The most important thing is to find what works best for you and your health. It’s also perfectly normal to stop or change medications over time for a variety of reasons. There are now over 30 ADHD medications available, so don’t worry if the first one isn’t ideal– you have plenty of options. In these cases, it may be something about the formulation that doesn’t jive well with you. A medication being determined “not ideal” occurs after you and your doctor have worked to find a target dose, and you are still either feeling symptoms of ADHD or experiencing too many side effects. Sometimes even the most popular ADHD medications don’t work well for a particular person. The symptoms of ADHD that aren’t really influenced by medication include: Symptoms of ADHD that aren’t affected by medicationĮven with an effective medication at an ideal dose, you may still have some symptoms of ADHD. No significant symptom relief after two weeks on medication Only getting symptom relief for a brief period (talk to your doctor about symptom relief expectations or check out medication durations here)Ĭommon signs non-stimulant medication is dosed too lowĭifficulty paying attention and avoiding distractions Common signs stimulant medication is dosed too low In addition to working with your doctor, you can take ADHD self-assessments to help you determine how much your symptoms are improving. If you’ve never been on medication before, you might feel uncertain about what “symptom control” actually feels like. Medication that is dosed too low is generally ineffective at controlling your symptoms. You can also call your pharmacy to discuss the normal range of side effects if your doctor is unavailable. Sometimes your side effects may feel extreme, but they are temporary and within the normal range. Visit the following guide for a list of all ADHD non-stimulants.Īlways talk to your doctor about your side effects before discontinuing your medication. No longer feel like yourself, “sparkle” is goneĬommon signs non-stimulant medication is dosed too highĬommon non-stimulants include Strattera and Qelbree. Significantly increased anxiety or depressionįeeling “too wired”, especially into the evening Visit the following guide for a list of all ADHD stimulants. Common signs stimulant medication is dosed too highĬommon stimulants include Vyvanse, Adderall, Ritalin, and Concerta. When assessing the severity of your side effects, ask yourself questions like “do the benefits of this medication outweigh the side effects?” and “on a scale of 1 to 10, how bad are these side effects?” (1 being “no problem” and 10 being “these are absolutely awful and debilitating”). Signs your ADHD medication is too highĭepending on your medication, the most common sign that your medication is too high is when you begin to experience significant, severe, or debilitating side effects that don’t subside after a week. When a medication isn’t getting the desired results after two to six weeks of titrating, your doctor may choose to switch medications and go through the process again. Over-responding: The symptoms control is overboard, and you no longer feel like yourself Too many side effects: The side effects are severe or outweigh any benefits Not giving enough therapeutic benefits: Your symptoms don’t feel sufficiently reduced What is monitored during the titration processĭuring the titration process, your doctor will start you on an initial lower dose and check in every week to talk about side effects and benefits in order to guide the next dosing decision.ĭuring this process, you and your doctors will discuss whether the dosage is: Since ADHD medications are taken long-term, the goal is always to reduce the number of side effects and take the lowest dose possible for therapeutic benefits. To find your target dose, titrating can be done with any ADHD medication, including non-stimulants. The way your body responds to the most common ADHD medications (stimulants) has more to do with factors like metabolism, medication history, and severity of symptoms than it does with your height or weight. In most cases, your doctor will start you with a low dose and increase your dosage every couple of weeks until you reach your “target dose.” A target dose means that you’re getting the most therapeutic effects with the fewest side effects. Titrating medication means changing the dose slowly over time to see how your body reacts to the drugs. Height and weight may also be considered for some medications Individual factors are also considered when choosing your initial dose, such as: How is your initial dose of ADHD medication determined?ĭoctors will use a combination of prescribing guidelines and personal experience to decide which dose of ADHD medications to start you on.
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