I'm a 20 year old college student who was recently diagnosed with ADHD (non-hyperactive). I've always had problems with focus and keeping myself on-task.

In any case, my psychiatrist prescribed Focusin XR 10 mg, telling me that if that was ineffective I should try doubling the dose. For the first two days I took it at 10 mg and felt no change in anything.

I took 20 mg today and felt a little more active, but certainly not hyper or anything like that - basically not even as buzzed as a cup of coffee or two would do. I seem to have better focus and concentration, but I'm worried that that's just the placebo effect working for me.

Should I actually feel different on the medication? Also, I haven't been able to tell when it stops working at night - i'd feel a lot more comfortable if i could tell when it was and was not effective. Basically, I can't tell so far if the medication is working or not, and this has me nervous.

I won't be able to seriously test it until I get back to school next week and hit the books, but is there anything in particular I should be looking for in the meantime? I checked out the FAQ and other posts but if anyone has any specifics, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

Wait & watch. It will be a couple of weeks before you can make a full determination. Then it will take a few more weeks to get the dose right.

The good thing is that you don't seem to be having any major side effects, and you aren't having a bad reaction. That's a good sign that your diagnosis is probably correct.

Good luck!

thanks:) i'm hoping that when i get back to school, i'll definately be able to tell. The biggest problem I had was studying, I would work for 10 mins and then get distracted by useless time-wasters... hopefully I'll be able to work for longer stretches and concentrate better. I just wish I could see the difference now!

I was diagnosed with having ADD about two years ago. I still haven't found a proper medication or a proper dosage. All I'm saying is that it might take a little while before you find the medication and dosage that works for you.