Hi! My 7 year old son was officially diagnosed with ADHD in Feb. , he was started on Adderall 5 mgs. 1 x a day, well needless to say I may as well not have given him anything soooo.. took him back to the doc and he was raised to 10 mgs . a day.. a little improvement was noticed by all for a little while and then back to the same behavior about a week later, I let it go another week just to see if things would change and they didn't. It seemed to wear off in the afternoon.Anyway fast forward to now and he is on 20 mgs. and things are better, but not quite what we were hoping for. My question is...is it normal to keep running back to the doctor to change the dosage? I feel like I am bugging him but probably not I just need input from others...THANKS a bunch!

Yes. It is normal.Remember that this isn't an exact science and that trial and error is the name of the game. Good luck.:)

It may take many more trials before you find what works best. Some are lucky and find the best alternative more quickly than others.

Also remember, there is no perfect fix. There are side effects that may crop up. You will need to determine what works best for the goals you have set. You may find that the negatives outweigh the positives for some medications and vice versa.

A pill is just a tool and may not make all of the changes you expect. Even different medications and different doseages.

It is an ongoing decision making process. Just medication alone is probably not going to be your perfect solution. Developing strategies to assist in various areas, having a regularly available coach, counselor or advocate will help a great deal.

Also, remember that everyone develops a natural resistance to medications taken for an extended period of time. So, along with the physiological changes that are normal for any adolescent you will need to factor this in as time goes by.

For the same reasons, even though Adderall is working now you may need to switch to some other treatment later.
There may even be a better medication but you will only find out by trial and error as others have said.
Sometimes you find out by journalling the behaviors that still exist after the medication has started. It sounds like you are already experiencing that Adderall has taken you part way to the solution. You have to keep learning and asking questions and pretty much become the resident expert on a number of neurological and psychological anomolies to filter enough information out and be able to go to your doctor and say: Listen, we should try xyz drugs in such and such dosage.

Good luck and keep us posted.