Just started meds... what to expect

[ScaredMommy2]

My six year old started Adderall yesterday and had a particularly difficult day at school today. I know medicine does not solve everything. That said, when would I expect to see changes or know if it's working?

Thanks!

[Pennywink]

What were the difficulties at school? We’re they beyond what is normally seen without medication?

With stimulants, you can typically see improvement from day one - though it may take a week or so for side effects to settle down. So, it just depends on what the difficulties were.

I recommend taking notes of what you & the school are seeing to report back to the prescribing physician. Unfortunately it can take some time to find the right medication/ dosage - but can be a game changer once you find the right one.

Hope today goes better!

[MunchkinMommy537]

The nice thing about ADD medications is that they are fast acting, so you should know within a week or so if this is the right one for him. Don’t be discouraged if it takes multiple tries to find the right one.

[Cjkchamp]

You should see differences right away. Adderral was not a good fit for my son as it made him more aggressive.

[anirush]

I have 2 grandsons, brothers, who both have ADHD and anxiety disorder. They have never been able to be on the same medication. What helps one makes the other worse. It takes 2 to 4 weeks to know if a medication is going to help or hurt.

One of those was on a stimulant medication all through grade school which worked wonderfully but suddenly quit in middle school. Then any other stimulants made him so angry. He is now on a combination of non stimulant medication, mood stabilizers and antidepressant.

The other one has dealt with anger issues his whole life. Stimulants made him so angry he would get destructive. And his anxiety was so bad it would cripple him at times. So he is on non stimulant medication for ADHD, a mood stabilizer and medication to control his anger.

Adderal has worked wonderfully for many children hopefully it will eventually help yours. But keep an eye out for things getting worse.

A behavioral therapist is a positive to to help them deal with this on their own.

Keep in constant contact with the teacher. And IEP at school would help too.