So in the ADHD group chat I run I often have people ask about meds. I have taken Concerta for the past 3 years, and I have learned a LOT. I find a lot of people (including me!!!) have issues with it. I wanted to share some information with y’all that are prescribed it.

Now, this is all subjective!! This is what I PERSONALLY have learned whilst taking it. All the doctor said to me was “take this in the morning” and I was sent on my merry way. It made me ill, it made me faint, I even ended up in the hospital.

However, Concerta XL is one of the few ADHD meds available in the UK, and when it worked for me, it REALLY worked. So I knew I had to figure out how to get it to work for me consistently. Here is everything I’ve learned in shoehorned Twitter thread format.

WHAT TO EAT BEFOREHAND.

The way your body reacts to your meds when you have and haven’t eaten is very different. Think of the food in your stomach as “eating into” the meds. If you’ve had a big heavy breakfast and take your meds right away, you might feel as if you haven’t taken them at all.

However, as the meds take away your appetite, eating nothing isn’t a good idea either as you’re likely to feel the effects of low blood sugar later in the day (and yet you still may not be hungry, which can make it difficult to pull yourself out of that space).

Best thing to do is to try and visualise in your head when you feel the food you’ve eaten has started to digest (as gross as that may sound) and take your meds then. For me, I’ll wait about 20 minutes after eating breakfast before taking them. That timing seems to work for me.

None of this information was ever known by doctors. They said to eat beforehand and take meds right away, but if I had followed that instruction completely, the meds get “absorbed” by my meal, and they don’t kick in at all. The day is wasted.

WAITING FOR THEM TO KICK IN

Now, you have about 15/20 minutes until the meds will kick in. This time is very important. You need to spend this time making sure you are setting up your day for success.

Think of ADHD meds like the accelerator on a car. They will give you the boost you need, but they CANNOT steer you!

In simple terms, when the meds kick in, you may suddenly become very productive at the task you’re currently doing. If I’m playing a video game when my meds kick in, and don’t immediately change course..... welp I’m gonna be very good at playing Pokémon that day.

Come up with an idea for what you want to “use your ADHD meds for” as it were.

Do you want to get some housework done? Find your cleaning supplies whilst they kick in.

Do your homework? Turn on your computer.

Have that idea in your head, and be ready to transition to that.

I often will take my meds as I’m going into the shower, so that by the time I come out I have to get dressed and start doing stuff.

If I take them when I’m snuggled in bed with a messy cold house then I may not actually get up and sort the house out, and will find myself using my “meds acceleration” to do tasks from my iPad in bed (such as typing this all up instead of doing housework, oops).

HAVE MY MEDS KICKED IN?

It seems obvious; you take meds, then they work. Unfortunately stimulants can be finicky buggers and sometimes I find they don’t work for me as they should. This is how you’ll know they’re working.

It normally takes about 20 minutes.

ADHD meds kicking in feels like your head is a computer, and it’s booting up out of sleep mode.

I also feel the need to talk about Suddenly Important Topics. Today when mine kicked in I phoned someone to tell them about an amazing movie I watched and stayed on the phone until she’d downloaded it. As I said, you have to be careful which direction you steer yourself in.

I sometimes also get (weirdly enough) a sudden wave of love, like I have to give someone a deep and meaningful compliment. I have no idea why this happens, maybe my inhibitions lowering for 5 mins? Who knows. But that’s a good indicator for me.

As for the physical sensation, (gross, but very important) there’s a sudden need to go to the bathroom - the meds have a laxative effect. Be prepared for this. Don’t take the meds and then go out. Take them, wait for the bathroom break, and then go out.

For me personally, if this laxative effect doesn’t kick in, it means the meds probably haven’t really worked for me well that day. I may have eaten too much beforehand or maybe had a bad nights sleep (which also impacts it for me).

ADHD meds not working consistently is something very frustrating for you and those around you. This sucks, but it’s just something that happens. Do NOT take more.

You also may find they unexpectedly kick in hours later. For me, this is accompanied with another bathroom break.

THE MEDS WEARING OFF

This is the part that makes or breaks the rest of your day. For me, the meds wear off a few hours later, about 4. This may be longer or shorter for you, depending on your metabolism. They’re MEANT to last 8 hours, but not a hope in hell for me. I need to plan my day around this.

If you haven’t eaten much that day, you may suddenly feel very dizzy. You need to find something sugary to eat or drink, and then eat something proper. It’ll be hard cause you still might not be hungry, but you HAVE to. This feeling won’t go away otherwise.

I learned this all the HARD WAY. I wasted a whole year of literally being unable to function after 4pm because I was so dizzy and lightheaded, even ended up in the hospital. I make sure to eat and drink now at the right time and I’m much better. No issues anymore.

You may find your meds wear off naturally and you have no issue. Lucky fucker. But it’s best to be prepared just in case they don’t, especially if you haven’t experienced it before.

What can also happen when they wear off is irritability. I’ll get very pissy around the same time, and those around me know it’s just a temporary side effect of my meds and to get me some sugar and I’ll be chill after. Don’t be alarmed.

Make sure you have a nice sugary drink, have a little snack, and your evening will be fine. Sometimes the meds can have a second wind (like I’m having now at 8pm) and that just happens sometimes. Two for one.

FURTHER TIPS

For my metabolism, I can take my meds up until about 2pm with no issues, but much after that and I will be up throughout the rest of the night and into the next day. I missed work a few times making this mistake.

Know your own body and it’s own cutoff time.

I personally don’t take my ADHD meds everyday because it impacts my appetite too much. That is partly what made me so ill and landed me in hospital. I now take a day’s break in between so that I can refuel my body.

Do NOT FORGET to refill your prescription!!! Ask your pharmacy if they can send you reminders ( @BootsUK does this). If you forget to pick them up, not being on your meds will make the process of trying to get more even more difficult for you.

The main advice with any long term, life changing medication is to learn how it works with your own body. My psychiatrist gave me free reign to try different timings and dosages (within my max dosage) to get things right for me.

Your doctor will always have more technical medical knowledge, but you will always know what works for YOU better than anyone.

Keep yourself save, keep yourself legal, but don’t be afraid to try different strategies to make your meds work for YOU.