Vyvanse – The New Medicine for ADD/ADHD
ByWhat is Vyvanse?
[Article Updated May 2010]
Vyvanse is a new ADD/ADHD drug manufactured by Shire that was approved by the FDA in February 2007 to treat ADD/ADHD symptoms in children aged 6 through 12. It is a prodrug, which means that it must be orally ingested to activate its main ingredient, lisdexamfetamine dimesylate. So the actual medication is inert – i.e. it doesn’t do anything – until an enzyme in the body converts the medicine into the active drug. Because Vyvanse is a stimulant which is not a functioning stimulant (until it is converted by an enzyme in the body), it has a much lower abuse potential than other ADHD stimulant medicines.
When Vyvanse enters the stomach and small bowel, there are enzymes which will break the medicine up. Vyvanse will become: lysine (an amino acid that has no impact on ADHD), as well as dextroamphetamine. Dextroamephetamine is a medical amphetamine (different than the ‘street drugs’) which is very helpful for ADHD. It has been used for treatment of ADHD for decades, and has been available under different names like: Dexedrine and Dextrostat. Once the active medicine is broken from the amino acid lysine, it can now begin to function to help ADHD.
Thus, if someone tries to abuse Vyvanse by snorting it, or even trying to inject it – they will not get a high because it will not be an active medicine until an enzyme in the body works on it and ‘activates’ it.
Although it is generally thought that the medicine is mainly broken down or ‘activated’ in the stomach/small bowel, it may also be ‘activated’ in the blood as well.
In clinical studies, parents reported that their children’s ADD/ADHD symptoms were consistently controlled throughout the day, even through homework time from 4 P.M. to 6 P.M. Newer research is showing that Vyvanse can work for 13 hours and maybe even longer. Additionally, children taking Vyvanse in the study were able to focus and perform better on tests; in a timed math test, a group taking Vyvanse attempted 51% more math problems than the group given placebo, and provided correct answers 54% more often than the placebo group.
An overall improvement was recorded in 95% of children that took Vyvanse for 12 months.
What are the characteristics of Vyvanse?
Vyvanse is in the same medication family as Adderall; its active ingredient is lisdexamfetamine dimesylate. It provides consistent ADD/ADHD symptom control for 13 hours. Vyvanse is a capsule that can be swallowed whole or the capsule can be opened and mixed with water (for kids who can’t swallow).
Vyvanse is taken once daily and is available in six dosage strengths (when it was first launched in the US, it was only available in three strengths, but there are more options now):
- 20 mg
- 30 mg
- 40 mg
- 50 mg
- 60 mg
- 70 mg
These different strengths give you and your doctor some flexibility in determining which dosage is right for you, your teen or your child. The recommended starting dose for Vyvanse is 30 mg once per day taken orally in the morning. The dosage may then be increased by up to 20 mg per day at weekly intervals, up to a maximum of 70 mg per day.
Who is Vyvanse approved for?
Currently, Vyvanse is approved for children aged 6 to 12 years, as well as adults aged 18-65 years old.
While there is not yet official approval for Vyvanse in Adolescent ADHD, many doctors are using this medicine for teens, and presumably the official indication will be coming soon.
What are the side effects of Vyvanse?
Vyvanse was very well tolerated in clinical studies with children. The most common side effects were decreased appetite, difficulty falling asleep, irritability, and stomachache. Generally, the side effects were described as mild to moderate; occurrence and severity of side effects decreased over time. As with any prescription medication, it is important to remember that your doctor has prescribed it because he/she feels that the benefits will outweigh the possibility of side effects.
How much does Vyvanse cost?
Vyvanse will cost the same as Shire’s other popular ADD/ADHD drug, Adderall XR: around $3.40 a day. The cost may even be less than Adderall XR because it is estimated that patients who switch from Adderall XR to Vyvanse might need fewer doses.
Ritalin remains the cheapest ADD/ADHD drug; Vyvanse costs considerably more than Ritalin and Ritalin SR. The cost is comparable to the 36mg and 54 mg doses of Concerta, which is around $140 per month.
When can Vyvanse be used?
Vyvanse should be taken once daily in the morning. It provides consistent ADHD symptom control throughout the day for up to 13 hours. In clinical studies, parents reported that their children’s ADD/ADHD symptoms were controlled at approximately 10 A.M., 2 P.M., and 6 P.M., and demonstrated consistent symptom control throughout the day.
Vyvanse is a once-a-day capsule that should be taken in the morning, either with or without food as prescribed by your child’s doctor. If your child is unable or unwilling to swallow pills, Vyvanse capsules may be opened and the entire contents of the pill can be dissolved in water. The entire portion must be finished and should not be stored for later use.
New research is demonstrating that Vyvanse’s absorption and effectiveness is completely unaffected by stomach factors. So – whether Vyvanse is taken with or without food, whether someone is taking antacid medicines, or has a GI disorder (like Celiac’s for example) – it will NOT have an impact on the effectiveness and delivery of vyvanse in the body. This is different than the other medicines for ADHD – like Adderall XR and Concerta, for example.
Can Vyvanse be abused?
The abuse potential of Vyvanse is extremely low; the medication is designed to have a reduced or minimal abuse potential. Since Vyvanse requires oral ingestion to be converted to the active drug, the capsule contents are highly unlikely to be sought out for inhalation or injection.
How does Vyvanse compare to Ritalin, Ritalin SR, and Concerta?
Vyvanse is a new class of ADD/ADHD medication. It is the only medicine which is a pro-drug for ADHD.
Unlike Ritalin, Vyvanse is not an immediate release stimulant. Vyvanse has much lower abuse and addiction potential. Ritalin SR and Concerta are long-acting formulations like Vyvanse, but Vyvanse has been shown to provide more consistent symptom control over a longer period of time than Ritalin SR and Concerta.
Ritalin, or methylphenidate, must be taken two or three times a day for symptom control, whereas Vyvanse is only taken once. The effectiveness of Ritalin is often inconsistent. It is inexpensive, but abuse and addiction potential is much higher with Ritalin than with Vyvanse.
Ritalin SR is a long-acting formulation of methylphenidate with inconsistent performance reviews. It doesn’t work for everyone and usually lasts up to 6 hours. However, like short acting Ritalin, Ritalin SR is inexpensive.
Of the three, Concerta is the most comparable ADD/ADHD medication to Vyvanse. They both control symptoms for up to 12 hours and are generally well-tolerated. Concerta is not a prodrug, so the abuse potential is theoretically higher than it is for Vyvanse.
Where is Vyvanse Available?
At the time of this article update (May 2010), Vyvanse is only available in the USA and Canada. It is not yet available in other parts of the world. Please check back, as I will update this article when Vyvanse will be available in other countries such as: the UK, Australia, Europe, etc.
New Data On Duration of Action of Vyvanse in Adults with ADD/ADHD:
New research has shown that Vyvanse works in adults with ADD/ADHD for up to 14 hours. This is a real benefit for Vyvanse, as adults have many responsibilities throughout the day and into the evening. This suggests that many people can avoid taking a short acting stimulant in the early evening (i.e. Taking Adderall XR in the morning, and short acting Adderall in the late afternoon to make the medicine last), by just taking Vyvanse which will last long enough to cover the symptoms throughout the day and the early evening.
The Bottom Line About Vyvanse
Treatment and management of ADD/ADHD requires many components; this article focuses only medication. Vyvanse is a breakthrough ADD/ADHD drug and many doctors and parents will seriously consider switching from their current ADD/ADHD medication for the benefits Vyvanse offers: low abuse and addiction potential, one daily dose, and symptom control for up to 13 hours. For more information on the other treatments of ADD/ADHD: 1) sign up for my ADD/ADHD newsletter at www.TheADHDDoctor.com, and 2) peruse this blog for more articles about ADD/ADHD.
vyvanse
[...] Vyvanse is a the first prodrug for ADHD. This means that the medication is inactive until an enzyme in the body works to activate it. To read more about how it works, visit this blog post on Vyvanse. [...]
I have been reading the posts, and I see a lot of frustration with the results of the some of the medications. Vyvanse is not for everyone, but I have tried them all and it is the only one that works for me. However, I can’t imagine someone being on 100 mg of any type of ADHD medicine. I feel as though that it can’t be good for your body to take such a high dose. I don’t remember who wrote that on this thread, but I would be concerned. I also think the natural ways we deal with ADHD can help us work with the medicines as well. I was not diagnosed until I was 40, and now the meds really do help me focus, but I still revert back to my old ways of list keeping and talking outloud to myself
in order to reinforce my thoughts. Also, I don’t take the Vyvanse every day. I do find that sometimes it makes me feel angry and hyperfocus.. I guess the angry feeling comes when things don’t go exactly as I had planned. It’s almost as if the medicine makes me more OCD, but either way, it helps. I do, however, take klonopin to counteract that angry/OCD feeling that I get sometimes and that has been very helpful. I can still focus and concentrate, but I am not feeling anxious when I take it. I am finishing my degree in school and doing well in my classes so I can’t complain. I hope you don’t mind me sharing my experience with Vyvanse, and I hope some of my methods can be of help to you. I strongly suggest that if Vyvanse is making you feel jittery, angry, moody, hyperfocused, or whatever, you should consider lowering your dosage. Vyvanse is one the mildest drugs out there for ADHD, and I think the end results can really work if you work with it. I weigh only 105 lbs and they wanted to start me on 40 mgs.. I knew better! I started on 20 and increased to 30 during my last semester because I was at school from 8AM to 9PM so I needed it to be longer lasting. This semester will not be as intense so I will probably go back to 20 mg. So, just remember to think about your weight when deciding on your dosage. I think you should start low and increase as necessary, not start high and freak out.. it puts a bad taste in your mouth..literally! Good luck to all 
Marysue
Interesting information you’ve shared! So grateful to read humble yet straight forwarpersonal experiences with this drug. I was diagnosed with ADHD IN 1999 AND PTSD. But, sadly I failed to follow through with any treatment. A year ago I finally decided to take responsibility for the lack of motivation and innability to complete things in my life and WOW……what an amazing difference this choice has made! I do agree that the dosage factor plays a major role in balance and ability to manage emotions as well as awareness of the “hyperfocus” factor too! In my own experience with Vyvance it has become very clear the obvious level of discomfort one can experience when dosage has become too high! For example…..hyperfocusing, over reacting to situations and unnecessary obsessive compulsive tendencies that can serface without warniing :/…holy shnikeez!! :0 But since beginning a new dose and restructuring a healthy thought process…..I can say with compmlete confidence and gratitude for my own self awareness that I’ve made the right choice to balance my tasks….emotions and weight level much easier than when previously taking adderall xr, as well. Boy howdy…too many PEAKS N VALLYS!
In response to:
Bobby says:
December 25, 2010 at 4:04 pm
“Reading these posts verifies my experience and confirms the position of my doctor. Vyvanse is not exactly honest as regards to the duration of benefit one might expect.
I am an attorney. Work long hours. Must pay close attention to detail. Vyvanse is the best ADHD med I have tried–up to a point. The point is about 8 hours. Thereafter things get ugly. It is as if someone has hit me with a hammer. I am gone–useless.
My doctor moved me up to 100 mg, which gave me about 11 hours. We thought 120 mg. would be ideal. However, since 70 mg dose is the highest offered–for no good reason–higher dosages meant two RXs. My insurance company paid for most of the first but I had to pay the full amount for the second RX each month. Extremely expensive. Also considerable motivation for Shire keeping dosages low. More money in selling two RXs than in selling one.
So, until someone sensible steps in and makes available the dosages needed in the real world, I have returned to a less satisfying alternative and I shall not return to Vyvanse.
Although I know it will not happen, until the dosage issue is addressed, a complete boycott of the medication is just what is needed. Shire is charging a premium price for a medication and we have every right to expect a premium medication–including appropriate dosages.”
Bobby,
I had similar issues w/ dosages above 70mg Vyvanse. I was adjusting from 2yrs on Adderall XR 60mg when I switched to Vyvanse. When 70mg wasn’t quite doing the job for me, Dr. switched me to 50mg 2x daily to get 100mg daily dose. I haven’t had any issues with insurance so maybe this would help in your case….
I was diganosed with ADHD in August, I have been on Vyvanse since. My doctor started me out at 20 mg and increased each week until i could see that I was leveled. Which now I’m regulated and like that I can focus. First week is hard but you are changing a chemical make up of yourself, change for anyone is hard especially ADHD people. We dont like it but we also dont like being all over the place too thats why we seek help. I loved it, I felt happy again, the first three months. Now that I have maintained the dose of 60mg I feelthat some enviroment issue’s of stress have knocked me off of the wonderful happiness I had in the begining. I’m much clamer, my anxiety is no longer, and when the stress was here I was able to somewhat handle it better. I do have day that I can focus better than others.
I have finally started getting rest, a full night sleep. My doctor told me to take Melatonine which is in the vitamin isle for sleep. I take 3 mg if I know I’m still wide awake. Also you will get an appitite back but you will tell youself you dont have to eat but if you dont i know around 2 or 3 ish I become irritibale. Also I feel like I have the flu my neck hurts and achy. So you do need to at least snack on protien drink water, and you will find most of these symptoms go away.
I do feel at times that the good outways the bad, but my mind tells me okay so when do I stop taking this medicine I’m better? I hate knowing that I have to take a pill to keep me normal. Its okay it will help you function among the normal!! My husband loves it as I can pay attention to his stories and seem to be calmer with our children.
MY oldest is on vyvane at 40mg and I’m worried she is too hyperfocused but I feel that she more irrtable than I was. I feel she is going to emotional part of her life (not from family but school the who’s smart whos going out with who) is effected and I was hoping that would go away and it has not. Her grades are still the same and I’m not 100% on that. I thought we would see her back on the A honor roll. She is so smart but she has told her self she isnt.
Just get through the first week your good but overall give yourself one full month same dosage and see how you feel after that.
Good luck
Re: Vyvanse and mood swings:
We have achieved excellent results with Vyvanse. At first, my child was on 20, then 30, then 50mg. The 50, while a fairly conservative dose, was causing her to be extremely emotional, even unstable in her personality. I gave her time to adjust but without improvement. She would seem fine one day, then lash out the next, telling me she was never really happy just pretending to be!
After reducing her dosage back to 30mg, she is stable, calm, and her ADD is controlled all day. The one thing I would caution is, at night, keep the bedtime consistent. Even WITHOUT the meds, she has a small window of opportunity for sleep–if she stays up too late, she gets hyper after the meds wear off and she will get very little sleep. I have to watch this very carefully, and not let her watch TV too late or get involved in unnecessary tasks. Consistent bed time and no stress or rushing at bed time, and she is fine and does not require sleep aids.
Her appetite is actually improved since the meds have become established. She eats at regular times, and I forced her to eat breakfast when she started the meds,; now she is hungry in the morning. I always have a little something prepared for her, or like any teen, she will skip breakfast. I have also noticed her mood is better and she is less edgy simply from eating breakfast.
So, the low 30mg dose of Vyvanse is effective, no side effects, and her personality is stable. I assume she needs less than usual because she is small (95lb) and she has always only required about half the usual dose of OTC meds, like Tylenol. In guess medications have a stronger effect on somne than others.
Bottom line is, this drug has been an incredible help to her. She does not take it summers or weekends (though I am beginning to give it to her weekends now, tthough the school year at least).
Even better, she seems to have no adverse reaction at all from stopping abruptly, and she does not crave the drug, she doesnt care if she has it or not physically, though she sees the improvement in her ability to concentrate and perform in school now, so she now takes it willingly.
Bottom line: If the Vyvanse seems to be problematic, try a smaller dose, because maybe your child is very sensitive to medications, as mine is. Great result, so adverse affects.
Oops- typo, that was NO adverse affects!
I just given a precription for Vyvanse for my 8 yr old daughter. I am not sure if this is for her. She has good grades in school, she is just an attention seeker and says she needs assistance but she can do the work. She has issues with emotions, she takes temper tantrums if she is frustrated, mad etc. She is a runner, she runs out of her classroom. At home we have issues with sleep already with her and I am not sure if I want to try this if it effects her sleep. Getting up and dressed is also a big issue in my house, she hates going to school she says but I honestly think that it is a laziness thing for her. I need some advice as to whether I should give her this medication or not. My doctor just said he thinks she needs this and left it at that. The school is doing more for me then he is. Please let me know if this medication is for children like my daughter?
Thanks,
Oh my gosh! This was terrible for our son. He hallucinated, had mood swings, could not go to sleep, heard voices, began to say that he could no longer feel emotion or love for anything (Including us and his much-loved pets). He was so sad. He said that he wanted to die! I would not respond if I didn’t have such strong feelings about how this med affected our son. He still talks about his dark time (“when he was on the medicine”). We were punishing him for not going to sleep at night. We even removed his bedroom door. It was all just driving more distance between us and more frustration and further depression for him. He was really so pitiful now that I look back. The Dr wanted to increase the dosage. We went against the doctor and stopped the med. He started going to sleep at bedtime and interacting with us again. Also laughing and talking about his emotions and feelings of love again. At first I had no idea it was the med b/c his grades went up and his focus improved immediately. It was so deceptive. Now that I think back it scares me to death. We could have lost him had I not started looking up other parents experiences w/Vyvanse and put it all together. We went against the doctor’s recommendations but I will always feel that we very likely saved his life by doing so.
Your doctor probably prescribed Vyvanse, because its the new go-to ADD/ADHD medication. It’s more appealing, because of the low chance of abuse, long lasting effects and low chance of addiction. Those who have anxieties, agression, depression or mood swings before taking Vyvanse are generally at greater risk of those symptoms being amplified. The loss of appetite leads to weight loss which can stunt growth in children. I was prescribed Vyvanse and did a lot of research on it. I personally love it and feel it’s changed my life, but from what i’ve read, I too would be hesitant giving it to a child. If you choose not to give your daughter Vyvanse, I would definitely explore other ADHD/ADD medications as it sounds like your daughter could benefit from them.
Shannon, I would leave well enough alone if it was my daughter. I have a son who was totally failing school and the vyvanse did wonders. With some of her emotional issues she might need some counseling or something like that – learn to control those temper issues. For the sleep – its a killer on that. My son was downing a bunch of melatonin to sleep (the doc approved that) but he still hardly got any sleep. I strongly believe that meds are there for people who really need them – same with surgery etc. but the less of them the better especially when they may not be necessary!!!
Dr. Kenny Handelman:
My son was diagnosed with ADHD about a year ago and put on Vyvanse 10mg. I can say yes it has worked wonders for him at school. He went from being “below level” and almost failing kindergarten to now being “on level” and passing 1st grade. It’s just amazing to see him not struggling with his school work anymore. But! We are struggling with his weight!! He is underweight and has actually lost weight since being on the vyvanse. Somedays he eats all the time but most of the time he just doesn’t want to or won’t eat at all. This scares me! and I don’t know what to do! His doctor and I are trying pediasure(which is expensive- $10 for 6 little bottles) and not giving him the vyvanse on weekends. He still hasn’t gained any weight in two months. So now the doctor is talking of switching medicines. I really don’t want to put my son through the trial and error! I am very sceptical about giving him medicine anyway. Any suggestions?? I also can agree with the mood swings. It doesn’t take much to get him angry. I can tell when he’s had a rough day because he will come home from school in a bad mood. Some think it’s the age difference but he and his older sister(4 yrs apart) fight all the time. They do surprise once in awhile and are nice to each other and play together. I pray for those moments more often!
There is a product called Duocal, which any good pharmacy can order. It is a mild steroid that is tastless that you can put in your childs food that increases their appetite. Talk with your Dr about it, it is usually prescribed for children that failure to thrive. I hope this is helpful to you.
Thats a great information ADHD is a diagnosed as psychiatric disorder in children and it is affecting about 3 to 5 percent of children globally it is estimated that 4.7 percent of American adults are estimated to live with ADHD it is found that children diagnosed with ADHD continue having symptoms well into adulthood A diagnosis of ADHD may offer adults insight into their behaviors and allow patients to become more aware and seek help with coping and treatment strategies i liked reading this post thanks for sharing for more information about ADHD visit
http://www.biblehealth.com/addadhd/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder.html
I want to know if these side affects on vyvanse are normal. Im 16 years old, I’m taking 60mg of vyvanse. I have wierd side effects when I take it like having to urinate alot, feeling numb in my face and hands, and I feel jittery alot and for some reason I tend to itch my head alot and get a horrible headache on it. It also makes me really annoyed and cranky with people later on through the day, and i get very emotional on it. I was on 50mg of it but i felt like it started to wear off, but now I think i might have too big of a dose for my body/weight. My headaches last throughout the night and i end up sick the next morning when i take it. Please let me know if these symptoms are normal.
From my own experience with too high of dose….I got the itchy head thing too! Omg! Crazy, uncomfortable scalp! Especially when sweating! My advice………LOWER UR DOSAGE HONEY! This can be a very helpful script for your life …but if ur serious about taking responsibility for making it work for you…….then becoming aware of your own limitations are the key to its (vyvance) success! If ur scalps itchy, ur all over the page emotionally and in general: ALL CURCUITS OVERLOADING………HMMMMMMMM……SIMPLY TAKE STOCK!! Wait until you’ve reached a stable thought process and awareness of discomfort and take a healthy step back for review……process of elimiation can be awesome once put into motion and guided in the right direction! Ha! I actually became so overwhelmed with too much focus that I lost contact with the mothership…so to speak! I’m 44 years young and have enjoyed all benefits of every aspect of this miracle drug! But…..it has not gone without trial and error! It took many months of experimentation to…GET THE BALANCE RIGHT!! HAHAHAHA…..The song speaks for itself.. ; ) I suggest trying 30mg……then go from that point. Please take into concideration all disfunction factors…ie……wieght loss…..moodiness…focusfactor……you get the picture. Making the effort to MAKE IT WORK FOR YOU…….CAN BE AN EMPOWERING EXPERIENCE! GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR EFFORTS. : )
I was given a free trial prescription for my 7yr old who has adhd. i cannot remeber his exact dosage amount but I know that immediately after he took it his talking was excessive in a bad way, he was pacing back and forth. He could not sit still or stay in one spot for a minute. Then as the day progressed he was dizzy and ended up throwing up. I have never seen such horrible side effects. I took him off it and called his doctor for something that would actually work without these horrible side effects. He is now on Focalin XR which has none of these side effects thank goodness. Never again will Vyvanse be used.
Hi, My 8yr old son was put on Vyvance when he was 7yrs old and was on it for almost a year, over the year we found that his aggressiveness got really bad, and that the meds just weren’t lasting long in him …. he was on 40mg ..
Even the school noticed that his grades decreased as well ….
Not only was he physically aggressive but he was verbally aggressive ….
I know a nurse who is addicted to xanax and she is all over the place with her kids. She is miss sociable she cant keep her life in order. Misses appointments, etc.. she is a mess. So what does she do to her one daughter that is a frantic mess like her mother. she puts her on an add medication. Why is that some parents abuse this drug so they do not have to make the extra effort of actually being a responsible parent.
Why are the side effects not listed? My son now and adult was forced to take adderall and prozac and it has effected him for the rest of his life
dont worry guys i am a girl 13 yrs old and i was digonised with ODD AND ADHD when i was 2months old well actually when i was born and i have no friends at all
well last night at 4 i was suppose to take my yellow pill and i accidentley took my white one instead ooof my yellow one and i had already taken my white one at like 12;00 and then at four i took my white one and then i felt like i was going to stop breathing and i felt like i was going to die and i was scared to falll asleep because i thought that i wouldnt wake up in the morning and i thougth that i had a rupshured spleen
well i lived throught 2nights that is a good sign
My gr-grandson, 8 is taking Vyvanse for ADHD for some time, 5 days a week, not on the week end. His mother says he doesn’t need to take it then, only when school is in session. She claims his doctor said its ok to do so. I always thought this was not a good thing to do. I noticed on Saturday he was a little hyperactive. I always thought it was necessary to take medicine every day .Can anyone enlighten me about this?
I have taken vyvanse 30mg yesterday which was my first day and I noticed it took 40-50 minutes to kick in and I was only focused half the time during the day. I would take it at 9:30am and it would kick in at 10:30am and I would be focused just a little bit. I also noticed after I ate lunch at 12pm it would make me focus a lot more and then an hour later it would wear off. So I wasn’t able to focus the whole day. So I’m thinking that when you eat it makes me focus more and then wear of after 2 hours. Is this true?
Marianne– My son also only takes his meds m-f just for school to help him focus and complete his work…. Even though he was taken off of it during the weekends due to weight loss, I believe if the child has just a mild case of ADHD that it should only be used for school! Let them be themselves on the weekend
It has worked so far…
For Shannon B.:
My ADHD 9yr. old daughter had trouble with low weight – instead of Pediasure, I use WalMart’s version called Parent’s Choice. We use the Vanilla and it is really GOOD! None of that ‘vitamin taste’. It is cheaper, too – $7 for 6 8oz. bottles, and she loves it!
Thanks Susan I will look for those and give them a try
My son is now 14, but for the past few years I have used MuscleMilk 100% Whey. We buy a big bag at Sam’s and he loves it. It has very low sugar like so many drinks have and helps him not feel deprived. The chocolate is delicious. We do it with skim milk. I like that it also gives him allot of protein that seemed to help him grow better and gain. With a decreased appetite I felt protein was important. I also get any vegi’s or fruit I am sure he’ll eat like kiwi and grapes. I also found he likes zucchini grilled with olive oil and garlic salt. Hey, I’ll go for it! He has gained and grown wonderfully!
My son was diagnosed with ADHD (primary inattentive) when he was 9 years old. He was started on Vyvanse at the beginning of his 4th grade year and his grades went from Bs, Cs and Ds to As and Bs. He is in the 6th grade now and has never not been on the honor roll. He’s still EXTREMELY talkative, but not disruptive and has virtually no concentration problems. He currently takes 50 mg up from the 10mg he was prescribed in the beginning. He’s been on the 50mg for a year now. He does have some problems sleeping at night, but some melatonin remedies that. I highly recommend Vyvanse.
Dear Tina,
Has your son had any weight loss problem? I have been taking Vyvanse for almost a year now and I had a great weight loss problem. If posssible would you recommend anything?
Thank You,
Daniel S.
Being a child I HATED school, never paid attention, didn’t do homework, if D & F’s were considered an honor I would have been rolling with it forsure. Now that i’m an adult (37yrs old) I can’t seem to ever keep a job, tried going College um… 4x’s and let me say I was dreading evening thinking about going back to school but I wasn’t ever keeping a job so I was like might as well try it.. Again failed!! Story of my life… My mother was dx with Bipolar (Depression) as well as me, she started taking Ritlan and it seems to help her, so I decided to find a provider and go have a talk with my new Dr. BEST thing I’ve done in the past 37 yrs other than the birth of my two daughters, anywho… He put me on 20mg of Vyvanse, now I have to say I couldn’t sleep the first 3 nights, my Husband was like are you mad at me?, since I was going to couch to watch TV/Sleep/RLS.. I was twitching like crazy.. But it passed thank God! I have noticed a total difference in me, I have energy, finished a couple of projects that I started oh.. a year ago (bad, I know) but OMG Thank you Vyvanse!!! Where have you been all my life… I had always heard of symptoms of ADHD and I told my mom that was totally describing me but with out the Hyper part since I’ve been lacking energy for all my life it seems like. Reading these comments there are alot of you that sound just like me and then for those who have had bad reactions, I’m so sorry, but keep trying.. Now I am not a writer so sorry that i’m jumping everywhere but I did want to say this as well.. The end of my first week I increased my dosage to 60mg, well NEVER again, I had to much in my system or something I had the worst headache, dry mouth, didn’t eat, neck pain/ache, back ache, stiff feeling, so that next day went back down to 20mgs.. The Dr. had told me to play with my dosage and yep, no thank you, now maybe later I will increase to 40mgs but WAY WAY WAY in the future!! I wish everyone the best of luck and hopefully you will find your cure.. I think I have.. God Bless all of you & Good Luck!
My granddaughter takes this medication for ADD…her mother gives it to her during the week only…She doesn’t give it to her on weekends and during the summer…My granddaughter is having a problem staying focused when she doesn’t take her medication at all times….I just want to know by her taking her medication 5 days a week and not weekends will it take longer to get back into her system….her mother states that her physical said it gets back into the system as soon as taken…Thanks
Your daughter is correct. The drug will get back into her system upon taking it again on Monday. Also, I am sure your daughter’s doctor would not give her the wrong information. You should respect what your daughter is doing to help her child. It is hard enough to parent and help children with this situation without grandparents second guessing our decisions. I am sure your daughter would appreciate your love and support rather than the questions especially as it seems she addressed your concern with the doctor already. As a mom of a child with ADHD, I can tell you that we hurt for our kids, the decision to give them medecine is a difficult balancing act and we worry about the anorexic side effects most of these drugs leave. Just support your daughter and her decision to manage this for her child. If the kids do not get a break from the meds the sometimes have issues with stunted growth due to lack of eating. I agree with your daughter, if you can give them a break and let them have an appetite and not be on a stimulant unless the need it for school go for it!
I am thinking of asking my Dr. for this drug. I am taking tegrotol and Zyprexa. I have gained weight with the combo and dont want to lose it. However, I am not happy and my friends call me Mr misrable. I think it is time for add meds to be added to the group. I just dont want to lose my hunger and weight. Open to advice. and comments! I really need to focus better, my work notices my negative attitiude as well. PLUS Im in sales, I need to be focused and happy…
I want to share our experience with Vyvanse in the hopes that others going through the same process will benefit from or even relate to our own experience. My son, 8 and going into grade 4 in sept, has combined type ADHD that was adequately managed without meds until the beginning of this school year, when it became apparent he was severely struggling to focus and complete anything in class. He was losing self-esteem and beginning to hate school.
We tried Concerta initially = became severely depressed, lethargic, crying and had violent outbursts. We moved to Biphentin, only to experience similar side effects. Finally, we found Vyvanse, which initially had very few side effects except for the occasional upset stomach, headache and falling asleep later (which after a few weeks seems to almost go back to reg bedtime). We did notice increased emotional lability, but it was manageable early on.
Started at 20mg in Dec’10 and moved slowly up to 50mg where we have been for a few months now. There was little or no visible improvement in his attention/focus in school on 20 or 30mg. @ 40mg, his attention in class improved significantly. however the effectiveness wore off by 4-5pm. Although they say that there is no rebound effect on Vyvanse, i will attest otherwise. From 4-10pm my son would bounce off the walls and become harder to manage.
So we upped the dose to 50mg, in the hopes of extending the effectiveness later into the eve. No luck – extended it until 6pm if we were lucky (takes meds at 7:15am). Hence, the evenings remained a struggle for us.
In the last 3 weeks, we have noticed major changes in our son. Mostly in the evenings we’ve seen 1) a huge increase in his emotional lability – up and down like a toilet seat – very intense, long lasting (3hrs) temper tantrums (not typical of him) – angry – sad – crying, coupled with 2) Agressive/violent outbursts – throwing and hitting things (never like this), 3) Complete inability to change gears or transition without freaking out (transitions always difficult, but never this frequent or intense), 4) Confusion to the point of zero ability for decision making, 5) increased irrational fears (i.e. the bath), 6) all of this has contributed to increased overall anxiety and not falling asleep until 11pm or so, 7) teacher says he is losing focus and disrupting class by about 2pm each day (lack of sleep alone can cause this however).
Have gone back down to 40mg, but have not seen any change. After being on Vyvanse for 6 months, its benefits and effectiveness have disappeared, while its costly side effects have increased dramatically. Hence, we have decided to pull him off Vyvanse.
Summer comes at a very opportune time for us. The damage to my son’s emotional well-being, let alone the stress on the whole family, is simply not worth it. My son is considered hard to treat. Vyvanse was initially a miracle for us, but we have found that there is no such thing. There is no easy button – no easy path. I wish there were a better way to help our children than by treating them as experimental guinea pigs.
I have several friends who’ve experienced a similar trajectory with this drug – initial success that devolves over several months (6-10 months or so). I hope this is useful to anyone who might be going through this at the moment – know that you are not alone, not crazy, and Vyvanse, as other drugs, is imperfect to be sure.
We too are experiencing the same side effects. My son is 12 and was diagnosed as combined ADHD approx 5 years ago. He was on Adderrall XR up until about June of this year. The doctor thought it would be good to change to the Vyvanse because of the longer lasting range (supposedly 13 hours) to help him get through homework…especially since he is involved in sports activities. We started at 30mg and went up to 60mgs. It seems the mood swings just continue to get worse. He is fine in the day, but mornings and evenings are unbearable. Yelling, screaming, throwing things, etc. There is no calming him down, and it is over the slightest thing. I am not sure what to do as it seems to work for him in the day though. I have another doctor’s appointment tomorrow and am thinking about asking to go back to Adderrall XR. Have you found any other alternatives since June? Over the years we have tried Focalin and Ritalin which had worse side effects (depression, severe sadness, etc). Then as I mentioned we switched to the Adderrall XR. That had some mood swings, but not nearly as close as this and the Vyvanse seems to take so long to kick in. It is so difficult to know the right answer / medicine.
Thank you so much for posting this. My son could be your son’s twin when it comes to the reaction we’re seeing on the Vyvanse. Things are so bad now that he’s been pulled from school and placed on homebound status. The doctors are putting him through EEG, MRI, lab work trying to figure out if this is related to his PANDAS but I didn’t give him the Vyvanse on Wednesday to see what would happen and he actually laughed and giggled for the first time in a year. He was funny and engaging and despite being more hyper he was more ‘normal’ than he had been in a long time. I gave him the Vyvanse yesterday and he was somber, sad, crying, unable to make any decisions, even simple one like putting on his shoes. He kept crying saying he didn’t know what to do even though the only thing I asked him to do was to put his shoes on. He kept apologizing for not being able to do any school work. This was a straight A kid last year, in full inclusion at school, and doing great. Now he can’t do any school work but math, which he loves and even that is a struggle.
What you have written confirms my suspicion that it’s the medication effecting him this way. So far all the lab has been normal – still waiting on the other tests but anticipate those being normal and the docs to come back and say let’s just up the dose. When they can’t figure out what is going on they just up the dose or throw another medication at it. I can’t take another day watching this once sweet little boy struggle just to get through the day – and he’s only 9!
Hi my name is chris i am 13 and I have odd add and ADHD Vyvance is a really bad medication do not let you kids take it. It makes me so sick and upset i have really bad headaches and it makes me not hungry I was hundred and two pounds but now I am 89 pounds I grind my teeth all day it makes my throat filled mucus I wake up at three AM every night because I am hungry it makes my mouth really dry so I drink at lot of water so it makes me pee a lot so in school my teachers get on me a lot my parents love it but I hate it so you might think your child is doing great but please don’t let you kids suffer threw all the bad effects because you think it helps them
I get so high off thease im numb and I grind my teeth constantly and I never sleep nor get hungry, its like meth
I just want to say how upset I am by most of these posts… you think you are being so helpful by sharing your negative experiences, but for someone like myself who is looking for answers and comfort it’s horrifying. My son, 6, just started Vyvance today and it made him sick at the end of the day and he threw up a few times. It was heartbreaking. Please be careful what you say here because it can be very upsetting. My stomach is in knots right now.
Then don’t give your son this medicine and try one of the more proven alternates — doctors are pushed by Shire to sell this new drug before their Adderall patent runs out.
Why wouldn’t you want people to post their real-world experiences with this drug- don’t you want to know the truth of how it affects other people?
My son has been on several different meds since 1st grade, we have done ritalin, concerta, adderrall & finally vyvanse….every child is different what is horrible for some kids is amazing for others. All of them I have listed my son has had trouble sleeping, little to no appetite, not much weight gain. We give Clonodine in the evening which is a must for when the Vyvanse wears off, it helps him be calmer and able to fall asleep. We have gone off the meds and tried all natural products. After a very untolerable child, all grades dropped severely and a permanent spot in the hallway and principle’s office he went back on medicine. I wish you the best, it is very hard!!! and you are right it is heart wrenching to read such horrible stories and I will keep mine to myself because every medicine works differently for every child!!!
Having just read this comment, I would like to provide a different view of blogs like this. I, for one, am forever greatful to parents who share their experiences- both good and bad- with medications. My daughter is very sensitive to meds, and always seems to wind up with whatever side effects only 7-10% of people have! Sometimes, side effects that aren’t quite as common, are overlooked by doctors. But when you are a parent who knows that something is off with your child, you need help. By looking on-line and finding other parents sharing stories of other kids having similar experiences to my own, I am able to better advocate for my child’s medical needs. Knowing the good side and the bad, of any medication I consider putting into my child’s body, only makes me a more informed observer. Thank you to all the parents who share and advocate for our kids.
I am sorry to hear people have had negative experiences. My daughter has taken Vyvanse for two years now. She has tried various things over the last six years. A lot of times it could be that your child has the wrong drug, or the wrong dose and you have to be openminded. A lot of children with ADHD/ADD will have mood issues and sleep issues despite drugs. Our doctor is wonderful and he said they have been finding out that kids with add/adhd that have sleeping issues have had a lot of success with a drug clonidine. Only .5mg and it helps relax them and gets rid of the anxiety and they can fall asleep. It is an older drug, usually used with the heart, but it has worked wonders for our child. Funny thing is, if I give it to her at 6pm or 7pm, she will go to sleep very easily. If I would give it to her at bedtime, she’d be up. All kids are wired differently, and a drug that has worked in the past might not be the one your child needs to be taking right now. I was open to finding the right thing for my daughter, and all the tears, worrying and struggles have paid off. For years, concerta was the drug that helped her. I hope everyone finds the answers they are looking for.
My daughter has struggled with adhd, reactive attachment disorder as well as fetal alcohol effects syndrome. She has been on concerta and it didn’t help at all. Vyvanse now for almost 2 years (she just turned 10) and she is taking 100mg. It lasts over 12 hours, she does get extremely aggressive but takes Risperidone .5mg in the morning and another 1mg in the afternoon and it sort of helps. She also takes clonodine .2mg at 6pm to help her body relax and sleep through the night. Her appetite is very minimal throughout the mornings and afternoon but at supper time boy she eats more than an adult. That being said she isn’t growing by leaps and bounds but she is moving along. As for the concentration in school she has gone from being a full grade behind to being at grade level with above average grades in one full year within a special program where the teachers teach according to the way she can learn, not regular public classrooms but in a public school.
As others have stated every child or person’s body will react differently because of their body chemistry and how their body’s handle the medication combinations. All I can say is talk to your children about how they feel and then be clear and precise in explaining it to the doctors. Try and keep track of when you see the changes in behaviour or mood swings. There is no miracle cure for this, I wish there was. Patience is something I have very little of left when dealing with my child and she directs the majority of her anger towards her stepmom who spends the most time with her throughout the days. After reading all of the information on here it has given me insight to more side effects that we are seeing but may have over looked as just bad behaviour. I hope people continue to write the good and the bad they experience as it helps others gain an understanding.
John – thank you for forwarding your comments.I believe they will be very helpful for many people.
I’m a 33 y/o man who has had attention problems my whole life. Recently it has gotten bad enough to start impacting my work and personal life and I found my desperate enough to go see a doctor. He put me on Vyvanse 50mg – the first dose was possibly the worst experience of my life. It was as it pushed up my attention factor, it was turning down the dopamine response in my body. It got worse and worse until it was like a balloon popping in my head and the whole chemical reward system in my brain shut down. My blood pressure shot up, I felt exhausted, and had this gnawling empty hole in my head that nothing I did made stop — essentially the effects of a recovering drug addict. I spent 4.5 hours curled up in a ball of misery before I started coming back to my ‘normal’ self. I called the office of the doctor and started telling my experience to the front desk clerk — she stopped me half way through to say it was enough information for a call back. I did get one, from her, to say the doctor said ‘take a half dose and see what will happen’… Total BS – these are not even ‘published’ side effects by the manufactorer!
Parents — if your children are having the reaction of ‘anger’ and ‘temper’, you really should stop giving them this drug. A child is not aware enough to understand things like ‘low dopamine levels’ and will not understand why they just feel ‘bad’ all the time. Doctors are being pushed by Shire to sell this drug because their patent on Adderall is about to run out and generics will be on the market.
If this stuff makes your kids Angry, switch them to another formula – who knows what long term emotional damage is being caused by constant dopamine deprivation.
Have any of you noticed whether hayfever or other type allergies affect the effectiveness of Vyvanse? It seems to make any ADHD medicine not work.
Myself and a friend were both on this at 70mg. We were fussy, angry, and I dropped weight. In one month and a half I went from 123 to 109. Could have been the dosage, they didn’t try it a different mg. I did notice that I hyperfocused on it, and I was more productive than I am on 20mg Dexedrine. What works for me is 3x daily 20mg of adderall. Dexedrine (with insurance is expensive though… $100 my part).
I am 30 years old and have been treating my ADHD with meds for almost 4 years now. I started with strattera (horrible- slept all day and was lethargic when awake)- then took adderall both IR and XR for 3 years. I wanted to switch to vyvanse because of my anxiety and intense daily dependence with adderall. I started with 30 mg of vyvanse and increased to 60 mg eventually. I feel it works pretty well- I liked adderall more overall but feel that vyvanse is a pretty good compromise – haven’t had as much anxiety and feel less jittery. Want to increase my dose though
I love vyvanse for the most part, I have taken my D’s & F’s report card from fifth to seventh grade to now all A’s and one B in 8th grade. I only take 30mg of course, I would love taking about 50mg for my weight, 125-130 pounds but, I started taking vyvanse about August 13,2011 and now Its October 7,2011 and I have lost near forty pounds. I was always over weight most of my childhood, once I turn about twelve and alot of my friends had boyfriends that when I had asked to see if I was ADD/ADHD. I don’t take vyvanse to lose weight.. I take it keep myself foused, Of course all my friends always bring up how they I don’t eat this and all. On vyvanse, I’m much happier besides on Thursday and Wednesday, I’m moody and sleepy my “CRASH DAYS”.
Vyvanse is like coke pretty much, Its not like Adderrall with that “right when you take it feel”…. With vyvanse i take it pretty early around 6:00am and I last about until 12:00am sometimes..
I just take some nyquail around 9:00 and go to bed.
Also, I’m OCD so, vyvanse will cause MORE anxiety.. trust me!
Next week, I have to start taking
1) vyvanse
2) BuSpar
3) Metfromin- blood sugar too low.. from not eating
The doctor says I must eat to maintain a healthy life, so my mom makes me eat at least one a day, dinner or a Lunar bar.
SO VYVANSE IS GOOD.i’m about to take it.. Its 1:00pm thank god for nyquail
– not written while on vyvanse
LONG & MISTAKES ^ hahaha
I recently got diagnosed with adhd(predominantly inattentive), and was started on 40 mg vyvanse. the first few days I was jittery and noticed I was clenching my jaw a lot. it took a few days to get used to the medication, having not been on any other medications previously, but I was no longer jittery, had a much easier time falling asleep, and the jaw clenching disappeared. I also experienced no appetite whatsoever the first few days, but that has gradually increased, and is getting somewhat back to normal. I have noticed headaches occasionally when the medication starts to wear off, and am somewhat photosensitive along with these headaches. usually laying down for a half hour or so and just closing my eyes will get rid of it. I have also noticed slight irritability, but mostly just when people try and interrupt my schedule when I am trying to get work done. so far, in my experience the benefits of vyvanse have outweighted the minor side effects. I am less anxious, am able to sit down for longer periods of time without feeling anxious or restless such as in lectures or at the movies, and am much more focused when doing homework or studying. I usually take the 40 mg around 8 or 9 am, and it lasts until roughly 9 or 10pm, but occasionally I will notice small periods throughout the day where it doesn’t seem to be working, and after it wears off I am usually useless trying to do homework. I may increase my dose to see if it will help the dose last longer, considering I have classes all day, then usually work in the afternoon/evening so late at night is usually when I try and get work done, but so far vyvanse has worked wonders for me.
My 15 year old son was on Vyvanse. When he first started the medication, he suffered headaches, but was able to focus at school and his temper outbursts seemed to diminish. The one side effect which didn’t seem to disappear like the pedicatrician said it would, was his appetite would return to normal. My son is 5’9, almost 5’10. He weighed about 140 pounds when he began taking the medication. I watched him lose so much weight that when I took him back to the pediatrician for a check up and voiced my concerns about lack of appetite, they weighed him and he was at 112 pounds. He looked like a drug junkie. Red eyes, bones sticking out, scrawny, lethargic and no strength. He has taken himself off of the medication because of my concerns. He is now at a healthy 155 pounds, and is still able to continue school. Yes, there are times when he is angry and irritable, but I think being on the medication, he was able to see that he could succeed. He works on his behaviour, and is focusing better. I am glad to see him healthier. The lack of appetite just wasn’t returning in my son, and he could have ended up in the hospital. That is the only bad side effect that we experienced. Thank you Vyvanse, for instilling in my son, the sense of success he needed to boost his self confidence which he is now doing on his own.
Thanks Charlene for your insightful comment.
i’ve been taking adderall (60 mgs/day) for about 6 years since being diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. i feel like i can’t do ANYTHING without it! it definitely ‘runs’ my life. i want to quit taking adderall, but scared of the withdrawls etc. would taking vyvanse instead of adderall be a good way (or step) to quitting? does anyone have any experience with this they can share? thanks!!
I am a 42 year old woman, and was on Vyvanse 50 mg for several years before switching to Adderall. I switched back to Vyvanse because of the Adderall “shortage” and noticed it was not working as well as I remember. I started checking the capsules, and they are all only half (if that) full. Is this something new with this medication, or was I ripped off? I am going to take these back to the pharmacy, but suspect they will say there is nothing they can do about it. I am so fed up with pharmaceutical companies right now and their lack of concern for the welfare of those taking their products I could just scream. I want to find what’s going on, if this was just a fluke, or if Shire has jumped on the add/adhd-medication-rip-off bandwagon.
okay im 16 and im taking this. I have bad side effects like headaches im always on edge and cranky and i have lost my appetite and when i do eat i feel sick to my stomach. is this normal im on the 50 milligram and im starting to lose wieght. It also makes me sad like im depressed.
Hi I am a parent of a 12 year old who was recently put on Vyvnase, I am not sure what to expect. But I do appreciate everyone’s story. Thank You
Hi Sherri,
My 13yo just started taking Vyvanse this past week. I was just wondering how your child is doing? I am very excited to see if this will help my son, but scared as well of the possible side effects, especially the weight loss. He is on the lighter side of his age group to begin with. I would appreciate hearing about your experience because it looks like we may be just a few months behind you. Thanks!
My 14 year-old son was just prescribed 30 mg of Vyvnase today and after reading the comments I’m not sure if I should be relieved or scared. I never wanted to put my child on medication, especially since I don’t like taking medication at all. I’m appreciate of all the feedback and comments especially from the teens taking this medication. I’m almost in tears because I really don’t know what to expect, but I know I have to do something to intervene. He’s now on academic probation, which can be a catalyst to academic disaster, low-self esteem and only God knows what else. I pray that this medication works, with very little side effects. This is such a hard decision, but I can’t watch my child continue this self -sabotage through no fault of his own…and do nothing to try and save him! I will check back in with the blog often as we get further into this medication. All, thanks for sharing!
Hi Michele,
We just started my 13yo son on Vyvanse this week. I feel the same way as you after reading the other posts….relieved and scared….although I think I felt that way at his initial diagnosis too. I was (and still am to a point) a huge opponent of ADD and medicating. I still believe it is hugely over diagnosed and medication seems to be the easy way out. Now I am faced with my own child being diagnosed with it and I have to say my eyes have been opened. Although I still feel the diagnosis and medication are an easy way out, I do feel that if I can help my son deal with his struggles, I need to consider what I would not have considered in the past. I was told by two different people (who do not know each other) in similiar terms that if my child had diabetes we would help him with medications (one person also used Strep as their example). This really hit home for me. Of course I would give my child medications for these issues, so why wouldn’t I for ADHD? Because it is a psychotropic drug? Yes……but if it helps him with his struggles, I want to try it. I still feel he needs to take responsibilty for his struggles (making lists and “stress ball” in class to help him not talk so much). He also has adjusted his studying skills. Because I feel deeply that when all is said and done, he is who he is and we love him for it, and we want HIM to love himself for it. If the medicines help him see the potential in himself, how can that be bad? My son is also showing decreased self-esteem, and at such a tough time in life (puberty which is hard enough on it’s own!!) and if the medication will show him he is so much more, than I say write that prescription lol! And I say that for your son as well. I do not know if you have faith in your life, and I will not get preachy….but there is a Christian song that I love and I listen to it to give me strength, and I have had my son listen to it (but he just rolls his eyes lol). If you so choose, listen to You Are Beautiful by Mercy Me. It is all that I want to say to my son during this difficult time for him. Good luck on your road of ADD discovery, and I hope the best for you and your son.
My son is 7 and was diagnosed last fall with ADHD and dyslexia. On the recommendation of our Dr. we started 20 mg of vyvanse 3 days ago. We are keeping a journal of how things are going in the home and are in daily email contact with his teacher. On the one hand, it feels like a science experiment and is heart breaking in that we did not want to go down the medicinal road, but decided to give it a try because he is struggling in school academically and socially. in educating myself as a parent, i know that a drug may help but may not necessarily be a cure all. What use to take him a half an hour at school takes 2 minutes in his math, and his teacher notices marked improvement in his focus in reading. At home, his language seems to be more clear, and he seems to think more about what he says before saying it out loud. he had one major melt-down inconsolable crying talked about going to heaven it was scary as we had never seen him act like that. he normally falls asleep by 8:30 but that night it was not until 10:30 after my husband climbed in to bed with him and lay beside him that he calmed and fell asleep. His appetite also went down so on night 2, we made his favorite foods mac and cheese and fruit salad, made an effort for an early bath, and everything went great. After the first melt-down occured we did call the doctor and he suggested coincidence, so this is why we have started to keep a journal. my best advice to another newby parent is educate yourself as much as possible, be extra vigilant at supporting your child, and know at the end of the day you and your child are really doing the best you can with the info you have. are the benefits worth any side-effects your child experiences? Medicating your child is like any other parental decision and everybody has there own opinions, but we are responsible for the well being of our son, we live with him every day not the doctor, so I’ll read, but ultimately you have to do what feels right for your own family. Doctor wants us to stay on 20 mg for the first week, then go up to 40 mg. i am hesitant to do this. I know the goal is to figure out the correct dose but worry that we will go to high. I’d rather up to 30 mg instead of doubling guesss I’m a minimalist, plus my husband travels a lot for work, we have two other kids, and it scares me to think what I will do alone if he has another larger melt down and its me alone with my son and his two sisters. My goal in using medication is to help him focus enough at school to make the learning easier and to help him figure out how to learn to manage himself with other strategies. would i like to go without medication, ultimately yes, but he will have to decide that for himself when he is older. good luck parents, and read all you can read dealing with distraction which I thought was excellent, and now reading taking charge of ADHD for parents. may look at a support group just because this whole thing is overwhelming.
Thanks for all the insightful comments about Vyvanse and all the other meds for ADHD. I do things with two neighbor boys ages 6 &7 (outings, swimming, hiking) to give them a change from their “all day video marathons” that their family seems unwilling and unable to manage. I can tell when they haven’t taken their meds and it is not a comfortable situation for either myself or them when they are so hyperactive and unfocused. I too am worried about their side effects of weight loss, melt downs and lack of sleep. All of the posts have really given me extra ideas for helping these children when they are with me. Thanks!
I’m 39, was taking generic adderall 10mg 2x/day for the past year or so, but needed something that would last longer into the evening because I work full time and go to school, so I just started 40mg Vyvanse yesterday. I’m a regular and enthusiastic coffee drinker and that hasn’t seemed to cause any trouble in the last two days, but I had some chocolate and just about crawled out of my skin, got all twitchy and feeling like I needed to yell and run around in a circle. Kind of funny but really uncomfortable and defeating of the purpose. I don’t know if it’s the chocolate/theobromine or the sugar in the chocolate but I’ve never had a reaction like that before. I had to take one of my low dosage Xanax (.5mg) to calm down. It Then I was fine and could sit down to read.
Any bad chocolate trips out there? I will see the doctor in a couple weeks and talk to him about it, meanwhile I’ll avoid chocolate and see if that was really the trigger or if it was just some kind of random spike that will happen regardless.
Hi. My son has not been on Vyvanse for over a year, maybe close to two. The insurance would no longer pay for such an expensive medicine and he is on Adderall (generic, just 20 mg) and doing just fine – luckily it wears off a lot sooner than that Vyvanse which kept him up half the night because he could not sleep. Luckily he did not have any ill effects from it as some people do have. So with this said, please unsubscribe me from this site. Thanks for the help in the past!
I have been taking vivance for a couple months now. I had been taking adderal for years (2 10 millagrams per day) however I noticed that I was having terrible come downs off the instant release and was feeling very anxious although it really helped me get things done. Now I am taking 30 millagram vivance and the come down is not as bad although I feel somewhat deppressed while I am on it rather than anxious. I’m not sure if this is the right medication for me. I’m also diagnosed for anxiety so this may have something to do with these anxious and depressive side effects.