Sounds like a good start. Give your son's body time to get used to this dose. If you see a sliding back or the med not lasting as long, it is time to up the dose. This can happen in a few days to a few weeks if the dose is a little low. Also, in times of low sleep or stress you may see an increase in symptoms/decrease in med efficacy. This is because the brain is not as efficient under stress and there is more for the meds to overcome. If you increase and do not like the results, you can go back down on dose or try a different form with an in between dose.
It feel like experimenting (negative), but think of it as optimizing treatment for your son's individual needs (positive).
Is his teacher keeping a log of some sort for you or just keeping in contact with you ? I have found that the way I usually know when Ryan's meds need to be upped is thru contact with his teacher. By the time Ryan gets home at night from after school care, most of his meds are pretty much gone so its hard for me to tell. If she seems improvement in foccus, independent work, organization, behaviour then the meds are fine .
You need to keep an eye out for side effects such as rebound, loss of appetite, not sleeping, irritability. All these meds have side effects unfortunately. Most decrease over time. I always weigh the good versus the bad . If the good is good, I deal with the bad.
One way I also know if Ryan needs a med change is on the weekends, when he is with me 24/7 if i notice a huge increase in appetite or hyperness or just not paying attention to me, I keep an eye on it to see if it continues. This usually tells me his meds are not working correctly.
My md always tries the lowest dose to get the best results. You can always add up.
Good luck!!! Im excited for you and your son. Its always so great and does our hearts good when we see success and growth!
jacks889739462.4340509259your goal is to help symptoms with little/no side effects. So, if he's better and having no side effects, stick with it. Then like the othrrs say, if if doesnt seem to be lasting long enough, or symptoms still getting in the way, then you can up the dose. Vickies statement about fatigue and high stress is important, because if it seems like you get a day that they are back to "their old self", give it a few days and see if it settles before upping dose. Over the holidays my daughters meds seemed all ove the place, GREAT one day and the next like she was not on any. Now that we're back to our routine things are more consistent. We're using Strattera with some wiggle room to up and I was glad I waited it out and didnt call about upping it.Also, I would ask your son how he feels now that he is on them. He is in third grade, so I think that even though he isn't going to get the final say, that you check with him on how he feels now that he is on medication. Havin