I don't have a child with ADHD, but I was a child with ADHD and am now an adult with it. Unfortunately I didn't know about it until I was 29. I was very much like your daughter, mostly inattentive and smart, so I didn't cause a lot of problems and managed to do pretty well in school, though not as well as I could have and no one knew how I struggled inside. I learned that I had ADD in my last month of graduate school- I was doing a paper on ADD and recognized it in myself. I tried meds for a while, but after doing some research decided against them.
There is a growing belief that ADHD is not really a disorder at all, it is just a different way of thinking. People with ADHD are non-linear thinkers and unfortunately school is set up for linear thinkers. As you've realized with your daughter, people with ADHD struggle in some areas, but also excel in others. There has also been research that shows that linear thinkers asked to complete non-linear tasks exhibit the same symptoms as non-linear thinkers trying to complete linear tasks. In addition, most of us with ADHD have no problem focusing when something is interesting to us or is taught to us in a creative or more interactive way.
For me, just the knowledge of why certain things are harder helped me immensely- I wish I had known at a young age. And understanding my strengths and weaknesses has helped me to develop strategies to cope in linear situations. Even without that knowledge, I was able to graduate high school and go on to complete a bachelor's degree and a masters degree.
I'm a therapist now and have had several clients with ADHD. Some took meds and others did not, but all were helped by learning to work with their ADHD/ non-linear brain styles, instead of against it.
I'm telling you all this so that you get another perspective, not because I'm trying to tell you what to do. Only you can decide that. Unfortunately, many parents are only given the med option and there are others available. What I'm getting at is, it is not necessary to medicate your daughter just because she has ADHD. You can use the knowledge of her strengths and weaknesses to help her learn to cope with situations. I would still recommend therapy to help with this and a lot of reading on your end.
Here are some online resources that might help:
http://www.addresources.org/ - great all around resource
http://www.chadd.org - Support group
http://www.ncgiadd.org/ - The National Center for Gender Issues and ADHD (focuses on ADHD in girls and women)
http://www.addconsults.com/ - great resource- has professional directory
http://www.addvance.com/
Good luck!
H.