Hi Brooke,
My ds was diagnosed with ADD when he was in first grade (he is a fifth grader now). We kinda had a feeling that he was ADD before the official diagnosis, but we were in a bit of denial.

Anyway, ds was started out on a low dose of Adderall. His dose was gradually increased through the month and the only difference I noticed initially was that he was a tad tired. We started on a long weekend so that his body had time to adjust.

Once he reached the recommended dose we noticed a significant difference. He went up several reading levels (he was REALLY struggling) and went from struggling through simple addition/subtraction problems to doing math word problems. We chose to not tell anyone that we began meds also, so that we could get unbiased comments. I will never forget the day when a note came home from his teacher, commenting on the change in our ds. It was then that I told her that he was on meds. That convinced her 100% that medication was the right treatment choice for ds, and us too.

We have had to switch from Adderall to Concerta. Concerta has been working very well for him and the only side effect that I have noticed is that his appetite is decreased during the day. He pigs out at breakfast, picks through his lunch, eats ok at dinner and then eats a big snack near bedtime. He is skinny, but his doc is not concerned. He continues to grow at a great curve and because dh and I are thin people, part of it is probably genetics (my other three are "sticks" also,lol)

Does her doc plan on gradually increasing her dose? If so, I think he/she is being very wise. It is much easier on a kiddo's body to gradually get used to a new med.

We felt the guilt also. I felt like I was being a bad mom for what a lot of people view as "the easy way out", which is SOOOOOOOOO not true! His doc explained to me that adhd/add is caused by an imbalance of something in the brain and meds level that imbalance, I least I think that's what he said,lol! My ds was so stressed about school before his meds and it is wonderful seeing that he actually LIKES school and does very well now! Currently he has a GPA of 3.8! (Sorry, but I gotta brag! A Mamma's pride!)

I hope this helps you a bit? I remember how nervous we were when he began taking his meds. I watched him like a hawk. But, I do not regret our decision at all!

Take care and yes, post here as much as you like! I consider ADHD/ADD as a special need. I think there may be some past posts here on this subject. You may want to do a search and restrict it to just the special needs forum. Also, you may want to search the Vets board also. There are a lot of school aged issues there!