How do you know when meds work?

[Anonymous]

My 7 year old daughter has adhd combined, but it mostly presents as spaciness, trouble with task completion, etc. She was on 10mg of vyvanse this year and she reported that it helped but we didn’t note a difference (and her teacher was pretty vague—said “maybe it’s helping”).

Doc says we can increase vyvanse or try something new. What would you do? She also tends to be a bit anxious and I’m worried that higher doses will ramp up anxiety.

[Anonymous]

The general rule is to increase the dose until either you see the impact you want or side effects are worse than the benefits. If it's already causing anxiety, try a different med. If you are just concerned about anxiety, give it a try.

[Anonymous]

Maybe try something new instead of increasing? I'm not sure if it's because my 7yo son has severe ADHD, but the difference between on and off is STARK.

[Anonymous]

With what you're describing - the kid says they work, the teacher says maybe; I'd up the dose first. I'd see if that does anything, then if not, switch to another med.

You have some inkling that the Vyanese could be helping a little...that's why I'd try an increased dose first.

[Anonymous]

10mg is a very low intro dose. It is typical to increase beyond that dose.