Vyvanse in Adults: 14 Hours
ByA study was recently published which demonstrated that Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine dimesylate) works up to 14 hours in adults with ADD/ADHD.
In this study, measurements of adult ADD/ADHD symptom control were taken at 2 hours post medication, and were found to be effective all the way to 14 hours after the medication was taken.
This can be important for adults with ADD/ADHD who need to have good symptom control throughout the day – to take care of many responsibilities through the day, including family and work responsibilities.
Based on this study – the FDA has allowed for a labelling change for Vyvanse – so that the product monograph allows for documentation of the 14 hour duration of Vyvanse in adults.
I’m curious to hear adults’ experiences with Vyvanse. Does it last up to 14 hours for you? Does it take 2 hours to start working? Please share your comments below.
Best,
Dr. Kenny
14 hours with Vyvanse? Perhaps for some, but not even close for me.
My personal experience is that I get moderately good symptom control for about 9 hours with 70mg Vyvanse. After that, it is noticeably less effective. After about 11 hours, it is pretty much finished. Currently, I also take Adderall after about 10 hours to extend coverage through the end of the day.
In my specific case, I would also say that Adderall provides significantly better symptom control with fewer side effects than does Vyvanse, but the comparatively long duration of the Vyvanse makes it reasonable trade off. I did not care for the ‘roller coaster’ of peaks and valleys prior to beginning Vyvanse. Nor was I very good at remembering to time my doses throughout the day.
What I would hope for is is a true 16-hour Adderall.
Yes, I find that to be about right. I usually feel my Vyvanse (50mg) kick in after 90-120 minutes. It usually wears off after 12-13 hours, I can’t be sure that 14 hours is what I feel, as by then I am pretty used to the feeling of being on the medication and I think it is more of a gradual “come down” for lack of a better term.
I’ve recently started taking it at 6pm however, as I need the medicine more for my after-work relationships and have found it much more enjoyable this way. I get a whole evening where I am very productive, not slightly grumpy as the tiredness catches up with me from a whole day on stimulants, which is how I normally feel. I also don’t fidget when I’m sleeping so much, so I tend to sleep better, although I am noticeably more of a lighter sleeper than I usually would be. I’m trialling this for a few weeks, but for the week I’ve been doing it this way, I’ve had a much better time than when taking it during the daytime.
What were the dosages? I do find it lasts up to 14 hours.
But that’s on 140 mg, which is above the FDA approved dosages here in the U.S.
Of course, I do pay out of pocket for the extra 70 mg. But it’s only $130 USD where I live, which over 30 days is only about $4.5/day. Most people spend more than that on daily lunch.
My experience has been interesting and at the moment a bit confusing and disappointing, sorry for the long read but here are all the details. I started on Vyvanse 50mg the beginning of February this year, and it worked amazingly well for me, kicking in after about 45min. – 1 hour and lasting a full 12-14 hours. I could feel my energy, focus, motivation, productivity, and desire to be outgoing all increase by the minute, and during that time I couldn’t even consider napping or relaxing or stop thinking about all the great stuff I wanted to get done and how productive I could be – just about a full 180 degrees switch from the way I had felt for so long before the medicine. By the way I am 26 years old, 6’0″ and 135 lbs. and am not hyperactive or manic or anything similar… without the medicine I feel almost permanently tired, fatigued, unmotivated to do anything or talk to anyone, unable to concentrate, and definitely “scatterbrained” with random, uncontrollable and unfocused thoughts always. But I did have two side effects – very dry mouth where I always seemed thirsty (which encouraged me to drink a lot more water every day), and rapid heartbeat (which made me want to jog and exercise much more regularly, with the goal of decreasing my resting heart rate to balance this effect out!), but these effects did decrease over time.
This was the case for me Feb. – start of June this year, but I noticed the effectiveness to decrease the last 2 months or so. The effects would start about 1 1/2 – 2 hours after use, would help decently with concentration and focus for about 4-5 hours, then the only noticeable effect was an increase in energy and motivation to do things – not being so tired and fatigued and “blah”, which has almost always been the case for me before the medicine. I didn’t notice any side effects anymore either, except occasional irritability and loss of patience.
The start of July I switched to Vyvanse 60mg, which helped a little better to extend the effectiveness of duration, but not as long or effective as the initial 50mg use, and no increased side effects. Every day I had to decide when to take it – in the early morning to be effective during my job but not really the rest of the day, or drag through work and wait until after, to be able to get more done in the afternoon? This continued for the month but it seemed to me that the effectiveness and duration were decreasing. I discussed these things and asked to be prescribed 70mg, to see if this would help once again like the initial days of 50mg or at least extend the duration of effectiveness to all day long.
The day after my last 60mg pill, which was still noticeably effective, I started 70mg and anticipated having a great productive day. However it did not go as I expected, with no increase in focus or motivation or even energy after an hour, 2 hours, 3 hours… after about 4 hours I became tired and almost exhausted, and took a long nap!! I figured it was being tired from hard work that morning and was ready for the next day, but even a few hours after use and after jogging to get my energy going, it was the same exhaustion or fatigued feeling, and all I could think about was “Why is this not working? What’s wrong with these pills? Did I get a different medicine?” Back to sleep… which I could never even consider doing within 14 hours of use the first month of my initial Vyvanse 50mg prescription!
Nope it is the right stuff, but the last 2 weeks have been a big disappointment. After about 2 hours there is a period of maybe an hour or two where I have a tiny increase in energy and motivation, but not of focus or productivity or any other symptoms it is supposed to help with, then after 5-6 hours it is a “brainfog” and fatigue and time for bed! My doctor says this is over-medication and I should switch back down or to Concerta or Focalin. Recently I have been cutting the pills with a hobby knife, taking about 2/3 or 3/4 and leaving the remainder for later, simulating a lower dosage. But with that there is zero effect at all. So where should I go from here? Try a medium-level dose of a comparable medication, or back to 50mg Vyvanse that used to work, or search for some physiological basis for why I am permanently tired and fatigued and unmotivated and scatterbrained when not on any medicine? Thanks for the long read and any suggestions,
>Steve
thank you for taking the time to share this. I had a mild traumatic brain injury from a car accident while on a medical mission in ecuador. they have me on vyvanse. I have the same symptoms as you are reporting. started off great, increased it when it was slowing down and it was fine and now i am tired all the time. I am returning to the states to see my docs next month but would like to know if you found any help and what it was. thanks.
And just an update based on something I read on another forum post. They stated that their multivitamin was having an impact on the medicine’s effectiveness because of the high Vitamin C content, and after switching to the multivitamin at night the effectiveness returned. I also occasionally take a multivitamin with a high Vitamin C content, and sometimes drink orange juice also high in Vitamin C.
So is that true that it might be a reason for decreased effectiveness, or maybe my Excedrin use with Acetaminophen, Aspirin and Caffeine I usually take for my early morning physical labor job and occasional headaches in the morning? It could be these things, along with an increased Vyvanse tolerance by my body through daily use, that has reduced effectiveness. The more knowledge about these things the better.
Steve – if you take anything that is mildly acidic (i.e. vitamin C, orange juice, or even any ‘bar’ that has preservatives to let it sit in a foil wrapper on a shelf for months), it will make your stimulant medicine less effective. The stimulant medicine is mildly basic, and if you take a mild acid, they will react, and your body won’t absorb the medicine. So, you can still have these things, but try to avoid them for 1 hour before your pill and 2 hours after your pill. That may make a difference.
I think it takes closer to 1-1.5 hours to start working for me. But it seems to be giving out after 6 hours. Can that be? I get really sleepy at around 2pm.
I have been recently diagnosed after close to 50 years of suffering from ADD. I first tried Concerta which was quite helpful but I found it made me slightly anxious. I switched to Vyvanse working the dose up to 100mgs.
The mild anxiety dissipated but I found its results much less helpful. Especially as the day passes. I get maybe 6-8 hours of good concentration followed by exhaustion that was not there with Concerta. As well I notice on a number of days the effects don’t seem to be present.
I am quite confused as to what to try. I really would prefer NOT to go back to Concerta.
switched from aderall to vyvanse 6 months ago amazing improvement over all fuctioning.I am going to see add specialest,i hope will increase milligrams over 80.I take several doses per day works for me.I am 42 years old weigh over 200 metabolise quickly and diagnosed at 35.should there be a higher formulation for adults and complicated add.Yes
I have been on 40 mg for 2 months now and have found it to have minimal effects for approx 5 hrs. I have previously been prescribed 20mg Adderall Twice Daily and have found it to be very effective. (not XR) I would take a dose at 6am and another at 2pm and I found it to be effective (without side effects) until approx 9pm. I have recently moved to a state with an amphetamine abuse problem and the Doctors I’ve encountered have seemed leery to prescribe Adderall. I am hopeful that an increased dosage will strengthen and lengthen the effects, or that my current Doctor will consider switching to a more effective drug. In reality I would prefer to not take medication, but the increase in functionality and concentration from a ‘scattered mess’ for me has been nearly phenomenal.
21 year old college student (Engineering). Been on Vyvanse 50/60 mg for roughly half a year now (Spring Quarter last year, summer, Fall Quarter presently). Concerta before, with minor effectiveness. I take it approximately an hour before classes begin, can feel effect before/ kick in during the first hour of classes. Works fairly well, as my attentiveness in class is raised a good bit. I take nearly obsessive-level notes, making sure to get everything the instructor writes/demonstrates down. (Engineering courses are very math-heavy; note that this does not, however, make me miss any information. I am just a very good note-taker).
Problem I have is with memory retention. Most of my classes move too quickly for me to absorb and internalize/learn what has happened while it is happening. Rather, I take notes of everything that has happened, and later I go and “reteach” what I’ve recorded. (Also note that even when trying to take very light notes and plain paying attention to the lecture does not work, and works even less).
Even doing this, on exams and quizzes and the like, a lot of times there are complete gaps in my memory, where the methods learned / events that happened in class are essentially non-existent; it’s like they’ve never happened. This causes extreme frustration and even more mental blocks.
Aside from this issue, Vyvanse works within 90 minutes of ingestion noticeably, helps noticeably in daily tasks and general concentration, and lasts roughly a bit under 12 hours. I certainly notice where/when it wears off, as I am an unashamedly avid gamer in the evenings (good release from high-tempo schoolwork for a good 8-10 hours of the day), and the downturn in focusing ability is noticeable and detrimental. I am also very fit (5’10” 145 lbs) and active (biking to class, plenty of outdoors exercise)
I was excited when vyvanse was released for adults with adhd because it was going to be like dexedrine with an really long extended release, and doesn’t have the sexual side effects that adderall does since it doesnt have racemic amphetamine. It didnt have the sided effects but it wasn’t very effective either. It work after about and hour or so and then work for 2 hours then it would stop and then work again for 2 hours and then stop and then work for 2 hours and stop and that was it. It left holes in my day where it wasn’t working at all. I took dexedrine for 8 years in school and never had any problem with it. I wanted to join the USMC and stopped taking it to see if maybe some decipline will help. That didn’t work out for me very well lol. I hurt my knee and got medically discharged. When I went to the va the could ouly do ritalin which doesnt work very well for me. The va told me to see a civilian doctor which I did and he put me on adderall. The side effects are horrible for me. Can’t have sex I was having chest pains. Then I got put on vyvanse and it wasnt even half as effective. When I asked the doctor if I could just be put back on dexedrine he was like a dear in the headlights. When that doctor moved his practice the new doctor was the same way. Dexedrine in my opinion is the best drug with the least amount of side effects. To bad everyone demonized it and now people like me are stuck with side effects or not enough effectiveness
I was, by accident, diagnosed with Adult ADD by my daughter’s pediatrician in 2003 – Let’s call him Dr. “S” for simplicity. He and I have been close, since the day I met him (before my daughter’s birth), he seemed interested in having a personal relationship with our family. Kind hearted… he is a great doctor, and has a kind personality.
Anyway, the event that was the tell… my daughter’s grades were faltering in 4th grade. From Kindergarten to 3rd grade, she made A-grades, with an occasional B. Good behavior, and overall a very good student. So, her 4th grade teacher calls me and my wife, and asks us to come in for a conference. Her first mid-session assessment came back with predominantly B-grades, and a couple of Cs. The teacher, as I generally understand it, can’t say “I think your child is ADD.” But they can point to the grades, and say “Your child seems uninterested in class.” and “It seems to be a ‘focus’ issue.” My wife and I were asked what we thought. Presenting the opportunity for us to ask the teacher “Is our child possibly ADD or ADHD.” The teacher said she could not say one way or the other, but she administered an evaluation, which my wife and I filled out, as well as the teacher.
I took the 3 evaluations and my daughter to meet with Dr. “S” and he and I went over the results. He was very low-key, and asked my daughter “Do you sometimes think about being outside of class, wanting to do something else?” She said “Yes.” And then he asked “When you talk about stuff, do you forget what you are talking about sometimes, in the middle of a sentence?” and she said “Yes.” – Then he looked at me and said “John, how about you?” and I said “yes.” He moved through some more questions… and would re-ask them of me. “Are you tired and/or lethargic?” And my daughter and I were both answering the same way… “Yes.”
And then he moved directly to me and asked “John, do you start 3 or 4 things at the same time, and not complete tasks at work?” ouch… “Yes.” And he asked “Do you think your organization skills have affected you, in the workplace?” “Yes.” I said.
He said “Have your General Practitioner call me office.” You and your daughter have moderate ADD. He prescribed Adderall to my child. I got a call from my Doctor, and he said… “Come in and pick up a prescription for Adderall. I concur with your pediatrician.”
We took Adderall for several years. My child took one 20MG-XR, and I ranged from 20MG twice daily to 60MG twice daily. My wife decided to pull our child off of it about 2 years ago (her grades have dropped from A-to-High-B average to B-Minus) – AND, she did so without asking the doctor, and additionally, she said she believed it made me edgy… and she – my wife – said she did not want the two of us on “speed” – I continued to take it. Two 30mg a day – I weigh 275 pounds.
And yes, Adderall gives you a notable boost within 30 minutes.
So, move forward 7 years from diagnosis – I have a new doctor. He looks at my prescription list from my paperwork. He said… “Adderall. I don’t like that. Have you heard of Vyvance?” I said some relatives take it. But I like Adderall. He said “Adderall is quite addictive.”
Frankly, I can see that. So, he put me on 70MG of Vyvance at first. In my follow up, he asked me… “How do you feel at dinnertime?” I said I feel a sort of edgy, tired feeling. He asked, how does it help with your focus? I said quite good, but without that boosted feeling – like having too much coffee.” And he adjusted the dosage to 60MG in the morning, and 30MG in the lunch hour. He said due to my weight – 275 – and my previous Adderall use, I would exceed the 70MG maximum safely. Interestingly, no problems with insurance. I still believe a change in dosage would be improved with a 70MG in the morning, and lower noon dosage, of say 20MG. I typically now go to bed at 11:00-12:00. That said, with Adderall… I would be up to 1:00-2:00 a.m. and I would have to use relaxation techniques to fall asleep.
My opinion… Vyvance is a better, more stable medication (I was told by my new doctor that Adderall addicts do not like it – so, transition was smooth, and no craving of Adderall occured)… I think the FDA might consider optioning it to a 2-dose-per-day medication, and consider body weight in dosage calculation.
Hope that helps.
John,
Thanks for sharing your story. There are many good lessons in there for other people.
I do want to say that I don’t believe Adderall is addictive when it is taken as prescribed. That said, Vyvanse is a lot ‘smoother’.
Best,
Dr. Kenny
Hi, I was diagnosed with ADD when I was in the 4th grade and first put on ritalin, which worked for about 2 weeks and then got put on Dexedrine. When I took Dexedrine I went from a flunking student to an A-B student in about 9 weeks. I did awsome in school, the thing was my dad always thought it was mental discipline I was lacking and I didn’t need the medicine. When I got done with high school i decided that I was going to stop taking medicine totally and try to do it on my own. It didn’t work very well. I would forget things lose, my keys and wallet, it seemed like it took me longer to do stuff and I would get off track. I thought maybe I need to be in a situation where I had to concentrate and have metal discipline, so I joined the USMC. It was hell, I couldn’t remember facts, I couldn’t keep in step marching, it took me forever to figure stuff out. I would make simple mistakes and forget my canteen at the chow hall. I spent nights when i should be sleeping reading the Marine Corps Knowledge over and over again and couldn’t remember things it was like my brain didn’t want to right the information down. I ended up tearing my left acl and got a medical discharge. After a while I decided I was done fighting this ADD thing and realized it was real and I need to treat it. Since I was in the usmc and got injured there I had VA benefits and saw a psychologist for ADD. He put me on a prescription for Ritalin and I was hopeful that maybe I matured mentally in the last 4 years since I took dexedrine and it would be all that I needed. Ritalin worked for about 2 months before I had to go to the maximum dose. The VA could only do Ritalin for some reason and the psychologist suggest I see a civilian doctor to be put on something else. I took his advice and saw a civilian doctor. I didn’t know that much about medicine and told him the situation and asked him if I could be put on Dexedrine since when I was growing up there was just Dexedrine and Ritalin I didn’t know there was anything else. He game me a weird look and said that things have advanced and they have new medicine and game me prescription for adderall 30 mg 2x a day. I thought it was going to kill me. My heart was beating out my chest and I couldn’t sleep, and it made my chest hurt. I told him and he lowered it down to 20 and 20 which was better but, I couldn’t have sex when I took it and got knocked down to 15 mg which didnt work and I still couldnt have sex. Then my Doctor put me on vyvanse. It didn’t do anything for me until I got to 70mg. The weird thing was it worked after an hour for 1-2 hours and than stop for 2-3 and then go again for 1-2 hours and then stop for 3 and then it worked again for 1-2 hours. Its Coverage was really spotty I told my doctor about it and got put on straterra. That stuff is horrible it, it didn’t do anything but make me tired and kill my sex drive. I talked to that doctor one more time and realized that he had no idea what he was talking about, and went to see a new doctor. I explained everything that happened and he put me on concerta, that didnt work very well so I tried ritalin xr and had no luck. My doctor finally suggested that I see a psychologist for ADHD and put my on adderal xr since it was the only one that worked with out gaps. I saw her after I did some research on adhd medications and told her what I was going through with the medications and it only seemed like dextroamphetamine based medications worked for me and I explained about the gaps I was having and the side effects adderall gave me. She said that vyvanse wasnt really made with adults in mind and adderall’s other ingredient racemic amphetamine was known to have the issues that I had with it. She said she was going to try me on Focalin XR to see if I will respond to it better than ritalin and if that didnt work she was going to put me on dexedrine spanuals. Then I got layed off my job and lost my insurance and couldn’t afford the 300 dollars a visit it cost to see her. Then I ended up having to see a different doctor because the one I was seeing moved his practice. I told the new doctor my situation and tried focalin xr which calmed me down but didnt help me pay attention when i went higher in dosage it was like an adhd enhancer. I couldn’t type or do anything. The new doctor put me on adderall and told me the dexedrine is very different from the other medicines and doctors dont prescribe it anymore, which I knew better, I don’t know what to do. I want what worked for me but I can’t get a doctor that I can afford with out looking like an addict. Should I just give up taking medications again and risk my job, or take adderall and risk my marriage. Drug holidays dont help because I can still feel the effects of the medicine. Even after being treated for low testosterone with steroids I still am not all that interested.
I was on 30mg for a good time (over a year), and it seemed to be like a miracle drug for me (‘course when I was on ritalin I thought the same thing, then when i’m off I get used to the way things are, and years later am put on Vyvanse, which reminded me of how great life really was, and I could actually get things done. It took about 2 hours to kick in (as i would wake up at 7am, take it, and fall back to sleep until I woke up around 9am with it in full swing saying “hello!!! wake up and smell the roses!!”)
Tho it only seemed to work for about 6hrs, then i would start noticing I wasn’t able to focus again (much like i am without the med, but not like withdrawl symptoms to where i’m just deadified for a few days after going off of it for the “break”- so i’m sure it was still working just not making a diffrence other than keeping me from any withdrawl symptoms.(which was generally me on a normal day (no med) but extravigate it by 10, and then you have a deadified Angang.
I’m now on 50mg, not been two hours since i first took it, and already slowly feeling the affects kicking in (Such as here I am writing this instead of being like “no work full 14 hours on 30, but now i’m on50 might be diffrent” lol)
The pdoc thinks with the dosage raise the duration of how long it lasts will raise in hours (because it was getting to where it was just working for an hour or two after it kicked in).
When I quit smoking about 5 or 6 months ago my previously manageable ADHD became totally unmanageable. After about a couple of months I decided to try medication. I tried Vyvanse for a few weeks after being diagnosed with adult ADHD, inattentive type. I guess I was pretty hyperactive as a kid. But my parents didn’t know much about medication back then. I take medication for Bipolar 2 and depression, which is under control. But when I took the 30 mg. of Vyvanse, it made me extremely angry. Not all the time, but some of the time. Enough to have me switch over to Concerta, 27 mg. That caused problems with irritability too, so I switched to about 10 to 20 mg of Adderall XR. Same thing. Anger. So I quit and gave up on those medications. Then I came across something about Tenex helping people who take stimulants who have irritability. So now I’m doing that, and for the most part it is working. I’ve been taking 15 mg to 20 mg of Adderall xr along with .5 mg of Tenex 3x a day, every 6 hours, all according to my doctor of course. But I don’t like how I can’t really have all day coverage, so I’m going back to trying Vyvanse with the Tenex. Has anybody else tried this combination?
Thanks for your input.
Vyvanse works for about 10-12 hours, I take 60 milligrams
40 when I first wake up and another 20 when I come back from running or the gym about 90 minutes later. It’s weird but when the additional 20 kick in, i know exactly what to do, how to do it and get things done.
I have no problem sleeping because I take it so early in the morning, although I wish it would last a little longer.
I am an adult also that recently got diagnosed with add and depression. severe depression at times does that go along with add? anyway i am on 150 mg effexor xr for depr.doxipin 50mg for sleep.70 mg vyvanse.and yes theres one more tenax 50mg for irrability when my vyvanse wears off. ok let me just start out saying the meds are helping. the way i am now, huge differance. 40 years without meds i feel like i litarally spent 40 years in hell…the effexor and doxipin i dont really have a problem with. but vyvanse seems to only last bout 6 or 7 hours for me. but i also weigh 210 and am 6 ft. and when it wears off i seem to get irritable.i dont want to try anything different cause when the vyvanse is working i feel calm and literally wipes out my anxiety my focus and concentration are unbelievable no wonder i didnt graduate high school unmedicated. im on a pap for the vyvanse they must not pay for extra dosing? so my doc. gave me tanex or tenex? to get me through the rest of the day. but it is a seditive. it takes care of the irrability for sure because your not irritable if you are sleeping or in a zombie like state..That stuff sucks. would be a good sleeping pill though it does nothing for focus concentration at all..i need that full 14 hours of my vyvanse bad cause im like a scatterbrained veg. without it. is there any way that dosage for adults that weigh 200 pounds could be approved in the future?cause my girlfreinds kid weighs 60 pounds and he is on 60mg vyvanse. if i got that 14 hours i wuold be set for meds good to go no tanex. though i have no ins. and would prob. have to pay out of pocket for anything over 70mg or is there some other way? if worst comes to worse ill pay out of pocket cause im in school now and need it. but man its salty like 200.00 bucks for 30 days.thats like a car payment man..anyway it just sucks that adults have to deal with such low doses. they need like an adult dosing guide that starts at bout 120 to 200mg maybe…sorry for the rant just dissapointed…Clint
Hello,
To start I am 31, male, 152lbs, very athletic in bicycle racing. I ride 15+ hours a week at 200+ watts output if you know what that is its. For me my resting HR is at night in the mid to lower 40 BPM, day time sitting about 70 BPM, my work outs at about 160 BPM for 3+ hrs per workout, what we call “tempo” and my max at 191.
I started today for the first time ever in my life on any type of med’s VYVANSE for ADD. once daily @ 40mg. My doc said, after a very detailed interview, that i had been suffering from ADD for about 20 years. As far back as i remember about 10yr old, i have done all the normal ADD things from then to this date. I never questioned it being so use to just copping with problems thinking it was just normal, i was slow learning, etc… It was not the case but only that i was ADD and just never knew it.
I am a very successful business owner for 7 years now. We employ 4 people in addition to my wife and i, managing hundreds of regular customers. My wife and i bought out a 4th company Nov 2009 and its now much larger than ever before. Its getting to be more than i can handle every day and past 6 months i have gotten really bad with my ADD symptoms. My wife suggested that i might have ADD that i should be tested. Sure enough i fit every single question to a T as being 1 to 10 being the worst as a 8 or 9 with ADD. I dont like doctors but i really felt this Doc was really trying to help and not sell me something. Awesome Doc! Thanks Doc!
After starting on this med I feel like a whole new person, like i woke up from a horrible dream able to actually function and think freely. OMG i cant believe this is real. I am very concerned about long term health problems this med or any meds might have but for now the alternative is to not function at all.
I have noticed a slight heart rate increase, i use a Garmin HR Monitor everyday for workouts as i am a amateur pro cyclist and keeping close eye on bodies health is key to racing well. I eat very healthy, sleep pretty well feeling rested.
So far this med VYVANSE 40mg is awesome! I will keep you posted on progress good and bad and will read up on yours as well.
I know i said it already but feel compelled to say again that i feel that i just woke up after a 20 year dream! Very focused, not groggy, ready to finish things i just never could seam to get done in the past.
Looking forward to hear more from others!
Jonathan – thanks for sharing.
I suspect that your endurance exercise has likely been ‘treating’ your ADD for years. It was probably the recent stress that pushed your symptoms to a level of less functioning.
Exercise can do wonders for the brain – as Dr. Ratey wrote about in his book Spark.
I am 36 and weigh about 235. I am really struggling with my Vyvanse prescription right now. I take 70 mg. once a day. I am only noticing about 3 maybe 4 hours of the medications effectiveness and when I come off of it I am virtually useless the rest of the day. So everyday at about 1:00 I am going back and forth in my head if i should take another so I feel better as I still have a long day ahead of me. Normally I cave and take another. I feel like a drug addict because in my head I know that there will be many days at the end of the month that I will be without the medication and I wont get out of the bed till 1:00. This can’t be all that healthy. Is there another natural way to extend the effectiveness? Is it recommended to take more Vyvanse or an additional Adderall later in the day? Help. Thank you.
Hi, I’m a 53 year old male that was diagnosed with ADHD 15 years ago.In the beginning I was placed on Ritalin and my whole world changed for the better. As time went on I had to increae dosages to maintain the effectiveness. The one bothersome thing was the peaks and valleys and the end of day headache. I’ve tried Stratera and Concerta but neither had the effectiveness. Then I found vyvanse. I have to say I’ve been on 50mg for two years now and have been very pleased. Yes there are times when for some unexplained reason ( I like to blame the full moon) that it seems less effective but I have found the same with the other mess I’ve used. I have a tendency to wait at least 2 weeks before making any judgement and in most cases I’ve found things go back to the norm
. This usually happens more on the winter than summer. Maybe it’s the vitamin D thong
Hi
I am a 40 year old professional diagnosed with ADHD after decades of obvious symptoms. I am quite intelligent and many assumed that meant I “could not” have ADHD. That is including some of my physicians over the years. I started with Concerta I was on it for almost 6 months with great improvement . I found it jaring however. I was switched to vyvanse eventually having a dose of 100mg to get close to the effects of Concerta. The onset was slower but I adjusted. After 3 or 4 months I had horrible nausea and on occasion vomiting. Split dose ,lowering dose taking before , after or with food did not resolve the nausea. I have never had this reaction to any medication (but then I rarely take any).
Eventually I switched to Dexidrine. Other than having to take medication several times a day I find it is the smoothest with almost no side effects.
Is the reaction to Vyvanse that I had unusual and do you have any explanation.
Sam, what was the dosage of Concerta in relation to Vyvanse that you were on ? I’m 5’8″ and weigh 175 lbs and taking 50mg of Vyvanse once a day. I tried 60mg but started getting nausea. I can’t imagine 100mg. Did the dr try a lower dose?
Hello, I just found this wonderful website with tons of information ADHD. I have had this condition forever, and was in denial with it, always trying to medicate myself with coffee, and exercise. Finally I had a breaking point in my life which forced me to seek help. Well, thank Goodness I did, because being on medication has saved me, and my quality of life is so much better. Now I can say, No Problem, I can do this. Everyday tasks are so much smoother. I can go on, and on, BUT, I think you get my point…..
I have been on Vyvanse since January 2011, before this was Concerta for two months, which upset my stomach, so my doctor switched me to Vyvanse 30mg. Went for two months, then started getting lows, he upped to 40mg, which he told me that he is alway’s VERY conservative, so that’s fine, and I like to be conservative as well, 40gm has worked well, BUT now I am getting the lows again, and the Vyvanse is working less in my system. Mornings are wicked, until I have my coffee, and medication. It doesn’t work the 14 hours for me at all, maybe 9 hour if I am lucky. I have read the posts on not taking it with mildly acidic foods or drinks, so I can get the full benefit. I mentioned this problem to my doctor last visit, I told him the way I felt, which was not as bad as it is now, he seems to think I shouldn’t up it yet, LIKE I said he is very conservative. I am an adult female, no health issues, active, 125 lb………OK, my point is, and questions I have: If my doctor doesn’t want to raise my dosage, I would like to ask him for a mid afternoon fast acting drug with the Vyvanse 40 in the morning? I have read this, and seems to work for some. Also, will my body always loss the effect & have to increase dosage? It’s scary to think that 70mg is in the near future, I want to try & avoid this. Also, one more question, Isn’t Coffee an acidic drink? I haven’t read anything about not drinking it when taking ADHD medication. Sorry, for the long post, just wanted you to hear my story. Thank you for your time,…. Ann
I just started taking Vyvanse this week. I saw the comment about acid foods and wondered about coffee as well. I have not noticed much effect yet from 50 mg. A little more energy for a few hours, but I’m still as scatterbrained as ever, and have a big energy dip in the afternoon. Maybe the morning coffee is neutralizing the pill??
I’m 54, and I’m excited about this new diagnosis and the possibility that I may have a solution to so many issues I’ve dealt with most of my life. My diagnosis is kind of tentative now until we see how these meds work for me. But ADD would explain a LOT.
I’m going to try postponing my coffee tomorrow for a couple of hours and see how that goes.
Hi Dr. Handleman,
I was diagnosed when I was 20, now 26. I began on adderall non xr until I graduated from college and my doctor suggest adderall xr as a better solution for the work enviroment verse college. Since this isn’t a question about adderall, I won’t speak to my pro’s and con’s while on XR for 3 years. But, to answer your question, about 3 months ago I switched to Vvyanse. I started to feel like my 30mg dose of adderall xr wasn’t working anymore for the full work day, so that’s when my doctor suggested switching. I’m on 70mg of Vvyanse (broken out into a 40mg and 30mg dose), My doctor had to call my insurance to explain that 70mg was too strong of a dose for my high blood pressure at one time, so it needed to be taken in two doses. They approved it and now it’s covered in both doses for 30 days. I LOVE Vvyanse! All of the things that I hated about adderall — excessive underarm sweating, increased anxiety, problems staying awake on my days off of the medication, etc…. seemed to pretty much go away or at least decrease on vvyanse. I feel like my normal self just able to think faster on my feet and work to my best ability instead of putting things off until the next day and the next day. It’s funny too – on adderall I always got the sensation to clean – but on Vvyanse – it gives me more of a sensation to work and get things done that need to be handled, but not clean my entire apartment in one night like a maniac! So to answer your questions, 3 months into the medication, I’m a believer!
Thanks, Stacy for sharing your experience.
It works for me a solid 12 hours – maybe 14. of all the meds out there for A.D.D. – for me, this has worked the best.
Dr. Handelman,
Not sure if I have ADHD or not. But I am a 54 year old educated male with a very demanding job. I also was married (still married?) to a wonderful woman with schizoaffective disorder and have custody of an active 12 year old son. My son (not biological) has ADD and takes Strattera. But I mentioned to our family therapist that I was “wiped out” and maybe some Adderall would be good for me. With what I deal with, I have been on Prozac and Zoloft for 14 years. We added Adderall 20 mg XR twice a day. Concentration was great but too jittery. Synergy with the SSRI I suspect. I switched to Vyvanse 60 mg about 18 months ago. Much, much smoother. My MD told me psychiatrists have always prescribed stimulants as an adjunct to the antidepressants. I stopped taking Zoloft this past summer completely and tapered the Vyvanse dose to 30 mg a day. Open the capsule in 24 ml water and accurately measure 12 ml. I retain the balance for the next day. The first 5-6 hours of each day are delightful, but then the jitters arrive and sometimes I supplement the morning dose with another 10 mg. I need to read through all your posts here, because after 18 months, I am still trying to find the right dosage and dosing interval. I work in big pharma (US) – 31 years so I understand a lot of this, but each of us is biochemically unique. I saw a coffee comment. Yeah, I am a caffeine junkie also. Coffee pH shouldn’t be a problem, but I wonder if there is synergy with caffeine? They could interact on the same receptors. Need to research this. Keep up your blog. I have visited several times before – good job!
I started 20 mg of Vyvanse about four months ago after an unsuccessful trial of Lexapro about a year before after my psychiatrist mis-diagnosed me with generalized anxiety. To be fair, I think that I did not have the language to really describe what I was experiencing back then, nor was I ready to admit certain things about my behavior (even to myself).
But my relationship with my long-time girlfriend (who has been really supportive to this very day) was suffering, so while sitting down with the DSM-IV TR (I’m a therapist myself) one afternoon in frustration over not knowing “what the hell was wrong with me,” I found myself described so well in the criteria for cyclothymia. Called up my psychiatrist and made an appointment. Described everything to her + brought a list of symptoms that my girlfriend had provided. I agreed to a trial of Lamotrigine. That was about eight months ago, and it has worked really well for my cycling moods.
But fast forward about two months from then, and my girlfriend asked me to sit down and watch a recent documentary on ADD–the Canadian one with the comedian and his wife. As we sat there and watched it together, I cried at least three times before it was over. I was described so well in that film–going back maybe thirty years (I’m 41). So, at my next appointment, I told my psychiatrist about my experience with the film, and agreed to try Vyvanse. Saw immediate improvement on 20mg. Had energy, focus, and it seemed to work well with the Lamotrigine. Irritability further reduced. Was no longer trying to do too many things in too little time. Moved up to 30mg within two months really just to see if more would = better. Yes, some boost.
In the mornings? All I know is that from the time that I take it when I first get up to the time that I get out the door two hours later, something happens and I’m “ready to face the world” with confidence. I’m sure that the one to two cups of coffee that I am drinking during that time probably help some, but then I really just drink coffee for the taste, and at 230 lbs and 6′ 1″, I don’t think that such a small dose of coffee makes much difference.
How long does it last? It seems to generally last around ten to twelve hours. As a therapist, it seems to have increased my ability to be more direct with clients, and while I do notice that I feel tired around 2:00 pm, I attribute this more to late lunch catching up with me, as this has happened as a pattern for years–as well as the energy boost I get after finishing my final client session of the day.
Dr. Kenny,
I had a love/hate relationship when it came to Vyvanse. I was the first patient to try it from my neurologist and stayed on it for over a year. At first I felt it was a wonderful medication compared with Adderall XR. Finally I asked to switch back to Adderall XR. I will address the good and bad with Vyvanse.
The good:
100% consistent. Worked each and every time. Taking with food delays it for an hour or so. Not so with Adderall. Some days Adderall works, some days it doesn’t.
Works fast. On empty stomach it starts to work in less than a hour .
The bad:
Short-acting. Vyvanse was so consistent that it basically was done after 4-5 hours. I was puzzled by this and my doctor never believed me. Here we have tons of marketing material about it lasting 13+ hours and everyone thinks Vyvanse is an extended release medication. The truth is that Vyvanse is NOT an extended release medication. As a matter of fact, Shire really doesn’t say it is. Clever marketing!
Reading the prescribing information explains everything. Vyvanse reaches peak level in the 3-5 hour range. After that it isn’t actively working and starts dropping. So how can Shire say Vyvanse works for 13+ hours? Science. The half-life of amphetamine is in the 11-12 hour range. It takes the body that long to reduce the amount of amphetamine by half. So Vyvanse is long lasting because of half-life (but so is regular Adderall and Dexedrine).
Perhaps it is better to think of Vyvanse as an IR (immediate release) medication with a superior release mechanism. So for someone taking 70mg of Vyvanse would be the same as taking a 30mg tablet of Adderall (not XR). Both reach peak levels around the same time (Vyvanse may have slight edge here) and both are governed by the rules of science with the half-life.
Another thing that has been kept from patients (and maybe doctors) is how much amphetamine is actually in each Vyvanse capsule. You have to dig through the initial filing application with the US FDA to find out. The answer comes out to being approximately 30%. The other 70% is Lysine. So that 70mg Vyvanse actually contains just 21mg of amphetamine. Wait….how can we say 21mg of amphetamine is equal to 30mg of regular Adderall or Dexedrine? Well with Vyvanse you can do more with less. You get much better absorption since everything happens after it passes through the stomach. No reduced absorption from acidic beverages or high-fat meals. No wasted amphetamine like what happens with regular Adderall or Dexedrine.
If Shire marketed Vyvanse for what it really is, there would be nothing that could match it. As a 2-3 times a day medication it would be the best thing ever. As a 1 per day medication, not so much. Of course every person is different so some people out there could get by on 1 capsule per day and be fine over the long run. I have a feeling that most people will probably start asking for additional boosters because they notice Vyvanse isn’t lasting long enough.
- JR
JR, thank you for your thorough and well researched comment. I’d like to add some comments to this, based on my knowledge and experience.
1) Yes, the amphetamine component of Vyvanse is 30% of the dose. The rest is Lysine and also dimesylate (the generic term for Vyvanse is lisdexamfetamine dimesylate). As you point out – because of the superior delivery system, the amount of amphetamine in Vyvanse seems to work better than a similar amount in other preparations.
2) When it comes to the duration of action – the science is very strong that it lasts up to 13 hours in kids/teens and 14 or more hours in adults. This is based on studies that have kids in simulated classrooms, and adults in simulated work environments, and the researchers observe how long the medicine is actively controlling symptoms. So, research shows that Vyvanse lasts that long.
In addition to that, the pharmacokinetics (i.e. the rate of absorption, and blood levels of the medicine) are reported to be very stable and consistent from one person to another.
Shire has done a very good job of teaching doctors that this medicine is so stable in its absorption that it won’t change from person to person. (that is probably why your doctor didn’t believe you when you said it didn’t last long enough…)
In my office – working with lots of patients – I have had a small number who find that Vyvanse doesn’t last long enough (i.e. about 8 hours is the shortest I have heard). I’ve also had some patienst that couldn’t tell when it wore off, and they were up until 3 am (i.e. it lasted longer in these people!).
Bottom line – it is a good medicine, the pro-drug technology is a great new innovation, and for some individuals, it may not last long enough!
Hopefully, your doctor is willing to work with you to adjust treatment to suit your needs, rather than suiting treatment to the scientific studies that the Shire rep shared with him/her!
Good luck.
Best,
Dr. Kenny