• offer guaranteed low prices
• are verified Legal & Licensed as of July 29, 2010 
• require a prescription from your doctor if you wish to purchase this medication!

Take this medicine only as directed by your doctor. Do not take more of it, do not take it more often, and do not take it for a longer time than your doctor ordered. If too much is taken, it may become habit-forming.

Take this medicine with or after a meal or a snack.

To help prevent trouble in sleeping, take the last dose of the short-acting tablets before 6 p.m., unless otherwise directed by your doctor.

If you think this medicine is not working properly after you have taken it for several weeks, do not increase the dose. Instead, check with your doctor.

If you are taking the long-acting form of this medicine:

• These tablets or capsules are to be swallowed whole. Do not break, open, crush, or chew before swallowing.
• If you are taking Concerta brand of methylphenidate extended-release tablets, you may sometimes notice what looks like a tablet in your stool. This is just the empty shell that is left after the medicine has been absorbed into your body.

Dosing

The dose of methylphenidate will be different for different patients. Follow your doctor's orders or the directions on the label. The following information includes only the average doses of methylphenidate. If your dose is different, do not change it unless your doctor tells you to do so.

The number of tablets that you take depends on the strength of the medicine. Also, the number of doses you take each day, the time allowed between doses, and the length of time you take the medicine depend on the medical problem for which you are using methylphenidate.

• For attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder:
  • For short-acting oral dosage form (tablets):
    • Adults and teenagers 5 to 20 milligrams (mg) two or three times a day, taken with or after meals.
    • Children 6 years of age and older To start, 5 mg two times a day, taken with or after breakfast and lunch. If needed, your doctor may increase the dose once a week by 5 to 10 mg a day until symptoms improve or a maximum dose is reached.
    • Children up to 6 years of age The dose must be determined by the doctor.
  • For long-acting oral dosage form (extended-release tablets):
    • Adults, teenagers, and children The dose must be determined by the doctor.
  • For long-acting oral dosage form (extended-release capsules):
    • Adults, teenagers, and children over 6 years of age The recommended starting dose is 20 mg a day, taken in the morning before breakfast. Your doctor may increase the dose once a week as needed up to 60 mg a day.
    • Children up to 6 years of age The dose must be determined by the doctor.
• For narcolepsy:
  • For short-acting oral dosage form (tablets):
    • Adults and teenagers 5 to 20 mg two or three times a day, taken with or after meals.
  • For long-acting oral dosage form (extended-release tablets):
    • Adults and teenagers The dose must be determined by the doctor.

Missed dose

If you miss a dose of this medicine, take it as soon as possible. Then take any remaining doses for that day at regularly spaced intervals. Do not double doses.

Storage

To store this medicine:

• Keep out of the reach of children.
• Store away from heat and direct light.
• Do not store in the bathroom, near the kitchen sink, or in other damp places. Heat or moisture may cause the medicine to break down.
• Do not keep outdated medicine or medicine no longer needed. Be sure that any discarded medicine is out of the reach of children.

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For methylphenidate, the following should be considered:

Allergies Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to methylphenidate. Also tell your health care professional if you are allergic to any other substances, such as foods, preservatives, or dyes.

Pregnancy Studies on effects in pregnancy have not been done in either humans or animals.

Breast-feeding It is not known whether methylphenidate passes into breast milk. Although most medicines pass into breast milk in small amounts, many of them may be used safely while breast-feeding. Mothers who are taking this medicine and who wish to breast-feed should discuss this with the doctor.

Children Loss of appetite, trouble in sleeping, stomach pain, fast heartbeat, and weight loss may be especially likely to occur in children, who are usually more sensitive than adults to the effects of methylphenidate. Some children who used medicines like methylphenidate for a long time grew more slowly than expected. It is not known whether long-term use of methylphenidate causes slowed growth. The doctor should regularly measure the height and weight of children who are taking methylphenidate. Some doctors recommend stopping treatment with methylphenidate during times when the child is not under stress, such as on weekends.

Older adults Many medicines have not been studied specifically in older people. Therefore, it may not be known whether they work exactly the same way they do in younger adults or if they cause different side effects or problems in older people. There is no specific information comparing use of methylphenidate in the elderly with use in other age groups.

Other medicines Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. When you are taking methylphenidate, it is especially important that your health care professional know if you are taking any of the following:

• Amantadine (e.g., Symmetrel) or
• Amphetamines or
• Appetite suppressants (diet pills) or
• Bupropion (e.g., Wellbutrin, Zyban) or
• Caffeine (e.g., NoDoz) or
• Chlophedianol (e.g., Ulone) or
• Cocaine or
• Medicine for asthma or other breathing problems or
• Medicine for colds, sinus problems, hay fever or other allergies (including nose drops or sprays) or
• Nabilone (e.g., Cesamet) or
• Pemoline (e.g., Cylert) Using these medicines with methylphenidate may cause severe nervousness, irritability, trouble in sleeping, or possibly irregular heartbeat or seizures

• Monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor activity (isocarboxazid [e.g., Marplan], phenelzine [e.g., Nardil], procarbazine [e.g., Matulane], selegiline [e.g., Eldepryl], tranylcypromine [e.g., Parnate]) Taking methylphenidate while you are taking or less than 2 weeks after taking an MAO inhibitor may cause sudden extremely high blood pressure and severe convulsions; at least 14 days should be allowed between stopping treatment with an MAO inhibitor and starting treatment with methylphenidate

• Pimozide (e.g., Orap) Pimozide is not used to treat tics that are caused by medicines. Before tics are treated with pimozide, the doctor should find out if the tics are caused by methylphenidate

• Alcohol abuse (or history of) or
• Drug abuse or dependence (or history of) Dependence on methylphenidate may be more likely to develop

• Epilepsy or other seizure disorders The risk of having convulsions (seizures) may be increased

• Gilles de la Tourette's disorder (or family history of) or
• Glaucoma or
• High blood pressure or
• Psychosis or
• Severe anxiety, agitation, tension, or depression or
• Tics (other than Tourette's disorder) Methylphenidate may make the condition worse