What blood tests should be done after prolonged therapy with Concerta (methylphenidate)?
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My brother (42) was put on Concerta 18 months ago when he was diagnosed with ADHD. He takes it only when he goes to work and avoids taking it on weekends and holidays. he mostly takes 28 mg, but there are days when he takes more.
He's had some serious side effects ranging from strong headaches and neck pain (which he never had before) and abundant sweating (idem) to massive hair-loss (idem) and connective tissue problems (idem) - weakening of tendons leading to rupture.
The doctors we have access to are not really big on testing before/during/after therapy.
My brother will ask to have a prescription for blood tests (hopefully he'll get it). A part from usual blood count, glucose... is there anything he should check in particular?
I'm hoping they will do a liver and kidney panel, C reactive protein, lipid profile, levels of potassium and sodium...
We also hope they will send him to see a cardiologist for a full check-up including heart ultra-sound and effort test (cardiac stress test).
Is there anything else we should be looking into?
Thank you!
0 likes, 1 reply
anitalou masha17
Posted
Rather than suggest a battery of blood tests (it would have been better to have had to have them before starting it, for comparison, anyway), has your brother discussed the side effects with his doctor(s)? The dosage may need to be changed, or it may be interacting with other medications. Or this may just not be a good drug for him (there are others for ADHD).
Or the symptoms you describe may be due to something else entirely, which just happened to start at about the same time he began taking this medication. Is he losing a lot of weight, without reason?
Thank you for looking out for your brother's interests.