11 year old diagnosed with Benign Rolandic Epilepsy, related to Concerta use?

My 11yo Stepson was recently dx'd with Benign Rolandic Epilepsy. This past Sun. he had a witnessed grand mal seizure just after awakening. My SS said that he has been having seizures every other night for 6-9 weeks (later found out it has been for more than a year). He did not tell anyone that he had been having these and we would not have found out if my husband had not witnessed the active seizure. He has been on Concerta 36mg for ADD (Very borderline ADD) for the past 2 years. One of the side affects is seizure, is there a chance that the Concerta could be causing the seizures? The neurologist that he saw Mon. said to continue the Concerta that since he had been on it for awhile that it wasn't causing the seizures. As of right now he is taking Trileptal 150mg for seizure and Concerta 36mg for ADD. There is no family history of seizures that we are aware of. He is still conscious during the seizure but unable to follow commands. He stated that he wakes just prior to the onset or during and tries to lie as still as possible but that "it hurts". He did have an EEG on Monday and a CT on Sunday (after the seizure) neither of which were abnormal.

So my question - Could the Concerta be causing the seizures?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

It is possible, but not likely. This sort of epilepsy often begins at your son's age, and the good news is that it will likely resolve itself soon as he emters puberty. The pattern of experiencing the seizures upon awakening is typical of the condition. You can certainly plan with your doctor to discontinue the Concerta and see what rersults occur. It' also not at all unusual for him to have normal results on his EEG and CT scan.