(ADHD) Concerta XL replaced with Xenidate XL - side effects?

[Pegs11]

As a result of the ongoing shortages of ADHD medication, I’ve been prescribed Xenidate XL instead of my usual Concerta XL. Apparently they contain the exact same ingredients, they are just a different brand. But they feel different, to me. I seem to be getting uncomfortable side effects with the Xenidate that I didn’t get with Concerta. Is this even possible? I’m prepared to consider that I may just be imagining these side effects … but it’s really putting me off taking the medication, because it’s not very pleasant. Has anyone else experienced this? Not necessarily with Xenidate but any different brand of “exactly” the same drug?

Hi! I was on both, what kind of side effects are you getting if you don't mind me asking? X

I am also interested in the side effects if you don't mind?
My son was on xenidate and became very aggressive, I'm convinced it was the medication but Camhs adamant it wasn't. He doesn't take anything now (his choice) and is much better. He also experienced nausea, unable to eat or sleep.
Occasionally he was given concerta if there was a shortage

@hk1993x @pinkpedi the main side effect I’m experiencing with the Xenidate XL is acute stinging pains in random places in my legs/feet. The pain stings and pulsates. This happens even when I take a small dose and it’s quite unpleasant.

I would go back to your psychiatrist and ask about them. I had to come off my meds as it made my anxiety worse x

I've been switched from xenidate xl to xaggitin xl due to shortages. I've never had the symptoms you describe on either drug, but my psychiatrist said they try not to swap you around as you can react differently to different brands. Although with the shortages its switch or no medication. I think they have slightly different delivery systems but I'm not 100%. It is definitely worth speaking to your doctor about it.

@Pegs11 sounds awful, my son did say similar but I put it down to growing pains/sport. Hope you get sorted

you can report side effects on the government yellow card website as well

https://yellowcard.mhra.gov.uk/

Update: this morning my doctor prescribed me a different brand called Xaggatin XL. I took one a couple of hours ago, and haven’t experienced any side effects at all. So clearly there’s something about the Xenidate that doesn’t agree with me. But Xaggatin and Concerta are fine. Weird. But at least it’s sorted now.

My daughter gets random side effects from alternatives to Concerta XL. Everything from Nausea to feeling totally hung over.

@Pegs11
DD was on xaggatin and coped well but we are struggling to get hold of stock.
She is now on concerta for the past 4 days and is a bit unsettled.
She only recently started meds for adhd so it's still early days but I wish we could stick to one brand.

DS swaps between concerta and Xenidate without issue. Have been unable to get hold of either for months though so currently struggling without.

@BooksAndHooks
That's so hard to go without meds.
That's my worse nightmare.
Xx

These supply issues are ridiculous, I don’t understand why it’s so hard to get hold of. It’s the same with my HRT. Nightmare. I have been trying to make sure I order my repeats at least two weeks in advance of needing them (I set a reminder on my phone, lol) so that I’ve got plenty of time to locate it (it often involves driving around to several different pharmacies until I find one that stocks it). But it’s got even worse in the last month or so. My local pharmacy has nine suppliers, and none of them had Concerta. With the Xaggatin I collected today, my local pharmacy didn’t have it in stock but they found a pharmacy that had ONE bottle, and persuaded them to reserve it for me while I zoomed over there to get it. Ridiculous.

I did a lot of research on xenidate xl and it's not the same as concerta xl, they both release in a different way and it's been proven that they aren't as effective. Concerta is a much better medication. I fought really hard to stay on them when they were changing people due to cost. It's ridiculous that there is a shortage at the moment but I'm still refusing to take xenidate.

@DeeD1
Our psychiatrist did not permit to swap to xenidate when we couldn't get hold of xaggitin.
She said concerta and xaggitin are exactly the same so could swap one for the other.
It's such a faff to get hold of these drugs.
Some pharmacies are ok with a general methylphenidate prescription and u can ask for what u want.
However, not all GPs want to do that and some pharmacies won't dispense on the back of a generic prescription.
I take the paper copy and roam from pharmacy to pharmacy.
It's ridiculous :-(
Wish we had never started on these meds

When I was doing my PhD and very stressed I used to not sleep on the first dose of every new box of my medication. It's very sedating so this was unusual and then my anxiety would tell me it was because they had been swapped with sugar pills to make me get unwell so i would have to drop out which is what my supervisor was trying make me do anyway. Every other pill in the box made me drowsy. It happened every month for 6-9 months once life was less stressful it went away

The body is weird and even the exact same medication can have a different effect from one day to the next. Even if it's a "just you" thing and not the medication as such I would still ask for a specific brand that doesn't cause these side effects.

I don't know about xaggitin but I watched an interesting video by professor Peter hill which he explained how the different adhd meds release etc. A lot of adhd meds 2 release as concerta has a 3 release. The GPS were told to change people onto the generic version as its cheaper, but I spoke to the maudsley hospital and was told that anyone already on concerta especially for years like myself shouldn't have been told to change. I really don't understand why there is a shortage at the moment (maybe someone here knows) but it's getting ridiculous now and I wonder what they are really up to

@Pegs11 yes you can respond differently to different brands however could your symptoms have more likely been to the non-active ingredients included in the meds?

Thank you all for the replies. I won’t be taking the Xenidate again. I seem to be ok on the Xaggatin. Would prefer Concerta as this is what my shrink originally prescribed… but it is what it is.

Hi there my son has concerta since it's all my pharmacy can get and he was on Xenidate XL, which was brilliant and no negative side effects at all and lasted up2 12 hrs!, the Concerta is giving him more of a aggy and mildly anxious look to his body language and talks alot more on these than Xenidate XL. They are meant to be the same but clearly they must break down and absorb into the body differently? Anyone that can expect this or experience this themselves with their children or personally.

...

This whole thing is doing my head in.

Mine was also on Xenidate and flying. Now she’s on Elvanse and struggling.

Im so 🤬🤬🤬at these fucking shortages.

I've only been on these meds since mid March. Due to shortages, I have never had the same brand twice: Concerta, then Xaggitin then Xenidate then Xaggitin again and this month it's Affenid. Some seem to work better than others but that could just be my circumstances - more anxious sometimes but could be due to life events. Dizzy sometimes, or sick, but could be a mild virus etc.

All I know is, I am better on than off them but I do wish they'd settle to one brand.

Mine has nausea and dizziness too

I just don't understand the shortages at all. Surely now there's a generic, any reputable pharma company in UK could start making them, according to demand. Or the existing companies could up production.