My 6 year old just started Ritalin yesterday (5mg.) So far, not so good. She had no appetite, and got nasty within a few hours. Could not do her homework at all. Fell asleep at 6 pm for the night. I'm afraid that she having the same bad response as Adderall. Did anyone have a problem like this in the beginning? Thanks

My 10 year old son just started on ritalin LA. We did not notice any bad side effects. Our doctor told us that if it was going to help, that it would do so immediately and that we would notice it. Both me and my son noticed that it has helped him alot.

Blaana,
Thanks for replying. My daughter has been pretty good all week - a little nasty and some tearfulness, but I guess tolerable. My husband and I don't really see a change in attention - at least nothing glaring. She is on her 4th day of meds - 5mg. in the am for now. Should we have noticed something by now? Thanks, MC

MaryC, When my daughter first started ritallin, it was also 5mg. We did notice a change immediately. Since then, we have updated and tried various times and dosages. She is now on the 40mg sustained release ritallin. My suggestion would be to continually monitor and update dosages with her doctor. It ain't easy, but you'll eventually find a med, dosage, and schedule that works. Also, we quit the generic. I don't know why, but the generic did not work well at all...for us.

Hello there, I read your post/message about your daughter's reaction to ritalin. I am now 24, and am currently employed in the medical/health field, but I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was in the second grade, and was put on ritalin at an early age. I too (according to my mother) displayed the types of symptoms your daughter does now. In conculusion it was decided that a (timed-released) version of ritalin was prescibed instead of the single (regular) ritalin tab. My side effects were greatly reduced (As I'm told.) Every person has different results in according dosages, and brands. Also though these side-effects may subside as they apparently do in many cases. I agree that you should just monitor reactions over time to see if it pans out. Just a suggestion about the time-released tab.

Hello there, I read your post/message about your daughter's reaction to ritalin. I am now 24, and am currently employed in the medical/health field, but I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was in the second grade, and was put on ritalin at an early age. I too (according to my mother) displayed the types of symptoms your daughter does now. In conculusion it was decided that a (timed-released) version of ritalin was prescibed instead of the single (regular) ritalin tab. My side effects were greatly reduced (As I'm told.) Every person has different results in according dosages, and brands. Also though these side-effects may subside as they apparently do in many cases. I agree that you should just monitor reactions over time to see if it pans out. Just a suggestion about the time-released tab.

Hello there, I read your post/message about your daughter's reaction to ritalin. I am now 24, and am currently employed in the medical/health field, but I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was in the second grade, and was put on ritalin at an early age. I too (according to my mother) displayed the types of symptoms your daughter does now. In conculusion it was decided that a (timed-released) version of ritalin was prescibed instead of the single (regular) ritalin tab. My side effects were greatly reduced (As I'm told.) Every person has different results in according dosages, and brands. Also though these side-effects may subside as they apparently do in many cases. I agree that you should just monitor reactions over time to see if it pans out. Just a suggestion about the time-released tab.

Hi Mary,

I have two boys with ADHD. My one son (at 6 years old) started out with 5 mg of Ritalin. It just plain didn't work. We increaded to 10 mg within a few days. It also lasts for about 3 to 4 hours - and I notice he can be kind of moody when he's coming down from it. I found that it took awhile for both my sons' bodies to adjust to the medication so we could finally settle on the right amount. Actually, I can see it works better on some days than others which is intersting. Give it some time but she may need a larger dose. Also, my other son is on Conceerta which is time released. Gppd Luck!

Dawn