Stayseeliz Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 We've done diet modifications, exercise routines, sleep schedules, etc. After YEARS of DD9 struggling with attention issues I finally decided to try a small dose of adderall. She's on 5mg short release. She can take it two times a day but we only give it once before school starts and only on school days. What kind of results should I be seeing? She seems less impulsive and "quieter" during school. She doesn't interupt and gets her work done a tad faster. She does say she FEELS like it's helping. But I don't see a HUGE change. I still feel like she's not grasping new concepts quickly enough. But I know that might be another issue. How do I know if this med is enough or the right one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 What kind of results should I be seeing? She seems less impulsive and "quieter" during school. She doesn't interupt and gets her work done a tad faster. She does say she FEELS like it's helping. But I don't see a HUGE change. I still feel like she's not grasping new concepts quickly enough. But I know that might be another issue. How do I know if this med is enough or the right one? How quickly she grasps concepts would be a different issue. The meds should help with her focus, which would improve how she responds and how she gets her work done. If there is improvement in impulse control (not interrupting) that is exceptional, as that is very difficult to treat with meds. As far as how do you know if this is the right one or the right dose, the answer comes with following up with your provider. when starting meds i had contact with the provider after 1 week, 2 weeks, 2 months, and 6 months. Is she having any side effects? If not then you may have found a great med without having to go through a lot! There will be lots of anecdotes from people about what works and what does not, but it is so individual specific I think you should rely on your observations and daughters reporting, your intuition, and your providers advise! I hope for continued good news on your dd and the effectiveness of the meds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stayseeliz Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 I have not noticed any side effects as of yet. The dr put her on a short release medicine since we homeschool and she doesn't need the extended release like school children would since they have a full day, homework, etc. We have the option of giving her another dose after lunch but I haven't so far. So that's helping her sleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 My oldest tried medication at 11yo, but all of the medications made her sick (joint pain, insomnia, headaches) and none of them helped. At 18yo, she tried medication again. For her, Concerta has been wonderful. She does better with the timed-release format for Concerta than she did with Ritalin ER and she does better with the long acting versions than the short-acting versions. My youngest is just using coffee in the morning right now. Coffee definitely makes a difference for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paige Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 It sounds like it's working to me. I don't think many people see a huge change, but it's hard to tell without being there whether it is working well enough or not. It shouldn't change her personality, but rather should give her the ability to make better choices (reduced impulsivity), she'll feel less agitated from sitting and working on boring homework (decreased hyperactivity), and she should be making fewer mistakes or having fewer accidents from inattention. Your doctor may want to increase the dose if you say it is working but not working super well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DyslexicParent Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 She seems less impulsive and "quieter" during school. She doesn't interupt and gets her work done a tad faster. She does say she FEELS like it's helping. I wished any of the four drugs DD had tried had worked as good as it seems to have for your DD. DD has just started on her fifth drug - Adderall XR 5mg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stayseeliz Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 Her OT said she saw a big difference today. Better attitude, better focus which led to better handwriting, etc. She was pleased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stayseeliz Posted April 3, 2013 Author Share Posted April 3, 2013 Her OT said she saw a big difference today. Better attitude, better focus which led to better handwriting, etc. She was pleased. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 That's great to hear from an outside source that she's doing better! One of the best indicators to me of how successful meds were was hearing from other adults DS interacts with. When violin teacher, PE co-op coordinator, sunday school teacher, and adult relatives all told me what a difference they saw in DS (and all of them blindly, no one knew he had a DX or was on meds) I knew it was making a difference for good in his life. I did notice that after about a week or two of starting meds the improvements seemed slightly diminished, so we upped the dose. We moved doses a few times (forwards and backwards) until we found a sweet spot of improved attention and impulse control without negative side effects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 We saw improvements to dawdling and the time it took to get a subject done. We also saw careless errors on math decrease significantly. We also saw increased free time reading, more finishing of books instead of starting and then discarding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stayseeliz Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 Is it normal to see a slight drop in effectiveness after the first week? Thursday and Friday weren't fabulous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happypamama Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 I don't know. We didn't really see results until two or three weeks of consistent use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Is it normal to see a slight drop in effectiveness after the first week? Thursday and Friday weren't fabulous. Yes. We saw this very thing with all three of our kids. We worked with doc and dose raised slowly - waiting for leveling off. I saw an increase in appetite suppression/tummy hurting as the dose increased. For a few weeks there was no interest in lunch. After 2-3 months this was gone, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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