Weight Loss on Concerta

Concerta is a prescription drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in young children. While the drug has many side effects, there is one that some consider desirable: weight loss. Since this discovery, there has been a small trend of adults abusing the drug in an attempt to lose weight despite the dangers attached. Taking Concerta for the sole purpose of becoming thin has not been approved by the FDA, and many experts believe the practice is unhealthy.

What is Concerta?

• Concerta is a prescription drug often used as a form of treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The drug works by affecting the central nervous system as a stimulant and contains methylphenidate. It has also been approved to treat narcolepsy and other mood behaviors.

Concerta and losing weight

• Even though Concerta began as a way to treat ADHD in young children, there is research showing a common side effect of taking the drug is weight loss. In recent studies involving Concerta use in adults, more than 6 percent of participants lost weight. Meanwhile, there was a 4 percent rate of decreased appetite among children. However, Concerta has not yet been approved by the FDA as a medication for weight loss.

Dangers

• With any prescription drug, there are usually side effects. Common side effects of taking Concerta include anxiety, headache, insomnia, stomach pain and nausea. Other effects include aggression, high blood pressure, muscle twitches, growth retardation, diarrhea, blurred vision and depression. Because the drug has not been FDA approved as a weight loss treatment, there are additional dangers. If abused in high doses, it can become physically addicting and can increase the risk of developing heart complications.

Other precautions

• People who have been diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, bipolar disorder, seizures, hypertension or cardiovascular disease should use extreme caution in taking this medicine. Reports indicate Concerta use has caused or heightened psychotic behavior. In general, stimulants have been known to bring out tics (muscle twitches) in Tourette's patients. Symptoms of an overdose include hallucinations, vomiting and sweating, and there is no known antidote.

Expert Insight

• Many health experts believe it is not safe to use Concerta as a way to lose weight. Stimulants can easily be abused in this way and should only be taken as prescribed for an actual condition such as ADHD or ADD. In surveys, female college students have admitted to abusing the drug to help them study and as a side effect, it has also has helped them stay thin. Some have said this is why they have continued to use the drug even after they no longer needed help with studying, thus creating a path toward addiction.