Winding Road, I am glad you are on your way. You will notice an immediate effect with the medication. It might take awhile to work out the dose or even which one is right. And these meds don't seem to follow the usual rules of dosage by weight. It's a very individual thing.
Women don't get diagnosed because they are nice little girls, sit in the back of the classroom and daydream. Then people wonder why they can't read, etc. But, sometimes they act out in other ways. If you looked at the stats on girls who have a substance issue, cut, or are sexually promiscuous, you might find a pretty high # of them have untreated ADD. All of those things are self medicating/soothing. Sometimes people can focus themselves on one thing they really love (like riding), but it doesn't help with all of the symptoms. The women/multitasking thing has no real basis in neuroscience. The evidence is very contradictory. You can make it look that way if you want to.