When did you decide to medicate your ADD child?

[grumpydwarf]

Sorry posting for traffic as no response on the SEN boards.
My DS 9 was diagnosed with ADD 2 years ago. He has previously displayed "mild" symptoms which mainly have included short attention span and lack of concentration. This year he seems to really struggle with listening and his temper and in the last 2 weeks at school he has been playing 2 rough with the other kids and hurting them.
He can't seem to tell me why he's been behaving like this and he knows it's wrong but is struggling to control himself.
I've previously been offered medication for his concentration but because he sleeps and eats really well I've been reluctant to medicate him unnecessarily.
Could anyone tell me how old their clod with ADD was when they started medication and what made them decide to medicate?
Also any advice on hold to deal with this? The teacher told me on Friday that the other children are becoming reluctant to play with his due to his behaviour and it kills me to hear that.
TIA

Mine was 8. It was when it started to impact his life outside of home that we decided. I was concerned because his eating and sleeping is shit anyway, and it is a bit worse now, but nothing unmanageable. More than offset by the benefit to his learning and his relationships with friends

We started as soon as we had a diagnosis, which was around age 10. DS struggles hugely with focus and executive function and his learning was certainly impacted, as well as home life — we saw no reason not to try and give him the support of medication right away.

It has been a real help. He still struggles, but there is a clear difference. (He is 13 now)

At 6 when his world came crashing down around him - neither schooling nor social trainings or self management courses would have been possible without.
He tried to stop for a short while and his quality of life deteriorated significantly, so he went back on of his own accord.

Thank you all for your comments. How long do the drugs take to kick in? I'm reluctant to start them as I don't want him to be reliant on them if not needed but likewise I don't want to deny him something that could help.

We started them for DS because we had tried everything else and his symptoms were affecting his relationship with the other children in his class and making him miserable as a result.
The medication takes effect within about 30 minutes of taking it although it may take a while to get the right dose.
DS is much happier now and has been brilliant in school although it did take time for relationships with his peers to settle down. He’s not dependent on his medication at all, it doesn’t work like that, he doesn’t take it at weekends and although we can see the difference he can regulate himself better when he’s unmediated than he used to because the medication has allowed him to learn this.

You slowly up the daily dosage until it is effective.
Good breakfast, take medication if unretarded immideate (sp.?) effect if retarded slightly later.
It does not build up (unlike some anti depressants) - so if it is has been metabolized it is gone - you notice that instantly.
We found a dosage that got DS through the school day and homework.
He is in his last year of schooling now.
When he took his first dosage he was actually able to sit down for ten minutes and his handwriting became legible.