Educational reference
Treatment overview
Stimulant medicines are the most consistently identified pharmacological option for ADHD in authoritative treatment guidance. They are thought to act on brain systems involved in attention and activity regulation.
These are controlled medicines. They are prescribed to a named individual after clinical assessment, and taking medicine prescribed for someone else is unsafe and unlawful in many jurisdictions. Effects, suitability and risks depend on the individual, other conditions and other medicines.
Treatment usually involves careful adjustment over time rather than a single fixed dose, and ongoing monitoring. Monitoring commonly includes sleep, appetite, mood, growth in children, and heart rate and blood pressure. Some people take medicine only on certain days or during certain periods; that is a clinical decision, not a general rule.
Stimulants are not a prerequisite for treatment and are not appropriate for everyone. For younger children, behavioural approaches are commonly recommended first.
MOMD does not provide individual treatment advice, does not recommend starting, stopping or changing any medicine, and does not describe doses. Those decisions rest with a prescribing clinician together with the person concerned.