How Long Does It Take Concerta To Have Noticeable Effects?

(if you really don’t want to read all of this, skip to the very last paragraph, it will answer your question quickly. [although i really suggest you read it :] ]
( A lot of information, sorry, but it will explain i promise :] )
Concerta is the same as Ritalin, except Concerta is what we call an XR pill.
XR means extended release, Ritalin is basically an IR, instant release.
Concerta pills come in various amounts ranging from 18mg to 54mg.
Almost all Concerta pills are based on a 24 hour concentration basis.
Most people who actually have Adhd wont feel any effects except for more concentration.
The Concerta pill is made in a way that it slowly releases the chemicals, you will start to ‘feel’ the Concerta in anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half.
The amount you can take in a day without harm is probably a lot more then you think, although of course you should not be taking more than any recommended dose, it is of course safe.
18mg seems pretty low, my friend gave me 1 36mg pill the other day and i just broke it in half and swallowed it so that it would kick in a lot faster(about 20 minutes). There is nothing wrong with breaking the pill in half and swallowing it, the only negative would be tasting the nasty pill, which you can just drink something to get it down faster.
A lot of people are looking to get high on this prescription pill, people have taken over 350mgs in a day, 108 for an actual high(CONCERTA ONLY, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE THE SAME CHEMICAL THIS MUCH RITALIN WILL HURT YOU)
if you don’t want to get high but just really want to crack down on studying, i suggest you just take the two 18mg pills, break them in half and down them. Yes sleeping can be almost impossible with this medication in your system, but there are ways to avoid that.
Try taking it early in the morning before school or something, the ‘energy’ should wean out of your system in about 6-7 hours, your concentration will be increased for almost the entire day, and sleepiness can be recognized about 12-15 hours after ingestion.
So no, if you have read all of this, then you should not of felt the effects until 7 hours later.
BUT there might be an explanation.
When theres no food in your stomach, and you put food in it, your body is more capable of breaking down the food and getting it into your system, therefore if you were on a full stomach then it might have taken longer for the pill to take effect.
Another reason it might have taken so long to take effect would be:
when people get high on the drug (Concerta not Ritalin)they stay high for roughly 6-7hours, then they experience what is called a ‘comedown’ during the comedown you still feel focused and everything, but your body just feels drained, much like you feel after staying up a whole night, alert but sleepy.
That might be an explanation why what you ‘felt’ had occurred so late.
But in my opinion 36mg could not get a person high, but it all depends, it doesn’t get me high and I’m satisfied with it, i only use it when i need to study or have an important test in class. But i do experience a significant boost of energy.
Another reason the pill might not have effected you is because of your weight. I personally weigh 125lbs and the 36mg works for me. If your over 150lbs i suggest maybe one more of them pills, but before trying it, i would try to just break the 2 18mg pills in half, if no success then next time try 3 unbroken pills.
If your really using for the pure concentration power, take the pills about 2 hours prior to the event that you need, if you break them in half maybe just 1 hour before.
After this if it is still not kicking in until about 7 hours after ingestion, try taking them right before going to bed, or you can set up a schedule and wake up in the middle of the night, take them, then fall back to sleep.
If you find yourself completely unable to sleep on this stuff, its perfectly common, if you want to try to avoid the no-sleep don’t drink anything containing caffeine 6 hours before bed time.
If you have thought about trying to get ‘high’ on this drug take 108mg, i say this just so you don’t OD and die, but i in no way encourage it. Personally i have tried it, after the time of being ‘high’ there is a HORRIBLE and seemingly endless heavy heavy strong depression, and it can last for over 5 hours.
(by the way, if you get a hold of the Ritalin and not Concerta, I would recommend 10mg, and if you use the Ritalin use it about 5-10minutes before what ever you need to concentrate on, with Ritalin the concentration effect will last any where from 1-3 hours. If you get Adderall(another adhd medication) use 10mg for concentration, effects of the concentration will last anywhere from 1-3 hours.
So to briefly answer you question: It was not normal for the effects to come 7 hours late, should have happened in 1 hour. Yes its ok to take the other 2, don’t exceed 108mg a day(which is 6 o