If the ADHD meds didn't work at first....

[Anonymous]

Did you find that just increasing the dose did the trick, or did you end up having to try a different medication? We started our kindergartener on 5 mg of Focalin XR yesterday and saw absolutely no difference in his behavior, focus, etc. I'm going to wait and see if his teacher observes any improvement, but I suspect we will need to try a higher dose. But would we have at least seen some subtle change in him if the drug was going to be a good fit?

[Anonymous]

Both. Finding the right med is a process. Just because it is not apparently working right away does not mean it is the wrong med. Usually a dosage increase happens first, though.

[Anonymous]

My son, who just turned 7, takes 10 mg. of Focalin XR. He started on 5 mg. a few months ago and then boosted up to 10 mg. When he first started taking Focalin, the difference was immediate but then after a few weeks it didn't seem to help anymore. That's when the doctor increased his dose. We're going back to the doctor soon, and I think she will increase it again. It's still helping, but not as much as before and it's wearing off in the early afternoon, which doesn't get him through the entire school day and makes homework difficult. He might have to try a different medication to see how it works. Focalin has been his first try at ADHD meds. The doctor told us that different meds work best for different kids. Sometimes you have to try several to find the one that works best.

[Anonymous]

We didn't see any effect from medication at all during the first weekend. But when our son went to school on Monday, he was a different kid. Totally a miracle drug. So, you might have a different impression today. For my second son, we saw no effect until we increased the dose slightly. Our doctor had us try for 10 days before any changes.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the thread OP and all the posts everyone else. We started both our boys on Adderall this weekend and haven't seen any change yet. Of course, our ped also told us to do one pill for the first week then increase to the full dose (5mg) for the second week, so it's barely anything now. Still, we were sort of watching the boys hoping for magic to happen all weekend....

[Anonymous]

We've had a similar experience. Started on 5mg of Focalin, but our doctor told us....try it for 4 days, if it doesn't work, bump it up to 10 mg. Then try 10 mg for a week, and then you'll come back and discuss. We do 15mg now, which is enough. It also does not last the full 12 hours, and usually wears off at around 10 hours. It has been a miracle for us, as well. I think we were lucky that we found something that worked well on the first try.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for the responses. My son's teacher didn't really see much difference today, if any. I would say our son is moderate to severe. He's had major impulsivity/behavior issues since preschool, and then the attentional/focus stuff has come more into play in K. He's very bright and doing average to above average academically, but he could be doing better, and he basically just bugs the crap out of his classmates (and I'm sure his teacher too! But she has been great through all of this) I would never have assumed he would only require the minimum dose! I think I will call the doctor tomorrow and see what she says.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've had a similar experience. Started on 5mg of Focalin, but our doctor told us....try it for 4 days, if it doesn't work, bump it up to 10 mg. Then try 10 mg for a week, and then you'll come back and discuss. We do 15mg now, which is enough. It also does not last the full 12 hours, and usually wears off at around 10 hours. It has been a miracle for us, as well. I think we were lucky that we found something that worked well on the first try.

OP again. I meant to ask, did you see any improvement with the 10 mg dose, or did you have to bump up to 15 mg before you noticed a change? We are bumping up to 10 mg. tomorrow.