Perplexed -- is there a specific reason you are starting with the non-stimulants? I thought most doctors started with stimulants first. I'll ask our doctor about this too.
We discussed the risks/benefits of both stimulants and non-stimulants with the psych. There is no one right way to do it. He said most people start with the stimulants because most people have waited until they are in dire need of medication before they decide to start meds, then they want the meds to work right away. The reason we chose non-stimulants is that we have the summer to wait for it to start working and if it works, it will work 24 hours a day. Also, DS has a little bit of compulsive behavior that should be helped with the non-stimulants. The down side is that it only works in 50% of kids and sometimes it doesn't work as well as the stimulants even when it does work. Really, it is the potential of having 24 hour control of focus that motivated me to try the non-stimulant first. The child psych said that is what he did for his own child. HTH!
