Help with ritalin please | ADHD Information

Hi everyone i am new here, I have a 6 year old
daughter who has been diagnosed with ADHD and just
started ritalin yesterday. 2.5mg in the morning for 3
days then 2.5 in the morning and then again at 12 noon.
I was just wondering when we should expect to she a
difference in rhiana? Should this drug take several days
to have any affect at all? I had read else where that we
should see a change within an hour? I thought that was a
little quick as i felt it should have to be in her system
a few days like most medications. Also if possible if
your children are on this could you tell me what kind of
a difference we are looking for?
thanks so much for your time
It will take about a week for you to really see how she's going to react to
the medication. If she has a bad reaction (you'll know if that happens)
don't wait the week - call her doctor immediately. But it won't work
within the hour when you first start the medication.

Another thing to keep in mind, the medications are not a magic pill. Kids
have to learn how to be more socially aware. The pill will give a child a
second to think before they do some impulsive thing, but they're used to
being impulsive, so they have to learn self-control. Expect to work with
your child on how you expect her to act. PIck one thing at a time that you
want her to master - not having tantrums, not interrupting, whatever -
and expect that it will take a few weeks and thousands of reminders for it
to stick. It's going to get easier, but once your child starts medication,
that's when the work starts.

Good luck!we tried the same thing with my son with the fast acting ritalin. We started
on 2.5 mg and it had no effect on him so the next day the doc gave me the
go ahead to move to 5 mg every 4 hours up to 4 times a day. We didnt
always give itr 4 times. 3 was usually good enough.

If that wasnt enough meds (the 5mg) then we would increase the dose 2.5
mg each day or every couple of days until we got to a dose that was
working. My son is almost 7 and has been on 15 mg of ritalin for 3 years.