If you’re looking for an experimental protocol, the ADHD MTA trial’s protocol looks pretty good.
It is described at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10591283/ and explains in detail how the doctors decided when to try increasing the dosage. It supports evand’s assertion that improvement should be noticeable quickly.
Some adhd meds are like that too, however. I don’t think they are the stimulants, though. For example, straterra/atomoxetine (an sNRI), guanfacine, and clonidine, can take weeks to work:
It is important to note that the treatment effects are not usually observed until several weeks after initiation of treatment with atomoxetine (6–12 weeks), clonidine and guanfacine (2–4 weeks) (Childress, 2016; Dickson et al., 2011; Sallee, Kollins, & Wigal, 2012). This differs significantly from stimulants, which have a much more rapid onset of treatment effects
Oh, maybe. That’s how long my psychiatrist had me try SSRIs before checking in so I chose that duration as a guesstimate.
Yep, those are extremely different drugs with very different effects. They do in fact take a while and the effects can be much more subtle.
Gotcha. In retrospect that actually makes a lot of sense, since kids in school are known to take Adderall for a night of studying.
If you’re looking for an experimental protocol, the ADHD MTA trial’s protocol looks pretty good.
It is described at https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10591283/ and explains in detail how the doctors decided when to try increasing the dosage. It supports evand’s assertion that improvement should be noticeable quickly.
Some adhd meds are like that too, however. I don’t think they are the stimulants, though. For example, straterra/atomoxetine (an sNRI), guanfacine, and clonidine, can take weeks to work:
[from this review](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S016372582100142X?via%3Dihub)
(not very well read here, don’t be too confident in my claims).