Comments on: Vyvanse for Adult ADD or ADHD

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 13:25:28 +0000

Dr. Handelman,

I was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago at 28 years old. I tried Concerta, but recently switched to Vyvanse because Concerta gave me horrible mood swings. The Vyvanse has given me a lot more energy & focus, so I’m much more productive now, but it still seems like side-effects I do have are much greater than the benefit. I’m extremely twitchy most of the time, despite switching to decaf coffee months ago, regular exercise, and a mostly healthy diet. I’m also much more critical of others & have very little patience for anything. My husband is a very laid-back type of person who takes his time on everything. I find his patience infuriating lately and we often argue about it. Before starting stimulants I was much less critical, now because the energy & focus I have causes me to be so much higher-achieving, I feel like people who don’t do as much as me are lazy & useless and I’m unable to relate to them anymore. This impatience, anger, and irritability I’m experiencing is destroying my relationships with people. I don’t know what to do about it. My psychiatrist feels that I’m doing really well on the Vyvanse, but I’m not so sure. Is it possible that I’m taking too high a dosage? I currently take 60mg. at 6am & 30mg. at 2pm. I used to just take 60mg. at 6am, but I started getting very angry at 5pm every day, so we added the extra dose. Is it possible that I don’t even have ADHD and that’s why I’m having such a negative reaction on the medications?

Any information you can give me would be very much appreciated!!! Thanks in advance

By: Phyllis DePriest

Phyllis DePriest — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 05:02:48 +0000

Nick I have had the same probems, once you have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD the best advice I would give anyone is to stay on your medication. Some days you may have very high energy days and other days very low. This is normal and I am a very spiritual person and have studied my birth sign and rising sign and horoscope since I was 13. The planets eclipses and retrogrades and when the planets are direct moving forward. All have a lot to do with how you feel and how your day goes. Once you have been on medication you will know how bad your ADD or ADHD effected you when you run out of medication. I can’t function with out it. It takes me 3x longer to get out of the house. I can’t find my keys or do any paper work. Im clumsy, forgetfull, Moody Mean I don’t want to be around anyone and it is best that noone is around me either. My husband said I hurt his feelings one morning when Id been off my medication for 3 days. He does everything he can to make sure I don’t run out of medication and if my insurance wont pay he gets me the money to pay for my VyVanse.. You have to give the medication time to work it can take up to a full year before you are able to find the right dosage and drug. If one does’nt work try Adderall XR. Sometimes the dosage isnt strong enough or it may be to high of a dosage. Everyone on ADD medication is going to react different. The side effects are nothing compared to the hell I went through before getting on medication. The fog lifted and I was able to start living my life. Stay on your medication and do what ever you have to too find the money for your prescription every month. You will definitely see results. In your career, home life, education, romantic issues. Most likely everything will improve. Read every book out here on ADHD And ADD and how to cope. It’s a good idea to seek therapy. I call my medication my brain pill and I take it every day.

By: Samantha

Samantha — Thu, 26 May 2011 05:54:16 +0000

I am a 22 year old female and have been taking vyvanse for the last year and it has turned my life around. I am diagnosed with ADHD, Manic Depression and Anxiety disorder, I have been put on hundreds of different medications up to taking 4 pills a day, none of them worked like this. Vyvanse not only deals with my ADHD but also levels out my moods I owe so much to it. I used to forget to take my pill some days and my family could IMMEDIATELY tell that i didnt take it and see the drastic change in my mood.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 03:50:45 +0000

I’m a 23 year old female. I took medication for ADD as a kid, but it made me depressed. When I was in 8th grade I asked to stop taking the medication. I finally decided it was time to try it again as I’m struggling very hard with working full-time as a Medical Assistant and going to college to eventually become a Physician’s Assistant. My main problem was starting 100 projects and finishing none, and zoning out during lectures. I was prescribed Vyvanse 40mg to start. The doctor had a hard time deciding what time for me to take it since I work 8am to 5pm and take college night courses until 7pm and 10pm. She suggested around 10am so I could get the effects while at work and would also last into the night for classes. I am on my third day of taking it…The side effects I’m experiencing are almost unbareable. The first day I was very happy with how productive I was. However, I could NOT stop talking to other people, or to myself. I felt jittery. My desk and my exam rooms just could not become clean or organized enough, the O.C.D of washing my hands became even more compulsive, and probably the worse is absolutely no appetite. I took my first dose with a yogurt at 10am on wednesday…the next time I ate was about a handful of tortilla chips around 8pm Thursday…now today I forced a couple bites of mashed potatoes. I’ve already lost 5lbs in 3 days, which I’m excited for, but I feel so weak and whenever I stand I feel like I’m going to collapse. Also, I do not know if it is secondary to a side effect of the medication, or a side effect to not eating or sleeping…but I just don’t feel like my body or mouth can move as fast as my mind is working, it’s a weird experience. Considering I’m a full-time Medical Assistant and a part-time college student, this isn’t really the help I was looking for. I’m going to give it a few more days and if it doesn’t improve, contact my PCP.

By: McJetter

McJetter — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 20:54:49 +0000

I had the same issue when I took my new script for Vyvanse to the pharmacy, a required pre-authorization. I also have Anthem BCBS. I called my Doctor’s office and it took about 1 week but I got my authorization and got my prescription filled. I’m not seeming to have the wonderful results that others are having. I started on 40mg for about a week and a half and I now take 60mg. Still waiting for the “aha” moment!!

By: Melissa

Melissa — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 22:11:36 +0000

I am 20 years old and was just recently diagnosed with moderately severe adhd (inattentive type). When I went to the doctor to explore my options for medications she suggested adderall or vyvance. I confessed to her that I had taken adderall from my roommate once before my freshman year of college during finals time. I am not certain how many mg the pill was but I found it to have no effect on me and in fact, after attempting to study for about 45 minutes or so, I decided to go to bed and give up (that is extremely common for me when attempting to focus). I had no idea at the time that I may have actually needed the medicine. With that said I was obviously feeling more inclined to try something other than adderall and the doctor agreed so we went with Vyvance. After having been on it for a week I have noticed very few side effects, including any sign of it working. I am up to 60mg already and have been really disappointed. Perhaps I had my hopes set too high for some miracle drug that would suddenly make me feel more motivated and give me the ability to focus and stay on task. I have been told over and over “you’ll know when it’s working” but well, I still don’t know. On Vyvance I have found the only noticeable change to be the common dry mouth symptom and that I seem to have turned into quite the chatterbox. I have still found myself getting distracted by my own thoughts when I need to be focusing, but now my thoughts have been coming and going really fast. Before, I still had that same problem but at a much slower pace. I feel more social and talkative and perhaps even a bit wittier (I would consider myself to be a pretty witty person normally, but I’m never fast enough to get the joke out before the right moment has already passed.) All and all, I just feel like my normal self…only…quicker. Not really any loss of appetite (though I do seem to think about food less often), and certainly no problems sleeping (the most productive thing I did on my first day taking it was take a nap!)
Starting to wonder if this is the right drug for me. Maybe I should try adderall again and play with the dosages? Maybe something else? I don’t know. Anyone having the same problem?

By: julia

julia — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:34:27 +0000

also, it occurs to me that these inattentive adhd symptoms may be caused my all the other meds, particularly the psychotropic ones? possible, or should i just accept the diagnosis?

By: julia

julia — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 05:26:56 +0000

i started vyvanse 50mg just a week ago, after having been on adderall 40mg a.m. + 20mg roughly 5-6 hours after initial dosing. I also take lexapro, tegretol, abilify for bipolar I, levo and liothyroxine for hypothyroid, methscopolamine for ibs, and seroquel for sleep (the seroquel had been rx’d years before the ‘inattentive adhd’ was identified, and, oddly enough- to me, anyway- i slept better and required less seroquel while taking adderall than without it, or, more recently, since having started the vyvanse. my ibs had also resolved quite well with the adderall; it’s almost as bad as it was originally on the vyvanse.
I am also a recovering drug addict/alcoholic; why my ANP switched me from the adderall to the vyvanse. While I have never abused the adderall, he was more comfortable with the lower abuse potential of the vyvanse, and i cannot fault him that.
i have found the vyvanse to wear off much more quickly than either he or i anticipated. i can expect roughly nine hours of efficacy before i literally need to sleep. my solution to this has been to take it later in the day on the days i have to be functional for longer periods. on some days i take it as late as noon only to fall in bed at around 9 p.m. on the days i take it earlier, say 6-7 a.m., i have the overwhelming need to nap by about 4 p.m., and that negatively impacts my night’s sleep (requiring more seroquel).
in short, i, personally, miss the adderall, already. I’d rather dip after 5 hours than crash after 9. perhaps a higher dose of the vyvanse is needed? Or will that simply wear off after 9 hours, as well? it’s a bit frustrating, and i plan on talking to my APN about this at my next visit. however, considering the a and d history, i’m lucky to receive this type of drug at all from a respectable practitioner.

By: jen j

jen j — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 22:03:21 +0000

I’M A 27 YR. OLD FEMALE WHO STARTED VYVANSE 2 WEEKS AGO AND TO ME ITS A FAKE FOR DRUG MANUFACTURERES TO MAKE MONEY IT’S ALL IN YOU HEAD IT’S A PLACEBO!!!!!!! SO FIND SOME MORE FAKE CHINESE DRYWALL TO PUT INTO A CAPSULE AND MAKE MILLIONS OF OF THESE AMERICANS THAT ALREADY CANNOT AFFORD THEIR MORTGAGES OR FOOD! I’VE EVEN WENT TO TO EXTREME AS TO TAKE 3 AT ONCE AND STILL NO SUPPRESSION OF APPETITE, MOODINESS, AND HAVE FALLEN BACK TO SLEEP IN THE MORNING RIGHT AFTER TAKING THEM AT AROUN8 AM AND NOT WAKING UP UNTIL 3-4 PM ???????? NOW WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?????LUCKILY IT’S SUMMER VACTION FOR MY CHILDREN SO I HAVE TIME TO FIND A REAL DOCTOR THAT KNOWS WHAT SHE’S DOING!!!! BECAUSE IF NOT SHE’LL BE THE REASON FOR ME LOSING MY MIND, CHILDREN , HOME ,AND EVERYTHING I HAVE

By: jen j

jen j — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:49:20 +0000

SORRY MY COMMENT IS RIGHT UNDER ANOTHER JEN SO I MADE MINE JEN J.

I’M THE ONE WHO BELIEVES IT’S A FAKE!!!!! ALSO DOES NOTHING TO SUPRESS APPITTE BUT WHAT IIS 30 MG ONCE A DAY???????? MY DOCTOR IS CRAZY AS ???????????????