xtcian

LOL! Love the headline. And the elf on the camel. Did it spit at you? --the camel, not the elf. :-)

First time. Hmmm. I don't think so. I'm about to take Concerta for the very first time tomorrow. I'm always scared of new meds. Any advice?

I learned Flash and did my first animation gig!

Re: Concerta. My son has Asperger's. We've been fumbling around for years to find something that would help him. He recently had some behavior problems as a freshman in high school We were at our wits' end. Abilify had all sorts of bad side effects when we tried it a few years ago, although it had helped with his impulse control.

We tried Concerta three weeks ago, and it has been a miracle. We and his school have had almost no problems with behavior. He's still on only a half dose. The side effects have been loss of appetite (which at this point isn't a concern, since he put on enormous weight with the Abilify) and difficulty sleeping. Melatonin is helping with the mild insomnia.

New things? In a couple weeks we'll be going on a llama trek for my son's 14th birthday. Fortunately for my nards, no riding involved.

I went to Mexico for the first time. In fact, I'm there now (Cabo)! And I still stop by this fine blog first thing in the AM. Well, second thing...after the sunset stroll on the beach.

Re: Concerta, Part Two. I forgot to add in (an obvious) disclaimer: YMMV.

Do visiting China and getting laser eye surgery count?

I took a public bus last night for the first time in at least 10 years.

Greg- Visiting China and getting laser eye surgery counts, however, getting your laser eye surgery done in China, would be a point deduction. :)

We're in the middle of a full scale, down to the studs master bathroom remodel. Never done that before.

T.J. - glad to hear your son is doing well on the Concerta. My boys are on the higher-functioning end of the autism spectrum. We haven't need meds yet but I anticipate that we will as they get older. Always comforting to hear a happy story.

I went to Asia! And I rode an elephant! All amazing.

TJ: Thank you so much for sharing your sons' experience with Concerta. I will be taking it for ADD and, well, inertia. My 17 year old son was diagnosed with severe ADD over a year ago and began taking it, and it changed his entire school experience. He went from literally flunking out his sophomore year to making second honors. Also, he was much more interactive and pleasant to be around. He and I share a struggle to focus, to be motivated, to avoid chasing after distractions. This has impaired my ability to complete (and sometimes even start) tasks at work and at home. I'll be 58 in a few weeks (egads), and seeing my traits mirrored in my son with his diagnosis was an eye-opener at this late age. I've reached the point where I'm pretty desperate for something to help me be fully AWAKE and ALERT and FOCUSED during the day so I can keep on top of my responsibilities.

I take a bunch of other meds, including two antidepressants, so I'm a little worried about interactions, but my shrink wants to try this. I get nervous about any change in medications.

I'm truly glad your sons were helped by Concerta, as mine has been.

Anne and TJ - My only addition to the Concerta discussion is to consider getting an EKG to rule out any underlying heart problems before taking these. Stimulants have an association (maybe real? jury still out) with sudden cardiac death and in particular are not a good idea if you have any underlying heart problem (which you may not know if you haven't had an EKG)..

New things I've done - will have to think on that one. Sadly, I've been in a rut of sorts for some time. Luckily, I like ruts..

We've shed a lot of tears over the effect Asperger's has had on his life. He doesn't really have any friends to speak of. He's definitely high functioning: He skipped 8th grade, he scored college-level on the SAT as a seventh grader, etc. With Concerta, he's actually been interacting with other kids in a positive way. It's really been amazing to see. We hope it will continue (knock on wood).

Our other son is ten and deaf-blind (related to being born at 27 weeks' gestation), so between the two of them, it's been quite a decade for us. :)

Wow TJ. Sounds very challenging. Would love to see photos of your kids. Are you on FB?
I've seen risperdal really help kids with autism/aspergers but the weight gain is even worse than with Abilify. I'm glad Concerta helps so much. I prefer stimulants over the antipsychotics from a side effect stand point.
By the way, this is what I do with my life now - manage side effects of psych meds in children (I work in a psych hospital). Really, really interesting work.

painted myself green.

My husband and I went zip-lining in Hawaii.

Just joined FB.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?filter=app_2305272732#/profile.php?id=100000458757001&ref=name

Bought a bottle of Woodford Reserve and tried that tonight. A Brit/Scot friend recommended it to me. Super smooth, goes down a bit too easy.