at school but in the morning he calls the pill a monster because he can’t sleep.
At what time of day does he take his medicine?
Concerta will keep him awake while it’s in his system (12h for my formulation) - this is a common side effect as it’s also used for narcolepsy.
I also found with my daughter that she had a huge problem falling asleep for the first week because the medicine had worn off. All of the wild thoughts came back and she had trouble clearing her mind.
After an adjustment period, it was all better!