Okay, I am revisiting this issue given recent events. I thank you all for your responses and I apologize for the gap, I have been overwhelmed with the events of the last few months.
QUestion...how long did your psych take to titrate up to the 20/30mg dose? Did he give you worksheets to track titration over several weeks? Track side effects? On that dose weight loss is not surprising--and insomnia might also result depending on when she takes the second round. Around here sleep loss is the #1 reason for med inefficacy and lack of productivity. On the higher doses, we've also learned that meds don't fully leave the system until well past their purported "window"...if at all, depending on the frequency of dosage. Might be interesting to find out when your DD did written work in relation to med intake if she says she wrote while off of meds.
I believe we started at 10mg am and 10mg at noon, after a week that was no longer effective, we went to 20mg/20mg and after a couple weeks that was not effective, then we went to 30mg/20mg and that worked very nicely for a few months. We were not given any suggestions or advice about tracking effectiveness. The insomnia was pre-existing and didn’t get worse with the meds (it may even have improved slightly) DD wrote the essays about 2 months after quitting the meds but she wrote them on the last day of the semester under the threat of expulsion and I think the adrenaline may have helped. Unfortunately she decided that was effective but that method failed to work for her in the next semester. So here we are.
My DD has never been to a Psych, she was always against it but is now willing to go.
I want to set up counseling, CBT and med trials with professionals who know what to look for and how to monitor effectiveness. What kind of professional am I looking for? Psychiatrist? Psychologist? Therapist? Counselor? Do I need to put together a team myself?
I finally found a counselor with an opening on my insurance plan who specializes in ADD and Anxiety, she does CBT, biofeedback and neurofeedback but she can't prescribe meds.
Our doctor (a DO general practitioner) had no trouble prescribing meds last summer but she doesn't seem to have a lot of expertise in ADD. I had to request an EEG as they weren't planning on doing one when they first prescribed the meds. We had no follow up from her at all. When we called in that the rx seemed to lose effectiveness, we were given new prescriptions with higher doses until we ran out of time and were at the highest dose for methylphenidate according to the nurse who seemed to be misreading out of a book.
Should we just go with the CBT counselor and ask our general DO to start trying different meds? Am I looking for the wrong kind of professional to start with?
sorry for my neediness, my brain is full
