Vyvanse is the new ADHD medication from Shire PLC, the makers of Adderall XR. It marks a significant change in the range of medication available as it uses a different type of stimulant than other medications, it a has long duration and it is especially formulated to prevent substance abuse.
How Vyvanse Works
The active substance in Vyvanse is lisdexamfetamine and is chemically very close to Dexedrine Spansules, a stimulant occasionally prescribed for ADHD. The advantage of lisdexamfetamine over methylphenidate (used in Ritalin and Concerta) is that it has a long lasting effect. Taken in the in the morning, the peak effectiveness last one to four hours but had a notable effect on symptoms for 12 hours.
Traditional ADHD medications have been easy to abuse and this has led to dependency problems. Vyvanse is a prodrug, a substance that is inert until it is digested. This mimics how the body creates useful chemical and vitamins from our food. As Vyvanse only acts as a stimulant once it is broken down by the stomach you cannot get a high from grinding it up and snorting it. Swallowing higher than prescribed doses (150mg compared to the recommend max of 70mg) will still produce a high indistinguishable from that produced by a comparable dose of Ritalin.
Vyvanse: Four Times More Side Effects
Because Vyvanse is new it has only been used by those adults and children who took part in the drug’s trials. In total, less than 1000 people. With such a small sample (compared to the millions who will end up taking the drug) there is very little first hand knowledge of the drugs effects. With each of the other major drugs, Ritalin, Adderall etc, different people can have very different reactions to the drugs. Someone who is fine on one drug may have numerous side effects from a chemically very similar drug. The body and brain are very complex chemical systems and stimulants are a very crude tool.
Currently we only have the Vyvanse prescribing information to go on as a guide to its effects but one things is very noticeable. In trials 10% of users stopped taking the drug due to adverse effects (i.e. side effects). This is much higher than Adderall where only 2.4% of participants were effected. In the Adderall trials more people stopped using the placebo than the real drug but for Vyvanse only 1% of placebo users dropped out. The new drug has a side effect rate 10 times higher than the base line and four times high than Adderall.
Vyvanse And The $1.5 Billion Goal
Shire PLC are introducing this new drug as a replacement for Adderall XR whose patent is running out. They hope to capture 50% of the market share with the drug and as the market is worth $3 billion, a 50% share will generate a lot of money. Expect to see a lot of advertising aimed at parents, not doctors, when Vyvanse is launched in July. In theory Vyvanse is a lot cheaper to make than competing drugs as its chemical formula is its key rather than the complex release mechanisms used by others drugs. However I expect that Vyvanse will retail at about the same as the other ADHD medications at about $130 – $150 for a months dose.
I was once addictive to meth two years ago My biggest problem wasnt the addiction for the drug but not wanting to gain weight or be too tired to do anything.I liked the way the drug made me clean and not hungry. I tried this by a friend who was taking it and it was like I had all the benefits without being on an illegal drug.I think they ought to try this for addicts of the same to help get off the drug..Just a thought,thanks…
my son is six years old and has adhd he takes vyvanse 50mg and he can”t stop moving his mouth and it makes him more hiper
My 9 year old Son was prescribed 30mg of Vyvanse as his first behavioral medication ever attempted. About 30 minutes after taking the dosage, he fell to the floor and complained of heaviness in his legs and inability to move. His resting pulse increased to 110 and he became very fidgety and nervous and anxious. I moved him to the bed and told him to try and relax and that everything would be fine. However, I was extremely concerned and we took him to the emergency room. While he didn’t have any life-threatening side effects, he was unable to walk on his own and unable to function normally for one full day. Very scary experience and I wouldn’t recommend anyone giving their children this high of a dosage to start, even though this is the recommended starting dosage. I blame the Doctor for prescribing this new medication and using my Son as a guinea pig so he can increase his drug kickback revenues.
We continue to treat the symptoms and ignore the causes. While there -are- many biogenetically irritable children, it appears to me from the trenches of working with the families of these children that there are many more “irritable children” who are irritable because of environmental influences in the home. Meds like Vyvanse provide a quick and, at least from my PoV, very dirty solution for parents who would be better off with short-term family therapy and parenting training. The parents aren’t really to blame. In most cases, they weren’t all that well parented themselves. Many are habituated to medicinal solutions for their own problems, but respond well to straightforward psychoeducation on topics like over-stimulation, drama triangulation and “child-whispering.” Do we give our pets dextroamphetamines for being a little hyper?
Hey Gary, that was my experience when I tried 20mg Focalin XR. The drug just hit me all at once and I was just high for about 30 minutes. I can’t say I disliked the feeling but I can imagine that such a feeling might be scary for a young kid.
In response to Rodger, I can see how what you say can be true in many situations, however, some kids do live in a great environment with parents who do everything to help them stay on track and teachers who do as well, but they just can’t stay on track without the meds. When I was teaching, I had this great ADHD kid (adopted and was supposedly kind of a crack baby) who hated taking his meds but they did help him learn. Maybe he was taking too much though.
I think that parents should know what they are giving to their kids. Try the drugs yourself before giving it to your kids, and it may help you to understand why they should or shouldn’t be given to them. I would recommend taking twice the amount prescribed to your child and seeing how it feels yourself before administering to him. Also if your kid feels really medicated by the recommended dose, why not try reducing the dosage and seeing how that works. When doses are too high kids get high, and I can imagine how scary the experience can be for them.
I have add, manic bipolar I, and anger explosiveness. I have been on 40mg of focalin for about a year. It helped at first, but after a while of working the time that it helped me focus was shortened tenfold. I start the vyvanse in the morning, but after reading this it worries me a bit at 70 mg. With that added to all the rest of my meds have me worried. I’ll get back with yall after I take it for a few days. I am almost 40 and panic at every little thing my body does. A twitch, muscle pain, chest hurting and many more. I’d like to know anymore adults take this meds along with other meds daily. Thanks, Bill
My doctor suggested Vyvanse as an alternative to Adderall IR. Knowing that Shire’s patent on Adderall is about to run out I knew this medication was suggested mostly at the drug manufacturer’s urging. Because of the free 30 day trial I accepted. I started Vyvanse 50mg and i’ve got to say that I like it much better than Adderall. I’ve tried both Adderall XR and IR and developed a tolerance to both quickly with severe drop-offs after 3PM. With Vyvanse I have the focus and MOTIVATION factor to super multitask. I am a bit concerned that i’ll develop a tolerance to these as well. I’ve had to take the 50mg and then empty half of another one to get through the day as i’ve experienced a drop off on these too. Perhaps it has something to do with adjusting to the meds.
After reading the possible side effects in an ad directed toward mothers I couldn’t believe that ANYONE would allow it to be administered to their children. I’m not talking about side effects like dizziness or drymouth (although they are listed) but effects like hearing voices, worsening behavior and violent episodes. DON’T ask your doctor about VYVANSE and if it is offered as treatment find another doctor.
I am a 43 year old female diagnosed with adhd in November 2006. My Doctor has tried me on several different stimulants all of which I have not been 100% satisfied with. I had side effects with all of them that were bothersome and not quite the amount of focus. We even tried different dosages etc… I started taking Vyvanse 30mg ( lowest dose ) 10 days ago, and am very very pleased with the results. No side effects, more focus and concentration. After the first week we upped the dose slighlty and things are very very well. I really like this medication. I don’t feel jittery, or hyperfocused, which is how I felt on Adderall and Dex. I get an even feeling all day long as opposed to the ups and downs. For me this medication so far is better thaen the other ADHD medications I have taken.
I was diagnosed ADHD in March and was taking adderall. At first it seemed to do some good, but I noticed after 4 months I was spiraling backwards. I talked to my docotr at my last appoitnment and she recommended I try the Vyvanse. I have been on it for two weeks, and I have never, in my 38 years, had such a “clear” head. I have accomplished more in these last two weeks thatn I would in a two or three month period. My son was diagnosed ADHD about a year ago (which is what prompted me to talk to my doctor about it). I have always joked that we were AHDH, but didn’t take it seriously until his grades starting dropping in 4th grade. When he started meds in the beginning of 5th it seemed to be trial and error. He tried 3 until we tried Focalin, which seemed to work the best. Though, he still has problems with following directions, following through with things, and organization. These last two weeks being on this vyvanse has really opened my eyes to how the focalin really isn’t the right ne for him, and I will be contacting his doctor to have him switched over.
Not all meds are right for all people! My son started with Stratera, went to Concerta, then to Adderall, then finally to the Focalin. He had different adverse reactions to each one, enough to make the doctor try a new one. Because this seems to be working so well for me, I think it will be goor for him too.
Vyvanse is quite interesting. It helps you read quicker but not so much comprehension. It can make you talk in a whisper at times. Some times it gives you an out of body experience. You look at your legs and don’t really know how they are moving. It takes a lot of your cares and stores them in the back of your head, and takes away anxiety. At the peak of it’s performance it feels like it is Christmas and makes your heart feel warm. Somebody could come punch you in the face and it wouldn’t bother you that much. It lets you choose what you want to focus on. It makes you much nicer.
It is very interesting to read some of the uneducated comments that have been posted on this website. The man who made the comment that parents are to blame is, to be honest, down right stupid. That is one of the biggest myths about ADHD out there. I bet he doesn’t have ADHD, because if he did he would know that parenting is NOT the only solution. Of course, medication isn’t going to solve ADHD 100% by itself. I have been diagnosed with ADHD and have done a lot of research on the topic. Shire didn’t bring Vyvanse to market just because Adderall XR is going off the market in over 2 years. They did because of the benefits that it gives patients. I have tried other stimulants in the past (Focalin XR, Concerta, Adderall XR) and none have even come close to how well Vyvanse works. Focalin XR and Concerta lasted maybe 6-8 hours at the most. Adderall XR would last about 10 hours. Vyvanse works for 12 hours and it doesn’t vary from day to day. Also, I have not had ANY side effects from Vyvanse where as with other stimulants I would get side effects. To Joe who wrote the comment on side effects, I am sorry to say you know nothing about how studies are set up and where these side effects are coming from. For example if a kid were to get the flu during a study and vomit, even though it has NOTHING to do with the medication, it has to be reported as a side effect. So, again you are putting out information that is totally false. Maybe you should educate yourself before telling other people that they should get a new doctor if they offer you Vyvanse. If you have ADHD and your doctor doesn’t offer you Vyvanse, I would then question whether this doctor is a doctor you should be seeing. Based on the results that I have seen with Vyvanse, I would recommend anyone with ADHD talk to there doctor about trying it.
I was really comforted to read what Luke wrote about his “quite interesting” esperience with this drug. I, as many of you have mentioned, have an addictive personality and about 90% of the time, can tolerate much more than the average Joe. I have found that there is a slight loophole in my drinking you under the table type mentality. I am incredibly soft and sensitive to any SSRI. Zoloft, one of the pansys in anitdepressant drugs, sent me straight into serotonin sydrome. Today I took my first dose of Vyvanse (30mg). I did not notice any difference in over an hour, relying on my “tolerance and skills” I took another (30mg) pill. Let me just tell you that I have participated in a LOT of things and , well, I had to leave work. Like Luke described, I felt foreign to my own appendages, my short term memory was dissolved, and I was so deep in paranoia, I don’t what could have gotten me out. Let me also say- I am bipolar, I do take other meds and on this particular day I had to take a drug called Relpax which is a migraine abortive measure which also increases your serotonin uptake. Bottom line- I made a mistake by taking too much, but I was really surprised that too much was not just a crecendo of what the proper dosage affect would have been. It was totally sensory totally impairing, and for sure euphoric but in the environment I was. Tomorrow will be a control group as to what the proper dosage does. I rambled- but I just have to say- it really shook my world today- I felt like someone dosed me out without me knowing. thats all. over and out.
I think Vyvanse has been a godsend. I have been suffering from ADD since I was a child, and for the most part I never wanted to medicate myself due to the possibility of dependency on the drugs. When I was 17, I had a brief stint on Adderall, but it didn’t last very long and I built up a tolerance rather quickly (within 1 month). I am now 25 and went back to school to finish my degree. When I combined this with full-time work and a fairly new marriage, the ADD was really becomming a problem. My doctor started me off on 30mg Vyvanse for the first month and upped it to 50mg for month two. For me, the Vyvanse lasts about 10 hours. We added an IR Adderall to make sure the ADD was treated for the evenings when I went to school. While I am sure there are side-effects for some people, I have not experienced any. The Vyvanse helps with concentration and definitely helps ensure that I stay on task at work. The only problem it hasn’t really helped with is my hyperactivity. I still move and fidget constantly. Is there anyone out there who has similar symptoms? Would upping the dose help with this fidgeting? It is really embarrassing at work when I do things like flip my scissors or tap on my desk without even realizing it. Thanks in advance for any responses.
I started Vyvance two days ago and it has been an uncomfortable experience so far: nausea, disorientation, strong tingling in the neck, sweating, teeth grinding, smoking urges, etc.
It feels like the drug is pumping through my system in waves so I go up and somewhere down to normal and restart the cycle. I think I might be high. But not like Luke who is definitely high!
Oddly, two associates saw immediate improvement. So what I am feeling inside does not seem to be translating to my behavior. I cut the dose in half today (sorry Doc). I am wondering if anyone stayed with their doses and found it easier over time.
I started vyvanse this morning. I have been taking Provigil in order to stay awake. My doctor thought vyvanse might be a better alternative to provigil. I have been sleepy all day just as I usually am. I also take luvox for OCD and cymbalta for depression. I hope vyvanse will keep me awake.
Jon,
I too have experienced the sweating and teeth grinding, but I can’t really speak about the other side effects. I find mine to be rather minor though. Definitely not as bad as when I take IR Adderall. The teeth grinding has lessened after about a month (I went from 30 the first month to 50 the second) and about 5 days after increasing the dose. I have to take an IR Adderall at about 5:00 pm because thats when my Vyvanse wears off, and I notice the sweating and teeth grinding a lot more with that. Hope it helps!
People who are taking Vyvance, or any other ADHD for that matter, should not assume that any side-effect they may be experiencing will be shared by others. It can be a very individual thing. I had been taking 30mg of Adderall XR for several months before switching to 70mg of Vyvance and have no side-effects, whatsoever. I agree with a previous posting about some of the ignorant and ridiculous statements some people make.
VYVANSE is the best. I agree with Jenny that a lot of people need to get informed before they go out there scaring people about a medication. I was diagnosed 5 years ago. This was only after my son was diagnosed and my doctor told me there is usually a link genetically. My son was on Adderall 10mg and has done so great. However, my doctor recommended Vyvanse. At first I was skeptical for him to try it since he was doing well. But after 3 days, the control over his ADHD was amazing, even over that of his previous medication. I too got on Vyvanse (after failing everything under the sun.) This is the only medication that has ever worked for me, but also I am a recovering alcoholic and I like that I can’t abuse this medication or become adicited.
My 7 year old son was diagnosed with ADD last year and has been on Adderall XR 20mg. The symtoms he had with Adderall were typical… headaches, not hungry, sometimes had difficulty sleeping and just wasn’t the jolly little boy that we knew. Yesterday was our first day on Vyvanse 30mg… I am SO happy so far. His teacher said there was more focus but he was himself again!! When I got him from school his first words were… “I am hungry”!!! He ate like the normal boy that I know last night and this morning!! He also slept really well and had no headaches!! My only regret so far is that I didn’t try this for him sooner!!
I too have ADHD and am 42 years old. I used Wellbutrin for a while until it lost its efficacy. I switched over to Adderall after hearing from a friend about it. I’ve been on it for a few years now, even though I don’t care for the side effects. Mainly, I get headaches and on occasion lose my appetite. Since reading from you posters how great Vyvanse is, can anyone tell me if they drink coffee in the morning? There’s one thing I know not to do is drink coffee and take Adderall. It puts me in a zombie-like state.
So I am an 18 year old male that has been taking Adderal XR for about 1 and a half to 2 years and has played around with dosages and I have crushed the beads and snorted the drug also.I have experience with all sorts of drugs common with student in high school including alcohol, weed, E, and cocaine. If you don’t believe these are common drugs found in high school you are living in a fantasy world. I find myself a unique individual because after doing such drugs with my friends I would never experience a “come down” including depression and the desire for more, I am just simply done and move on. Yesterday I received a free 30 day prescription to this new Vyvanse and said sure why the heck not. The next day I took 1 50mg pill, and waited to feel its effects..Having ADD I felt the drug did a very nice job, However I didn not feel as motivated as Adderal but it did the job. Also unlike Adderal you obtain the ability to better select what it is you wish to focus on, where as adderal filled me wish a desire to learn where as Vyvanse I found myself thinking about drugs..The high received from this drug was much different then adderal XR..where adderal XR had similar effect to that of speed…Vyvanse was almost identical to that of E and cocaine discluding the body high. Meaning E has the ability to make brushing someones hair an orgasmic experience, vyvanse lacked this quality but still I was mentally high (it also causes similar side effect such as jaw clenching and the rolling of eyes into the back of the head). It was around 8pm that the effects began to become noticeably lessened. Never before have I ever had such an urge for more in my life, but this time I thought to myself lets see how high this can get me. I took 3 more and set out for a night of parties and the usual. Yes this may sound extreme but I live in a middle to high class neighborhood and drug use like this is considered usual among all students..and around the world has almost become a social norm in the eyes of students themselves. An hour had passed and I was possibly the highest I had ever been, nothing made sense anymore and the world around me was being manipulated, I would see people in the distance but then they were gone, a sense of people being behind you or watching, depth perception and sight were all out of wack and there was a thin layer of fog everywhere I went. Lights looked like the sun and I began seeing 3 of everything. I was sitting on the porch of a house attempting to gather myself and I look up to see my car melting to the ground. The effects of this drug are highly comparable to that of crack, meth, shrooms..and possibly acid given the conditions. What I found MOST INTERESTING is that the company states snorting this drug will not produce a high. however me and my friend tested this and found that snorting a line would get you high but ONLY after having took some befor, if you wernt already high on the drug you felt nothing. I tell this story to you today because due to my experience with this drug I have quit use of any and all drugs. The addictive nature of this drug is one to be feared, for a free month trial was gone within 4 days. Causing a loss of reality, I no longer could tell what was real and what was the drugs fault, I would see people and wave then they would vanish, so every time I saw someone I questioned if they were really there or not. I felt like I had gone insane, and thats not the type of kid I am. I drink occasionally and I have tested out what my friends like to do but never considered myself a user. I graduated with a 3.8 and am currently in college. After comming face to face with my dead bestfriend I got a slight grip on reality….just enough to call a friend for help. I caution to parents to watch their children’s perscriptions. Yes your child is trustworthy and would never do such a thing but medication such as so can change a person thinking behavior and when addiction occurs this thinking behavior is all the person has…changing them from someone you once knew and loved into some crack hungry monster.
I have a daughter that just started taking vyvanse 30mg. She has been sick ever since. Nausea, dizziness and I am worried. We have never been on ADD meds before and I wonder if anyone has ever had these side effects.
My 9 year old son is just finishing the free trial. This is the first med the doc tried. We did notice benifits of the drug, BUT the uncontrollable Jaw movement that he has experienced is too much to watch our child go through and I have stopped the medicine.
First day we gave him the 30mg pill and it was WAY TO MUCH! He was Very Sad one minute then super hyper then sad again. I decided to lower the dosage myself and started to only give him a half of the pill. After a week his Jaw movement was Unbelievable. He looked like he was biting at the air or something and constantly moving his jaws around.(Also his fidgiting had not improved and was possibly worse) After 2 weeks I tried to go ahead and give him the whole pill. His uncontrollable jaw movements went Crazy. He looked like he was going crazy or something. I went right back to the half pill and finished the trial.
We have now decided that the side affects are to bad with this drug to continue.
On the other hand though, His hand writing became legible this month(his ADHD has his handwriting looking worse than his brothers who is in 1st grade), His coloring skills improved and his concentration on homework improved. Also his teacher said his school work improved.
So without the side affect of the mouth & jaw movement the drug worked BUT the appearance he had on the drug looked so bad he looked mentaly challenged si we have stopped it, and they want us to try Strattera.(What should I know about this new drug?)
I started taking Vyvanse about 2 months ago and I’d recommend it. I can focus and am able to organize my day. I’m not pinging off the walls bouncing from task to task leaving them unfinshed. It even allows me to actually SIT and enjoy time w/ my children. My family notices the change. There were some side effects…. weight loss, dry mouth, chest pains, but eventually subsided. The only problem that I have is the COST!!!!! Even w/ my insurance I pay over $100 monthly for 30 pills, which is OUTRAGEOUS!!! I have no choice but to switch my meds to a generic of Adderall. I’m not happy w/ it and think that they should make the drug more affordable. The program that comes w/ Vyvanse starts you off the first month free and only offers financial support for the ages 6-12. Something should be done to make the medication more affordable.
Ryan, who made a posting on Oct. 1st, is understandably confused, considering all the drugs he ingests. Drug abusers have more appropriate websites on which to post their experiences. Try wackycrackheads.com. and not take up space on an ADHD website. ADHD is only a minor problem he’s living with.
I have taken Vyvance for the past 4 days and feel very confused and unmotivated. Much more of an ADHD fog than usual. Like everyone else that is an adult, I have much to do and found that my memory has also been very poor. The dry mouth has been especially bad. I am very afraid that I will not be able to organize and carry out my work on Monday and that it will be very noticeable. Has anyone had these particular side effects? They are enough to make me go back to the trusted Adderall–XR or IR!!! Thanks.
The statements about not being able to get high from snorting Vyvance is totally wrong, I have had two months of the script for my adhd, the first month i was on 30 mg and 50 the next month. I honestly take them for fun more than for my adhd. If i have a test or need to study ill snort one or two, but if you do 3 or 4 50’s you will be up for about 40 to 50 hours easy. Ive also snorted adderal xr and focalin xr, I prefer the adderal high, and focalin has a totally different feeling too, but it all gets you high if you do it the right way. However if you have a problem with drugs I would not suggest taking it due to the fact that it will make you relaspe if you are trying to be clean. Im sad to hear that adderal xr is going off the shelves, that stuff is awesome, prolly cuz its a pure amphetamine salt and vyvance along with focalin are a mix of amphetamines and other stimulants. I couldnt really imagine a young child taking this drug without being high all day. The best thing for adhd in children is be a better parrent, dont shove pills down your kids throats, and be surprised when they become meth heads later on in life. I know a few meth addicts and they all were perscribed adderal xr or ritalin as a child. Not to say that the drug prolly does help some people but look at how many people in this post described the feeling as high, not jittery or alert, but high. That should be a big red flag to any parent, i know i would never give my child vyvanse or any other highly addictives script and any parent who does just to calm their kid down is irresponsible and should be hit in the head with a large blunt object for being such a tard when it came to their own childs well being.
Ryan and ‘me’:
I am in your exact position! and you are so right, anyone out there reading this who thinks that drugs like adderall (“addy”) weed, liquor, meth, coke, shrooms, acid, E, and ketamine arent common in most high schools, well think again. i could walk into my school with about 20-50$ in my little pocket and buy a good portion of just about ANY and ALL of those drugs listed in less than an hour. but that is beside the point here…
I was perscribed Vyvanse after admitting to my doctor that i had had a little illegal adderall binge the week before, but it had helped my schoolwork to the extreme! she perscribed me 50mg a day and it rocked my world like adderall could not. adderall made me tense, twitchy, aneroxic,(and it only lasted for about 3 hours max.) and such an insomniac that after a week of about 80mg per day i just had to call it quits. But both Vyvanse and adderall are EXTREMELY ADDICTIVE and i capitalize this from experience with both. Vyvanese helps my ADD sooo much BUT, after taking it for about 14 days now at 50mg per day normal dose, i am starting to not be affected by it anymore. But when i first took it and sat down in my math class to do some work, WOW… ive never understood math so incredibly as i did that day.
and the people that say that Vyvanse is unabusable are veryyyyy wronggg as well. if you take more than the recommended dose of ANY pharm that messes with the brain, you are pretty much bound to get a ‘high’ experience out of it. I have not yet tried this with Vyvanse seeing as my best friend hid the bottle from me becasue she loves me that much. (haha) This 50mg dose is only effective in me for about roughly 5 classes (4.5 hours?) when it should be active all day. I got horrible side effects at first but they lessened as i became more tolerant to it over about 2 weeks. I am thinking about going off it for a few days becasue the weekend is coming and i dont think that Rum and amphetamines mix all that well considering what ive read on other sites today, but i am quite afraid of the sickening “adderall crash” that i could get once i go off this Vyvanse stuff. I dont know what to expect but i know that i will find out tomorrow. However i have learned that mixing adderall and weed can give you the conversation skills and the imagination you need to literally be a sucessful standup comic, or to entertain even the most unwilling of people quite easily, but prolonged use leads to DEFINITE personality changes and indesisveness.
on one last note about Vyvanse, two VERY distinct (and somewhat scary) effects of taking it that i have observed in myself have been extreme physical tics and muscle spasms. This is bad. Also when you ‘come down’ from Vyvanse you basically get extremely mad and frusterated with EVERYTHING. no matter how small, if it pisses you off, consider it destroyed.
If used in its correct way, Vyvanese can be a VERY useful pharm, but i really dont think so in young children. posibly should be used more (and my doctor agrees) in adults, for it can be very strong and vastly unperdictable especially in those people with other mental disorders. (i have a growing list now including (but not limited to) ADD, bipolar disorder, depersonalization disorder, midlevel depression, extreme childhood social anxiety, and bouts of unexplainable psychosis/skitzo. I have tried many different things for them and Vyvanse, while not being the best, is certainly not the least effective. Zoloft isnt good if you ever want to have sex again in your life, and depakote (i may note) made me want to vomit everytime i ate anything. i wont go into too much more detail because this is getting rather long.
but main point: Vyvanse = good concentration, abality to get high from, free 30 day trial, quick tolerance, very addictive, different than adderall.
and if you couldnt tell from all this spastic, crazed, random topic choice writing, my best friend obviously didnt hide the bottle all that well. 😉
i have a son who is on AdderalXR 60mgs a day for the last 5 years and nothing works. He is 16 and weighd over 300 pds and 6ft2 inches. Iwas wondering if this drug would help him more.
I am 23 and have been on 30mg’s Adderall xR for 3 years. It does work for me with no side effects, but I have severe drop-offs at 3pm like Jill (aug. 24th). I’m very committed to exercise, eating well, and good sleep patterns, but I just can’t get past 3-3:30 without going cross-eyed. I’ll be asking my doc about Vyvanse, and I will report back with results. Thanks to those with constructive comments.
John
To the idiot above asking if we give our pets meds for being hyper. Well, no- pets do not have to sit in school 5-7 hours a day or participate in social interactions in a peer-group- they just take a pee by the tree- so meds would not be indicated (i.e. it cause no issues if the pee is not so focused).
We started our 9 year old on Vyvanse about a month ago (30 mg). His first reaction was he couldn’t stop talking, and stayed up all night. Of course we weren’t given specific instruction on when to administer, so he took this first dose right after school the first day. We then backed way off and started with a small amount, working back to the 30 mg dose. His teacher tells us that he is doing much better in class. But my wife and I are researching every possible natural method to give us an opportunity to get away from these drugs.I do believe these drugs do work, and they help medicate a child so that child can get through a day of school staying reasonably focused.
In my opinion, most of the issue in school with his ADD (he doesn’t have the hyper part), is not his or any other child that is on this or any other medication. There seems to be 2 components contributing to this whole ADHD/ADD epidemic. 1) Schools hands are tied when it comes to discipline. The whole liberal ” treat everybody the same” idealology is now backfiring on our culture. I am amazed by what I observe in my kids’ classes, and how kids behave because parents have been duped by the left winged nuts. 2) I have spoken with local school board officials who admitted to me that nearly every public school system’s cirriculum today is geared towards the female student. I have 4 children (my 2 oldest are boys and my 2 youngest are girls). I am watching both boys struggle with just being what they are… “Boys”! I also see other little boys have the same struggles in their day to day school experiences. It appears that we are trying to discriminate against boys, and smear the genders to where by the time they graduate, they will probably think and act more female than male. Of course as parents, we want our boys to accel and do as good as they can do in school , so we buy into the whole facade that our sons our “not fitting in” to their (the public school system’s) little idealistic plan.
Parents it’s time we stand up for our son’s rights, and demand they be allowed to be who they are and will always be… Boys!!!!
If my attack on the “left wing nuts” offended anybody here, please double or triple the dosage immediately!
I’m 36 and have been on medications for my ADD for many years. I’d been on the Dextroseamphetimine (okay may not have spelled that correctly) but, about 3 months ago my Dr. put me on Vyvanese. We tried several different strengths and I decided to just bute the bullet and try it and see if it would get into my system and I would slowly realize the results. What I realized is that it made me EXTREMELY agitated and angry. I am a pretty low keyed person and I became very mean for the lack of a better word. I didn’t find it to help me concentrate and I acquired more anxiety about things I’d never had anxiety about before. I’ve just called my doctor a week ago to put me back on the old stuff I’d been taking. This Vyvanese I understand has a different effect on everyone, but I thought what I experienced on it could help someone else if they find they’re feeling a little on the crazy side after taking these meds.
To the last poster–if you’re concerned that your boys are being singled out, ask your pediatrician to use a “normed” scale to gauge your child’s behavior. You and other parties (teachers, other objective caregivers) fill out the form, score it, and total it. Researchers have studied thousands of boys to see what the normal score is. If your children score significantly higher than the average boy…well, it’s not the schools that are the problem. So, be objective, and get your children help for their very real, biological disorder if they need it.
I have a very hyper son, and thought it was normal boy behavior, until his teachers began complaining they could no longer redirect his attention. He started getting defiant, had low frustration threshold, and was frequently angry. His doctor said that he had ADHD, and he has benefitted from treatment–now, our household runs normally, and he’s a happy little boy who feels better about himself and his successes.
I have a 7 year old son who was diagnosed with ADHD last spring 2007. We tried concerta for a bit but could not get him to take the caplets in the morning. He’d gag and vomit every morning. He’d cry and beg not to have to take the meds. We changed to Daytrana 20 mg (first in the pediatric practice to use the patch)
We saw a big improvement in his impulsive behaviors, focus, and watched him get along with his friends as he did before the frustration of the disorder got the best of him. We did see a lot of OCD behaviors like continuing to adjust his clothing for what seemed like hours, pushing his hair around as if it was bothering his face (he has long hair. We ended up giving him a haircut) He dropped a lot of weight but also grew 3 inches in 7-8 months. He never looked underweight. Always a healthy appearance. He had a lot of twitching in one eye when he was on the Concerta 18-36mg and this almost disappeared with the Daytrana. We adjusted his dosage for a while due to wanting to get rid of the OCD behaviors and make sure he did not loose too much weight. We went up to 30mg of Daytrana and eventually got down to 10 mg. He is much happier and less OCD on the 10 mg, but after success until September, we are seeing focusing and hyperactivity problems hinder his success in the classroom. We are considering Vyvanse since we can mix the med into a drink or I guess apple sauce. We are of course worried about the jaw movements reported by many of you as it is reminiscent to the OCD clothing adjustments, and hair rearranging.
He’s so creative, funny, wise, and not really within “the box”. My sister, a physical therapist for children, complains he is 3 years behind in maturity when compared to another 7 year old (probably, her perfect daughter, who is a month older than my son) She, my neice happens to be acceptionally intelligent and mature, but almost a bit too mature, almost too controlled, as is my sister)
None of these children will ever be the same as eachother. I take great care to appreciate the unique and creative and adorable kid my son is. He is a cross of many things like part surfer, guitarist, doctor, and even a rabbi. There is so much good and beauty and wonder in this child being dragged down by this unfair situation or disorder. Is this wonder and all of these amazing characteristics a result of the disorder though? I saw without meds and actively avoiding meds was going to trash his self esteem. When he came home from school reporting that he is stupid, ugly, and his teachers hated him, we knew it was time to get agressive with this ADHD world we live in. My 13 year old was diagnosed twice before we broke down and medicated her with aDDDEROL, I am diagnosed from 2 years ago as well and use aDDEROL. My 13 year old only medicated for a year and a half. She was tiny and refused to eat and I could not take a chance with her growth being affected by the Adderol.
When these kids keep getting in trouble (seems like mostly the boys getting in trouble, while girs zone out and have an awful time retaining their lessons) at school and the teachers don’t have the experience or the time to give to these ADHD kids, this is when their self-esteem is jeopardized. The most irritating thing right now is that we pay $12K a year for our son to be in an independant school, not public because smaller classes will help the ADHD child focus better. All of a sudden for 1st grade, there are 17 kids in his class. (not what we thought would be but the school went for the big bucks rather than cut off applications this year. We are going to look into a change in his school but are only just starting to research where he should go. Any comments on schooling or med changes will be greatly appreciated.
My 9 year old daughter started Vyvanse 50mg two weeks ago. I myself am scared of any and all meds for ADHD. She was diagnosed at 5yrs old with ADHD. After longs talk with the psyclogoist, Strattera this was chosen because it was a non-stimulant. It worked well for about two years then no longer worked even after being increased. Then she was switched to Concerta 27mg. Again 2 years and she began to fail in school, couldn’t sit still, was in her own little world. Took her back to the doctor and that was when she was put on the Vyvanse. In the two weeks she has been on it, she grades have improved, she does her homework, she has told me she feels better and that she can actually listen to the teacher, I am not having the behavior issues with her either. Her grades are starting to come up for example she had a 39% in one class and has brought it up to a C already. NO side effect at all up to this point so far. But I am on the look out.
I have read the comments on it being the parents fault but unless you are in our shoes don’t judge. I myself sat exactly where you are on the issues until it happened to me. I was like I will never put my kids on meds the whole nine yards. Then I have a child that fails in all she tries to do. She is in trouble multiple times a day at school because of her inabilty to sit, listen and play fair. I have a child coming home crying because she doen’t understand why she is doing things. So I take her to the psycologist, where they do test, talk, and all to us. She then is diagnosed with the ADHD. After many sleepless nights and boxes of tissue I had to face I have a child with ADHD. Now the question was am I going to help her or am I going to hurt her (as in letting her go down the road she was on)? I choose like any caring parent would. I wanted to help my child in anyway I could. So I did elect meds but a non-stimulant as I mentioned. Stimulants scared and still does scare me. At times we do still have some issues, but she is a child and that will happen. Yes you have to disipline a child so they know right from wrong the meds will not and do not take care of that. But what the meds do do is help these children and adults focus on the task they are trying to do. Since I made the decision for meds, my child IS succeeding in her schooling. She IS confident in herself because she can do what the other kids do. She CAN sit and listen to the teacher in order to learn, she CAN take turns and be able to wait till it is her turn, she CAN be herself the way she sees herself. These individuals that have ADHD can not help the way things are, but meds help them to be who they want to be. It enables them to focus, learn, not fidget, and so much more. So before you go and try to put blame on someone or something know your facts and that persons life.
As for addictions to meds, it can and could happen. But IF taken AS prescribe you lesson that chance. If you become immuned to that dose or it seems not to be working like it should, then don’t self adjust go back to the doctor and let them do the adjusting or possibly change the drug you are on.
Trail and error on these drugs for what will work is what happens. NOT all drugs effect every person the same. Not all side effects are the same. Some will have none, some will have many.
As for Vyvanse as of right now I works for my child and I will continue with it. I will be looking for any effects with the medicine like I would with any other. But like I said right now it is what is working for her.
My son is 8 years old and has been taking Adderall XR for the last 2 years. His dosage was increased several times over that time period until he reached 25mg. Then his doctor switched him to Vyvanse 30mg. The only side effect I witnessed on 30mg was for about 1 minute he was sad and mentioned his father always being mad at him. I mention this because this child is always happy and in a good mood. The 30mg did not seem to work at all. The doctor increased the dosage to 50mg within a few days and he has been taking that now for about 2 weeks. He has been complimented on his behavior in specific situations but for the most part the drug does not seem to be working. His teacher is reporting fidgeting with his desk contents & not focusing on work. He also grinds his teeth while sleeping but he did that with the Adderall as well.
I am sick with concern for him because the doctor is now thinking of other medications for him. I hate changing drugs and after reading all of the above comments I am even more scared. He even mentioned a blood pressure medication to be taken at night. That scares the hell out of me. Any comments or suggestions would be highly appreciated.
One more comment about the price of Vyvanse. We have a major health insurance company and they have ‘authorized’ us to buy the drug at our regular brand name drug price of $40 copay only because our doctor faxed them a letter stating that our child needed this medication.
Alright. so.
I’m almost 22
I’ve got Bipolar with manic symptoms… no depression.
My whole live i’ve been on downers to medicate the symptoms of my bipolar. To keep me calm and sedated. benzos, anti psychotics, muscle relaxers, sleeping pills, etc.
Memorial day of this year i tried Adderall XR 20mg (2) for the first time.
HOLY COW. I was … in touch with this part of myself for the first time. I was able to gather my thoughts and ideas together and make connections that I couldn’t before. It helped me with my job too. I was so excited. It didnt make me “high”, i didnt take it to “get high”. only to work, or clean my room, or do creative stuff. and never more than 40mg
I started bartering with my neighbor, her Adderall for … well whatever she wanted from me. Around July I finally dropped the bomb on my PDOC that I was getting this stuff, and that I was dead set that I had ADHD. He agreed that he thought I had it cause even when I was taking a shit ton of sedative meds, I was still talking a million miles an hour, thoughts racing.
SO finally I got my script. 60 20mg Adderall XR a month. I took it as written in August, and halfway through sept. I had to start taking 3 a day for work by the middle of september, so my doctor changed the script to 60 30mg.
Well at my appt. in september he started mentioning vyvanse. He was pushing it on me by saying it was more of an appetite suppresant.
hah. In the beginning of April, I weighed 165/160. I got put on 400mg Topamax, then in August the Adderall XR. Today, I weigh 105. The combination has led to some very serious unhealthy eating habbits that I fight with every day. I’m getting better, but it’s really hard.
So yea, that’s the reason I’m not jumping on the vyvanse wagon. I can’t afford something that will supress my appetite even more.
For those of you who get on vyvanse to loose weight, DO IT SAFELY. Anorexia isn’t defined as “not eating cause i think im fat” anorexia defined is just “loss of appetite”. Just because you haven’t ate all day because you weren’t hungry and it’s time for bed, EAT SOMETHING.
And for all of you kids getting on here bragging about how awesome it is to get f’ed up on Scripts and all these drugs and shit, get 60+ credit hours in college under your belt and take Pharmacology and Neurology classes, and learn about how all this shit messes with the neurotransmitters and lobes in your brain, and how 10 years from now the only Scripts you’re going to be taking, are the anti-convulsants and anti-depressants because you screwed your brain up so bad. And you only have your self to blame.
I’ve been taking Vyvanse for about two months now, and it is simply not working out. I often feel disconnected from my body and/or what is happening around me. I feel like I am not in my own head… it’s like you can’t remember your own personal agenda or goals, and almost don’t even really know where you are. It completely zaps out your motivation. It’s very distressing, and I stopped taking Adderall XR for the same reason, as well as Straterra.
Also – to those of you who are worried about your children who are experience nausea and dizziness, that would be due to a loss of appetite, and dehydration. I’ve gone through that. It’s simply what the medication does. I am 15 and have been taking ADD medications since I was 8 years old, starting with Concerta, then Ritalin, then Straterra, then Adderrall (testing both the regular and XR) and now I’m on Vivance… it’s a tough struggle to find the right drug. Good luck to all of you.
I have an 8 y/o boy who was diagnosed with ADHD about 10 months ago. We have tried several meds before we found one that worked effectively. Currently he is on Focalin 30mg a day. I notice a great improvement in his ability to focus. Prior to getting diagnosed he was unable to grasp simple concepts, like tying his shoes. He is not a stupid child just unable to focus and would end up getting frustrated. My point is to Paul.. if he feels his kids do not have ADHD or the school is just wanting to medicate his children maybe he is right. You should get a second opinion. But I am hear to tell you I thought ADHD was a crock until my son was diagnosed. (I do have an older son who is not ADHD)
To Maureen October 15
I don’t know where you live so it may be different in your state. I am in Ohio. ADHD is a reconizible learning disability. (I believe that is a US standard) First, contact your county or state learning disability association and explain your situation. They will give you info on your child’s legal rights especially in a school setting. As part of Pres Bush “No Child Left behind” program, schools are required to accommadate your child. I will tell you that public schools have more resources available than private. My son was in a privte school last year and they were less than eager to help. This year he is in public and is doing much better. His main class has 30 kids but he goes into small groups for reading and math with other a few other kids. In Ohio we have IEPs which are Individualized Education Plans. These are legal documents on the education your child will receive.The school(teachers,pricipal etc), myself and the a representative from the Board came up with the plan. Just to note, they tested him extensively to come up with his ability and his learning style. The plan is reviewed every 2 years. I hope your state has something similar. Kids learn at their own pace, especially ADHD kids.
As far as Adderol, my son had a bad time on that too. I have heard that boys are more prone to Adderol reactions than girls. Don’t know why. Also ignore your sister and her daughter. ADHD kids (both boys and girls)are more immature than their peers yet they have a higher IQs. I have read no less than 50 books on ADHD/ADD and have a pretty good knowledge on the subject.I recommend “123 Magic” and “Transforming The difficult Child”. I have heard a recent study was done and ADHD childrens’ brains are different in CT scans. I have not verified it yet so I am not positive. So don’t listen to your sister and enjoy your son.Let me know how it goes victorygoddess@cox.net.
I am a high school English teacher. My child was diagnosed with learning disabilities and ADHD at seven years of age. We have run the gamet of medications and doctors. If your school district suggests testing, allow it; the results are usually valid. You as a parent can also request testing; there will be loads of paperwork and meeting, but they will all be worth it in the long run. I also suggest parents consult a pediatrician for a full-scale physical with an executive panel of bloodwork. I have found the most success with a partnership of public school officials, classroom teachers, a pediatrician, and a pediatrics nuerologist. There is no substitute for doing your own research. Don’t be rushed into quick decisions. There are many pediatricians who bill themselves as ADHD specialists but who have less knowledge than a well-informed parent. There are few federal laws governing special services for public school children with disabilities. In many states ADD or ADHD is not considered a disability. Your school district special services personnel can help guide you.
I know there are rotten teachers, just as there are rotten folks in every profession; however most of us teachers are teaching out of a love of content and for children. I do everything I can to help children, regardless of the IEP or official diagnosis. Please regard teachers as a vital part of the team that wants to help make your child successful.
The best thing you can do is to talk with your child’s teachers as a team to develop strategies to help your child. With any where from fifteen to thirty students in a class, I am sometimes successful and sometimes not. But I always try. If parent, student, and teacher all make an honest effort, things will get better. The best thing you can do for the classroom teacher is to compliment her when your child and you have a good day. You might also try meeting some of her needs by contributing classroom supplies or something for the whole class that you know will especially benefit your child. Most teachers look for ways to make students successful and feel good about themselves; let them know what toots your kid’s horn so that they can toot at school!
To the high school and college students who are using drugs: I have been to the mental hospitals and to funerals of students who sound just like you. Get some professional help before it is too late. And don’t have children; I also have to try to teach the children of drug abusers who have already ruined their lives and have produced mentally and physically handicapped children that are innocently suffering for the sins of their parents. Get help for drug addiction and then get “fixed” so you can’t reproduce. This is harsh but true.
To the parents of children with learning disabilities and ADD/ADHD: Take a break from worrying over your child’s illness and just love them. Declare stressful nights as homework free and just do whatever they like.
Take a day occasionally that is medicine free, stress free, and let them do what makes them happy. My son is now enrolled at a local technical college and doing okay. He may flunk English, but he’s a good kid with excellent manners and a great moral compass. Relax and enjoy your wonderful kid. Celebrate the good things you see them do and know that they will be okay.
I am a 39 year old man with an 8 year old son who is ADHD. I believe that he is the 3rd generation, but only he and myself have been diagnosed. It was one of the most difficult decisions my wife and I have ever made when we decided to medicate our son for ADHD. So far, it has been a good one. I was not diagnosed or medicated until I was an adult, so the thought of altering a mind during development was frightening.
If you have ADHD you can understand more easily what it means to you to suddenly be able to stand in a line and wait your turn or focus long enough to sit and pay your bills. You can understand what it means to you to be able to make it through an hour of math instead of ten minutes and get an “A” instead of a “D.”
My son, like myself but to an infinitely greater degree, is like a paralyzed genius without his medications. He will learn to function with and without them, but he will understand them as the tool that they are to help him make it through our society.
Those of you who are afraid of medicating your children have good reason to fear. Doctors tend to overmedicate, in my opinion. If they tell you 36mg of Concerta to start, ask them why not 18mg? Start small and use your child’s teachers, peers, and doctors to help you. Do the same with yourself.
My son takes Daytrana very successfully. We get two good meals into him a day; one before the patch gets applied, and one a couple of hours after it’s off. There was no appetite on Focalin or Concerta and the effective time was always too short. Higher dosages created amphetamine like effects, but the efficacy did not change. My adult experience is almost identical.
I will be starting Vyvanse tomorrow. The doctor seems to think some of my side effects will be lesser with it than the others.
Here’s a comparison for those of you dead-set against medication. I wear glasses for distance vision. I put them on when I drive and I take them off when I’m not going to drive. When I have them on, I stay in my lane and drive with the flow of traffic. You don’t honk at me or flip me the bird for erratic driving.
I take my Concerta, and tomorrow my Vyvanse, Monday through Friday, and sometimes on weekends. I engineer your products so that they don’t fail when you need them. My paperwork gets done and my testing is completed as is necessary for a safety item. When I don’t have to do these things, I don’t take my meds.
If your kids are getting flipped the bird at school on a daily basis and made to feel inferior or defective because you won’t give them the tools WHEN they need them, shame on you. Try everything you and the teachers and doctors can think of first, and praise God if it works. But if it doesn’t, get a good neurologist and a pediatrician and ask a lot of questions.
I started vyvanse 2 months ago. It has been the best drug for my add. I also have premenstrual dysphoric disorder which I take lexapro 20mg for. “They” websites will tell you you arent supposed to take these meds together but it seems to be the perfect cocktail for me. Unfortunately I decided to play with this drug a litle bit. I ended up taking 6 30 mgs in one day translates to DEATH WISH. DO NOT PLAY with this drug. Its not adderall or the others that you can eat like pacman. This drug makes you feel INCREDIBLY WORSE the more you do. Now for the really fun part, I took six…I was up for the entire night with mouth ulcers, and knots in my FACE, NECK, arms fingers toes you name it. It got to the point I thought my face and neck arteries would blow up. Listen, I used to do alot of drugs esp ecstacy and meth. Doing too much of this was the worst thing I ever did. At any rate this is a wonderful drug because you really cant abuse it. When the doses are proper you feel perfect. The first month I felt nothing so Doc increased it. The only thing I felt the first month was DIZZY, disoriented (I got off the worng subway stop in Queens and beleived it was the right one) and tooth grinding. Now everything is great with the proper dose. I still feel a little irritable at points but I think thats just me.
Okay, Im not proud of what I did but I wanted to share in case someone finds themselves screwing around with this. I am really tired of angry bloggers, please take your issues somewhere else. This should be considered a support group. If anyone needs anything else please dont hesitate to ask on me I am highly experienced in this arena. Oh and Luke is totally Accurate!
MY SON IS ON THIS MED. IT’S DO REALLY WORK FOR HIM. ALSO IT’S SLOW DOWN HIS RUNNING AND ANIX0US PROBLEMS..
I am a 36 year old mother of 4. When my youngest was in 2nd grade and the homework started to really to come home, I began to see a change in her. I had to stay right by her side at all times when she did her homework.(which took an average of 4 hours to do, and on a regular basis should only take maybe an hour) If I didn’t she would wander. When she would read she would have a hard time consitrating and understanding what she was reading, especially if there were other things going on in the house. Her comprehension wasn’t that good, and she was very unreasonable. Her playing or down time was hardly anything because she would spend so much time trying to get her homework done that by the time she was finished it was time to eat dinner and then bed time. She would get hyper in a crowd, so much that you couldn’t settle her down or reason with her. For awhile I blamed it on me and me babying her. I would ask her teacher at the time about how she was doing in the classroom. It would always be “oh great, or shes doing just fine”. The thing that was hard is that my second born had a speach problem and struggled in reading. We had to work hard for him to be able to do his spelling, reading and ect. But he did it and is now a great student and a hard worker. I could see the difference when she started having problems-hers where nothing like his. So even more I would blame myself-I had to be doing something wrong, or just imaging things. I hated myself when I would work with her on her homework-I hated what I turned into. I would get so frustrated and loose my patients. My other 3 children could tell how hard it was for me to reason with her and try to make her do her work and understand the simplest problems of “what was one more then 3”, that they would step in and try to help. Well when she was in 3rd grade her teacher called me less then a month into the school year and said that she was concerned with the prgress that Marley was making, she had scored way below on her fall ISATS-even lower then the ones that she took when she was a 2nd grader in the spring. I started to cry-finally someone that noticed the things that where going on. She helped set up some test to be done at the school with the school psychologist, and other members of the team. She went through the whole 9 yards of testing. When I finally got her test back- I cried. Not only because it was there on black and white everything that I knew, but that my child had a problem. At first I tried to work with it-I was very afraid of the meds. Then one day I was talking with my sister-in -law and she told me of the problems one of her kids where having. Almost identical to Marley’s. She had put her daughter on Focolin. When she told me that she came home from school one day and said “guess what mom? I am smart now- I can do my work”. I thought “man am I being selfish in not trying something to help my child feel successful?” the next day I made an appointment with my childs doctor. Took the report that I had received from the school and my own personal experience and talked to him. He put her on the focolin also. For the first little while it really seemed to help. Homework time was easier, grades went up, it was better. The only problem that I could see was that she wasn’t really wanting to interact with other kids,clingy sometimes, had to know where I was at at all times. Then it got to the point that It didn’t seem to be lasting throughout the day. Especially in the late afternoon. So I went back to the DR. and he then gave us Vyvanse. So far and it has only been 2 days, she had been more content to play with others, for along period of time. Easier to reason with, reading better, and happier. She had a nervous thing that she did with her fingers-rubbing them together by her ear to hear the sound-that went pretty much away when she was on the focolin, it has come back on the vyvanse. I will continue to watch that, but so far I like what I have seen. I take offence to the comments that where made about problems in parenting and ADHD kids. She is the last of my four children, I am not a working mom, I am here and always have been here for my kids, we have lots of good family support around, I am very active in their schools, I know my kids teachers and they know me. And I make them accountable for their school work-they know that it’s very important and that I am here to help them succeed. I don’t know why Marley has the problems that she does-and maybe I will never know. But I do know this- I am her mom and I love her dearly. I want her to be the best that she can be, and make sure she knows that she can do anything that she sets her mind to do. I want her to grow into a successful adult and have a successful life in what every she choose to do. I don’t treat her any different then my other 3. She still has the same expectations to do HER best in school and in life. Because I know that she is a smart and capable person. Never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that this would happen to my child-but it has and now its up to me to do what I can to help her through this time in her life. So until you are faced with these issues in your own family, keep your comments to yourself. I know that it is still going to be along road ahead but I am willing to face whatever comes our way-we are family-and thats what matters.
I just started Vyvanse about a week ago. I am a college student, 19 years old, and was prescribed Ritalin early in high school. I had the horrible side effects of tooth grinding and chronic headaches with Ritalin and stayed off ADHD medication for a couple years thereafter. My grades suffered…up and down…as my concentration waned. My freshman year of college I started taking Adderall XR. It is a seriously uplifting drug with a bad dropoff and an apt for quick tolerance. It is very easily abused–while I have never used any psychostimulants as anything more than what they were intended for, I know it is a common problem with adolescents and young adults. Vyvanse has thus far been satisfying. It definitely helps increase concentration and productivity without the intense ups and downs of Adderall nor the side effects of Ritalin.
To take advice from your Psychiatrist would make you a dumbshit… Mr. PHD needs a PAYCHECK, and therefore, you should all do your research before you take/give any recommended meds. authority means just that. it doesnt mean “i know what i’m talking about.”
my experience with Vyvanse has been terrible. It fucked with the way that i think (my personality, interests, connection..). I can’t sleep, I’ve lost 30 lbs in about two weeks (I’m seventeen)… It has destroyed my relationship with someone who means everything to me..
If my psychiatrist hadn’t perscribed Vyvanse to me in order to strengthen my grades at school, then I wouldnt have a drug addiction, and I would be able to think…
…What’s worse is the guilt.
I cannot track it’s source.
To Mauren,
When you asked about educational alternatives, I wanted to scream : “Try homeschooling!” That’s what I’ve been doing with my 2 kids, one of whom was diagnosed with severe ADHD just yesteday. We started Vyvanse this morning, and she is much calmer and focused today.
HTH
Kids just want to get fucked up. At least all MY friends do.
Is this new drug something teens can get a high from?
And does it contain meth, like adderall does?
I am 19 years old and started taking vyvanse about 4 months ago. First, I started at 30mg the first week, 50mg the second week, and finally 70mg the third week. 70mg seemed like it worked the best for me, so I have continued to take it. Having been on this drug for 4 months, I have definitely noticed major side effects. I will admit that it does help me a HUGE amount in school, but the side effects are a bit scary. I have lost almost 20 pounds since I started taking it. I feel very weak and I look anorexic! Also, I’ve noticed that I have muscle spazams and random twitches. I feel as if I am hungry 24/7, but at the same time, I eat very little because of how nautious the drug makes me. I feel as if I have larger memory problems than before I started taking the drug. Sometimes I can’t even remember what I did 5 minutes ago. Also, I don’t know if this is really from vyvanse, but I have been breaking out in a rash on my hips and it has been there for 2 weeks and won’t go away. I have never had sleep problems, and now I have insomnia. One minute, I will be working really hard on my school work, and the next I will get pissed off and won’t want to do anything for the rest of the day. I always have headaches and tylenol doesn’t help them go away. I feel as if I am outside of my body, not knowing who I really am anymore. Everything I see is a blur. Overall, I think this drug has really improved my grades and motivation, but I’m starting to get worried about what it’s doing to my body and my mind.
Ok, My son is 15 years old, dx was when he was 3! Had been on RITALIN,CONCERTA,STRATERRA and finally we just gave up, they all made him sick and the feeling of all over yuckiness. Anyway, gave him the choice to go off all meds at the age of 11 and we dealt with it. He did not show ANY signs of the hyperactivness and we jut thought it would be ok. My son is now 15 and is a very angry boy. He thinks we don’t know what we are doing in his life and just wants to be on his own, he knows it all! Right! He’s flunked 5 of his 7 classes and was sent to an alternative school to help him focus. They said the were worried about his moods because they were up and down and sooooo much drama with his girlfriend( not a very nice girl, she will tell him”if you don’t do what I say then you don’t love me” She IS the root of all his problems, I think).But his counsoler wanted to try an antidepressant and we both agreed. This morning he went to the appointment and then a nurse practioner put him on this VYVANSE! He already has trouble sleeping and a BIG attitude problem and they want to put him on this?? I am seriously freaking out! I have been addicted to Meth and am afraid this could make my son addicted to the meds. I don’t want him to take it, but you wouldn’t belive the situation that got us to this point. I am afraid that my son will have the most extrem side effects just because he is such an angry person and his moods are all outa wack. I only wanted him to try the antidepressant. What and how do I tell these doctors I do not want my son to take this drug? He lives with my mother as I have recently moved to Ft. Wayne Indiana and making my life change to get our lives where they need to be. He refused to move due to the girlfriend and friends, also its three hours from where he is now. I don’t wanna be back on here in a few days tell u that my son had the same symptoms and it was worse than any of your stories! i know what it is like to experiance your child not waking up after taking a med that just came out for ADHA and I have seen him become very very angry on RITALIN, sick and vomiting on STRATERRA, uncontrolable on CONCERTA. I only wanted something for his moods! They gave him something that they think will help him concentrate for school. I am very worried with all that I have read on here. I am going to try and talk my mother out of giving him the meds, I thank u for your info on here.I pray nothing happends to him. Thanks!
so like, here’s the deal:
medication cannot make you a better person.. it can change the chemicals in your mind, but the only real way to fix shit is to take control of your life. psychiatrists are pricks.
there will always be enough “insane” people in the world to make a killing off of psychological med perscriptions.
..and i defiently had the same reaction to Vyvanse as Abby stated, above. disconnection is a good way of describing it.
So many on this post suffer not from ADHD, but STUPIDITY. I don’t suspect Vyvanse will address this.
It would be so useful if the posts were limited to coherent and relevant experiences. There are some, and I thank you.
I am interested in reading from those who have taken Vyv for several+ months: please post.
I have an 11 year old daughter who just started Vyvanse on the 3rd of November 2007. And last week on November 7th 2007, while riding home on the school bus she had a seizure from taking this medication. I was contacted by the rescue squad and fire department that my daughter was having a seizure and could not talk at all. They had to stop the bus to get her some immediate help because her eyes was rolling back in her head and she could not respond for quite some time. She was immediate transported to the Emergency Room where several test were ran. The most important question they asked me was what medications are she taking and did she start any new meds that they needed to know about. One I told them about Vyvanse the ER doctor told me to STOP!!!!!!!!!!This medication immediately and she was out of school the rest of the week. Following that was contacting her doctor to have more test ran. Then he asked the big question does anyone in your family have a history of having seizures and that answer would be NO!!!!!! So the next thing I was told was that my daughter has to take a EEG to see if there is any brain damage. I don’t know how alot of you feel but till this day November 13, 2007 my daughter still is having tremors that doesn’t look like they will leave. This thursday November 15, 2007 I will get the results of her EEG. And when I get the results I will be posting them on this site. I’m not anger just a little bit upset about this medication thing. It seems like we all have tried the same meds to help with ADHD. So the real question is what do you do when something like this happens to your child and you can’t do nothing but just wait and see what the test will tell you? Alot of parents just want to help their children get through what they are going through but it seems like our hands are tied to a certain point. I wish you all well with Vyvanse. I’m talking to the ones who are having success with it. But right now I’m scared because of the side effects and they have alot of them. I just want to tell you all to be careful of this medication it only took 4 days for my daughter to have a seizure. And it could happen to anyone not just my child anyone of use could experience the same thing.
I am 25 and I have always struggled with my ADHD. When I was first diagnosed I started on Concerta which eventually I had to switch off of because it wasn’t lasting past 2-3pm in the afternoon. I switched to Adderall XR which I thought worked better, but wore off between 3-4pm. Daytrana was my lifesaver! I could wear the patch as long or as short as I needed! If I had a longer day, I would wear the patch for 12-15 hours or so, then take the patch off and after its removed it still lasts for 3 hours. The only downside with that, I have very sensitive skin. In the summer months I didn’t want to have red squares on my hips which would easily be seen in a bathing suit. so I switched to VYVANSE.
With VYVANSE, I never thought I could feel this “normal”. I hate to use that word, but its really the only one that fits. I don’t get a rush of the medication, its very smooth so I don’t get the speedy feelings I did with the other medications. Or the exreme drop offs at the end of the day. I have ZERO side effects. Usually when I switch my meds I get insomnia for the first 3 nights. Not when I switched to VYVANSE. I realize every medication can work differently in different patients, but I am so glad I gave VYVANSE a try. Otherwise I would have never known what I was missing! As someone who has been on Concerta, Adderall XR, Adderall, and Daytrana… VYVANSE has really changed my life.
I would HIGHLY recommend that anybody with ADHD/ADD should at least give VYVANSE a try. I sincerely hope it will change your life the way it has positively changed mine.
Where to begin.. First off I do commend those parents out there trying to help there children but of course not just meds will do the trick.. Structure.. time..positive reinforcement… even therapy b/c I’d say everyone reading this suffering from ADHD have felt and feel “different” then everyone else.. Thus if can cause self-esteem issues… If your or your children with ADHD do not get identified and treated w/ or w/o meds along with therapy it can cause horrible repercussions… My whole life I knew something was wrong with me but no one would listen and as time went on my ADHD started stemming out into Substance Abuse, Narcissism, Sociopath, I was switched around on meds for depression, mood disorders, anti psychotics.. Everything under the sun until I received the time and attention I needed.. Finding the right meds for ADHD takes time and then for them to really work takes time also to sustain in your system… I started on 30mg of vyvanse then 50mg then 70mg and now 80mg.. since it has yet to be tested on adults, my doctor and I are trying out the dosages.. I am a recovering attic but I changed my life and vyvanse has significantly contributed to my overall attitude about life.. My side effects include, weight loss and dry mouth sometimes edgy.. I notice a difference if I eat food before taking or not.. Please anyone feel free to contact me if you’d like to talk.. I’ve seen and done some awful things in my life but you don’t have to let disorders tell set you into a mold for the rest of your life.. Like my Dr. says “Life is all about choices” I know having disorders makes it difficult but I believe if I, someone who has been in mental hospitals, can say I’m clean.. no smoking, no drugs, no alcohol, that anything is possible. Please contact me if you need a friend… cespy1@hotmail.com
Well, after reading all of this I have come to realize what they say about opinions. Any hopes of one starting their child on Vyvance after reading this, is slim to none. Saying this, I have already started my two girls both on 30 mg of Vyvance. After the last couple of years of dealing with them and realizing things were not getting better, the doctor had to do something. And the “great” person who said something about parenting obviously does not have any kids. You can do the best parenting job, and still have uncontrollable children that will not listen to you at all and for no amount of money in the world. That is what I have dealt with. I have went from niceness, begging, pleading, to bribery. We have spent hours on homework with everything off but the lights. Of all the things, we could have done, going to the doctor to get get is the best and should have been done sooner. We have only been on Vyvance for a day or so. Hopefully good results will come. But coming from a new parent with children starting a new drug, be considerate of us. Don’t be so judgmental and quick to make more of a situation than what it is. Maybe those drugs didn’t work due to a misdiagnoses. I don’t think that anyone should give up over a couple of days; unless, it is truly a life threatening case. Keep in contact with your HCP. Don’t go out there and discourage. Keep it real.
The Adult Who Got a Second Chance at Success, Despite the Rumors and Fear of Mommy Ingnorance
At twenty-nine, I never expected to get a second chance at a college education. I count myself as very lucky to have this chance to transform my life, and it would have been possible without a chance meeting that got me on the path to a proper diagnosis for ADHD and associated combination treatment with therapy and the medication Vyvanse.
As a child, I was always able to just get by in school. Teachers from middle school straight through a failed attempt at college would tell me if I would just focus my efforts and apply myself to my studies I would achieve academic success. No matter how hard I tried or extra help that was offered, I never was able to see any results.
Without results from the hard work and dedication I knew I was putting in to my studies the results were average at best. Then in my first year of college, putting forth the best energy and focus I knew, I failed out.
Failing out of college is not something that anyone should have to endure. I handled it the best I could and worked one blue-collar job after another for the next ten years. With the help of a friend and professionals, I stress psychiatric professionals not a pediatrician, who understand the true impact of not treating ADHD I am here to tell you that this disorder can ruin your child’s life.
As, I read the above postings of ignorance, I am astounded by the number of people who cannot get over their own taboos and about mental health disorders or fears about medications that are based on the opinions of the parent next to you on the playground.
My own mother listened to similar parents and ignored my ADHD thinking, as other parents with no real argument basis, that I would just grow our of it.
One does not grow out of ADHD, it’s there for life. Fortunately, I am one of the lucky one’s. With the proper diagnosis, therapy sessions and medication as a total treatment plan, my life has changed.
As I said, I am back in college near the end of my first semester. I have learned through therapy how to modify behaviors that I learned as a child with ADHD to navigate a world that doesn’t think the way I do. With this total treatment plan, I will finish this semester earning nothing less than a B+ in all five of my classes.
This B+ average is a stark contrast to the GPA of 1.2 that almost ended my college life and future success ten years ago.
I’m not saying that this medication is the right medication for everyone with ADHD, only that it is working for me. I am asking that any parents who read this take the time to consult true professionals and do their own research before making a decision that could prevent your child from the life that you envisioned for them the first time you held them in your arms. ADHD is nothing to be ashamed or afraid of, but it is something that you must face head on, as all good mothers do.
Don’t let the ignorance of rumors and fears keep your kids from the success you know they deserve. For almost thirty years, rumors and fear almost kept me from my success, but now I am educated to know better. You owe at least that much to your children and yourself as a responsible parent.
Carie, please don’t come on here spreading your ignorant propaganda generalizing psychiatrists and medicine. Not all of us can flip a switch and turn on and off our chemical imbalances. And we don’t blame our problems on medications we take. The medicine that we take, that saves our lives, DOES make us better people. Regardless of the medicine, we take responsibility for our actions. And it’s a shame you feel so much negativity towards your doctor, but not all of us feel the lack of compassion that you feel from your doctor. A lot of us have psychiatrists that care about our well being, returns voicemails after 5pm, and goes out of their way to make sure we are taking the best meds suited to our diagnosis.
Live a few years out in the world by yourself, with a crippling mental disorder, where you are at the MERCY of medications. Then you can try and tell everyone those medicines did not make you a better person.
I am 20 years old and I have been taking adderall XR in dosages between 25-40 mg since I was diagnosed with ADD at age 16. I called my psychiatrist the other week because I wanted to see if I could up my adderall dosage from 25 to 35 mg since this semester at college has been extremely challenging for me. She reccomended that I try vyvanse becuase she was switching alot of her patients that took adderall to it. So I went along with it thinking maybe this was some fantastic new scientific discovery in the treatment of ADD. Boy was I WRONG. Before I took it I even did a lot of research and even read many of the experiences on this website. The fact that there had been so many bad experiences scared me somewhat but since there were a few good responses I went ahead and took it. My doctor gave me a trial of the 30mg pills which are supposed to be equivelant to about 10-15 mg of XR, so she told me I could take two if I wanted. So at first I only took one and felt a little strange but it was clear to me that something wasnt quite kicking in. Then I took another one about an hour later and began to feel it. My stomach got all upset ad crampy, my vision became sharper (similar to the effects of cocaine or a hallucinogenic drug), I had leg cramps, headaches, and I felt very disconnected from myslef. Then it got really scary when I was trying to do my homework, and I would type a sentence and look back and realize that there were whole words and phrases missing from what i had meant to type, and some words were replaced by completely different ones, it really freaked me out. The most mortifying of all the side effects from this drug was this morning when i woke up with horrible diarreah, it got even worse when I was on my way to work and experienced an uncontrolled bowel movement. I AM 20 YEARS OLD stuff like that is NOT supposed to happened, it was horribly embarrassing. I will NEVER take this drug again and I dont advise that anyone does until the makers of this drug actually work out all the kinks of it. I was very upset to find out after it had been prescribed to me that this drug has only been approved for 6-12 years olds, and that Shire is doing a 10 month trial period to see how adults react. I feel like a guniea pig, and I am very upset with my doctor. I’m getting my adderall back!!
We just started our 8-year-old son on 30 mg of Vyvanse. Within a couple of hours of taking the pill each morning, he begins to talk NON-STOP! I mean about 50 out of every 60 seconds…about anything and everything! He also seems to get extemely emotional and cries any time we go against what he thinks we should say or do. Is this a normal side effect? This is our first time to try ANY drug-as we are very opposed to medicating him. We’ve tried changing his diet, natural homeopathic vitamins, fish oils, and everything else we can possibly research out to do. Nothing has helped, so we finally gave in. We have seem AMAZING results immediately. He organizes everything! He cleans! He is helpful! He is polite! He is active and wants to go outside! He has energy! All of these things are so pleasing–but I’m not sure we can stand the constant talking!!!! Does it go away in time when his body gets used to it? Also, he absolutely HAS to finish his sentence. When we cut him off and tell him he HAS to stop talking now–he insists he has to finish! Please help if you’ve had any experience with this. It worries me!
Unforunately, I found this website after I started my son on Vyvanse. I read all of the comments that are posted. Thank you to all the parents who told their experiences and also those teens and adults who spoke of what it is like for them to take this drug. I can relate to the parents who tried everything and finally wanted to try meds. This was my first experience with a prescription drug for my son. He is 6 and sounds like Julie’s son after the meds (excessive talking non-stop all day everyday, HAS to finish each comment). He is also EXTREMELY hyperactive and can’t sit still. Somehow we have been able to channel his energy into education (or he’s just naturally bright, not sure) but he is reading at a 3rd grade level and doing double digit addition and subtraction and is only in kindergarten. Unfortunately, our county doesn’t like to skip kids so he is in a situation where he is completely disruptive to the class because he is bored out of his mind and also b/c of the ADHD but being bored doesn’t help for 7 hours a day. Anyway, after trying different things like changing his diet (www.feingold.org — try this if you haven’t), omega 3 oil, trying natural OTC drugs (whole foods has Sea Buddies concentration formula – seems to work for some), we gave up and went to meds. My son is 6 and was given a script for 30 mg of Vyvanse. I did not tell him that we were doing this b/c I wanted his unbiased opinion. Let’s just say it was a horrible experiment. My son was only on it for that one day. He was almost completely quiet (said maybe one thing per HOUR and oddly enough it was extremely insightful), he ran a lot slower at the playground and once I observed him just “observing Mother Nature”. It was like he was stopping to smell the roses. Even more scary, he complained about his legs being too heavy and had to sit down. He also threw up in the car. Also he was up most of the night/couldn’t sleep, which is normally not a problem. He just had a very, very weird experience and we won’t be putting him back on this drug. Unfortunately, as much research as I have done on ADHD, I trusted the doctor and didn’t do enough research on what she prescribed. I think I was just ready and happy to have a “magic pill”. Unfortunately, he was more like a Stepford kid, almost robot like and was perfect in every way. (For example, I didn’t have to tell him 7 times to do something, just once and got an “okay, Mommy”.)
I call this pill the “shut up pill”. It’s not for him. If it works for you or your child, then stay on it. If it doesn’t, you will know and you will know to try something else instead. My next try will be “Focus” a natural remedy I found on-line that had lots of great testionmonials from other parents who tried it instead of or with a lower dosage of their ADHD meds. Wish me goodluck!
After spending many years, (25+) being diagnosed with various forms of depression, and trying every anti-depressant in the book.
(Mostly SSRI’s like Prozac, Effexor, LexaPro, and the worst of all Remeron, (which made me so tired and hungry, I would eat, be too lazy to brush my teeth, fall back asleep, and over the course of 12 months had to have 2 teeth pulled. So now, I was fat, had bad teeth, no energy, and was still feeling like crap.)
I finally broke down and ponied up for a real shrink.
He talked with me for about 90 minutes, looked over my medical charts, and asked, “Has any Doctor ever asked you if you might possibly have ADHD?”
I said yes, my long time family doctor did once, but that was back when ADD was so stigmatized that I was ashamed to say I thought I might have it.
He recently put me on 30 and then after two weeks 50mg of Vyvanse, then I visit him again in one month. (3 weeks from now). He just wants me to watch my blood pressure, (120/82 at last doctor’s visit)and to call him if there are any problems.
So far, it has made me clear headed for the first time in a long time.
The doctor said, “your depression is there, and I’m not going to ignore it, but I think maybe the underlying cause is that you have never been properly diagnosed.”
So far, so good.
Well i have been taking Vyvanse 50mg for about 2 weeks and when i started it worked for me everyhting was going great then maybe after the first week or less i got really down and depressed i don’t think it is good to mis diagnose depression with ADHD meds because it could make you more deep in your depression as it did me and like when i start the Vyvanse meds i was ok happy all the time i was a nice person and eveything but after the first week i went down hill from the there so maybe it was depression and not ADHD my doctor took me off the Vyvanse right away after i got off i felt like i was having a heart attack but i’m on the rights meds now i was going to 2 doctors one said i was depressed and the others doctor sad i have adhd one the doctor who said i was depressed i have with him for a 2 years and he said i had major depression and the other doctor the one who gave me meds said i had ADHD and i was in his office for abut 30 mins but anyway i feel better but anyway ADHD and Depression are not the samething they could have something close to do with one another but they are not the same people !
Please refer to the book “Change Your Brain, Change Your Life” – there are coordinating websites as well.
Please take the time to understand the three different areas of our brain’s lymbic system – understand how the work first – and then understand how they can fail. But mostly which areas are failing.
Basal Ganglia – Muscular – tics, anxiety, Turretts, panic
Deep Lymbic – Depression, seratonin
Cingulate Gurus – worry, obsessiveness, inability to let go of past hurt, always says no, OCD
ADD/ADHD symptoms fall into all categories and depressed people have ADHD, there are people that have ADD that arent depressed etc.
Each area has its own deficiency so there are different medicines for each area, however when you tell your doctor about your personal symptoms you could likely be crossing over three different areas and some behaviors are symptoms of the root cause (you are depressed, but you are acting out which shows irritability but the core problem is depression – or you have low self esteem because you have social problems caused by ADHD but are treated for depression and the ADHD goes undiagnosed.) When our doctors prescribe – they are testing different chemicals in different areas as it is “not a perfect science” which it isnt but you can help your own diagnosis if you understand better.
I am 41 and have been treated for 20 years for clinical depression and post traumatic stress disorder. But found out two years ago that I have ADHD – or better yet, that I responded very well to Adderall. What I know is that my depression is under control I have more motivation – but the depression medicine does nothing for my short temper, impatience, worry and irratibility. When I take ADD medicine, I have less irritability – and when I specifically take Vyvanse I have even less occurrances of getting stuck, worrying and always saying “no.” Vyvanse works beautifully allowing me to focus on specific tasks – multitask without getting overwhelmed thus irritated.
I also learned better that the food you eat is so very important. If you are really really serious about getting healthy – giving medicine a chance to work etc – then you have to please stop drinking/eating caffeine, alcohol, sugar, soda, etc – the chemicals make it worse for your body to absorb the medicine correctly or even work at all plus causes side effects. I am focusing on eating protein in the morning – taking vitamins – eating vegatables and exercising and I hate that this is the answer but the bottom line is that if you really want your medicines to work you have to. The good news, Vyvanse makes it easier for me to discipline myself. And combined with food and exercise I feel better than I ever could have imagined. Check out the book “Change Your Brain Change Your Life.”
But again, the food goes with the medicine or it doesnt work as well. The good news is that if you do committ to the medicine and the proper eating habits – it will change your life. Do you ever wish you could be “that guy” or “like her” because they have it so together? You can, but please first read this book – again after years of hearing about symptoms and behaviors – now understanding that there are specific areas that can be working improperly – wiring – chemical etc, the medicines can be better prescribed for the specific area.
calmer.
As a Shire Rep I can tell you that half of the problems I have read above coming from misguided or just plain stupid dosing (like Tanya’s post where the doctor told her to take two). I have not gotten this kind of feedback in the field, and in fact have seen just the opposite- very positive. Start on 1 30mg capsule and titrate up IF NEEDED ONLY…
My son just turned 12 and has always had minor problems with school and focusing. He has had the same pediatrician his whole life. A few years ago when a teacher commented he might have ADD the pediatrician suggested an evaluation. He had an evaluation and was not diagnosed with ADD. He has still had difficulty focusing and is usually average or below average. He has no hyperactivity or behavior issues.
My wife and I recently voiced our concerns to his pediatrician and he suggested we give Vyvanse a try. My son took the pill (30mg) at approx. 0720 hrs. By 0830 hrs he called my wife at home frantically telling her to come pick him up from school. He told her he was hearing voices that wouldn’t stop calling him and that he kept hearing scratching on metal. My wife said when she picked him up she could hardly recognize him. She stated he looked like an insane person. His eyes had a blank stare and he was sobbing uncontrolably. When I tried to talk to him on the phone he couldn’t stand to hear my voice over the phone because it hurt his head. My wife said this ordeal happened all day while waiting for the medication to wear off. When I came home from work at 7:30pm he still had a blank stare but the voices had stopped. My wife said at one point he got out of the shower and was staring at the bathroom mirror. He put his hands over his ears and started screaming for the voices to stop. We subsequently discovered that he also had an ear infection that day. When I called Shire I also discovered that red dye is an ingredient in Vyvanse. My son has certain allergic reactions to red dye in robitusin and other medications. He gets hives which he did get that day. My son also had his legs give out on him while running the next day.
Our concern is will there be permanent damage due to this one terrible reaction for only taking one pill. My advice to anyone and any physician who is going to prescribe these medications is give each person a questionaire before blindly suggesting parents give their kids something. Our culture of giving a pill for this and that is getting out of hand. Kids have so much pressure these days. My 9 year old has more homework than I had in high school.
My 12 year old would probably be an A student if he had one on one schooling. God Bless the people that can home school their children. I know there are those who the medication works wonders for and I think thats a blessing. But there needs to be a more official screeening of prescribing these children than just saying “Why don’t we give this a try?” I would like to know if anyone had lasting problems or if the problems stopped after a few days.
I am 53 years old, male. I was put on Vyvanse about 5-6 weeks ago. This is after being given Adderall. Adderall had a very strong affect on me. I felt very very good for 2-3 hours. Then a slight hangover. I had a strong urge to keep taking Adderall (feel bad take more, and more). I kept the doctor informed of all this. He was worried I might start abusing it.
He then took me off everything for 4 weeks (Adderall and other medication). Then he added Vyvanse (30 mg, one pill, morning). It seems to help for 2-3 hours. Maybe even longer. N-o-t a strong effect as Adderall.
I notice if I drink a lot a coffee, when I take Vyvanse. It induces a stronger bad feeling when the Vyvanse wears off.
I take Vyvnase, I feel just Ok. So I have breakfast, and have coffee like I always do. Just seems like, if I have a lot of coffee makes Vyvnase, mess me up 3-4 hours later.
I read everthing here. I noticed no other postings on this about coffee (or tea) with Vyvnase.
_.
Interesting that Stephen brought up caffeine.
I am seventeen and have been taking 60mg of Vyvanse to “improve school grades.” I have never been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD (I have been “diagnosed” with depression, which i find to be considerably hillarious in juxtaposition with my age and family situation).
In conjunction with Stephen’s comment, I have always loved caffeine (my body needs caffeine; if i dont drink coffee after about ten hours i get grinding a headache). Possibly because I have been eating less solid food, due to Vyvanse, Starbucks is pretty much all that I consume. I also find myself craving it in the hopes that it will increase the positive stimulant effects of Vyvanse.
For a while now, I have cut down my caffeine intake to the NECESSARY single drink a day.
I have always had intense lows with Vyvanse. It drains my natural confidence and narcissism (pretty weird), but without it I crash… or ingest caffeine 24/7. Also, without Vyvanse, I really don’t give a shit about school.
The low hits me in the evening. I try to walk it off, smoke it off, whatever… It’s hard to deal with.
(I would love to talk to someone who has had experience with this medication. email me anytime: twelvecatsonacid@yahoo.com)
p.s. wasn’t aware that there was another “Carrie” on here, or I might have chosen another alias.
I am 33 with a young family and was turned on to Adderall by a long time friend who was taking it recreationally as a social “enhancer” and to bounce back from long weekend nights out with friends. Once I realized how productive it made me I got a prescription for myself. Yes, it was that easy. I got projects done around the house, stayed up late with my wife and baby in the very early months, and used it to bounce back the next day with much less sleep than I was used to. My career boomed, I was working out 4-5 times per week, and I had the energy to out-compete and out-think my peers and climb the ladder. The downfall, was that 40 MG IR was not enough and I was running out early and building a tolerance. It eventually came to the point where I had to avoid scheduling important meetings/presentations on the days or weeks I didn’t have it. I was lethargic and my brain cloudy and uninterested, and all I wanted to do was sleep and eat. I convinced myself and my doc I was truly ADD (due to a family history of it) and went in to ask for an increased dose of Adderall and he recommended Vyvanse 70mg.
I have been taking it for one week and what I can tell you is that it seems to be much smoother (no peaks and valleys) as compared to Adderall IR, and oddly enough, seems to work when I need it. For example, if I initiate a task or project, I stay with it and have an elevated sense of clarity and direction and will follow through until completion. However, if I do nothing but lay on the couch and watch football, it doesn’t speed me up as the Adderall would. In some ways, I miss the intense energy I had from adderall, however one upside is that it seems the Vyvanse does not have the huge depressive effect associated with coming off it. I am not sure how the MG dosage compares between the two, so if anyone knows that would be helpful. I am taking one pill around 10:30 am , sometimes one and a half, and it will typically last about 5 or 6 hours in either case. I sleep and eat normally with Vyvanse, which was not always the case with Adderall.
Also, does anyone know if adults with ADHD will have lethargic and cloudy withdrawal symptoms from these drugs, or is that only with “normal” individuals using the drug as a productivity enhancer.
In that same vein, is there anything that lessens the withdrawal effect other than time away from it?
Thanks in advance for any comments…
My son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was in Kindergarten. (he is now 9) We started off with Straterra but it seemed to make him kinda like a zombie. I pulled him off of the meds for a while because I strugled (and still do) with the whole idea of having to shove a pill down my son’s throat everyday. I worry that it may cause him to be a druggie later on in life. I finally put him on the Adderal but he seemed more depressed on that one. He also stated that he heard voices and that they told him to do bad things. That concerned me greatly and I yanked him off of the meds again. I left him off for a while but now he is in the 3rd grade and has had severe difficulty focusing and paying attention in class. (he could not even copy a sentence from the board) His teacher stated that he was lost and very disruptive. His grades were also bad. (my child is a straight A student) I was introduced to Vyvanse and we decided to give it a try. At first (like some of you mention) he moved his jaw so much that it was very disturbing to me. It reminded me of seeing people on meth. He also had trouble sleeping for the first 3 to 4 days and hardly had an appetite. As one mother said the moving of the jaw is horrible to watch your child go through. Those side effects went away after some time (a week or two). He has now been on it for 2 months. (30 mg) He says that it helps him tremendously in school and that he feels more like himself on this medication. Sometimes on the weekends I may forget to give it to him and he does become very angry and defiant. I can definitely tell if I have forgotten. I do have concerns that he may become addicted. He informed me yesterday that he has started seeing colors everywhere he looks and that he is having headaches. He swears that he has been seeing these colors since b/4 the Vyvanse.
Have any of you or your children experience seeing these colors? I am very concerned but am also happy with the way he is doing in school. But no medicine is worth my child suffering. Please let me know if any of you have seen these colors.
Mandy:
I am a teenager who has been taking Vyvanse. I haven’t had any side effects similar to psychosis… however, “hallucinations” are a listed side effect of Vyvanse and the many websites that I have come across suggest that if you tend to see, hear, or feel things that arent tangible; see a doctor ASAP.
I think you mentioned that your son is sleeping regularly (and he could be), but I have been taking Vyvanse for over a month and I still have problems sleeping.
My connection to your observation… my mom, also, thinks that I’m asleep.
–Point being that sleep dep takes a rough tug on my body after a while (like all other insomniacs and/or students), and sometimes to the point where anything that emits light turns into a kind of slow-shooting star.. and i hear, i guess, sounds without bodies.
Overall, I love Vyvanse, and I would defiently be failing school without it… which I won’t be able to afford six or seven months from now(literally).
Cassie,
Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with this medication. I’ll have to sit down with him and ask him if he has been sleeping good and all through the night. After a couple of weeks I asked him if he was still having trouble sleeping and he stated that he was sleeping good. I did have to cover his window with a blanket b/c the neighbors security light was making him wake up at like 3 in the morning. But if he is not sleeping well that might contribute to seeing things. I have made an appointment with an eye doctor on Monday,so I guess we’ll find out if it is b/c of his eyes or this medicine. Either way I am very concerned. But like you, he likes this medicine much better than the others we have tried. He feels more normal on it than the others. Thank you agian for your help.
My son was pretty much dx with ADHD in my own mind when he was about 3 yrs old. He was extremely hyper, could not sit still for more than 2 minutes, talked non-stop and could not concentrate on any one thing. I kept talking to his doctor about this but he just stated that until he started school, there was nothing he could do. His pre-k teacher continually advised me she thought he was ADHD because of his behavior in class. She said he was not bad adn did not act up, but he could literally not sit still or pay attention. Then, one day in the doctors office, he had a complete meltdown (he was 5). Finally, I thought, someone else can see it and it is not just me. The doctor sent us immediately to a psychiatrist who then told me after seeing my child for only 5 min that he was the worst case of ADHD he had ever seen. My child has never had much a discipline problem in and of itself. He has pretty much obeyed us as much as any kid does. He was always just extremely over-active with the symptoms I state above. The doctor told me not to feel bad about my parenting skills because my child had a chemical imbalance in his brain that causes him to be so active and inattentive. He suggested Focalin 10 mg. This did not put a dent in my childs behavior. We increased the meds to 15mg XR. This also did not work. We then tried the daytrana patch. It worked as far as his hyperactivity and attentiveness but brought out
OCD in him. He became completely obsessed about any and everything. We then tried Dexedrine. It was very ineffective. The next doctor visit, he gave us a coupon for free 30day trial of vyvanse 30 mg. This medicine helped him some-more than all the others with only two side effects -being sleeplessness and loss of appetite. He was then increased to 50mg and I have seen great improvement in his ability to concentrate and he is not so hyper anymore. He can actually sit through homework time and looks at me when I ask a question instead of looking at every possible thing he can that would distract him before. He still has trouble falling asleep and doesn’t eat very much. Our insurance (peachcare) does not cover this drug for children under 6 (he will be six in two months) so the doctor prescribed adderall today and said we can only hope this gets him through the days until jan 08. I did not want to medicate my child in the beginning either, but on the two days since starting kdg that i forgot to give him his medication, the teacher said he acted up all day long because he could not be still or concentrate at all. So parents, this is not just in your minds, some children do suffer from this disorder. I found out recently, my husband suffers from this but when he was a child, there was little or no help available and he did poorly in school because of it. So if there is help out there for my child, it is my duty as a parent to do everything i can to help him with this condition. The only drug i was scared to try was Strattera because my research on the web found that some kids who took it committed suicide when they previously had no history of depression and was only taking it because of ADHD. I will not ever try this drug because I am scared of what will happen to my child if he takes it. As for the adderall, I am going to try it just until he turns 6 in jan then he will go back to the vyvanse. So remember, there is hope out there. Be strong for your children, and if they need the meds, please do your research on the ones out there and try until you find the right one. All medicines work differently for different people due to their own body chemistry and diets. So what works for one person may not be right for the next person. If anyone would like to discuss what I have written or just need advise, please email me at sabpayne@mchsi.com. I will be glad to discuss my experiences with my son and his ADHD. And please don’t listen to some of the pure ignorance written by some of these people about bad parenting skills, etc when they probably don’t even have children! God bless and good luck!!!!
hey anyone that wants to try out vyvanse would probably be tha best decision it works great for fantastic, i have tried 4 differebt of these pills ritalin, concerta, adderal, and focaline i was jus perscribed to vyvanse 70mg and honestly when im in class i got all my notes, classwork, and homework done before the bell rang
My 9 year old daughter was diagnosed with ADHD 2 years ago and was taking Focalin with no side effects. However, it did not last all day and we had to supplement with a small dose of ritalin in the afternoon. But in the last 2 months I’ve noticed it’s just not working like it was so we’ve switched to Vyvanse. It’s been 3 days and we are thrilled. She’s sleeping better, eating better and it lasts well into the evening.
I want anyone who is dealing with ADHD to give this drug a fair shot. Don’t listen to these morons who try to scare people because they had a bad experience. Just try it, it might change your life!
My 6 yr old autistic son has been prescribed a 70mg dosage of Vyvanse. He cannot sit still, his mouth constantly moves. He gets angry and violent. And the doctor has subsiquintley prescribed him Trazodone (an anti-depressant) to counteract the side effects. That medication is prescribed at 100mg. I think this is one of the worst drugs out there. And doctors are to quick to just up the dose of a medication without finding out the entire truth.
I was diagnosed with adhd as a child, My mom and dad didn’t want to place me on medication. So, I went to a special school for 2 yrs to help me with the symtoms. I am now 31. I have had problems sitting still, addictions such as ciggerattes, alchol, drugs, I have had the inability to gather my thoughts and achieve my golds. My mother and father were wonderful parents. My dad was a preacher and mother was a church secretary. A voice was never raised in our household. I was finally tired of the problems, so I went to seek help. I was placed on vyvanse 30 mg. What a life change! My compulsive behavior was gone. My addictions, gone. My thought gathered. At night, I slept. I am new to the world of treating adhd, but I do know that alot of people seem to think it is a problem caused by enviorment or I was always told you are so lucky to have that much energy. Are you kiding me!!! I would be a difrent person if I was medicated as child. I would not have had to go though all the consequenses of my compulsive and addictive behavior. I thank God for the change in my life, and feel compeled to tell parents with young children my expierence. I have a 5 yr old and a 2yr old, if they need the medication I will give it to them. If you have a bad experience with a drug or dose. KEEP TRYING!!! It may determine your childs future.
My 10 year old son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 7 years old. He couldn’t keep still, extremley hyper, eating disorder, axiety, the whole diagnose thing. I tried Chiropractic, natural alternatives, church, anything to avoid man made meds. The school drove me nuts, I got calls everyday at work, his grades were just straight F’s and he would always ask “what’s wrong with me? why does the teachers treat me like I’m stupud? My son is a God fearing child, he’s very sensitive and the school always said he’s a great kid just way to busy to concetrate in school. So I finally broke down and got a prescription. The Dr. prescribed Vyvanse. What a nightmare! From day 1, my son started having headaches so bad he couldn’t raise his head, hw would just cry. He said his jaws felt like they were clicking when he spoke, he already had an eating disorder and it doubled, he gained 10 pounds in a short periode of time, he became extremly talkative, he would buck his eyes wide like he was on crack it made him look like a crazy person and he would look like that up to 3am. He was extremly paranoid, he started seeing ghost (hillucinating,) hearing voices, convenced himself that our house was suddenly haunted and did not want to be alone. Then the worst of it, my son went from this sensitive little kid to a manic aggressive kid, he would argue with everyone in the house, slam things, accuse us of saying things to him that we never said, he would start crying extremly saying he was sorry. He told me that he felt like he was going crazy. He missed 2 weeks of school due to exhuastion and headaches. I almost ripped the Dr.’s head off. He kept telling me, that he needs to up the dose, I told him “are you nuts. he’s already screwed up because you used him as a lab rat to get more incentives from Shire? I explained to him that the reaction my child experienced are not all in the warning signs” the dr. said “well, that’s why we are giving trials to get your imput so we can know more on this medication” “I told him so in the mean time, my child is F#$!@& up for you evaluation” then he finally breaks down and says, “OK you are right we don’t know much about Vyvanse yet” I told the MD to prescibe concerta. I stopped the vyvanse and gave him no meds for 3 days and my son jumped right back to himself, even on the concerta. I read this stuff on other blogs, but I ignored it, because I know people lie, but I should have listened. And don’t believe that bull that If you do experience these symptons,it’s because you had psychotic issues underlying and the medicine brought it out. That’s bull, my child saw a neurologist and psychologist and he only has adhd. It might works for others, but be very aware before you take it.
yea… Vyvanse is really just Lysine and Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine). not too different from the other ADHD drugs out there.
Gaining weight while having high sensitivity to a stimulant is strange.
you should know your meds before you put your kid’s brain under someone else’s evaluation.
might be possible to take half a dose of Vyvanse if you open the capsule into an eight ounce glass of water and drink half.
…just don’t save the remaining half for later. 🙂
My son Trever is taken Vyvance and it is a wonderful change. Trever has tried Concerta, Statera and Aderall, none of these worked real well and there was alot of side effects. There was times he would stay awake at night and raid the food pantry. With Vyvance he sleeps through the night and his appetite has increased.
This message is to you BOB, first off. I did alot of research on the medication and again this is a very new drug and you don’t know anymore than me or anyone else does. Doctors and Pharmicist are still learning this drug. Shire is taking surveys from people so Shire can know what should be properly noted in the warnings. The medicine is still in the trial stage. So yes gaining weight sounds strange to you, but it’s my experience and it’s the truth. You see Cleon Brown posted here that her son has an increased appetite since taking Vyvanse. I never put my child’s brain under anyone’s evaluation, who are you to judge me? I’m just a parent who wants my child to be able to pay attention in school, so he can succeed and be the Honor roll student that I know he is, yet no one else can see. Everything I’ve done was all in good faith to help my child become successful, because I love him and I want to help him manage his adhd now while he’s still young. So don’t come on this blog and scrutinize me, I’m just posting my experience “My Experience” I specifically said in my previuos comment “It might work for others, but be very aware before you take it” I posted here to get responds from sincere people with sincere responses not Dr. Phil
I’m 44 yrs old and today I took Vyvanse for the first time. I’ve taken Stratera, Concerta and didn’t really see any improvements.
The Vyvanse was helpful for me with focus issues and being able to complete the things I wanted to. But, I felt my heart was racing, and my teeth were grinding way too much. I also felt paranoid, had dry mouth, jitters, and was just uncomfortable all day.
I enjoy the fact that I completed several things without loosing direction but don’t think the side affects out way the benefits.
About 20 years ago, I was a meth addict. Using Vyvanse was very similar to the effects of meth. I didn’t like that part at all. For anyone that is trying to stay clean for stimulants, I would suggest not using this medication if you were to experience the same side effects I did. I have battled other addictions and God has blessed me with the ability to just be completely did connected for the things I abused. But, some are not as fortunate. Some people struggle daily with recovery. Therefore, I would again not recommend this for some that has had any dependency on amphedamines in the past.
Thanks and God Bless.
PS I won’t be taking this drug again. Scott
I’m 21 years old. Starting at age ten I took Ritalin, which helped but could be compared to sharpening a scalpel on a brick. Very general. I went on Concerta some years after and gradually increased the dose to 54 mg in an effort to increase the effects. Well, I had 2 panic attacks, developed an aggravated startle response, sweated like crazy and lost 15 pounds. Since September I’ve been on 30mg Vyvanse and I *love* it. I do have some dry mouth (which is how I found this page) but it works a million times better without making me so tightly wound. My grades have improved and I haven’t jumped at the sight of my own shadow in a while.
It is really strange how diffrent the side effects are. I have been an addict in the past, but fought it on a daily basis. I have had no desire to use anything. I do think God had something to do with that.
I didn’t find out I was ADHD until I was 53 years old. I was diagnosed with other learning problems but the ever so evident ADHD was not seen until my son was diagnosed with ADD in college. I didn’t want to take drugs but finally got really depressed because It seems the ADHD can get worse as you age. Mine did. I hated taking just the uppers. When my doctor blended Welbutrin with ritalin I did very well. I low dose…only 10 mg of Ritalin and 150 of Welbutrin. My son takes Vynanse and loves it. He takes it with Welbutrin as well. I think low dosing may prevent a need for more. It has for me and I’ve been on this blend for a few years now.
Carrie – To Quote you:
“To take advice from your Psychiatrist would make you a dumbshit… Mr. PHD needs a PAYCHECK, and therefore, you should all do your research before you take/give any recommended meds. authority means just that. it doesnt mean “i know what i’m talking about.”
I, and I’m sure many of us on this board, are not “dumb shits.” My Psychiatrist has not given me a prescription for Vyvanse. He may have diagnosed me – but he is also allowing me to research ADHD myself, so that I can SEE the disorder, and recognize its symproms in myself, instead of just telling me what is “wrong” with me and giving me a bunch of medications.
He has given me books to read, websites to research, and forms to fill out.
And when we started to talk medication – he gave me this medication to research. And that is what I am doing.
But the one thing you need to know, and I think I speak for a lot of people, especially now days, most of us probably did research this drug.
I am Bipolar II. I have researched this disorder, read about it, explored other peoples stories and experiences. I’ve researched all the different types of medications one can take, and I LISTEN to my body while taking a medication. I know within 1-3 days if a medication is not working. I don’t wait 2 WEEKS before I call my PDOC and tell him it’s not working.
So please, don’t make generalizations, and don’t call me a dumb-shit. Many of us who are, or might be ADD or ADHD have felt like this most of our lives. Last thing I need is an uneducated, irresponsible person telling me I’m a dumb-shit because she didn’t do HER research.
I was recently diagnosed with ADHD for the first time,last week. I started taking vvyanse 30 mg Monday. I have a had a good experience with it so far. I have finished alot of my work early and still had engery to go him get the house clean and work on my college online class. I have noticed extreme appetite loss. I have not eating anything in two days.. I was wondering if this went away after a while. Its been somewhat nice but dont want to turn into a skelton. Also was concerned that its NOT approved for adults yet? why?
Yesterday I was diagnosed with ADD – I always used to think ADD was just another one of those disorders that some goofy doctors made up. I trust my doctor, and with this trust in him he set me up with a prescription of Vyvance . . . an intial dose of 100mg daily. This has been my family doctor for about 14 years now and I didn’t know any better, so I took two 50mg capsules at 7:00am after breakfast. Well, it’s a quarter to three (the next morning) and I haven’t slept a wink. The intense high lasted about 12 hours. I had a job interview at 8:00am (an hour after taking the meds) and suddenly at about 8:30 I was cold and clammy and felt jittery. I finished the interview at 9:00 and left for home which was an hour away. I had to just keep telling myself to stay between the lines and keep up with the traffic and noone will notice. Well, I have only had a few bites to eat since breakfast yesterday, and I know I’m really not one who needs to lose weight. With all of these negatives about Vyvance it might seem like I have nothing good to say about it. Well, first of all, I believe my doctor should not have prescribed such a large dose . . . especially to begin with. I will also say that the interview went very well, and I’m pretty sure I’ll be starting a new job with the company soon. I was as clear headed as I ever remember being. After the interview I called my wife and told her everything about the interview, in extensive detail! She was totally excited! We have been married for 14 years and she has never known me to be so thorough! I’ll talk to my doctor about the dosage, and WILL NOT take such a large dose again, but all in all I believe Vyvanse may be the answer to my attention difficulties, short term memory problems, and resulting depression. Any response to this note will be very much appreciated. Thanks. Randy
Randy,
it seems very strange to me that your doctor would prescribe a 100mg dose of Vyvanse to you.. assuming that you haven’t had any previous experience (and thus, tolerance), with other amphetamine medications.
my doctor started me off on 30mg. the dose was increased to 60mg a couple of weeks later, due to my growing tolerance for it (tolerance will happen. it’s nearly essential to take breaks from your medication when possible).
concerning anorexia, yea.. that’s defiently a rough side effect. my body isn’t ready to eat until later in the evenings (like, every other day maybe.. haha). i can’t eat food while the medecine’s in my system without feeling kinda sick and shitty.
when the medecine isn’t as overbearing (later in the day… night), it works to just get past the first few bites of food. after then, eating isn’t really a problem.
personally, i’m not sure that Vyvanse does much for my memory. i’m doing very well at work, but i sometimes forget entire conversations (and reapeat them).
but i’m happy, so it’s all cool. it’s a pretty nice med (harsh at first).
I’m 20 and have been on Adderall XR a while, and thinking of asking my psychiatrist about switching to Vyvanse. I’m just wondering, it seems like many people have found V helpful in getting things done and feeling clear headed, but do you feel at all too even, I mean do you miss the ups and downs from times with Adderall etc, or without meds entirely? Do you have the same moments of inspiration, or spontaneity, as compared to other meds? I’m just interested in those taking V at the recommended steady dosage, not those surfin on their psyche for kicks. Thanks to all for comments
Lin,
Thanks for the comments. Yeah, I understand doctors don’t like to hear what other info their patients hear on the internet, but 30mg seems to be a normal starting dosage. About 20+ years ago I used to get stoned for kicks, but the trip I went on the other day with 100mg of Vyvanse was not something I ever want to do again.
Back in 1986 I was in a motorcycle accident resulting in a coma and some pretty major brain injury, and for the last 21 years I assumed the poor short term memory was a direct result. While I may never have a photographic memory, in the first 3 days on Vyvanse my wife and other friends are noticing an immediate difference in my ability to recall instructions, etc.
Today is the 4th day and I am still feeling a bit jittery within about an hour after taking the Vyvance. How long does it take for the side effects to quit? Or do they? I do feel a lot more energized now, and I assume those feelings will subside, although my wife isn’t looking forward to that, because the house has never been cleaner!
Anyway, thanks for your input!
Randy
To Lynn (12/9/2007): I’ve been sensing the same thing, my ADHD getting worse. Even when taking Adderall, I still didn’t feel “complete”. Lately, I haven’t had a chance to get the Adderall filled (it’s been two months), because of lack of funds, I looking forward to getting back on it and see if there’s a difference or a change.
I have a 10 yr old son who has been diagnosed with ADHD Hyperactive/Impulsive Type. He also has Hyperacusis which basically means he is a kid that does better in smaller less noisier environments (can hear noises at levels most of us can’t) but those same noises can be a distraction. Furthermore, in noisier environments this kid falls down to the 37% of children who can hear. Great kid, extremely intelligent, great personality, hyper and impulsive in more active environments, sometimes does not seem to hear you (at times just tunes you out). Does great academically. He is fortunate to be in an appropriate school program. He’s been on Strattera (terrible, made him sick @ night with very little positive effects). Focalin in the pm for a short while (superfocusing, could do homework, compulsivity to continue work scary). Concerta (seemed to work ok at first, but also seemed to metabolize quickly over time and with the onset of puberty, coming off the stuff was emotional and had outbursts). New Dr wanted to try Guanfacin. My son started @ 1/2mg 2x day began with some days of dizziness, falling asleep @ school, personality seemed extremely fuzzy. Stopped that after 2 wks. Son started taking Vyvanse yesterday at 7:45 am @ 50 mg 1x day (relatively new doctor, who unfortunately saw my son for appts on extreme bad behavioral days – hyperactive, hyperfocus – I asked Dr. whether lower dosage would be better to start with – Dr. stated that due to my son having come off Concerta 35 mg and what he has been seeing he felt 50 mg Vyvanse more appropriate). Last night – first night on Vyvanse – the kid did not sleep all night. Extremely awake, almost wired. (This is a kid who is usually out by 11pm and up grudgingly at 7:15am.) During the day on Vyvanse he seemed extremely focused in everything he did – school work, crafts projects, responding to others. I’m having doctor switch him down to 30mg. Will let you know how it goes.
I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and I am 38 years old. I started taking 30mg of Vyvanse and the only side effect I can complain of is that I am not sleeping as well as I used to. I wake up in the middle of the night every night. I know it has also suppressed my appetite a little, but I’m okay with that. I definitely don’t have any of the other side effects that have been mentioned. I think the medicine has helped me focus a little better, and I am not dwelling on things like I was. I’d really rather try and treat my ADHD naturally, but if the medicine helps, then I’m willing to take it.
I just started Vyvanse this morning. I am a 36 year old man with 3 kids, a wife and demanding job. I think I have probably been ADHD my entire life. I have never done anything about it because I thought it was just in my head. As my responsibilities have grown, my stress levels and inability to focus have grown. I started taking an anti-anxiety drug (Effexor) about 9 months ago. This helped considerably with my anxiety. However the last 2 months or so; as my job became more demanding and less stable, I was experiencing very deep anxiety and beginning to get depressed. I had no ability to focus at all. My wife and I had lengthy discussions for the last 2 weeks and we decided to talk to our Physician about it.
It is 8:03 PM right now and i can honestly say this may be the most productive day of work I have ever had! I have been getting things done and don’t feel nearly as stressed and irritable. I am impressed by how quickly this drug takes effect. The only side effects I have experienced so far is a little bit of cottonmouth and less of an appetite. At this point, I wish I was diagnosed years ago. I have done pretty well in my life so far, but have always handled stress poorly. I really feel like this could be an increidble change for the better.
After many years of coping with ADHD symptoms, my husband and I reluctantly decided to put our 10-year-old daughter on medication. The doctor recommended Vyvanse and this morning she got her first dose. I was hoping for miracles for my beautiful and bright child, but unfortunately, she was so sick from the medication I could not imagine giving her another dose. Is this a normal reaction? She has vomited all day, has dry mouth, talks up a storm (even more than her typical chatter)and complained about “wobbly legs.” All we want as parents is to give our children the absolute best in life, and this is obviously not it. Can anyone out there help?
I’m 16 and currently being in high school and trying to figure out what medications are right for me is hard enough. I’ve tried strattera,imipramine,and adderall xr. Now i was prescribed. Although i’ve had a mental addiction to weed and decided to try vyvanse 30mg for the first time on my first sober day. I took it at around 7am before school. It gave me the weirdest unwanted feeling ever. I was cold all day and extremley depressed and crying over nothing. It was like my body wasn’t there and my soul was completley wiped out of me. My heartbeat was rapid and I didn’t really know what to do with myself. I would walk and my I couldn’t figure out how i was walking. I was pretty much way to self aware or something in that nature. I wasn’t hungry all day and i need to eat because im already extremley skinny, no eating disorders, just born 2.5 lbs. fast metabolism. I’ve never gotten this feeling from a medication ever. In the morning i was really focused and motivated, but then as the day went on by 5th period being around 11:30am, I was just a person sitting there, extremeley depressed and unable to move my body. I’d tell myself to put my head up, but i couldn’t, i had to have someone lift it up for me. It was like i was in a HUGE fog and not in reality. It was very weird. I’ll see if these symptoms change, but i have a feeling they won’t. Has anyone felt this way??? email me. xbreakingxxdown@aim.com
First off let me say that I am not an doctor, ADD/ADHD expert, or parent. However, I have read some very disturbing comments critizing parents for giving there kids ADHD medication. One that even went as far to say that “no wonder they become meth heads”. Disgustingly these people have failed to even do minor research on the topic before speaking. From many articles from I, and my boyfriend (Who is almost finished with medical school, so this stuff intrests him) untreated ADD or ADHD has been linked to substance abuse, and depression later on in life. I have yet to read about a study that links ADHD medications (given and monitored by doctors and parents) and drugs abuse later in life. True they are easily abused drugs, but usually in kids that don’t really need them.
I ment to say read, not that I, nor he have published
Sally, I could not agree with you more. People need to talk to adults who were not medicated. See how not being medicated has disrupted their life.
Well Im 23 and dont really love vyvanse. Ive been on every med there is and vyvanse helps but the side effects are starting to annoy me. First off Im on 70mg bc of my metabolism, my body tears thru meds like nobody’s business. Anyways, I cant sleep, I chew on my inner lower lip (cant help it) I am hyper focused and numb social when on the meds. Also, for you adults, this stuff will reek havoc on your sex life, not going into details but trust me, it doesnt work all the time…
My son is 9yrs old. He was diagnosed at the age of 5 with ADHD. I took him to the doctor after my first parent teacher conference. I was told he spent more time under the table then at the table. He ended up redoing kindergarten. He was having sleeping problems which ended up being his tonsils. They were to large, we had them and his adenoids removed. This helped his sleeping problems but not the ADHD problems. The first medicine was Ritalin. He was on it 5 months before he had his younger brother on the floor with a blanket over his head! It was not pretty to say the least. Then there was Adderall. That lasted about 2 yrs at increasing levels. He still was playing catch up though. He was at least 1 yr behind. Then he started to space out and started to have weird “tics”. He would blink his eyes uncontrollably and do this shrugging thing and of course not realizing he was doing it. So in 2nd grade we started Focalin XR. The “tics” were happening still so the doctor put him on clonidine .1mg tablet at night. That worked for 1 yr. He started to space out again. Not to mention getting through homework was very difficult.We tried adding a second dose in the afternoon but that just resulted in bathroom accidents. It was ruining his self esteem! So here we are in 3rd grade. I have to hand it to the teachers and child study team at our school. They never pressured me. I was just trying to make sure my son gets an education. They have him in an inclusion class. He does work on his grade level(finally). He does get extra time for tests and extra help when needed. He also gets speech and occupational therapy. They come to his class to work with the kids. There are about 7 other kids in his class that have similar learning problems. Anyway, four months into this school year, he had problems focusing and getting through homework again. I had heard about vyvanse from commercials and other websites. when i had asked his doctor about trying another medicine, one that lasted longer he suggested it. He put him on 50mg to start. I didn’t question it because he was taking 20mg of Focalin XR twice a day. After 2 weeks I sent a note to school to see how he was doing. They said he was doing great and the problems he was having before(ie: spacing out, accidents) were not happening anymore. I was so excited! Even better, he seems to notice the world around him more and interacts with the family. He does have a little problem eating but hasn’t lost any weight yet. I did notice mood swings though. I’m hoping it’s because he has difficulty sleeping most nights. When his allergies acted up, I gave him some benedryl and he had nightmares. Early last week he became very upset with me because I had punished him for fighting with his younger brother. I made him stay in his room,thinking this would calm him down. I was trying to make sure the whole “Ritalin incident” didn’t happen again. He only became more angry. When i tried to talk to him He grabbed his head and told me it hurt and he wanted to die. I was so scared but afraid to take him off the medicine. My oldest,16, had lost it and hurt someone (nothing life threatening) after stopping his metedate CD. After 8 months of court, he was sentence to a rehabilitation program with anger management classes, intense counseling and 3 yrs probation. So you’ll understand why I am afraid to keep my 9 yr old on the vyvanse or take him off of it. We sat down as a family and decided to finish out the month. We have been keeping a close eye on him, it’s been easy since we are on holiday break. I am hoping after some time his body will even out and the mood swings will get better. A part of me cries every night praying we are doing the right thing. He hasn’t had any other side effects like the ones described in the other comments. He did lick his lower lip constantly in the beginning but that has stopped. Has anyone else has had aggression issues with vyvanse? I’m thinking about calling the doctor after the new year and asking him for a lower dose too.
My daughter (10 years old) and myself started taking Vyvanse over two months ago. We love it! For my daughter it was wonderful because she didn’t have problems with her appetite anymore (it used to be such a battle to get her to eat), and there wasn’t a noticable difference in attitude when the medicine wears off. She has noticed a difference in the meds and has no side effects (not even the jaw motions others have mentioned). I was on Focalin before Vyvanse and I changed to Vyvanse because it lasts for a long time. I have loved it and haven’t have any problem since starting the meds. I do grind my teeth, but I don’t think it is because of the medicine.
I think it is important to remember that ADD/ADHD is based on a chemical imbalance in a person’s body and that is what the medicine is supposed to help correct. So the previous comments made by some people about poor parenting is disappointing to read. That type of hype is very damaging to the reality of ADD/ADHD, it is not created or corrected by parenting skills. The effects of ADD/ADHD can addressed by teaching various skills (like how to stay organized, self-sooth, etc.), but those skills are more effective if teamed up with medicine. Remember, every medicine affects different people in different ways. Do what is best for your body, if that means taking Vyvanse….then do it. If it doesn’t work for you…..stop taking it. Well, that’s all I wanted to share. I highly recommend taking Vyvanse. My family loves it!
I have been on Ritalin for 4 years for ADHD. I have just been proscribed Vyvanse and will start it tomorrow. I will continue to read these blogs and let you know how I do with it.
I am new to Vyvanse 30 mg, but I like it(2 months.) New to ADHD/figured it out after watching my child & seeing us as being basically identical. He is 6 and on Adderall XR 10 mg. He is plodding right on through kindergarten with all the little bad things that happen. Grades are good, but behavior is bad. It is a wild life. I also have had the mood swings since 15 (I am 37) and all that. Thought it was Bipolar. In retrospect, I see tons of ADHD in my past. Can a person truly have both? I take the Depakote ER 500 mg at night. Wouldn’t dare chance not taking it. Seem to be doing psychiatrically great but believe you me there are a couple crappy areas in my life that almost put me back down again.
For all you folks that down the meds for kids, my God they’ve helped my child. What makes you think we are bad parents? I’m willing to bet we’re 10 times better because we’ve had to be more creative and resourceful. It is definitely the correct thing to help them with medication. I have an ADHD stepson who did not and should have. Stimulants anyway truly seem to help the ADHD. Not sure if I’m a fan of the clonodine, but I’ll give it to him if he truly needs it to rest in the evening. For him, he’s uneven on the needing of it.
Glad this group is here. I would invest in the Shire drug company if I could. I owe any sort of being able to go out in public to those folks.
My son is 17 and has ADD. He has been on COncerta for 3 years and felt that it was wearing off too soon. We switched to Vyvanese 30mg. In 4 days he has become a different person and not for the better. He has stopped sleeping and eating. He has lost 8 pounds. His normally easy going personality has changed to aggressiveness and argumentativeness. He began throwing things in anger tonight. He will be going back to Concerta.
I wish that I had known that the side effects for this medication were 4 times more than adderol. He tried that for a couple of weeks and felt that he was going to jump out of his skin. Like anything this is trial and error, I am just glad that this error wasn’t too severe.
I’m a 17 year old girl, who was recently diagnosed with ADHD (September 2007) , and put on Vyvanse, and worked up to 70mg, where I’ve stayed for the past 3 months. Previously, I had so much trouble concentrating in school, that it would take me 6 hours to do an assignment that should have taken 1 hour, which made schoolwork infuriating, whereas now with the medication, I have amazing focus and concentration, and I can retain what I learn much more easily.
For me, this medication seems to really play with my perception, for example I never really listened to opera before, but now when the medication’s acting, I’ll be so awed and appreciative of every little detail in the music, and it’s almost this very dramatic and emotional experience, but once the medication’s worn off, I don’t hear the music in the same hyper-observant way that makes me enjoy it so much.
You also feel this deep sense of empathy for people, you somehow deeply care about the lives of total strangers, and you have this intense desire to express every nuance of how you feel and perceive things.
I think at the same time though, the medication has made me incredibly detached from reality, although I used to be quite outgoing and chatty with people and had a decent social life, I find now that I might feel frantically intrigued and warm towards people, but I feel like I can’t make any type of human connection, more like I’m watching a movie instead of in reality. I feel very separate from my own body almost all of the time, and whereas things like eating and sleeping used to be something I did just did when I was hungry or tired, they now feel like a choice (of course, I know they aren’t), and so because I just don’t think about sleeping and eating unless I have a “mental or emotional” craving for them, I’ve lost a significant amount of weight, which is a huge concern, since I was already underweight (it runs in the family) and it frightens my mother because I honestly don’t notice the difference between now and how I looked before.
I wouldn’t say it’s fried my personality, but it certainly has accentuated the perfectionist, insecure side of me and sedated the part of me that used to be confident, and laid back, and I’m not yet sure if it’s a good thing or not, ultimately. This medication has its highs and lows (no pun intended), and I take it because it helps me get what I need to get done at this stage of my life in terms of academics, but I do know that it’s given me a distorted view of myself, especially in terms of my body and self-worth, and I don’t know if the side effects I have are going to catch up to me in terms of my health, when I’m 45 years old, even though I’ve never felt healthier.
I do know though that I would NEVER EVER recommend putting your child on this medication. At 17, I made the choice to take Vyvanse after getting tested, no one pressured me at all, but I think that unless a child is genuinely dangerous to himself and others (and very few kids diagnosed with ADHD actually are), relying on drugs for your child as “control” or “help” or whatever you want to call it is negligent parenting, and even unintentionally abusive, especially when your child isn’t old enough to make an informed choice on it, especially because there is no magic bullet, I thought this would be (and yes, it is in allowing me to function in school), but it’s caused me a lot of other problems as well.
I would never want to push this drug, or any like it, on a child, even if they had a very different experience from mine, I know it’s too great a risk to take in how it will affect their development, either physically or emotionally. I know for me, that being a child with ADHD was often very confusing and frustrating (oh, the memories!!), but it also made me learn to problem solve in social situations, and want to explore and move out into life, and I miss those qualities, I feel this medication has put them to sleep in my personality, and I know they could really serve me well right now.
And physically, the medication is so demanding, you can ignore your body, but when you think about it, it’s very disorientating. I would never want a child to have to deal with that when they’re still growing mentally and physically, it wears you thin, either because of the medication itself, or because of the changes you make in your life as a result of it.
For what it’s worth, Vyvanse has made me able to function “excellently” in institutional environments, it did actually make me able to get perfect grades (I was very surprised!), and burn the candle at both ends, and I appreciate this, and don’t regret it NOW, but what do I know? I’m only a 17 year old kid, and I can’t know how I’ll feel about it in 20 years, whether I see it as what made me actually able to accomplish things in my life for the first time, or as something that made me a dull robot and caused me health problems, when I could have been out enjoying life, even if I couldn’t measure up in conventional standards. I really have no idea.
My son was recently switched to vyvanse after too many side effects on ritalin and adderall and straterra not working we gave it to him at
9am on december 21st at 4:30pm he started vomiting and vomited nonstop till noon the next day he ended up dehydrated and the doctor almost put him in the hospital not to mention he lost pounds in 24 hours the due to the dehydration they gave him a shot and sent us home not sure if he had a stomach virus or a side effect of they vyvanse told us to wait 3 days and try it again so I waited a little longer because of fear it would happen again I finally convinced myself it would be fine and I gave it to him again this morning and guess what …. Now I have a vomiting child that is lifeless in his bed….. He is a very skinny boy to begin with 7 yrs old and 54 pounds I feel horrible that this medicine I gave him has once again made him soo very sick…. and I pray this time around the vomiting does not last as long… If you or your child starts vomiting dont try it again!
I too have add so No i am not againest medication I take adderall… I just want to warn other parents that if there baby starts vomiting dont try again!
Good Luck!
My 10 yr old son started taking Vyvanse (30mg) 2 weeks ago. His acedemics has improved. Behavior is still being monitored. His memory has improved and he is more passionate about what he does – be it school work or play. Sleeping and appetite no significant changes. However, his face has gotten large pumps in the 2 weeks; the glands in his nose has swollen, his lips and mouth extreme dry. My biggest concern is the swollen gland which i plan to take him to the doc asap. Has anyone experience this in their child? I plan to change his dose to half then to see how he does. If this does’nt work take him off completely and try the homopathic FOCUS.
Before taking Vyvanse he took strattera, MetadateCD (not together), each for a year and they all proved to be ineffective after 9mths to a year with very negative effects in the last months on the medication. Thanks to all of you for your input.
Amazing.
“. . . now I can supermultitask!”
“went back to school to finish my degree. When I combined this with full-time work and a fairly new marriage, the ADD was really becomming a problem.”
I’d say that valuing one’s ability to “supermultitask” and thinking that it’s the ADD that’s the problem, not a triply-stressed life (you HAVE to work and HAVE to get the degree and HAVE to marry at the same time–who sez? You’re creating your own problems!)
Jeez, people, try evaluating your LIFESTYLES and VALUES before you take drugs to slot yourselves into value sets and agendas that are unrealistic and are KILLING YOU.
We live in a BIPOLAR, ATTENTION-DEFICIT, OPPOSITIONAL DISORDER society and everyone thinks it’s the brains that have to be drugged up to cope.
And when the economy hits the wall, as it’s bound to do, what will you give up to pay for your drugs? Food? Your car? Your house? Your first-born? What if you lose your health insurance? Do you think Big Pharma’s going to subsidize you ALL?
Or will you just collapse in a pile? How many psych ERs will there be to take you all in?
Or will you just cope?
Why not learn to cope NOW?
I have recently been diagnosed with ADD. After the diagnosis, I asked a friend for one of their adderalls (20mg XR) to study for a exam coming up. I was nervous but once the drug kicked in everything clicked. I was so efficient, BUT SOooooo jittery and just tense but was sooo focused/determined when studying. I learned a lot and had this “duh” feeling when doing problems that were over my head before. I felt fine the next day.
Going to the doc, he prescribed 10mg generic Adderall to start me off and this was great and is ok for short periods like 3-5hrs but then there’s a trendous drop off that I can only explain as a “crash” (to put it in drug lingo I guess). Something I’ve noticed is that if I get a little bored of reading while on adderall, if I put my head down for a few minutes I feel better and am able to focus. My non-legit theory here is that even though your mind is going a mile a minute, your body still needs a little recooperation time. I’ve also found this while being on Vyvanse 30mg. I can go on forever but my body needs a moment to just heal/rest, if you can imagine.
Anyhow, in fear of developing a tolerance, I don’t take vyvanse all the time.
for a drug that is similar to cocaine, it only makes sense to not abuse it like so. My advice is to use these drugs when you really need them. I can function normally without this but there are things/times when I know that my normal functioning may not suffice so I take my meds.
Take a drug holiday and try to be clean for a week or two… just a day or two would be great. you’ll be surprised that you can take a lesser dose and obtain the same effects as the higher ones.
In the overwhelming of dopamine to the receptors, your body adapts by withdrawing receptors, hence you develop a tolerance. If you give you body/brain time off from being overloaded with dopamine, the normal # of receptors will project themselves once again and you’ll somewhat back to normal. I don’t know why people go about this thinking upping the dose is the best thing as you’re feeding yourself amphetamines! A small dose but consistently feeding yourself amphetamines!
I’m rambling but just make sure that while Vyvanse or any type of ADHD med is taking care of you that you should take care of what these meds are doing to your body and brain.
My 11 year old first day experienced on 50 mg vyvanese was pretty weird; he became so emotional and was really tuned in to his thoughts that it scared me. However, the next day the side effects went away and I tell you (Ohhh !! it is a big difference). Even his teacher commented on his behavior in bold letters as having “Great DayS!!” My son says now, “he loves learning and he wish he could learn all day” . People listen, my son went from being ODD, Intermitten Explosive Disorder, RAD, and ADHD to a child who is able to behave in an age appropriate manner..Now with behavior modification at home and school and med changes, for the better; he is doing well. He used and has tried adderall all forms, ritalin all forms, clondine and strattera (for many years)….Thank God for this newer intervention…I was so scared to put him on any stimulant but I like this one…
I have had over 40 foster children in the past 4 years. During that time about 40% of them have been on different ADHD meds. I have found that every child is different and that most of them do not have drastic changes whn put on ADHD meds. However, I had two teanage boys that were recently put on Vyvase. They both went from failing in school to making A’s and B’s. The teachers have commented that both of the boys have changed dramatically. I would have to agree. The only side affect that either boy had was a slight heart rate increase for the first week or so. After seeing all these children on different meds, I would suggest trying this one first.
I take Adderrall xr 40mg and have for over a year. It has helped with completing tasks and my concentration. I was wondering if anyone who has taken or is taking experiences excessive sweating. I am a 33 year old female and I just can not deal with the severe sweating-I am so embarrassed! I was thinking of asking my psychiatrist to switch me to vyvanse to see if that would help and I have seen a decrease in my concentration over the past year. Has anyone experienced this type of side effect from either of the drugs?
WOW! I have read through all of the comments, and to say I am disturbed is an understatement! I have a 10 yr old daughter who is so smart, but lacks focus. She is NOT the same at school as she is at home. That is why I have had a hard time seeing the problem. The teachers (the past two years) felt that she needed “intervention”, because I was not facing the fact that she has ADD. I have always provided her with a nutritional based diet, and she does get to have other snacks too. She does watch more TV than what she should, but she doen’t play video games or spend lots of time on the computer. She loves horseback riding, riding her bike, and walk the dog. I have raised her to make healthy choices, and she even chooses it for herself.
For the most part I have tried everything to avoid giving her meds. But altering her diet, talking to the psychologist, trying to have the teachers help her, just isn’t working. I feel that the teachers are just bothered by the fact she isn’t hanging on there every word. She needs to be reminded to keep on task, but her grades are not F’s. She is in 5th grade and reading at a ninth grade level. Now, before I get a bunch of angry teachers responding here I want you to understand that I have not had good communication with these two teachers. They have not kept me up on what is happening daily, but at conferences just say that she lacks focus.
Today she has started taking Vyvanse 30mg. After reading all of your experiences with this med I am really upset that I just sent her out the door, and I am not watching her myself! However, I was proactive this morning and emailed her teacher and the principal the name and dose of the med she is on, and asked them to watch for any behaviors out of the ordinary. Given my past experiences with her teacher I may not get any feedback until the next conferences! If anyone else has any further (non-substance abuse) comments I would really like to hear them. I would also like to know if anyone has heard or know of a special classroom for children with ADD or special teaching stradigies, because like I said this is only a problem at school. Thanks!
I’m 25 yrs old. Vyvanse seems to have a negative impact on my comprehension and memory. While it does increase my concentration I spent four hours trying to memorize the same 15 points. This is atypical for me. I have tried every ADHD medication out there while the others hit harder and seem to have more severe side effects at least they work. Everyone is different but my experience with Vyvanse has put me in “my head” a lot with little productivity to show. Also, I constantly fight wanting to take more.
My 7 year old son is not hyper, but has always had difficutly focusing. He was recently diagnosed with ADD. He had very negative side effects after taking one dose (30mg) of Vyvanse. Although I shouldn’t have, I gave it to him right before school. I definitely should have tried him at home on a weekend first. After school, he got off the school bus and burst into tears. When I asked what was wrong, he rambled off a list of negative side effects. (We never told him there was even a risk of side effects). He had shaky legs, nausea, lack of appetite, constant eye blinking, and was extrememly emotional. He also only slept a total of 6 hours in two nights. The doctor wanted to INCREASE the dosage saying that this may help! This was the first drug we’ve tried, and I will never give it to him again. We’re trying all natural alternatives, but I really haven’t found anyone who has said they are successful. I really hate to try prescription medication again! Any suggestions???
To “Just Learning Too”
I’m about to graduate with a Masters degree in Cognitive Neuroscience even though I intially couldn’t learn to read as a child due to rather severe ADHD. Most studies (and my own experience) seem to indicate that the best treatment is a combination of special tutoring/training plus the APPROPRIATE stimulant medication at reasonable dosages.
The problem is that the appropriate medication and dosages vary DRAMATICALLY from from individual to individual. That’s just the nature of what we are dealing with here. Each person’s brain develops somewhat differently and even two people with seemly identical symptoms could have those symptoms “caused” by very different underlying brain anomylies.
Extremely complex interactions between genes and environmental factors continually drive brain development and ADHD. So the only thing you can do is “experiment” with your own child to see what actually works best for them as an individual. Start with low dosages of one medication and be ready to try another if that fails to work. And of course, try to stay away from overly high dosages of anything.
For non-medical treatment options you might start looking here: http://www.add.org/
So good luck! …believe me, you will need it.
Oh yeah, I guess I should mention:
There is indeed some evidence that if you don’t medicate your ADHD child they are MORE likely to self-medicate later on using cocaine, street speed or whatever else they can get their hands on.
TO: All CONCERNED PARENTS
PLEASE don’t pay too much attention to the posts here by people who are also taking drugs for conditions that are comorbid with their ADHD. IF your child is fortunate enough to ONLY have ADHD then they are probably operating with a very different neuro-physiology than someone who has say…both Bipolar and ADHD. Also, drug interations between various psychotropic drugs are extremely hard to predict and vary wildly from person to person. Reading these people’s accounts may do more to confuse and scare you than actually help you.
TO ALL THE PEOPLE WITH COMORBID CONDITIONS (which is extremely common by the way)
Of course you should continue to post here and tell your stories. Maybe other people with similiar comorbid conditions can benefit from your unique experiences. I certainly don’t envy any of you in trying to balance out the effects of mutiple drugs that have such powerful effects. Even the Psychiatrists are extremely confused by the large amounts of conflicting data being reported on drug interactons (even though they often won’t admit their confusion).
I agree, i was diagnosed at 7. Never took anything. Had a horrible time fighting off addictions in my life. Started taking vyvanse 50 mg. All addictive behavior is drasticaly diminished. I wish I was medicated at 7.
I have a 6 yr old who has adhd and PDD/NOS. Before VYvanse I had to literally threaten him to stay in his seat at school. he has been taking VYVANSE for 3 months and it is great. My baby can come home and tell me about his day and he can even stay on the subject without veering of into what ever he wants to talk about. He has retained in school since he started this drug. Sometimes he doesn’t want to eat and he doesn’t get a lot of sleep the teachers understand and let him take a nap after lunch for about 20 minutes. I had a good experience with VYVANSE and would recommend it to anyone to try who has adhd.
I would just like correct a fallacy some people posting here seem to have grabbed on to. This med not being able to be abused is absurd. That fact that it does you no good to snort a drug has really no bearing on weather that drug can and will be abused. Don’t let yourself be fooled in to thinking you can’t abuse it. That is when you get in the most trouble. Even though you have to ingest this drug to enjoy the effects you have to keep in mind that you’re dealing with Adderrall’S bigger meaner brother and he loves to party. it is still an FDA controlled substance and they don’t keep drugs on that list for to hell of it…………..
I started taking vyvanse about 2 months ago and I average taking it 2 or 3 times a week. It is insane how intense it is. I get a euphoric manic high that last sometimes like 5 or 6 hours. It is strong enough that others are saying things to me about how on top of things I seem. I literally have pulled a couple 16 hour days doing highly intellectual work (law). I find myself writing like 2000 word emails to family members in response to simple inquiries! All in all, it has boosted my productivity. However, I do worry that it may cause a strain on my heart. I definitely feel that it increases my heart rate and possibly my blood pressure. Not only does it kill my appetite, but also my thirst. It is very important to force fluids when taking it or you will get dehydrated. The best way to take the drug is to put 70mg in a bottled water, shake it up, and drink half. I definitely feel the drug working and then later on in the day I will drink the remaining half. Taking a full 70 at once is pretty overkill for me. I feel like Im a cokehead or something.
Wow, there are a lot of people on this message board that bad mouth adhd medication. I have always had adhd symptoms but my parents refused to do anything because they wanted me to “cope” with it as some jerkoff has already explained as a “better option”. Let me explain my life, I suffered in elementary, middle school was easy, high school was a little complicated, then college, college is in a leauge of its own. I had trouble doing so many things, but I got tested. Tested in the 99% in ammount of loss of concentration. Well I got the medication, vyvanse, and I can tell you that so many problems have been solved for me because of this drug. I highly recomend waiting to get your kid on medication untill he/she is in high school. But make sure they get tested early on so you can be the “good parent” and try to let them “cope” with it.
im 18 years old & was diagnosed w/ ADD when i was a freshman. the first thing i was prescribed to was straterra. (not a stimulant) it completly changed me.. i was a different person.. no emotions.. if anything just bitchier. well i took it for about a year and at the time didn’t realize how different it made me. i was depressed. i went to my doctor & got put on adderall. it was really good for my grades.. but over time- effected my social skills. im a person who loves people & very interested in them. when i took adderal, at first it was awesome & made me feel really good about everything.. then after taking it over time it had the opposite effect.. like straterra, it made me a different person. if i wouldnt take it for a week and then start again.. it would have a better effect. about 4 or 5 months ago i started taking vyvanse. it seemed to have the exact same effect as adderal at first.. it just lasted longer. it has the same effects except now im even more down & it changes my thoughts. i start wondering what am i living for and i just wanna get out of this town. i dont really wanna do anything. i dont wanna talk to people. i dont have anything to say, and thats not like me at all. everything annoys me. i wonder why people are talking to me, and anything fun is stupid. my grades are good but i dont know if its worth it.
i started adderall xr second year of college: fresh yea w/o add: 3.33 GPA. Sophmore year w/ add: 3.84 GPA, which brough my cum to 3.54. This drug has changed my life. I never miss class, my apartment is immaculately clean, i’m extremely attentive in meetings, interviews, and group discussions. it is really unfair to blame parents for adhd. my dad did everything he could to get me to be a good student, and none of it worked until i took adderall. he used to sit down with me everyday and tutor me with everything, however, as soon as i got to class i couldn’t focus, got in tons of trouble, and never got shit done. adderall has been the difference between an “a” and a “b” i can now study longer and more efficiently than my colleagues instead of the other way around. thank you for adhd meds!
HAVE ANY OF YOU EXPERIENCED THESE SIDE EFFECTS?
ok, so a little background. i am 29, male, and have been on Vyvanse 70mg for a few months. i take no other meds, and was only recently diagnosed w/ adhd.
i went looking for some info on side effects of this drug, and some of it has been very eye opening.
it hasn’t been all bad….my mood is def elevated and i feel happier…but almost too happy. i do talk a lot when i’m on the drug and i talk much faster than usual.
i feel focused….but not always very productive….sometmes i am VERY focused at wasting time when on the drug…like surfing the internet for hours.
my heart rate is elevated and i find myself out of breath when i climb a few flights of stairs. i was riding an exercise bike a few weeks ago and i thought it was broken b/c the heart rate monitor said my hear was beating so fast.
def decreases apetite, but i force myself to eat.
HERE IS THE SIDE EFFECT MOST WORRISOME TO ME:
ok, so this is pretty embarassing. the drug makes me HYPERSEXUAL. i think about sex A LOT more when on the drug, and since i don’t currently have a girlfriend, that leads to a lot of self pleasing. i’m talking like 2 or 3 times a day. and since i am so focused on the drug, this ends up being a really long time on the internet.
ALSO, as i said i am a male, and i find i am not always pleasing myself to STRAIGHT PORN. this has been the most disturbing to me. now i know that some of you will just say that i am GAY…trust me, this is not the case…i am not in denial here. NEVER ONCE in my life has this occurred prior to taking this drug and i have never (and still don’t) ever looked at a man and wanted to have sex with him. but the fact that this was happening caused a major crisis for me.
then i noticed that over the past month, it had not happened ONCE…when the urge to please myself came along, i looked at straight porn. i was so happy. i couldn’t figure out what had been going on, but i was just happy it seemed to be over. UNTIL the past couple of days…once again it has happened.
THEN I REALIZED SOMETHING….it didn’t happen over the past month at all WHEN I WAS OFF THE DRUG!! it never happened before i was on the drug…it happened in the couple of months last year when i was on the drug…it didn’t happen at all when i was off the drug for over a month (i was off b/c i was on vacation and didn’t feel like i needed to take it…i am not big on drugs but finally went to get diagnosed when my adhd became too much of a problem). I STARTED TAKING THE DRUG AGAIN LESS THAN A WEEK AGO, AND ALREADY IT HAS HAPPENED. today, i don’t know, a light bulb went off in my head and connected the fact that the only time in my entire life that this has happened has been while i am taking this drug. so i got onto the internet to look up SEXUAL SIDE EFFECTS and started finding a bunch of stuff. i read that this drug is so new that very little is known about its side effects. i also read that adderall, which has the same active ingredient, has a high rate of hypersexuality, as does methamphetamine used illegally.
then i read on vyvanse’s own website that the drug can cause “UNUSUAL THOUGHTS”. i found this term intentionally vague….i mean, does an “unusual” thought mean you wish cows said “quack” instead of “moo”? a term that broad and vague, to me, implies there is something they don’t want to specifically say.
SO HAS ANYONE ELSE EXPERIENCED ANYTHING EVEN REMOTELY SIMILAR TO THIS? i have read above a few guys say this drug caused them some serious relationship difficulties, but they did not elaborate.
AM I THE ONLY ONE?
needless to say, after reading a lot about the drug today….something i should have done when i was first put on it….i have decided to stop taking it.
PLEASE REALIZE, I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS A BAD DRUG. I AM NOT SAYING PEOPLE SHOULD NOT TAKE IT. I AM JUST ASKING IF ANYTHING SIMILAR HAS HAPPENED TO ANYONE ELSE. AS WITH ANY DRUG, SIDE EFFECTS VARY A GREAT DEAL FROM PERSON TO PERSON. I DID NOT GET THE NAUSEA OR DIARRHEA SOME OTHERS SAID THEY GOT. IF THIS DRUG WORKS FOR YOU, THEN BY ALL MEANS I SAY TAKE IT. BUT MY EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN WIERD, FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, SO I AM CHOSING TO PERSONALLY STOP TAKING IT.
THE DRUG WAS NOT ALL BAD. I DID FEEL IT HELPED ME. BUT THIS IS JUST TO WIERD.
ANY RESPONSE IS APPRECIATED.
THANKS.
sorry,
was just reading throught my post and my wording may be a bit confusing here:
“NEVER ONCE in my life has this occurred prior to taking this drug and i have never (and still don’t) ever looked at a man and wanted to have sex with him. but the fact that this was happening caused a major crisis for me. ”
the “this” that i am referring to in the last sentence is what i am looking at on the internet….not that i now walk down the street and am attracted to men.
thanks.
HELP!!!!
I am almost 19 yrs old, female, 5’3 or 161 cm, 103 lbs and was diagnosed two years ago with ADD. I took adderall XR 20 mg once daily and never developed a tolerance (i didn’t use it consistently). When my doc switched me over to Vyvanse I was beginning college and decided to take it religiously so as to ensure success in school…Well, now after taking my med consistently, I see how I couldn’t even function before..so many years wasted. Anyway, Vyvanse is like adderall yet so different…I don’t feel the happiness I felt with adderall but instead a joyful eagerness to do everything, and that eager feeling lasts for about 5-7 minutes, then goes away and I feel nothing…Worse is that every hour or so, I have to pay for the “extended release” feature by experience extremely intense feelings of despair and hopelessness (I do have an extensive history/diagnoses of childhood depression,OCD and anorexia nervosa but have not experienced any episodes in years). I also develop blurred vision, blood-shot eyes and watering eyes EVERY time I take it, and my face becomes very oily very quickly. I’ve not seen these symptoms listed anywhere but I have lived with them for months without any major difficulty. I cannot..I mean I CANNOT go without this or some other stimulant medication and am afraid that if I tell my doc of my strange side effects, she will terminate my subscription. What should I do? Has anyone else experienced the eye/face side effects??? (I also have mild abdominal pain, irritability, dry mouth)
~EDIT~
I should have said in my previous post “HELP!” that the eager productive feeling comes in bouts of approx. 5-10 minute duration…then I feel sort of nothing…not empty or zombie – that comes about every hour or so – but just a light nothing feeling that may last 5 minutes or an hour. It is terribly unpredictable.
HAS ANYONE DEVELOPED A TOLERANCE????
I’m also very scared of developing a tolerance to Vyvanse as I pretty much need it to be able to literally function. If you developed a tolerance, how long did it take?????
I was hyper as a kid and my pediatritian requested Ritalin but my parents didn’t believe in excessive meds(they paid for that one believe me). Today @ 36 yrs., I’ve taken my first dose of VYVANSE 30mg. I’ve read some good and some bad here and I’m personally hoping for the best. I want to thank you all for your honesty and good intention tword mankind.
I am 41 and was just diagnosed with ADHD.
My doctor started me on Vyvanse 50 mg during the first month, and upped the dosage this month.
For the first two weeks I took Vyvanse, I noticed an elevated heart rate, weight loss, no appetite at all, difficulty sleeping and a feeling of dehydration.
Once I acclimated to the drug, my heart rate and blood pressure went back down to an acceptable level, although I still often feel dehydrated and drink 2-4 liters of water per day.
Before Vyvanse, I was very emotional. My moods constantly spun up and down, sometimes within the same conversation.
With Vyvanse, I stay level. I feel my emotions, but they stay within normal levels and have not involved adrenalin since starting with the dosage.
I have found taking my meds once I have been at work for an hour or so provides better coverage throughout the day, and leaves me with some focus for my family. In order to do this, everything has to be organized, laid out and on a checklist in the morning.
Without the meds, I feel like I have a grey haze surrounding me, with a heavy dose of anxiety thrown in.
Vyvanse removed all that, along with all my odd obsessive behaviors, including nailbiting, excessive caffeine, smoking, facial tics, “picking” at my face and head, fidgeting, and even skipping through a book to the end instead of actually reading it.
I should note that while Vyvanse calms me and helps me focus, it is not a magical wonder drug.
ADHD requires committment and work.
I have to organize myself, both in writing via organizer, a Post-It note system on my kitchen cabinets, and syncing my cell phone and computer calendars and alarms.
Oh — and to earlier commenter “thinkaboutit,” regarding the abuse potential of Vyvanse:
It is a lepodexamphetamine. It must be processed by your liver in order to become an amphetamine, via the digestive tract. Your liver strips off the other components, turning it into an amphetamine.
One of the trials for the drug involved testing it on addicts, and they did not like it (the way they do Adderall) because it takes too long to process, and a human liver can only process anything so quickly.
The various quick-release methods used by addicts — like snorting — are designed for quick absorbtion into the blood stream for faster results.
With Vyvanse, they do not get the faster result because again, it must be processed by the liver.
My Daughter has ADHD and we have tried Abilify, Focalin,Vyvanse and all cause bad behavior and violent outbreaks. She is 7. I am afraid! Vyvanse has helped her during the school day, but when it wears off she is out of control! Help! Melisa Savannah GA
My son is 9 and was diagnosed in 1st grade. We were like most parents how can he be ADHD if he can sit through a 2 hour movie and not flinch?
We started on Adderall and were amazed at it. You could definitely tell a difference when he was on it, and when he hadn’t taken it. We triated up to Adderall xr and a friend of mine said that her boys were on Concerta and they didn’t have any problems. He started developing a tolerance to the dosage towards the end of the school year… and we would up the dosage for a month or so, then drop it for the summer-
Yes, he took it during the summer because it helped him socially.
In 3rd grade we switched to Concerta, and it was fine. His pysch was impressed because it made him less moody. So we stuck with it. Again towards the end of the school year it started wearing off. The beginning of this school year, he started taking both strattera and Concerta. he was on the max dosage of concerta and needed the strattera for the hyperness. This stopped working. We have increased the strattera dosage (as 54 is the max of concerta) and to no avail.
To address the topic of Maturity. I had asked his pysch if it was common for ADHD children to be immature. And the response I received relieved me. She said that it is common for children with ADHD to be a year or two immature for their age. NOT all children are, but there are enough to say it’s common. The good news is, They eventually catch up. (This explained a lot of what my son was doing)
due to him being on stimulant medication for 3 years we had his heart checked and blood work done… all tests came back normal for his age.
Today his pysch prescribed Vyvanse- tomorrow will be his first day…
the side effects that concern me are of course the seizures, and the jaw.
His current effects are no appetite (weighs 55.5), insomnia, and nose irritability (he messes with his nose until it bleeds).
He’s not an angry child, or aggressive (although he has his moments), he isn’t loud, and doesn’t really talk much- unless he’s not on the medication. He is also in behavior therapy.
So I will let you know how we do tomorrow.
Well day 1 is almost over and so far the only difference with this is..
HE WANTED TO EAT!!!
but, he was doubled over with stomach pain (could have been the dr pepper he snuck a drink of) two or three times.
I didn’t notice much difference- it’s about the same with the Concerta…
oh and to comment about the red dye- it’s in capsule form so the red dye could be in the capsule. His is blue and white…
I will give it a bit more and report back over the weekend.
My son stated taking it on Sunday by tuesday the teacher said that he will finsh his work and start doing his homework in class before the next class. Before he would not finsh his work or do homework.
I was diagnosed with add when I was 44 years old. I had known that something was different about the way my mind worked when I was 2 1/2 or 3. I loved being with the adults as a toddler and they would talk to me for hours about things. I aquired verbal skills at an early age. Life was happy and school was a breeze. My mom and I really never had a relationship, both our faults, she over induldged in etoh and I was the risk taking teen from the country.
I’m so glad I’m still alive!
Had trouble maintaining a relationship with a man. I am single now and not in any type of committed relationship with anyone on this side. I do and always have had a very close relationship with God. Many, many times there has only been one set of footprints in the sand.
When I was 44 I had to see a new internist because the one I had been seeing moved. On my first visit I had my short list to remind me of all I wanted to say and the sun was shining.
After 5 minutes with the doctor he asked me to sit down.
He came over to the exam table and took my hand in a very caring way. I had been an RN for over 20 years so I was keenly aware of his sincerity. He looked right into my eyes and said “either you forgot to take you medicine this morning or no one has ever told you” but the past 5 minutes have been a whirlwind of emotion and movement and incomplete sentences and unfinished explanations. “textbook add”. He told me he had done a fellowship in psych. after finishing his int. med. residecy. He sent me across town to a psychiatrist who worked with adult diagnosed patients. He had me do a reverse intervention with my family.
Okay everyone, tell me the good bad and ugly of growing up with me…….
Took the story back to him and he started me on 10 mg of dexadrine 4 times a day. My life woke up!!!!!
I was connected and so happy to now have a name for the secrets I had been keeping, hoping no one would notice I was SO different…
Started Vyvanse 6 months ago and it has even made things a lot tighter. My blood pressure is down. I eat now.
I have energy and I don’t have to take 15 mgs of dex. at bedtime just to hear the alarm. I LOVE IT. I just wish Shire would help with the cost of the drug. I only have problems if I take it after noon. It keeps me up till sunrise. I’m barely awake now but this is the first time I’ve come across this ??? blog??? Oh my am I posting a blog? Who cares, I have a happy life and my mind is mine again. I can stop myself from becoming so hyperfocused on things that I miss appts. food and sleep. I am dreaming for the first time in years and wow is that great. I would always forget to take the short acting dex. so my life was very up and down and I was getting sick of it. NO MORE. I am even thinking about the future and making long term plans. People seem like they enjoy being around me and have told me that I am different. “you aren’t so talky, you listen so much”. And by the way, no problems with 1 cup o’jo a day. I wish the best to all of us who dare to embrace this gifted brain chemistry. It just needs a little tweeking to keep some of us from drowning in self doubt and anxiety. The little demons that all ad/hd brains struggle with. You know what I mean….Vyvanse is just the tweek for me.
My son was diagnosed with adhd at the age of 5 and oppisitional defiant disorder after my dad passed away we have tried adderall concerta strattera and now vyvanse the adderall xr worked really well until he lost 30 pounds strattera did not touch his behavior and concerta wasnt enough this vyvanse is working at school but he sometimes looks like a zombie very emotional angry talks way to much and his little friend has the same diagnoses taking a lower miligram and now he is in the hospital because his heart isn’t working properly can this be from this medicaion and should i have his heart tested has anyone else had this problem it is scaring the hell out of me. he is always bored weather he is doing something or not. and as for me i have bipolar II and manic depressive disorder i get very angry and was taking seriqual 600 mg but it wasnt helping me i am scared to take lithium and alot of these medicines make me gain weight and i have already gained weight after 3 children my self esteem sucks and i get so moody with everything all the time I can’t function at work and come home and function because i am so tired. i still can’t energize my self to even do the normil house work. what should i do please email me if you have any advice shileyw@yahoo.com
Hey bill yeah i have had the same problems just not as extreme. You are not alone and when i stopped taking the drug all thoughts that dealt with sexuality went back to normal. Along with that i also have a constant voice that kinda seems to be rambiling all the time.Im not trying to knock vyvanse it is good i am focused when i take it for my add and adhd. But i beleieve the main reason i was put on vyvanse by my doctor was to stop my numerous other drug addictions. which it did help me with but although it helps me focus i beleive that this drug does not hit everything neededfor MY problems
My 10yr. old was perscribed vyvanese 50 mg. and has been on it since around Nov. The dr. started him on 30 and boosted, because of his size and weight. It was great for like 2-3 months especially in school with focas and general accademics. A couple weeks ago, he started to blink and the side of his face ticked a little, his attitude seemed to change, I had a horrible time at bedtime, and in the morning getting him up. The dr. told me to discontinue which I did. Yesterday morning I did not give him the med. By 2 oclock yesterday afternoon, his teacher emailed me asking me for help. He was making noises, no concentration (he had two tests, which he knew all the information) was actually acting kinda crazy, attitude was awful, etc. When he came home he was like he was still speeding! I actually gave him a half of a melatonin pill just to help him come down slowly. It was awful, he went to bed about 11Pm, woke up about 7Am, and so far it actually is not too bad. Had I known this med. could actually do this to my child I would never ever agree to even try it! Anyone else have a similar problem please let me know!!! Sue
Hi. I am a 25 yr old male. I have always been fairly certain I had adhd as I demonstrated all the classic symptoms. In the past couple years though I feel my symptoms and disorder have grown more severe, I failed my first college class last term and due to my extreme forgetfulness I have been getting trouble at work. I have discussed my concerns about my disorder with my manager, and she has been extremely patient with me but she can only be so patient for so long without taking disciplinary actions.
So finally I sought out psychiatric assistance with my disorder. On my first day he prescribed me vyvanse 30mg. I hesitated on taking the medication as I have heard about all the side effects out there from adhd medications, especially the new ones fresh out of trials. You could imagine my thought when my dr said “here try this new drug.”
A little background on my personality:
-forgetfulness
-very easily irritated
-I “tune out” often, not noticing when someone right next to me is speaking to me when we’re the only 2 people in that room
-extreme difficulty focusing
-fidgety
-I blank out sometimes in thought like a new sheet of paper in a word doc
-i’m a chubby man and I love food
So finally yesterday, I took the leap and took my first 30mg of vyvanse. My dr said I more than likely wouldnt notice anything for weeks. First day, I noticed, the good and the bad.
Approx 2 hours after taking it these are the behavioral differences i noticed:
-eagerness to complete tasks or supertask as another put it
-dehydration
-i mentioned I love to eat, I had an unnoticeable loss of appetite, my girlfriend brought me food on my lunch break at work and asked what I had prior, i said nothing and she said i must be hungry and i only then noticed i wasn’t. That was at a bit after 3pm and my day started @ 7am.
-felt highly energetic, somewhat jittery. It was as if I had consumed 3 large monster drinks or had a small late w/ 6 shots of espresso
Overall I guess I felt as though I was a really ambitious crackhead (no offense to drug addicts).
I will be keeping a very scrutaneous journal of my noticeable side effects and asked my girlfriend to keep a seperate one as well, just incase I develop anymore unnoticeable side effects.
A question I ask you if you’ve been on vyvanse for a longer period of time. Is it worth it? I will remain optimistic but will appreciate any feedback anyone has to offer good or bad.
Thanks!
Hi, I’m a 20-year old college student. I believe I exhibit symptoms of ADD. Two years ago, I began “self-prescribing” Adderall. The motivation and clarity I experienced was incredible. It also gave me a much more positive outlook in general, and I was able to enjoy things that had long since lost their luster. In short, miracle drug. Today, I came upon some Vyvanse 50mg capsules and decided to experiment. I ingested it about an hour and a half ago (the peak effects should be occurring now), and am starting to feel very detached, with a noticeable amount of tunnel vision. Also, (and I haven’t seen this side effect mentioned) I am FREEZING COLD! I do not feel focused and would not recommend Vyvanse to help with concentration.
Hey since my last post i quite using vyvanse i have been off it for three days now. I feel this medication needs a whole lot more imporvements.Since going off the voices in my head have started to diminish. I know vyvanse is supposed to help but it seemed to only affect me negatively the longer i took it. Before talking the pill yes i had slight mental problems but after months of taking it seemed to take those slight problems and increase them ten hold. This pill know that i think of it made me feel more high then anything.
I had been on Wellbrutrin 150m for mild depression (mostly I just don’t haver any motivation)and didnt really notice any difference. At 300m then 450m, I wasn’t able to sleep even though I was exhausted! I told my Doctor I was having problems with my short term memory loss. It is incredibly irritating to be in the middle of a story, get distracted and then not be able to remember what I have been talkinga bout. My Doc gave me a free trial offer of Vyvanse 30m, but after reading comments here, I don’t even want to start. My concentration seems ok. Has anyone else experienced any benefit with their memomy retention after taking this drug?
Vyvanse Success Story 4 Months and Going Strong
I have a 6 year-old son who diagnosed with ADHD in June of last year. It was his first year of Kindergarden. His teacher put up with him all year until she finally could not take his outrageous, disruptive behavior. She finally asked me to think about whether or not he had a problem with hyperactivity. I am glad that she asked. I knew my my son was a little hyperactive and needed one on one attention for him to focus, but I was in denial about his behavior until his Kindergarden graduation. The only way she would let him participate, was for me to attend. I had to take off work and he had to sit next to me throughout the whole program. He was so embarassed and sad. He finally told me, “Mommy, it’s not my fault. I try to behave.” I knew that his father had an Attention Deficit Disorder. So in June he went to behavior counsleling. And in October he saw a psychiatrist who put him on Vyvanse. It works for him. The only problem is he does have a lack of appetite in the morning, but his new teacher monitors him during lunch and he does it lunch. By the time he gets home from school he has his regular appetite back. I’ve watched him closely and it really helps my son. He is not high, or comotose, he is just calmer and more focussed. His grades went from C- and C’s to mostly B, B+’s and only one C+. His psychiatrist got his dosage right the first time. I am concerned with how they say extended use may have effects on his height. But, that’s a possibility not a reality, he keeps his regular appointments with his regular doctor to monitor that.
First off, please allow me to put forth that I have been on all these different pills since the 3rd grade. I would heavily suggest parents who have young children to not put their children on these medications so eagerly. Give them a chance to develope. I am not a medical professional, but a 7 year old seems too young for this. The brain developes at certain rates and certain time frames. People in general should be very cautious, i think, to avoid interupting proper developement of young minds. If all these kids life experiences and such are gained while they are on the medication, then their minds when not under the effect of medication are a world of part. The unmedicated mind has had none of the experiences of the medicated one, and doubtfully has any of the benifits of the experiences as a result.
I was on 90Mg of Adderal short acting a day. 70 mg of Vyvanse. Really in the end, for instances wherein i absolutely need to focus, forgoing all social qualities, then i take the meds. This is how I use them now, but i used to be on them all day every day. I regret it.
I am now 19 years old. The hardest thing for me is that i, unmedicated, had a great deal of trouble living up to the expectations i set for myself while on medication.
Do your kids a favor and do your best to help them to develope on their own, off of medication…
My 9 year was switched from Adderall to Vyvanes 2 days ago. He was prescribed 50mg. Day 1: woke him at 6:30 am gave him the pill, woke him again at 7:10 am for the day and it was a GREAT day. He was focused, happy, very adorable. He had a remarkable day at school. Only side effect is that he didn’t hardly eat (this was a mild side effect of aderrall) I was so hopeful.
Today day 2: horrible! Emotional at school, downright paranoid. They called me because he was terribly upset that I was in danger. He told the nurse & anyone who wold listen that his mom is in danger and she needs help, he started the day at school talking excessives, jittery and then just upset with paranoia. He also started grinding his teeth (we all thought he had mints).
I called the Dr (waiting for a call back) and I called Shire (waste of time). The more I read sounds like this could be an onset side effect or everlasting, yesterday was just so perfect.
I did give him Comtrex this morning for the 1st time. I’ll see what the Dr says.
More to come…
desparate
My son has been on this presciption for sometime during this school year. It became a disaster to find that it make my son aggresive and depressed. I took him off it recently to find it;s better not to have him on meds at all! He got so aggressive in school that he bit and scratched the teacher when he was crying for a long time. I’m not sure if it’s good for kids but I for sure know he will not be using it ever again. He has improved alot without it!
I’m a 27 yr. old female. I’ve been taking 30mg Vyvanse for about a month and a half now and while I do absolutely LOVE the drug, I am getting SO tired of the side effects…
About 2 or 3 days out of the week I am so nauseas, I feel like I’m pregnant (I’m not) and I also get super dizzy. I’ve noticed a huge loss in appetite to the degree where I can’t even look at food about 3 or 4 hours after I take the pill. I have to force myself to eat bread because thats the only thing I can tolerate. I’ve definitely lost weight..
The dry mouth is tolerable, but the nausea has just got to go. Its embarrassing… I’ve got to go to a 3 wk. long training for my new job and if I ever needed this pill, it would be then, to help me to focus… however, I don’t want to be sitting in class trying to talk myself out of throwing up!
Any suggestions? I am an avid coffee drinker… If I cut back, do you think that could help with the nausea? HELP!!!!!!!!!
I’m looking for feedback or comments on experience from those that suffer with and are treated for ADHD and Bipolar (Borderline Personality Disorder). First here’s a little history.
My husband is 50 and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder about 3 months ago. He also exhibits strong ADHD symptoms and has been diagnosed with that by more than one doctor. Also, because I live with him, I KNOW he has ADHD…I experience the daily affects of it from him, and me…I have it as well, just not as bad.
Since the Drs. started treating his bipolar, including medication and solid cognitive behavioral therapy, he has been making slow but steady progress with learning critical “lifeskills”…things such as being mindful of his emotions and thought processes during each day and learning how to capture those thoughts and feelings and replacing them with healthy ones that lead to sound decisions, rather than poor decisions that resulted from escalating negative thoughts and emotions. I’ve been thrilled because it’s the first solid progress I’ve seen with him in 8+ years of our marriage.
However, like all medications, there are side affects and the two most disconcerting ones for him are weight gain and continual drowsiness from the psychotic/mood drugs…different than the anti-depressants he’s been on.
After expressing his concerns to his Dr., the medications are changing. The anti-psychotic medicine (Seroquel) is stopping, the mood stabilizer drug is changing to Abilify, and an ADD medication (Vyvanse) is being added to the mix (even though I have read countless times that an ADD medication makes bipolar much worse). I do know that before the bipolar treatment was started AND he was on ADD meds at the same time, he was much worse off. I’m concerned.
Any personal experiences/comments or even professional/learned feedback would be most appreciated.
My son’s Doctor just switched him from Adderall XR to Vyvanse. On day one I did notice a little jawing, but noticed he seemed calmer and more able to concentrate. Going to be observant and keep an eye on him to see how he is progressing with this new medication.
I do have a comment from a post I read. Someone was stating how giving our children these types of drugs are such a quick fix and we would not give our dogs drugs that are hyper. I am extremely offended and aggravated with this comment. My son has ADHD (also daughter, husband and sister). I am in constant daily contact with his teachers at school through email, by phone and having face to face discussions regarding my son’s progress in school. Consistently watch what he eats and provide the proper, benefical structure enviroment. Without these medications he would not be able to concentrate, write neatly, control his impulsive nature and sit still. It does not end at his school performance, but it affects the quality of relationship that we have.
I am a psych major and have done numerous researches into providing the right type of environment for my children dealing with ADHD. I have implemented all the proper techniques, researched into these medications and I realize the potential side effects. It is unnerving to me that someone would basically state that this is a quick fix for parents and it would be better controlled with proper parenting and environment. Yes, this should not be the very first pathway and you do need to learn to control all aspects of life when dealing with ADHD, BUT having said that there are children out there who especially benefit from these medications and their quality of life, progress in education and daily life are benefited greatly by medications that help them to concentrate and focus. Without medication my son would not be able to perform in school.
I do not wish for my son to have this condition, but I do everything in my power to help him through this. My life is devoted to my children and with this I have went blue in the face with trying everything to help him, but there are some things that are beyond our control as parents— and having a child diagnosed with ADHD is one of them. It is a very uneducated, naive and ignorant comment to say that this is a quick fix or the parent’s fault and I am just utterly offended that someone would be so bold and ignorant to the true effects and implications of dealing with this condition as a parent. It seems to me that those who state these types of comments could use a little lesson in something called “research”.
I do not give my child a pill everyday and smile gleefully thinking that it has “fixed” everything. It is a consistent and daily practice to implement proper techniques in parenting and the environment to help him have the best start in life that he can possibly have.
This goes back to the stem debate of nature vs. nurture. The professional practices of many Doctors today realize that is it not one over the other, but rather a combination of the both. I do the best in my power to implement the best structured environment, but I cannot control his biological make-up; therefore, the advancement in these medications do benefit children with ADHD that need this type of medication to live the most fulfilled life that they can.
BEWARE! This drug is a nightmare! My son had previously been on Metadate, Strattera & Adderall with no change in his ADHD. It has been 2 years since he’s been on anything and I took him for a recheck after severely bad grades & behavior in school. His doctor prescribed 70 mgs. of Vyvanse to start (he’s 12). I gave him one at 5 p.m. to see how he’d react. 2 hours after taking it he was hysterically crying and talking uncontrollably. His heartrate went to 200/minute and his pupils were very dilated! I took him to the ER & the ER doctor said it was like he was on an acid trip from the 60’s, take him home, let him play video games and it would wear off in 4 hours. He hasn’t slept in over 28 hours & can’t even focus on video games! It was the scariest night of our lives and my son’s life! BEWARE!
My husband of 15 years is ADHD, he was diagnosed at 8 yrs old and took meds till he was 12 yrs old. He stopped taking them by hiding them in a house plant everyday, because he hated them. The doctors said he was doing so good and that the meds where working. Then his mom found the meds in the dying house plant. My husband said he just made the extra effort to controll himself because he hated the way the meds made him feel. Now our 8 yr old son has also been diagnosed with ADHD, and much to my husbands dismay we put him a low dose of Adderal XR and it made him sleepy and he hated it. Now the doctor wants to try 30mg of Vyvanse. After seeing my son feel so terrible on meds I called the doctor and cancelled the whole thing. We have our son in therapy, he does a daily behavior chart at school, I talk to the teacher every day, we take some school work home if he has not got it done in class, he does Cub Scouts, karate, and soccer in season. He strugles in social situations, over reacts, and at times refuses to cooperate. But he is also very bright, funny, artistic, athletic, interesting, full of life, and has a smile that lights up the room. A smile that I never saw when he was on the adderal. So I think I am going to spare him the years of experimenting with meds and doses and just take him for who he is the good and the bad and make the most of it! This realization makes me feel at peace, alot better than I feel giving him the meds and watching him change into a moldable zombie! The world needs to filled with all kinds of different, interesting, and dinamic people. And one will be my son unmedicated living life with the brain chemistry he was born with just my husband, who is at times difficult, but also briliant, inspiring, and interesting. Good luck to all on this journey….PS I know my spelling sucks 🙂 Kristy
I’ve been taking Vyvanse for a week now & I love it! I strongly recomend it to anyone with ADHD.
I am 27 years old and was diagnosed with ADHD last week. I started taking Vyvanse 4 days ago 30mg. The first two days two hours after taking it I felt “weird”. Kinda foggy almost hyper but at the same time I felt calm and focused! The last three days have been awesome! I don’t feel weird any more I do feel a slight energy kick about an hour after I take it but after that its smooth sailing! My mind is quiet if that makes any sense. I can focus and I am MUCH less irritable that I was before I started taking it. It lasts 12 hours for me. Before I started taking Vyvanse I was alway irratable,quick to anger, unorganized, could never finish ANYTHING! Because of that I was self medicating myself with week and alcohol. You know, to take the edge off of my day. Since day 2 of taking Vyvnase I haven’t wanted or needed either alcohol or weed! I LOVE IT! I feel normal!!! I have gotten so much in the the last three days its incredible! I would recommend any adult with ADHD to try this drug. If you don’t get any of the side affects it works wonders!!! Now, me personally I have a 7 year old daughter that I’m pretty sure has ADD but I am not comfortable putting her on any medication for it since no one knows the long term affects.
Im 16 and just got some adderall from one of my friends… I have not been diagnosed with ADHD but I often do have trouble focusing on my homework, especially long tasks such as papers. Tonight for the first time I took 60mg of Adderall XR and I feel so good; I feel motivated and productive. I have more energy and feel encouraged to do my schoolwork. I often use marijuana as a way to relieve the stress placed on me by my private college-prep school, but right now on this Adderall I feel no stress, just eagerness to do my schoolwork. Before I took the Adderall I did a good amount of research to make sure I knew what I was taking.
My friend also gave me one Vyvanse, I plan to try that this Saturday to see how it makes me feel. My buddy said when he takes it he feels super-motivated, more so than on the Adderall. The other night he took one and stayed up all night. He took one 50mg pill at 7 o’clock at night and he said he felt it until 12:00 am the next day. During the 17 hours he was awake he read a Kurt Vonnagut book and got halfway through a second, only taking breaks to lift some weights and go to the bathroom. With my minimal experience these seem to be miracle drugs.
I often wonder how the over-achievers at my school do the amount of work they do. I get good grades (mostly in the A- B+ range) although I do not take any AP’s. I get most of my work done, but all of my papers are written at 2am the night before they are due. I’m going to go to my doctor to try to get a prescription for one of these ADHD drugs. I couldn’t be more excited, I have always wanted to feel this ambitious about my schoolwork.
… Maybe I do have ADHD after all. I plan to ask my Mom to schedual an appointment with a psychiatrist so I can be evaulated. I always had a suspicion that my procrastinating wasn’t due to me being lazy. Well I feel motivated to find out now.
I’ll keep everyone posted on my experience with these drugs, so far I couldn’t be happier.
how about we dont give any non adults this stuff its still so new how could anyone want to give thier kid amphetamine that lasts 12 hours please dont give your kids this medication.
I had lived a life of hell for all of my 45years. I spent most of 1st grade in the hallway was constantly being called down was abused at home by both parents. Whenever I got into trouble at school for talking or bad grades I would be pulverized by my father both physically and mentally. My face was always bloody as were my legs and rear. The teachers told my parents that I was real smart but talked too much and didn’t apply myself. Imagine the effect on my self esteem…what was that. I was never picked during PE for teams and would be “awarded” to a team by the PE teacher. I really felt pretty bad. I was unable to read. I don’t mean I didn’t learn, I was not able to learn! This spilled over into everything else in school which meant C’s,D’s,& the all too familiar F. Lickily my Marine Corps father was transferred every two years so by the time people got to know who I was we would move, then I would be the new guy. The mouth , out of control, ruled my life. Somehow, I made it through HS, College, & Graduate School (Hormones helped at age 13yrs.)I met a lovely woman, married her and we had two children both of whom were more that stellar in school. Then in 1993 my daughter was found comatose from an overdose of alcohol, my marriage was “on the rocks” and about the only thing I had going for me was a very successful practice(no wonder- I saw something new every 30min.)Family therapy resulted in intense care for my daughter and a session which ended with everyone,including the therapist, looking at me and saying “You need HELP”. That marked the beginning of an ongoing saga of talk therapy (you can only take so much of that-it wears you down) and medication. My first physiciatrist wasn’t very skilled in dealing with adults in my situation so we just tried everything known to man and watched what happened. I will say with out any reservation that the one medication that has literally SAVED MY LIFE is Ritalin. I now take the Max.dose of Concerta(72mg.) which somehow gives me a 2-3sec. buffer on what is coming out of my mouth and allows me to decide if what I am about to say is appropriate. Funny thing, I try to take it at the same time daily.. so on weekends I arize early and take it then go back to sleep for an hour or two or three. It always calms me completely down. Naturally 85% of people with ADHD have co-morbid syndromes so I have my share: OCD, Bipolar II, depression, Asbergers, and a few other Autism spectrum spices in my life. I take quite a few meds. daily but I really don’t mind because I am really quite calm and assured. Perhaps the greatest diagnostic gift was the dx. of Autism spectrum. What a relief! All that time I thought it was something I had done or said. Now I know that it isn’t my fault I am, to quote one of my patients, quirky. My advice to parents: help your children be all they can be. If it is with modern medications then so be it. Why let them languish as I did throughout most of my life. The only thing that got me through was, as most of us who have ADHD & Autism spectrum know, a really keen intellect. One of my post-doctoral fellows commented to me once that I had a photographic memory, just as did one of my medical colleagues. I don’t know about that but what I do know is that without my medications I would feel much worse about myself than I still do. Now it is bearable.
Don’t give up!
i have a son 10 years old with adhd he is taking vyvanse .,so far he has been expelled from school 3 times already and his doctor visits are no susccess either ,his doctor instead of having a one on one with him to really find out whats going on ,he just looks at my son up and down , make these little remaks and write his prescription, i told him why so different kinds of medications, he has been through it, adderall, concerta, ritalin, he even has to take medicine to sleep at night , i told his doctor that it made me feel like they were using my son as a guinea-pig ,he respond, well, you want him to stay in school and out of jail dont you , i tell you he really pissed me off , please tell me who can i talk to or report this doctor to. he is suppose to help my child not critisize him
I’m eighteen.
“thinkaboutit” is right. I could lay out my personal story here, but I highly doubt that it would spark any interest.
Essentially, I’m addicted to Vyvanse.. much more psychologically than physically.
I’ve been searching the internet for a while to find some type of clarity behind this PHENOMENON, but I haven’t been able to find anything to relate to thus far.
Really, no offense to anybody. I do not have ADHD so I haven’t experienced this drug as treatment (I was prescribed 60 mg to keep from slakin’ in school).
I am 15 and abused the 20mg Adderall IR during finals, and through a friend with narcolepsy received about hundred, and used them in about a week and a half. They helped me so much, but the addictive aspect fo the drug led me abuse them, therefor decreasing the therapeutic effect and just increases the euphoria. I was honest with my doctor and told her how much this helped me when i took them the correct way, and she was ready to prescribe me Adderall when she asked if i wanted to try Vyvanse, and my mom and I said ok. I took it for the first time yesterday and let me say this is no where near Adderall. I took the lowest dose of 30mg, and for two hours i was sweating profusely, and my hands were shaking like crazy. Then it was if a switch was pulled and after the first two hours i ws like a zombie, no motivation whatsoever, and i didn’t talk to anyone and I am usually very sociable. Also i noticed it last all of about 6 hours, 6 hours shy of what the manufactures promise. I took it again today, and honestly felt like shit, did not eve have the good 2 hours. Also i might add that i experienced a little less appetite on Adderall, but on Vyvanse i ate one muffin and 3 bottles of water in two days. My mom is calling my doctor to get a 20mgxr for the morning and a 10mg IR after school if needed. I hope Vyvanse will work for some, but for me it was hell.
My 10 daughter was put on Adderal XR about 2 years ago and it work great until this school year. In November we took her off of it because it wasn’t getting her through the day. The doctor put her on vyvance and the experience has been terrible. In December her doctor added in Zoloft because her moods were so bad. This made it even worse she is spacey, uncontrollable, hiding things, lieing,rude, not sleeping, studdering, crying, yelling and has had to be removed from class because she is completely out of control. I took her to see the doctor with a whole stack of proof failing grades and notes from the school. The result we got when there was the the medication had cause her to become manic, she is completely out of her mind. Tomorrow she will start back on Adderall XR 20mg in morning and another at 12 noon. She will also be taking clonidine at night which really worked for her before for sleep. My family is completely torn apart by this and it is very hard to function from day to day so hopefully this works.
A little history. I have a wonderfully vivacious son, who is always smiling, laughing and enjoying every minute of life he can…except when he is getting into trouble for talking to much, hitting, walking around the classroom when he supposed to be sitting, not listing to his coaches and otherwise fooling around way to much. My wife and I have noticed this type of behavior since age 2, he’s now 8. My wife has a aversion to any kind of medication. We tried bio-neuro feedback for about a year using “Smart Brain Games” and our Play Station. It worked fairly well with no adverse medical side effects. However, it is inconvenient to run it for a 1/2 hour, every other day, forever. The equipmenet broke down about 1 month ago and his behavior deteriorated rapidly. Notes started coming home from school about his behavior and failing school work. The straw that broke the camel’s back was a call this past Tues. that he punched two other kids in the face in 2 separate incidents within 10 minutes of each other before classes even started. *sigh* So I went to his pediatrician who diagnosed him as ADD – Inattentive type over a year ago and he prescribed 30mg VyVanse. My son reacted beutifully to it…at first. He was focused, read a book, did some complex math problems, followed every request (clean your room without having to specify what that meant). He also experienced some side effects during the day. Fastidiousness to what I might classify as obsessive compulsive disorder. His room was immaculately perfect, including his clothes drawers. He emptied the dishwasher and completely reorganized the silver ware drawer. He was also the most polite I have ever seen him. As the medicine wore off after about 10 hrs, it was very noticable. He was a motor mouth once more. His appetite diminished. He couldn’t sleep. I gave up at 11:00 pm trying to get him to sleep (normally he goes to bed at 8:30 pm) and this was after basketball and swimming practices that day. *sigh* We are talking to the Dr. today to go in a new direction. BTW, since my son was diagnosed, I too have been diagnosed with ADD-inattentive type (the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree). I’m on 15mg Adderral XR and it’s abit too strong (insomnia), so I’ve cut back to 10mg. However, it is wonderful. I’ve never been so focused, so calm, and so clear headed in my life. The earlier post regarding the gentlemen with the keen intellect who was never picked for gym class, had difficulty in school, etc. We are two peas in a pod. May God help all you who or who have loved ones who are carrying this cross. Just recognize that with the burdens of ADD, there are many benefits to it (creativity, intuition, and thinking outside the box to name a few).
I am a 48 yr-old man, and after coming to the “end of my rope” in my life, sought out medical, then psychiatric help, and was diagnosed ADHD. This was 4 & a half months ago. Psychiatrist prescribed Vyvanse, 30 MG. After telling the Dr that I did not want any drugs, just cognitive therapy , I did agree to try the medicine. My life was in crisis, and I needed to make changes and heed the Drs professional advice. Years of losing good jobs, financial disasters, marital problems (one divorce, one strained marriage) were what drove me to seek help. After three days on Vyvanse, my family, friends and coworkers noticed a HUGE IMPROVEMENT in my behavior. Side effect of dry mouth still comes and goes. Sleeplessness not a problem IF Vyvanse taken early in the morning. Loss of appetite is a real surprise. I lost 20 pounds, and just did not want to eat for a month. Forced myself to eat. The 30mg dosage lost efficacy in about two weeks…Dr upped it to 50mg…still not as effective as the first few days on 30mg….So, now Dr Rx me at 70mg, and I start that tomorrow. Even though my ultimate goal is to be medication-free, I will not discontinue the Vyvanse without a Drs advice. My wife would leave me if I showed signs of slipping back into my old behavior of financial stupidity, job loss, inability to complete tasks, tardiness, procrastination, etc. I do also get cognitive therapy for myself, as well as couples marriage counseling, and these have helped tremendously. No way would I take a behaviour-altering pill without being held accountable by a mental health professional.
I do have high blood pressure readings at the moment…not sure if from the Vyvanse, or stress, or both. Dr said to watch that carefully. I do pray for the day that I can stop the pills, and use all that God is teaching me, through this time of learning and healing, and be totally medicine-free.
PS: Coffee and Vyvanse DO NOT mix !
(In my experience, caffeine of any kind and Vyvanse DO NOT mix.)
Praying for all on this post,
JAMES
I have just been diagnosed with ADHD, and I am a 19 year old college student. After going through highschool with all of the symptoms of ADD I finally convinced my mom to make an appoitment to be tested. I figured atleast i should know why I can not focus on anything, procrastonate, and can not read a book and understand what I read. I took the test and was found to have ADHD with out much of the hyperactivity. In highschool I did fine with busy work, but I could not pass a test no matter how much I studied. This kept me in trouble with my mom because my grades were not up to par. I go by in high school because so much of my grades depended on busy work. Once I got to college my world spiraled out of control. I could not study in my dorm because I would soon find myself out of my room and in the conversation in the other room. I would sit and try to study for tests, only to not understand anything. I was over orginized physically, but mentally I could not orginize anything. I was perscriben 30 milligrams of Vyvanse, and after taking it for a week I went up to 50 milligrams. For the first time in my life I felt like the clouds parted and I knew what I had to do. My grades are amazing now because I can sit down and get my studying done. I am glad that my mom decided not to put me on medication as a child because I was getting by. It was my choice to go on the meds, and it has truly changed my life. I am not opposed to parents putting their children on ADHD medication when it is needed. I am studying to be a teacher, and understand how hard it is to be a student suffering with ADHD. I love the fact that you can take this medication only when you need it because on the weekends I can be my crazy self. I do not think that it has changed my personallity, it has although made me more focused. I also play college softball, and I find that it helps me to concentrate more on the game. I find that these meds do have different side effects on different people. For me all it does is suppress my appetite. I have to force myself to eat lunch otherwise I tend to get really weak. I also seem to get really worried about small things, but I do force myself to relax. I just want people to know that in some people this suff really does work. Its not always a horror story. Good luck to all living with with ADHD!!!!
I have a 7 year old son who was officially diagnosed with ADHD 2 weeks ago. I say officially because I have felt he was extremely hyper since he was 2 to 3 years old, but have attributed his hyperactivity to “he’s a boy (I have 2 older daughters), he’s young, he’s a busy body” and so on. When he was in daycare he had a behavioral chart. He often had outbursts and would sometimes lash out at other kids. We got through that part and then he would not listen. I told the director he was bored, therefore not attentive. Medication was referenced and I could have literally “slap her” for even suggesting that I medicate my child. That was absolutely out of the question. She finally listened and moved him into the 4-year old group (he was 3…almost 4). He did extremely well and I felt it was because he was learning something new and I also felt the the teacher made a difference (more stern than the prior). He still had his busy days. In Pre-K, he started out fine, but his behavior was always an issue. Again, I felt he was bored and he actually was. The teacher told me in October, he knew everything he needed to know to graduate from Pre-K….school didn’t end until the beginning of June. He became a helper in school and the teacher allowed him to read to the class during storytime, which he loved, or gave him more challenging work to do. It lasted for a little while before he was back to being disruptive, not listening or following directions. Kindergarten, 1st grade and now 2nd grade, my son has a behavior chart. It Kindergarten it was broken down to 2 parts, morning and afternoon. 1st grade… all the main classes. Second…for every class he has including recess. He was becoming so disruptive that his behavior chart was written on the back and at times a separate letter. We were getting calls from the school. I’ve gotten e-mails from a parent about my son bullying hers. The teacher informed us that some parents do not want their children to be paired with mine….kids do not want to be in the same group and so on.
I even asked the teacher if she felt that he exhibited symptons of ADHD and she said no. Several weeks after I asked her that, we had a conference at school for behavior, again, and she gave me a book on ADHD which another parent had given to her about their child. I read the entire book within 1 1/2 day and as I had already been researching information on ADHD, I saw many of the behaviors displayed by my own child.
We were diligently working on his behavior at home, changing his diet seemingly to no avail. My son is a bright student, in a gifted school, but now he was no longer working in class. He would play with things in his desk (which was separated from the other students), daydream and just not focus. He still understood the work, but made careless errors. We often had work sent home so that he could complete it. After trying to get him to focus and having an extremely hard time at home, we scheduled an appointment with his pediatrician.
During that meeting I told her medication was a last resort and she explained how it may actually help him. I was still adamant about no drugs. After another month went by, and he no longer rides the school bus because he would not stay in his seat (very dangerous), working with him at home and taking 4 hours to answer 5 questions, and seeing the struggle he was having just to concentrate, we changed our minds.
He started taking Vyvanse on March 6th here are the results:
Day 1: Approximately 45 minutes after taking the 30 mg pill, I noticed a rather quiet, calm boy…needless to say I was worried. We started it on a school day because I didn’t think it would have an effect until a couple of days. We informed the teacher that morning that he had started medication and wanted a report on how he was throughout the day. He was rather emotional, crying easily and he hid under the stairs and recess. Nonetheless, he wasn’t climbing over her desk, walking around the classroom or being disruptive. When he got home, he said his stomach was a little upset (I also gave him Miralax) the night before so I was sure which one was causing the stomachache. Other than that, he was rather quiet.
Day 2 – current: He is extremely focused. Gets his work done in class. Well behaved. Handwriting has improved tremendously. His desk turned back around (with the opening to him)and is moved back with the group. Even fact, he is even sitting between 2 people. His behavior chart contains nothing but smiley faces. We’re even talking about the need for a chart. The update last week was extremely glowing. He has gone from being one of th worst to almost the best kid in class. At home, I don’t have to constantly repeat things to him and he actually gets his homework done in a timely manner with such conciseness.
I can go on and on (as if I haven’t already), but it has been a BIG PLUS for us…non-medicating parents. He is on the 30mg and the pediatrician wrote and prescription for the 50 mg. Since he will run out before we see her again, I will call for a 30mg prescription. I don’t see the need for 50mg and hopefully will not. We will continue to monitor him on a daily basis, but I can truly say IT HAS HELPED MY SON.
For all of those “do not medicate my child” parents, I was there.
God bless to all who are struggling with kids with ADD or ADHD or whatever disorder.
my som is hiper active kid n i want to try it to see if it works first then i will leave a comment.
To comment on Lucille..my son is doing everything your son is/has done. He’s also 7. My husband and I are also like you. We are/were against medication. We’ve tried everything to help him. He really needs help. So we went to the doctor on Fri. He was diagnosed with ADHD (3/21/08) and she prescribed him Vyvanse 30mg. I gave it to my son on Sat. morning. Within an hour he was complaining on his legs being weak, his heart beating fast, left arm hurting, blurred vision, wouldn’t stop talking, very emotional, (cried alot)wasn’t hungry, felt tingles all over his body, and his face felt like it was frowning (his discription). We called the after hours nurse and was told to rush him to the ER. On the way there he was feeling better.
Needless to say we didn’t take him. His heart was normal. I put another call in to the doctor’s office this morning and I’m waiting on a call back. Every side effect that was listed, he basically had. Now my husband doesn’t EVER want to try another drug again. It’s so scary. Not sure what to do. It’s a struggle and I want what’s best for him. I feel helpless. Any suggestions?
The issues that your son had at school my son has had for a while. Nobody wants to be his friend, not able to keep things at his desk, etc…
My son was trying Vyvanse, a new drug manufactured by Shire and, I as the parent, was participating in a survey as to the effectiveness of the medication. Parents were encouraged to participate in the two part survey by the company through an incentive of a free 30 day prescription. After two weeks if they continued to participate they would receive $25 coupon for their next prescription. That’s great if you child is going to continue on the medication, but if there was an adverse response (like my child had experienced) there was no incentive to complete the two week follow-up. What a great design! Give incentive only to those who are having a positive response to the medication!
As a nurse I thought it was important to share my son’s experience. I called the pharmaceutical company and (a federally mandated ) adverse response report was taken by a nurse. When I commented on the design flaw she referred me to customer service and connected me. Without hearing my comments the customer service representative told me to put it in writing. I informed her that if there was no one to speak with and I was required to to put it in writing to get any attention then I would be sending the comments to newspapers. She said that would be fine! Executives at Shire apparently don’t want to speak with me.
Why does the FDA allow this type of design?
I would like to add to my previous post:
After reading all the person testimonies describing both positive and negative experiences with this medication I urge all who have had an adverse reaction to contact the company, Shire, 1-800- 828-2088. They are required to take a report. You will speak with a nurse who will ask questions including what other medications you or your child was taking with the vyvanse. We can be assured that they will be collecting data regarding those individuals who have been helped, but they also need to have included the full range of experiences and reactions to the medication.
My son was like a zombie, he did stay in his seat, complete his work and refrained from calling out during class. His teacher called and said that she wanted the ‘old kid with the sparkle in his eye back’ she was very concerned calling me at home in the middle of the day to let me know how worried she was.
I’m glad the medication has been helpful to others and am not suggesting a recall or anything of that nature, but we can’t make it easy for companies to overlook the range of effects that this or any medication has.
Thank you all for sharing your stories!
My sixteen year old son was switched from concerta to vyvanse. during the next four weeks we saw a drop in grades, irrational mood swings, and increasing aggression. his behavior continued to escalate, culminating in a physical confrontation with me which has never happened before. Needless to say we switched back to concerta and his behavior has returned to normal.
I have been on Vyvanse for about 6 months now for my ADD. I was 14 when I started taking 20mg, and am currently 15 taking 50mg. During my first day- I had the most incredible experience. My mind was clear, my concentration was great, and I felt like a new person. The only downer was I felt a bit Obsessive Compulsive. The next day I had pretty much the same feeling, only on a much smaller scale, and without the OCD. After that I felt normal- but I kept the great concentration. A few weeks later though my hands started to shake. Very gently and mildly for the most part, nothing too bothersome. Then my ADD started to come back- something about the liver breaking it down better. We upped the dose to 30mg. I didn’t get the super- cool reaction like the first time, but I could do my school work again. A few days later my hands got worse, it was just barely to the point where painting would become difficult. Very recently I realized I wasn’t doing as well in school, so my last visit we brought it up to 50mg. Now I find it very difficult to sit still- which was never a problem before. Mostly I just shake my legs (meaning I put the ball of my foot on the floor while the rest of my foot and lower leg move rapidly up and down). And now my hands have started to shake like crazy during the best few hours of the pill. It took me a few days to learn how to type with my new effect. Also when I was on lower dosages, my hands stopped shaking or at least would become extremely minor. I don’t mind it too much- it doesn’t really bother me at all- it just occasionally gets on my nerves. That’s pretty much the extent of that issue.
So besides the shaking: Vyvanse gave me no side effects, & has really changed my life for the better. I preform better than I have since 3rd grade in all my classes & I see no reason why anyone should be afraid to try this drug if they or their doctor feels the individual needs the help.
To “RICH” if your son is ever having the jaw symptoms, biting in the air, or any other spasmodic side effects, you should stop giving him thae medicine that is causing that and give him a benadryl 25 mgm tablet as long as he is not allergic to it, and get hiom to an emergency room asap. These symptoms are dangerous. Then take him to his psychiatrist and tell him what happened – or the E.R. may do so for you. I have read that there is atendency for doctors to prescibe doses that may be too high so it is wise to test a dose at a lower level to begin with, to see if it has any adverse effects, and also to see if the patient even needs to move to a stronger dose. Let the doctor know if you decide to stay at the half-dose level.
I am not sure if i have ADHD or not, but I have had trouble concentrating and doing school work for years so i figured since i see a dr for bi polar and depression to give one of the adhd meds a try. He ended up asking me what one i wanted and i went with Vyvanse because i could get the first month free and i didn’t want to say adderall for the fear he would think i’m using them to get high. I only took it 2 times but the first time i took 100 mg. And wow.. it was pretty much the same as the time i took adderall but i started hallucinating(dont feel like looking that word up) anyways i kept seeing shit flying around my room… it kepts changing from bird to moth and after a while i just pretended it was fairies and my curtains appeared to be waving in the wind even though the window was shut. over all though it helped me get my homework done the only thing i didn’t like was not being able to eat or sleep for 2 days.
My 16 year old daughter has been on Vyvance now for 2 weeks. She started out on 50 mg and then we were told to raise it to the 70 mg after the first seven days. I thought maybe that was because of her weight, but really not sure why the Dr. had us do that before her two week check up. Anywho, she too has had the side effects such as stomach ache, no appetite, weight loss and also the hand shakes as Haley March 28th noted. She had previously taken Concerta, but had stopped when she was 14 years old because she started throwing them away and didn’t want to take them anymore. With that medication she did not have any noticeable side effects, but was very thin. When she stopped taking it she gained about 20 pounds within a couple of months.
We had to put her back on meds due to her very bad behavior problems and also the ADHD. I have witnessed her anxiousness has come to a halt and the first two days she took the 50 mg pills she sat and completed a 3d puzzle with little help (spring break from school). Big change for her. Even though she is ADHD she is very lazy, and still is, but her mind has slowed down enough that she actually thinks before she acts and speaks. My husband and I have caught her twice trying to throw away her pills again (she also takes trazadone for sleeping) and I think it’s due to her not wanting to sleep as well as she has been. One of her reasons for staying in trouble was because she was getting up in the middle of the night and calling MEN that were too old for her and she knew she wasn’t supposed to be talking with them but really like the attention she was getting from them.
We feel the Vyvance, other than the a few side effects that have almost subsided now, has been great for her and us. The only thing that scares me is the long term effect and what happens when her body becomes immune to it. I do know that if we don’t give her the meds now to learn as a child right from wrong and how to deal with life issues she won’t make it as a productive adult. I wish I had all the answers or could wiggle my nose and make this particular issue go away, but as you all know that will never happen. I am thankful there are doctors out there that actually recognize the ADHD and behavioral problems do exist and that it’s not always because the parents aren’t doing their jobs. We have a very secure, loving family, but that doesn’t always mean you will have kids that act like you want them too or make the right decisions.
My daughter after having been on several medications that kind of helped has been taking Vyvanse for just three days and she is like a totatlly new person. SHe is happy and calm and more focaused than she has been in a very long time . She is hearing praise from many people daily which is giving her self esteem a wonderful boost too. I am very excited to see what our future with Vyvanse is going to bring!!
pardon the typoes in my last note. I felt after posting that I had more to say. Rachael and I have been through a lot, trying to get her at a functional place. I read a coment from someone on this site about Vyvanse being used in place of family therapy or parent training. This may be the case with some families but not the majority I am sure. PLease , if anyone is thinking about whether this drug could help their child , it is worth a try believe me!!
For all of the parents reading on here and posting, I reccomend you check out some books on ADHD. Not the ones that make you feel guilty for putting your kids on drugs, and not the ones that force you to drug your kids. EDUCATIONAL REFERENCE COLLEGE GRADE BOOKS.
Do some research into some of the other psychological disorders that are diagnosed in childhood and adolescence:
Disruptive Behavior Disorders
Conduct Disorder
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
They’re all real disorders like ADHD.
Kaplan & Sadock’s Pocket Handbook of Clinical Psychiatry Third Edition can give you a perspective straight from the DSM-IV-TR, the manual used to diagnose the disorders and examples of treatment.
If you don’t have ADHD, you shouldn’t be on Vyvanse.
All drugs work differently depending on the way that peoples’ brains are individually wired… So if your brain doesn’t work at the speeded pace of people who have been diagnosed with ADHD, then any drug (like Vyvanse) which contains Amphetamine will wire you up and does the same kinda shit in your head that any other hardcore stimulant creates; Which is the reason that Vyvanse, Dexedrine, Adderall, and etc. all earned Schedule II warnings.
Vyvanse is just as addictive as Dexedrine if you do not have ADHD (or if you’ve been misdiagnosed). Essentially… if this drug speeds you up and makes you feel good, you should stop now. However, if it gives you a calm sorta focus (a break from the fast-paced mayhem of ADHD/ADD), then good for you.
(Long Term affects are a little scarey. Always a good idea to find a different alternative if possible to Amphetamines.)
this pill made my whole body numb and i felt so weaak and could not stand if your taking this if this happens drink orange juce it will kill the pill very fast
I am 16 and prescribed 30mg of Vyvanse for ADHD and I believe most of you don’t even know what you are talking about.
This is my fifth day on Vyvanse and I have noticed a huge improvement with my focus and a decrease in my hyper-activity.
the side effects are still there and anyone can notice the more common ones such as the lack of appetite and for me, Insomnia.
I have been awake for thirty-five hours and thirty-eight minutes.
but I can live with it.
If you all want some perfect pill to fix all your problems then you arn’t going to find it, and Vyvance is the closest to that. Stop complaining about every little thing and demanding a better version with less side effects, Because thats what this is, an improved version of aderall
I have a 16 year old son that was diagnosed with severe depression, ADHD, and ODD. Hes been in and out of hospitals because of his conditions.
Hes been on ALL diffenent meds, so his doctor prescribes Vyvance, it was a free trial for a month. He loved it, it worked real well for him. But the next month, e go back to the doctors to find that our insurance company won’t pay for Vyvance. My son BEGS the doctor for it everytime we go there. My son has been so out of control, please help, if you know of where we can purchase Vyvance cheaper please let us know…
My son was given Vyvance a week ago and his grades have shot up and he loves the way the med helps him focus. i see no bad side effects … at least with my son.
My son is 6 years old and we started him on Vyvanse 30 mg 4 months ago. We tried to deny that he had ADD for 3 years, but school was getting to be more and more of a problem. He used to have no ability to focus (even when it was something he LOVED). Positive reinforcement such as getting rewards and negative reinforcement (taking away playdates, toys) did nothing. He has always been a sweet, sensitive, thoughtful kid. It was a very difficult decision to make because we did not have the usual behavior problems. Once his inattention really started to affect school, we admitted we needed to do something. First we started Omega 3’s and he began seeing a chiropractor 3x/week. After a few months, there was no noticeable improvement. Finally we decided to “trial” Vyvanse. We chose this b/c we could mix it in with pudding. He will NOT swallow a pill no matter how much we try. The negative side effects have been: difficulty falling asleep, decreased appetite, some mouth movements, and occassional tearfulness/anxiety. The positives have been a COMPLETE change in school! He can focus on his work and is very proud of his accomplishments. For us, it seems clear he needs to have the medicine to function in school. What I wonder is, do we need to use it on weekends/summer? I have learned to deal with his inattentiveness. As I mentioned before, he is a sweet kid, but it sometimes takes him 30 minutes to get dressed. I am very relaxed and don’t get upset by his ‘lollygagging ways’. I just wonder if it wreaks havoc on their system to stop/start meds. If not, I would choose to only use it for school or situations where he needs to focus. Does anyone ever go on medication vacation?
I have a question for all of you out there. Although I don’t believe in medicating children unnecessarily with drugs that are dangerous enough to have required a lot of jail time if bought or sold on the street some years ago, it seems there are behavior patterns in children that are helped by taking these drugs.
When I was in grade school (quite a number of years ago) I remember maybe a child (possibly two?) in my class who exhibited similar behaviors–but here’s the rub. I certainly don’t remember half the classroom being that way.
The ADD/ADHD diagnosis has now been used for millions of children–why? What has changed over the last 50 years? If you’re of “baby boomer” age try remembering back to when you were in grade school. Was this a rampant problem then? I’ve asked any number of people this question, and no one has said yes.
So what exactly has changed? Why are so many children being diagnosed with this behavior? Is some alien race zapping the brains of our children, changing the neurology of their brains? Or could it be–in some, most, or all of the cases–poor diet, lack of certain nutrients, air pollution, allergies, or numerous other causes rather than neurological? Or could some of it be as simple as drug company greed an over-enthusiastic doctors wanting to climb on the ADD/ADHD bandwagon?
I’m by no means saying ADD/ADHD behaviors do not exist. I’m just questioning how we can simply accept that so many, many children in this country have neurological disorders which have only appeared (and I don’t mean “recognized”–again, think back to your school days)in greater and greater numbers over the past several decades. We medicate millions more children than any other country–is this a “disease” unique to the United States? Drs. say that children with ADD/ADHD are more creative, more intelligent–so why doesn’t that show up in high school test scores? We currently rank something like no. 20 around the world–yet we have millions of children who are labeled as being really creative and intelligent? (Oxymoron comes to mind here.)
Is it fair to our children to simply be “medicating” these behaviors considering the limited testing they’ve done on these drugs? (Ritalin has been on the market 50 years and they still don’t know long term effects–how long does it take?) Or should we demand that the medical community find the real cause of this so-called “neurological” epidemic?
I know it’s much easier to just pop a pill–I’m guilty of that myself. But if “speed” is dangerous enough to be illegal, is it really safe to give to our children just because it’s pharmaceutical? Once these drugs are on the market the testing stops, folks–no long term studies, nothing to tell us how these drugs affect our children in the long term, no studies to tell us what is causing this rampant problem, no studies to tell us what natural alternatives might help.
We’ve become a nation dependent on solving all our problems by popping a pill and now we’ve extended that addiction to our children. Shame on us.
I’m on Vyvanse and my insurance wouldn’t cover it. They wanted me to try cheaper generic alternatives for ADHD. They did the same thing before for Adderall XR.
My doctor called my insurance and told them i tried other options and they didnt work. They covered both.
Talk to your doctor and insurance company and see if you just need doctor authorization.
In response to Laurie April 13th.
Laurie, I am one of those parents who have had to put my oldest child on these medications since she was 5 years old, and I have two younger children who are nothing like her and have never taken anything for ADHD or behavior problems.
I have ideas as to why our children of today have these types of problems, but no answers as to why the problems even exist. I feel it can be hereditary and I also feel it’s due to the society of today. Back when we were in school we were probably more disciplined in and out of school and sent outside to play instead of being stuck inside with video games because we fear kidnappers, rapists and murderers. Parents today are more of a pushover when it comes to their kids and discipline from them and teachers, and I would also say most families have two working parents so the kids are shuffled around to daycare and sitters or home alone and not getting to spend a lot of time with either of them. How we spend our time with and without our kids affects them more than is acknowledged, but kids really don’t know how to express this and most of the time act out. I was lucky enough to find a job so I could be home before my kids get off the bus in the afternoon and I get to spend a couple of hours working on homework with them before I have to start dinner and housework. My husband as even told me he likes me more since taking this job – that I treat him and the kids better. My oldest has some problems because her father and his side of the family (my ex-husband) have nothing to do with her anymore. I have talked with them about this, but they don’t want to hear how their actions affect her behavior. I’m not blaming them, but they sure haven’t done anything to help us with her. My husband now of almost 14 years has helped raise her since she was 14 months old and you couldn’t ask for a better father, but it’s not enough for her. She wants her real dad in her life and because he isn’t there for her she puts us through hell trying to fix something we have no control over. I know all families have their own unique situations, and I’m sure it works great for most families. We have to work today simply because the cost of living is killing us, but we also need to prepare our kids for our future when they are keeping this world running. Not showing them they are the most important part of our lives is the wrong thing to do and that’s what her biological father is doing.
I feel that today’s food even affects our neurological growth, along with pollution and all the electrical energy running through the air. There are so many possibilities as to what it could be causing this. I get angry when I stop and think about it long enough, but who am I? What can I do to change anything? I am as guilty as anyone else reading this – we all use the modern utilities of this generation, but don’t know how else to live without them. All I know to do is be there for my kids and deal with the problems as they come and pray they are ones we can work through with a good outcome. I don’t want my child to depend on meds to fix her problems for the rest of her life, but because I have no other option and she has to get through school and life we had to make the decision to get her treatment. I wish I could send her out in the world and know she will be ok, but as long as she acts out and places blame for her actions on others she will never have a hold on the real world and that will create a whole new set of problems. Since being back on medication her behavior has improved a great deal and her school work is looking better. She is still a lazy kid, but I stay on her and tell her everyday that nothing is just handed to you in this world, you have to work for it.
My personal experience with this medication was awful.I only took it one time, a 70mg pill which I believe to be to strong of a dose for anyone of any age. At first, there was the euphoric feelings of control and self confidence but that quickly faded and I began feeling like I could not connect my thoughts and my actions. The amphetamine also dehydrated me to the point where I was sweating profusely and feeling very cold on the inside. The effects lasted over twelve hours and I could not sleep that night and felt extremely unhappy and worthless. Do not give this pill to your children, I am a 21 year old who has taken many amphetamines and this was by far the worst. It makes you feel like you are dead underneath your skin and makes you very socially awkward. I cannot imagine what this would do to me if I was a child who did not understand the nature of foreign substances in the body. I believe this pill will cause your child’s mental and social development to deviate from its normal path, simply because it has the ability to make you extremely uncomfortable and neurotic.
Rodger Garrett – My son enlightened us to three generations of ADHD. I agree that children with ADHD require a completely different approach to realize their full potential. Since many of these children are gifted, additional complications and greater rewards exist. After being raised by parent with ADHD, unknowingly living with it and now trying to do best for my son, your comments appear uneducated and without personal experience. Children and parents alike are in dire need for constructive and proven guidance. People with ADHD enjoy enough struggles and isolation without your generalities adding to the problem.
Don’t give this to your kids or yourself. Its horrible! It makes you shakey and much more. Its a waist of money. All the medications are. Would you rather let your kids suffer or let them get bad grades!??!?!
Laurie April 13th, 2008 & Lisa s. April 14th, 2008 – Some thoughts
As a boy, we cast soda bottles into an abyss with all other trash. Today we have a recycling bin where the same bottle now becomes a warm fleece that repeatedly becomes a hand-me-down.
We also regularly labeled individuals with “juvenile delinquent,” a term now rarely heard. And, prescribed lobotomies to those who couldn’t be controlled.
Tom’s mother took upon herself his education after his teacher related slim prospects. While few remember his teacher, the world knows Thomas Edison.
Shakespeare’s work is as disheartening and hilarious today as when he wrote them four centuries ago. His themes capture the desires goals and values that are basic to all today, yesterday and tomorrow. Technology may change, but people do not.
I graduated in 1986 with a BSME. Meaningful ADHD publications written by those with ADHD became available in the 1990’s, a little late for me.
Recent losses of honeybees, which pollinate our crops, dumbfound the world. Since the queen carries genes of a dozen or more drones, the genetic diversity within a single colony is staggering. One bee can bring something home from her 28 square mile range that affects her entire hive of 60,000. These factors make establishing a control group or side-by-side comparison an enormous task and the solution even more elusive. If Mother Nature, God or man does not mitigate this issue, global warming will not be a problem. Humans have genetics, range and social orders magnitudes more complex.
The USA makes education mandatory for all children and tests all students. Other countries may report higher student scores, but many of their children are not students. Which of their children do you think are not students?
Bless a child with incredible intelligent, curse her with inability to organize, cage her within social isolation, leave the barrier between the task and the grasp unnoticed, comfort ourselves that instructions were adequately dictated, and an explosion will be planted, left to fester and released at the most inconvenient time.
Children have an immense ability to use strengths in place of weakness and hide what we don’t want to see. Children with ADHD that maintain average scores use excellence to drag their ball and chain in the middle of the heard. If we cut the chain, we will watch through tears our children surpass our imagination with the heard following far behind.
Fifty years ago, we didn’t have these problems because we didn’t know they existed. Lives were simply pushed aside with a generalized catchall convenient label. Fortunately, our system of education has evolved to acknowledge that special needs apply to more than one end of the scale. Fifty years from now, the honeybees and the spring blossoms they visit may thank those who cut the chain.
Our tools to manage ADHD are as crude as a cave dweller’s spear. They are better than we had and will create the foundation for our children to make ones that are more effective.
Carol,
Vyvanse won’t be any cheaper for a while.. For example, Adderall XR cannot become Generic until 2018 (The date that Shire, the company who owns it, loses a load of cash).
I’m guessing that Shire plans to hold on to Vyvanse exclusively for as long as it can. You have to remember that drug companies are businesses, and are, thus, financially competitive.
…The best way to find cheaper Vyvanse without better insurance perks is to strike a deal with someone who has great insurance and the same prescription (illegally). I am not suggesting this so don’t blast me with Government morals; I’m just simply stating it.
I mean, who’s more important; your family or the “Right Thing?” EASY.
I mean, God.. even Health Insurance agencies are competitive. No one can tell me that there isn’t anything wrong with that, because there is. Businesses need to really start caring about people and not money. You can only keep money for about eighty years…
This pill basically makes you a superhuman therefore i label it the super pill.
Hey Marilyn, maybe a salad and a jog in the park once in a while will help him out more then this drug.
Hi, I stumbled on this website after a lifetime of problems .Growing up in the school system of the 50`s in grade school I was unable to keep up or grasp or comprehend what the heck they were doing in the classroom. I remember being pulled up to the blackboard by my ear and ponytail on several occasions etc. and constantly being punished and yelled at by my parents. If it weren`t for my artistic athletic endeavors I don`t know what I would have done . At least I was very competent and talented in some aspect of my life. Of course my sport was taken away for my lack of academic accomplishments. I was sent to a private school even flunked some classes where I was the only student. I was told by my parents this was intentional .By this time I had given up .Boy, was I ready for the 60`s.Ran away to Haight Ashbury have spent my whole life in and out of drugs, 2 rounds of shock treatment, 2 mental hospital stays and am living with my dad now on disability am currently clean and have been diagnosed ADD (what a surprise) and BiPolar). I tried several meds for ADD but Vyvanse recently . Although it is not the only answer for my life problems I need a variety of help, Vyvanse is like HD TV,so far it`s only a few days I notice a major difference in focus,emotional control, ability to think things through and ability to read. Ten years ago I went on Ritalin and went back to school for a short time and made the Dean`s List. I need lots of other help too but I think I have found the right professional support team of doctor`s since my family is not there for me. I pray it`s not too late for me to put my life back together. So, for all of you skeptics that don`t acknowledge ADD or the damage it can have on a life look at me I might have been worried about Olympic training instead of suicide if someone had intervened in my life ,who knows. Don`t deny your child medication for a chemical imbalance that`s not their fault or they will go get some chemicals that might really hurt them ! Layla
I am one of few adults (33 yrs old Male) w/ severe ad/hd. My mother refused medication and couldn’t afford life counseling and I pay the price to the day. Once I began medical therapy, including meds, my life began changing for the better and is still improving. As for Roger Garrett, and those like him, there is no explaining that AD/HD is an invisible disorder and can cause many lifelong problems for the person with it. I advise all people to visit adda.org and begin educating yourselves. Without medication, an expert psychologist and a understanding girlfriend I would be dead or in jail. I once tried a non-stimulant med (strattera) and it almost killed me. I thank Shire for creating a pro-drug. They want to help and don’t wish to create addicts, or keep people addicted. THERE IS NO CURE FOR AD/HD only help.
I started my son on Vynanse yesterday morning and he complained on feeling dizzy and “funny inside”. Typically, he’s a very good eater and last night he hardly touched his meal. He was awake most of the night, he couldn’t sleep. This moring he took the medicine again and couldn’t eat much of his breakfast. I’m worried what will happen if he continues not to eat well, can’t sleep at night, and feels “funny inside”… I’m not sure what to do…
i;ve been taking the meds fro a week now. the first day it work great, but after that im not hyper but i cant stop yelling out. what do i do?
I was diagnosed with ADD on wed. April 31st, and was prescribed 50mg of Vyvanse.
First day(yesterday) was weird… i was a bit hyper, which is not uncommon for me, but my mouth felt as if i hadn’t drank water in years,i drank at least 5 Ice Mountain half liter bottles,(most days i go through the day with one)which relived it for some time,but the dry mouth kept coming back. I also couldn’t stop tapping my finger, which to be honest, may have been nervousness(I had a big track meet yesterday).I also felt dizzy walking through the halls a couple times. My appetite was also nonexistent throughout the course of the day, which is a huge change for me, as it seems like before i was always hungry(I am a tall and skinny guy, but that does not stop me from eating) I ended up just eating breakfast (before i took the drug, around 6 or 6:15 AM) and half of my sandwich and a bit of OJ(lunch) Dinner, now that was tough. It was my second favorite meal and i had trouble eating. I knew I had to eat, as i have 3rd period lunch (9:49 am-10:25 am) and i had only had a granola bar since(i eat dinner at around 5:30). For homework, this drug did MIRACLES. I was able to finish an assignment that might have taken me 2 hours(its mathematics, concentration is necessary) in JUST 30 MINUTES! Sleeping was a hassle, i went to bed at 9 pm, assuming that being in bed would make me feel more sleepy(I knew one side effect was trouble going to sleep) – I couldn’t fall asleep until sometime after 1 am, the last time i looked at the clock.
Today, not much hyperness, still dry mouth… Not AS bad, but still pretty bad. Tapping finger was not a problem(I guess it was nervousness)I did not fell dizzy at all today. I could not finish my lunch today, and again i was not hungry for much of the afternoon until about 5:00(just before dinner) when I felt so hungry that I felt as if I had not eaten in days. We will see how sleep goes, but overall this medicine is great, not many side effects, while it is my first ADD medicine, I’m going to continue with it, unless the doc says otherwise.
Also Katie, have your son eat breakfast BEFORE taking the pill. It will give him at least one good meal during the day.
i’m furious..my 10 year old daughter was adderall n strattera…her dr took her off strattera n put her on vyvanse…within 60 days she was having twitching in her face…shes off the vyvanse now but the dr says she has tourett’s n was born with it n the vyvanse just brought it out…i don’t believe this at all n now she’s getting picked on in school..this child is honor roll…now i’m terrified this will be permanant..or that more side affects will show up…if anybody knows anything please help…my e-mail me terrim169333 its yahoo thank you
Vyvanse sounds like a miracle drug when you read the press release. In reality, this drug is causing a lot of problems for a significant number of people. At first, when I tried a dosage on my 12 year old, she did better. However, over the ensuing days and weeks, I received reports of her being more aggressive at school with her peers. We immediately took her off the medicine and went back to our trusted Adderall XR. I am all about improving the quality of life for ADHD people; however, this is a fresh reminder for me of how different medicines affect people differently, especially when you are talking psychotropics and stimulants that can have unpredictable effects on patients who take them. Plus, this medicine was twice as much on our co-pay. I won’t go so far as to say “Shame in Shire” for appearing greedy, but you have to wonder. If you do decide to try this medication on yourself or someone you love who has ADHD, please watch and document side effects carefully. I mean daily notations. That’s the only way to avoid terrible consequences from an adverse reaction. Good luck and God Bless.
Hello to Everyone!
I just wanted to take a moment to comment on ADHD and education. I am a teacher with two daughters who have ADHD. (I also have a son who does not have ADHD.) Many posts correlate a teacher’s request for an evaluation by a physician as a “your child is acting horribly so do something about it” type request. Please know that this is not the goal, and many times student’s behavior is managedd effectively- it’s just crazy difficult for a student to stay focused during instruction and to stay on task. I can assure you that students who are hyper and others who lack focus share one thing in common- an inability to stay focused during instruction. Imagine a math lesson where you hear a phrase, become distracted for a bit, re-focus on the lesson to hear another few words or sentences, lose focus, and this cycle repeats. Learning becomes incredibly difficult when the lesson is so fragmented. The student is not willfully disobedient, lazy, or a behavior concern. He or she simply cannot maintain focus. This occurs while attempting to complete assignments, listen to anything orally, and in a multitude of different situations. I have seen medicinal intervention help most children, but usually it is a combination of medicine and other strategies.
For my older daughter, I was acutely aware early on that she may have ADHD. My husband (also a teacher) and I tried a VERY long list of accomdations with minimal to no success. She would put so much effort in, with very little productivity. My very bright daughter’s grades slipped to low C to D range. In her third grade year we finally went to the doctor, and in one marking period she was a straight A student. This was 4 years ago, and grades are still this way.
We also waited until 3rd grade for my younger daughter and Vyvanse was prescribed. I was very leery, as Concerta worked incredibly well for my other daughter. The teacher of my younger daughter has reported significant improvement over the last month, which is reflected in grades. (Mostly C’s with a D up to all A’s and one B.) I hate that medicinal intervention is part of the solution. I truly do. But I have seen first hand in my classroom what happens if a parent lives in denial, and does not seek intervention. My best advice is to do something!!!!! Be honest if it is not working after careful implementation, and be open to what your doctor has to say if other strategies prove ineffective. But for goodness sake try other interventions. I truly feel that it is a combination of strategies, cooperation between home and school, and celebrating accomplishments and keeping the challenges in perspective. I also tell my daughters regularly that they have to choose to do well, and how proud I am of them.
I appreciate everyone sharing experiences. Thank you!
I am a 22 year old college student in need of some advice (As long as it is pertinent and well-intentioned).
For most of my life i have battled severe depression. I have always felt like there is just no hope that i will ever lead a normal happy life, and mental/emotional stability is nothing more than a pipe dream. I have also always suspected that i had ADHD, but never approached the topic with my parents because of the severe stigmatization of the disorder. I only tried antidepressants once growing up, and only for about one month. In high school i developed a pretty serious cocaine addiction, which was somewhat controlled by the fact that i had limited resources at that time. – another note- ive been an on and off smoker since about age 12, with more “on” times than “off” and would probably consider myself an ‘addictive personality’… whatever that means.
anyway, due to the fact that im not a complete imbecile, i hated the fact that i was addicted to cocaine because it is an extremely harmful drug, and was subconsciously relieved when i went to college and didnt know anywhere to get it. I was completely clean for about 2 and a half years, and was pretty proud of myself. But always in the back of my mind i felt that if i was presented with the opportunity to do drugs again, i would cave in… turns out i was right. In spite of my awareness that cocaine could possibly kill me, i did some one night with some friends. After that, it was all i could think about, and i quickly became addicted again to the point that i was doing about 4X the lethal dose a day.
— the reason i am telling you this terrible part of my story is because i believe that it is extremely relevant to my undiagnosed add growing up. It gave me the focus and mood regulation i was seeking as a result of my adhd. And while i do believe that i was genuinely depressed growing up, i think that my adhd was a serious contributing factor to my depression. Also, the fact that i was addicted to cocaine in the past makes me weary of stimulants—
So i was clean pretty much for 8 months when i kind of hit rock bottom and decided to get some help. I was immediately diagnosed ADHD and after starting on lexapro 10mg (1 month) then 20mg for another month, my doctor prescribed me vyvanse (30mg)
He told me to start with one pill and that i could go up to three if the original dose wasnt effective after a few days. One pill did absolutely nothing, so i started taking two. This was a little better, but i still ended up taking 3 a day (total of 90mg). I was pretty happy with the effects for about two weeks at this dose, but started to notice that i was thinking about taking more to get a “better” feeling. This was extremely reminiscent of my attitude towards cocaine, and really scared me.
Aside from my desire to take more, after those successful two weeks, i feel like the drug kind of turned on me. Instead of a slow rise, i would experience a pretty dramatic spike for about 3-4 hours, after which i would become extremely saddened by life in general, and found my thinking to be pretty existential and depressive( ie “what is my purpose here?” mixed with “i pretty much just suck in general, and will never be normal”)
I went to the doctor today, and told him about its recent affect on my moods, and that a 90 mg dose only lasted a few hours after the first couple weeks. He switched me to focalinXR 20mg and told me the same thing as with vyvanse- that i could go up to three.
Does anyone have any experience with these rx’s or with adhd and its affect on addiction?? I would really appreciate any guidance or advice, because i am really bothered by my desire to take more vyvanse to get back to the initial effects i had. It is just too much like my troubles with cocaine, and i dont like it. I am hoping Focalin will work better for me, and have a more smooth and even effect over the day. The reason i dont like vyvanse is because of the severe ups and downs, which obviously takes away any feelings of normalcy/stability- which is ironically what we are trying to treat with adhd meds.
And one other thing i noticed about the side effects-
1- I noticed that i am extremely sensitive to heat. I have always been more hot natured, but now the slightest exertion causes me to sweat uncontrollably. Also, my face will just start sweating excessively if i get nervous or excited, regardless of the temperature.
2- before vyvanse i smoked about 1-3 cigarettes a day depending on the situation, but sometimes would go days without smoking at all. Now, i smoke close to a pack a day, almost obsessively- kind of like i used to do while abusing drugs. Has anyone else had this happen to them?? I am considering trying nicorette to stop smoking because the dramatic increase has left me with a persistent sore throat (in addition to the fact that smoking is just awful for you) Does anyone have any info on the interaction between adhd meds and nicotine therapy? is it safe ?? I will start on focalin tomorrow, and hope it goes better.
Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
I’ve had a similar mood state to Lisa (October 11th, 2007 at 4:40 pm). I’ve been on Vyvanse for a few months now, taking it for ADD and narcolepsy. Before this, I’d been on Adderall XR for about four years. I noticed that I changed to Vyvanse after 3-5 months of paying generic prices on Adderall. Coincidence? When I first took Vyvanse, I was on a high for the first couple of days—the first high I’ve ever experienced, actually (I’m not a drug-abuser and I don’t like alcohol; so yeah, I’m a dork). I’ve begun to notice, however, that I’m very irritable and impatient most of the time. If I go even a day without the pills, which happens rather often because of my difficulty in getting and filling a prescription, the irritation is doubled (I even chucked a football-pillow at my mother the other day, just because I wanted to go get my meds!). Also, Vyvanse hasn’t helped my concentration at school much at all—in fact, I’ve dropped out of college now (the med wasn’t the only reason for this). Vyvanse doesn’t give me the energy, focus, motivation, or weight loss that Adderall gave me, but it doesn’t drop off as sharply as Adderall did (I actually had to take 2 Adderall a day: one in the morning, one around two o’clock, which was a bit awkward to do in school).
Other side effects from Vyvanse: dry, blood-shot eyes everyday; infrequent bouts of extreme anxiety/paranoia; and perhaps stronger feelings of despair when I have them (I have dysthymic depression usually, but the lows seem lower now).
I think the only reason I’ve stayed on Vyvanse for so long is because of the slight high it still (sometimes) gives me. I’m supposed to see my psychiatrist soon, but since my prescription will run out before I see him, I’ve decided to go ahead and stop taking it. I hope stepping off will minimize the nervousness and irritability I experience going cold turkey.
I’ve forgotten what I was like without amphetamines in my system, so I hope to see if I still need them and why. Reading some of the other posts, I wonder if I’ll change much. I’d like to be back in my own little world—reality is such a letdown; sometimes I don’t think I can handle it at all.
Im 23, and takin vyvanse, its been bout 3 weeks and they have been near to horriable. the other night i went to bed at 1ish, woke up about 3am and any other time wouldve went back to sleep but thanks to vyvanse, i didnt go back to sleep. AT ALL!! and had to work 8-5, took a nap on my lunch hour, so didnt eat, than went home went back to bed, again didnt eat. woke up bout 8:30 and was weak, nausous, and didnt even feel like eating the food before me even though my stomach was killing me from hunger. I am bout 113lbs, prolly less by now. because im never hungry now. maybe vyvanse should be a diet pill instead of a ADD med, which brings me to my main point, i have noticed no difference at all in fact i think my consintration seems worse, i feel like im loss all the time just wondering around. Another thing i bite the insides of my jaws consitantly, to were the skin is now hanging(sorry to be so graphic)which i thought could just be me, but i saw were on here where someone else is doing the same thing. I also noticed alot of ppl seeing things, which i hadnt related it to the medicine, but i keep seeing things out of the corner of my eyes that is not there, i have a white cat, and i keep thinking he is walking pass me, and i turn and he isnt. Everyone is askin why i dont quit it already, but i wanted to get it the full month to be sure of what it could do. But i dont really think that there are any positive qualities that could outweigh the bad in this situation. so when it runs out, i am done!!!! being sleep deprived is way worse than not being able to focus. oh and biting on your jaws, not a bit attractive, not to metion the affect it is prolly having on my teeth and jaw alignment. Is my 30 days up yet?? thanks ya’ll i feel better knowing that im not the only one going through this. good luck to you all!!
After reading close to all the reviews, and reading the effects other people have had, seen, or currently has while taking Vyvanse, I decided to share my experience while taking this medication.
I’m a 17 year old male, and just about 4 weeks ago, I was diagnosed with A.D.H.D, and started off taking 50mg of Vyvanse.
I actually sat my parents dowh and told them that I thought something was wrong with me, because in my previous years in school, I usually made honor roll, or never came home with less than a B on my report cards (this was actually in middle school). When I went into 9th grade, my grades pretty much stayed the same, but started to notice that my quiz and test grades weren’t as high as before, and then I started getting C’s on my report card. Then when I went to 10th grade, I started becoming lazier, and started not turning in homework assignments and my grades weren’t looking so good.
I’m currently in my 11th grade year of school, and at the beginning of the year, my grades dropped severely, causing me to fail a class, and that’s when I decided to take the initiative to drop all my AP and Honor clases cause I couldn’t keep up with any of my classes and I just couldn’t afford to fail another class.
So anyways, I had my mom set up an appointment with a psychiatrist, and did the tests and stuff and found out I have A.D.H.D.
He put me on the 30 day trial of Vyvanse, and in all seriousness, this medicine has truly done wonders for me.The first day taking it, I didn’t know what to expect, but maybe 40-50 minutes after taking the pill, I started feeling that so called “high” feeling, which my Dr. Warned about, but right after that feeling,which subsided 5 or 10 minutes after feeling that feeling, I was feeling good and was on top of my game for a 4 or 5 hour peak.
I’ve been taking this medicine daily since I was put on it, and each day I take it, I actually look forward to school each morning, and I finish all my classwork, and I even get started on work that might not even be due for another 2 days, and I found my self on a few occasions asking my teacher for more work (weird, right?).
Ofcourse, I had some side effects. I had a loss of appetite when first using it(but now I’m eating between the peaks), felt a bit of anxiety as if someone was watching me (the anxiety feeling is totally gone, only lasted first day), a little dehydration,trouble falling asleep, a little shaking in the hands, and sudden tiredness.
In these comments, I see that a lot of people are concerned about the hand shaking thing, but I think with the loss of appetite plus the dehydration, trouble falling asleep, and in some cases, people are saying increased resting heart beat,all would would seem as factors in the shaking in the hands.
Vyvanse has been working wonders for me, and hopefully for in the next coming up months, I won’t see a plateau on my progress and with this medication, and won’t start becoming so used to it, that it wouldn’t be as effective.
The only sorta negative thing I have to say about Vyvanse, is that when I first started taking it daily, it seemed as if I only felt the peak hours of the medicine, but nothing really after those peak hours, which I needed, because my school day doesn’t end until 6PM at the latest, and then having to do homework, I felt off track and off focus. So on top my 50mg of vyvanse, I’m taking 1-3 5mg adderall tablets after 6PM to help me get through homework, or any nightly tasks where I have to use my brain.
Other than that, vyvanse seems to me as possibly, the answer to all my problems. My grades are excellent, I made honor roll my last report card for the first time in 6 years, and this all happened in a month, just think the rest of my school years. Another good thing I find with Vyvanse, is that I had yet to have or feel that dreaded crash, unlike with adderall rx, I got that huge crash followed by a horrible headache and terrible mood swings for the rest of that.
Overall, I’m satisfied with Vyvanse, and it really has flipped my life around 180 for the best.
My sons started Vyvanse several weeks ago, we have tried everything – Adderall, Concerta, Straterra, Ritalin – nothing works well for him. He either has motor tics, doesn’t eat and loses an extreme amount of weight or, in the case of Vyvanse, has horrible mood swings and aggressiveness. If there is a side effect for a medication, my son will develop it. Isn’t there a medication out there that will help a child with a very low tolerance to them?
My son took 30mg of this medication per day for ADHD. He became aggressive, lost alot of his hair, and lost lots of weight. 17lbs in less than two months. I would not recommend this medication to anyone. There have not been enough studies about side effects and it has only been on the market since July 2007. Please look for other alternatives before beginning this medication. I shudder to think how much damage this medication could have caused had we listened to our pediatrician and continued giving it to our son. He has been off for about two months now and is growing his hair back and putting on weight. Thankfully!!!
I am a 50 year old male and have been taking Vyvanse for about 6 months. I take 50mg around 8am every morning. I like it much better than the 30mg of Adderal I was taking previous. Yes, sometimes I have dry mouth and I have lost about 10 lbs but I haven’t had any serious side effects. It is very important to eat a good breakfast before taking it. Occasionally I do experience a “let-down” after lunch and will take 7.5mg of adderal to get me through the afternoon. Most of the time, though I don’t feel any let-down at all. Sleep and nutrition is EXTREMELY important with this medicine for me. Many of the side effects that are noted in this blog may be a result of lack of sleep and nutrition. I also take 50mg of Seroquel and 50mg of Trazedone at bedtime which helps me get a full nights rest.
I started Vyvance recently as well. I switched from Adderal. The side effects are awful. I swing from paranoia, to having to do “something” etc… There are terrible times during the day where I feel like I need more. My eyes are so dry I can’t even keep one open while I type this. I get very irritable at points, and, at other times, happy. My face is tingling on the right side, my vision is blurry, and my left arm burns on and off. I also get dizzy frequently. The tingling thing and reduced vision is scary…
i took the 70 mg vyvanse today. about five and a half hours ago. i was work for the whole time i was on it. but im not anymore and am still on it wanted to go to sleep. It really made me focus and actually do extra work. but i had some nauesua and near the end of work started feeling all depressed for some reason. When ussualy i never do. i like adderal a lot better, but at least i can actually eat when i take vyvanse. i defintly should have just taken like 30 or 40 mg. 70 was way to much.
I’m male, mid-30s, have been at the same dose of dexedrine (40mg) for about 4-5 years and it’s been very effective for me. I recently began seeing a new doctor and he suggested I try vyvanse 70mg as I’d mentioned the frustration that comes after the work day once the dexedrine has worn off and I’m unable to get much done during the early-mid evening. I’ll mention that I first began Wellbutrin for depression in my mid-20’s and for ADHD. It worked for the depression (which was related to grief from loved ones dying) but not for ADHD symptoms, so I eventually began Adderall (can’t remember how much– tho I know it was before there was a generic available, & before any extended release versions existed). The adderall helped me finish things I needed and wanted to accomplish for the first time in my life– or, rather, the adderall *coupled* with weekly/bi-weekly therapy and skills-training helped me to finally get something done.
Which, I have to just get this out there:
Something people seem to routinely neglect with ADHD is that the medication does provide focus, but you truly need to develop a support structure in tandem that’ll allow the meds’ focus to be utilized productively. Structure = learning to use daily planning calendars and alarms, working with a coach (or even self-help book) to develop time management skills, keeping lists of tasks etc on a regular basis, taking notes on thoughts that come to mind to serve as reminders for things you need to come back to later, working with someone who can teach you how to break “large, unmanageable tasks” (for some folks that’s an important, complex work project; for others it’s doing your laundry or cleaning off your desktop) into small, manageable tasks. ****The medication alone is not the key**** You need coping skills and someone to help keep you working at your application of those skills– not just some pills!
Anyhow, I’m about to make a potential permanent switch to Vyvanse, and am wondering how many other 30+ year old adults who’veve been diagnosed with ADHD, on medication consistently for it, and working with a coach or therapist for several years have found their transition from Adderall, Dexedrine, etc to Vyvanse to be over a several month period.
I’ve had negative/unpredictable experiences when transitioning from one med to another in the past, and don’t want to botch anything up at work with this switch. The dexedrine has always worked well for me, and again my main reason for considering the change is the duration/drop in focus at the end of the work day.
Random aside to Parents: probably the best thing you can EVER do to help your ADHD child is to recognize their strengths and actively help to build them– and give them positive feedback and encouragement like their life depends on it, because it does. That means actually SAYING IT OUT LOUD and actually treating your child in a manner as encouraging your words. If they’re good at something constructive, figure out some way to possibly connect it to a career for them. And remember that ADHDers feel things a lot more acutely than non-ADHD folks, and we’re already aware of how much we just don’t fit into this world. So, framing your criticisms in a positive, constructive manner goes a long way twds combatting the negative self-image that your kid’s likely going to battle on a daily basis for his or her entire life.
One last thing:
2:00-3:30 slumps are something I had for a long time, and they’re unbearable. Someone pointed out to me that it was likely dietary: I made changes and don’t get them anymore. What I changed was: don’t eat a ton of carbs/sugars for lunch. It boosts your blood sugar and then 30-45min later drops it down onto the stones! Eat something light, like a salad, but also get something that has protein– a portion about the size of your hand’s palm (ie, some fish, chicken, tofu, lunch meat, etc). But avoid heavy portions of anything like pasta, bread, etc. Small portions, okay, but you’ll get less of a crash from protein + veg/fruits. Don’t forget the protein tho– salad alone won’t give you the energy your body needs to build and fun with. And, easier said than done: the same thing goes for candies, cookies, sodas etc– they’ll bring on a crash just as bad as the economical half-gallon tupperware of spaghetti you took to work.
That’s my experience anyway, don’t know that it goes for everyone, but maybe a few folks at least.
Good luck to everyone– it’s never very easy is it? But it’s worth it when it all works.
It’s sad to see comments from people abusing these ADD/ADHD drugs, but it’s even more sad to see the clueless parents that resort to everything their doctors tell them. Everyone is abusing these drugs whether you’re crushing them up and snorting them or feeding them to your kids. Young children with “ADD” or “ADHD” only have different abilities and need to be challenged more with their education. Stop feeding them drugs and bullshit because it’s not their choice… Your children trust you and if you want to help them, you’d try something other than prescription drugs. Let’s face this: We’re all abusing drugs here. You, me, and your children (but they don’t have a choice).
i have been diagnosed with ADD for about 3 years now and my youngest brother has had it for about 10 years he was first diagones in 3rd grade. i late on got diagnosed with ADD. for two years i was on adderall 20mg then upped to 30mg i felt the drug was starting to wear off i also had the problem of my eye twitching,and extreme irritable mood swings , so i switched to vyvanse with the doctor reccomendation. i felt clear headed at first when i took it the first day.the very next day i took it felt like i had an electric pulse running through me like i was the world’s best philospoher. about 5 hours after taking it i have been having indigestion problems, clenched jaw, my forehead feels like its caving in, and little noises drive me insaine for example tapping, people chewing the fridge running, and when i put my head down liquid drips from my nose. and yes this sounds scary but honestly i am the most ordinary person-ever.
i have also noticed that when i do take it which is at 9 in the a.m about 30-45min later is when i feel philosophical and giddy and love everything, then my stomach is unsettled,i crave cigs and talk and call ppl i also expeience the whisper voice like almost in a low serious tone,it’s freaking weird. then as time passes and cigs are smoked i then get the clenched jaw thing and the other effects. the weirdest thing is the extremely clear water-like drips from my nose.
Odd that most comments are posted after midnight. Lack of sleep could likely be the cause of many of the “side effects” being experienced. Try going to bed at a normal time and getting at least 7 hours of sleep. Sleep deprivation is a serious problem…remember it is used as a tactic to break people down in the military or as a form of torture!
My 9 yr old son has been on Vyvance for a month for ADD (inattentive type). His inattention and disorganization have improved greatly and he has been having more success in school. His appetite is poor during the school day but he makes up for it the rest of the day and has maintained his normal weight.
My grandson is on Vyvanse 50 mg (he’s 7 years old). He is having extreme intense “night terror”. I’m wondering if this could be a side effect from the drug. Has anyone else experienced this?
I forgot to mention (comment from above) he’s on Vyvanse for ADHD.
Been on it for a few weeks now. Just got into grad school and was retested and am updateing my meds program. AT the same time I’ve just started a diet. For the past 5-7 years I have been takeing Concerta 36mg. I would also drink 3-4 cups of strong coffe to get myself to the right place. It was suggested new meds might get the same effect. In high school I took Dexidrin. I find the link to my years of addiction (been sober 9 years) started around that time. Self medicateing keeps the ADD mind either entertained or numbed. I just learned sex addiction is high in ADDers too! Selfmedicateing comes in many forms.
I prefer the long dispersement of this new drug compaired to the flash of the ones I have taken in the past. There doesn’t seam to be a peak. With the others if I was doing the wrong task when the peak came around there I would be for the next 2-3 hours. Yes the dry mouth, the sence of ellivated self, but in my experiance I don’t think folks will abuse this as much as Adderall. Tried the Stritira and my ejaculations as well as general pains in my testicals made me jump the ship fast. Hope you enjoyed my spelling!
Ive been taking vyvanse since about August 07 and i find it awesome. Ive had no problems with it, at all, and it really helps me. I use a lot of illegal drugs and I figured I might try take a couple vyvanse and see what happens (Obviously I researched before hand about overdose dangers and the likes). I took four 50mg pills and experienced
some of the side affects described above: not being able to feel my legs, feeling disconnected from everything, i spent large amounts of time daydreaming and drawing and felt very relaxed, but i think t would be hard to call it a high. Other than that time though, taking a regular dosage of 50mg has worked for a while for me.
My 13 year old daughter was diagnosed with ADHD and high anxiety at at 7. She has been on concerta 54 mg for years along with different anxiety medications. I always told the doctors she was OCD, but they just told me no she has OCD tendacies. In March her OCD got so bad she was put in a partial hospitalization program for 7 weeks. While in the hospital, she was put on Serequel (a antipsycotic medicine) to get her “unstuck”. Her OCD was not hand washing it was obsessive thougths that she could not get past, would go one to the next. Like I said they started adjusting her meds. They then reduced her concerta to 18 mg and this was AWFUL. She could not function in class at all. She was completely bouncing off the walls, but her anxiety decreased. The next week when she met with the doctor he could not beleive her lack of functioning. At this time she was on Concerta 18 mg, Serequel 200 mg and prozac 30 mg. He decided to take her off of the concerta and put her on Vyvance. Boy this was like a miracle drug. Her self esteem rose a mile (she has never had friends) and she started to like herself. A little too much.
After about a week, she started to be extremely irritable. She is now terrible. She is majorly ODD. Very very defiant. We go see the doctor on Tuesday and I am going to demand they switch her off the meds. Since starting Vyvanse, she lies through her teeth (I don’t think she knows the truth) and she is so defiant. I am at witts end with her.
I know there are people saying STOP medicating her that’s the problem. I’m sure the Vyvanse is the problem, but she really really needs the Serequel and the Prozac. If you havent lived with it or a child who has the problems mine has, you cannot judge us parents who choose to medicate our children.
I have two other children who are not medicated. My son is wild and crazy, but not ADHD where it affects everything he does. So, if you haven’t been there, please keep your comments to youself. It’s enough of a struggle without you people judging us on something you have never dealt with.
Has anyone else had these problems with a child??????
Any help would be appreciated.
i have taken vyvanse a total of five times over about 8 or 9 days and it does wonders for focus, but has also brought on anxiety, a depressed feeling and a loss of sexual desire. just letting folks know who may be interested in vyvanse.
I am a teacher. I also have ADD and so does my 21 year old son. ADD even with hyperactivity DESTROYS A LIFE not to mention the ability to live that life in a society. I am angry at those of you who use this medication “to get high”. What part of “insane” do you not understand? Better that you stick your thumb up your butt and see what high that may give you. It is those of you who abuse this much needed medication that make it difficult for those of us who are trying to live normal lives. Here is the first lesson, one that will serve you for the rest of your life. STOP FOLLOWING! Just because your buddy gets high doesn’t mean you have to. You should have learned that in Kindergarten! It is disgusting to come on here and read about your adventures while the rest of us are dealing with LIFE as we know it and life as we know it, is NOT A PARTY! To me, you sounds like cowards unwilling to face life head on. Again, what part of “go post in the drug addict section” DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND?
Listen here lady, you sound mad at the world. Maybe you should try getting high to take some ease off. Geeze!
Often people diagonsed with ADD, suffer from bipolar. just putting it out there
Listen here “no name”, my son cannot function in society without medications. He cannot attend school without them. He is not able to sit in a chair…when I say not able, I mean not able to perform this action whatsoever. Also, he cannot stop talking. He cannot! His thoughts are so out of control it’s unbelievable. When he wants to leave the house to play, if we aren’t watching his every move, he will just leave and go for blocks and get lost. Luckily everyone in the neighborhood knows him. He just walks into peoples houses instead of knocking. If he does knock or ring the doorbell, he does it continuously until someone comes or just stands there if they are not home continuing to ring the bell. He also just goes into backyards if he sees something he wants to play with. That is all without medications. There is plenty more that goes on that I don’t have to mention here but you obviously have NO CLUE what it is like to have to keep an eye on your 10yr old 24/7 and worry when you go to the bathroom if he’s still going to be in the house when you get out. Or if he’s eaten everything in the cabinet in about 30 min because he feels like he needs to keep eating. He has no self-control. Absolutely none! You have NO right to judge any parent going through what me and my family are going through. You have no idea. So just keep your feelings and comments to yourself. Until you have a degree in psychology or have done an actual group study of children like my son, just keep your mouth shut. With medication he can attend school in a special class. He is a very smart kid but even with medication, going to the therapist once a week, and seeing a physchiatrists, he still has many problems focusing. And that’s no ones fault. He was just born that way. And as for you assholes who say that we ADHD parents need to take parenting classes, I have and have learned a lot but they don’t teach you how to “train” your kids that have serious mental problems.
Onto the Vyvanse….He just took his first dose this morning. I have to say that I’m not too fond of it right now. He says that he feels like there is something in his body making him move. He is moving every part of his body that is able to move. His jaw is going non-stop. Also, he has talked since he took his meds. I mean, he has just talked and talked and talked. He was driving everyone nuts. He’s very happy and still able to comprehend everything that anyone tells him but he can’t stop. I personally am worried about fast his heart is beating…I’m just wondering if it’s working has hard as his body and mind are? Anyway, he is also OCD, ODD, has tricotilimania and anxiety. He was on 54mg of Concerta for 2yrs before we switched to this. He was very aggressive and violent on the Concerta the last year. We had to hold him down on several occassions because he was trying to beat us up and his little 4yr old brother. He would fly off the handle at everything. So we just took him off all meds 2wks ago and finally got in to see the doc and he recommended Vyvance. I have a call into him now to see what he thinks about what is going on today. Anyway, that’s my peice.
Annie,
Good luck with your son! Has it gotten any better since you posted this comment?
Hi all,
I’m a 22-year-old college student and started taking Vyvanse about 6 months ago. I’m bipolar, auto-immune and ADD.
Before Vyvanse I was taking Zoloft, Wellbutrin, Lexapro, Aderall and Lamictal. Now I just take the Vyvanse and the Lamictal.
I love this combo. I’m only taking two medications a day and I feel incredible. Un-medicated I sleep about 24 hours at a time, with this drug I can stay awake through the day (and be focused). It will also wake me up by the time I’m to my car in the morning.
I wouldn’t recommend this drug for many people, but for lackadaisical adults it will work wonders.
I am an 18 year old female and Vyvanse has worked WONDERS for me. I am on 100mg/day. I have suffered from severe depression/anxiety/mood disorders and impulsivity/anger problems since I was 8 years old and gone through a handful of meds with no positive results until now.
I am currently on 75mg Lamictal along with the Vyvanse which has proved to be a wonderful combination. My psychiatrist finally told me she has suspected I suffer from fairly severe ADHD for awhile which she believes contributes to my anxiety and started me on Vyvanse about four months ago at 30mg/day – I noticed a difference about one hour after taking it. It was as if for the first time in my life I had a clear head, I could separate my thoughts, my mind wasn’t racing, I could sit still and tolerate things like waiting in line or sitting in class. I was more easy going too. I switched to 50mg about two weeks after starting it, soon after switching to 50mg twice a day.
I find that it only lasts about six hours for me which is a pain but can be worked around. I am now on 100mg once a day which seems to keep me going nicely. I notice it peaks a few hours after I take it and that is when I feel best – very calm and collected and generally content with where I am and what I am doing, a feeling that I rarely (if ever) experienced before. I have become more organized and have taken on healthier eating habits and lost a bit of weight. I sometimes get a bit irritated in the afternoons, I guess about when it wears off, sometimes earlier. I can only describe it as feeling like my brain is “itchy”. Not in a physical sense but more like all of a sudden someone took a blender to my brain and mixed up that nice, clear space I have been living in. This usually comes right after I feel the peak of contentedness and calm so I can only assume this is when the drug is wearing off and I start coming down. Kind of shitty but my doc said I am at the highest dose she thinks is safe for someone my age and size (18, 5’3, 140lbs) so I have been doing some research about Adderall and how it compares to Vyvanse, though there are so many different views/experiences out there that its hard to come up with any solid information.
I felt the need to post this because these posts are overwhelmed with negative experiences and for anyone debating whether or not to give this a try I want them to know it DOES work well for some. Definitely worth a try, best of luck to all.
So i’ve been taking Vyvanse for 5 months now. Im 17 and always been told im adhd when i Know that im not but i just like feeling good. I went from Adderall XR 25mg then switched to Vyvanse 30mg. I was speeding for the 1st month than felt tired the next month. so i got up’d to 50mg. I’ve lost 15 pounds weighing 110 and eat maybe a debbi snack a day if that. I used to be a strong liberal bitch that just wanted to make a difference but now….I really don’t know who i am.
MY CONCERNS: So its summer 🙂 and i like to party. I’ve noticed mixing Vyvanse and alcohol is fun up until i lay down and hear voices or black out. Also, has anyone seen any crazy things that arnt real?! I was baby sitting these kids and i had to go to the bathroom and i swear on my life i saw a man in the shower. But that could also be from the lack of sleep and hangover that morning. Another thing, i feel sick all day. I think its from moving around so much. Its like a small roll.
BIGGEST CONCERN: for the past month, i have been serverly depressed and not wanting to do shit. Not only emotionally but physically. I woke up this morning and my knee, hip, and ankle joints are cramped up, as if they could pop out of place at any given time. O and besides all that bull…my stomach muscles are to weak to even take a shit.
For those of you stupid teens that abuse the drug, tisk tisk. 2 yrs ago i overdosed on wellbuetron and had 3 seizures, 6 day stay at the hospital, and a near death experience. I like vyvanse cuz you only need 1 pill daily. I might be getting the 70mg next month but only since i fall asleep at random times without even realizing my eyes closing.
Im addicted. I dont tell my parents or any of my friends about the side effects im having. Im afraid I’ll just get switched to some other drug that will come with just more side effects to deal with. Vyvanse is bad for the body, but good for the soul. I mean my life has gone nothing but downhill, i ignore my family, i go off at the drop of a hat, i lost all dignity, my goals are lost, and most importantly i have no love. Not even for myself half the time. But even tho shit has happened…i forget it all. Its like the Vyvanse blocks out the bad.
I dont know what to honestly say if i would or would not recommend Vyvanse. All i can say is if you decided to give it a try, learn about it more. If you choose not to then research another ADHD medicine, but keep in mind that it will most likely have some type of risky side effect.
Ive been on vyvanse for a mounth and yet have NOT had a full 24 hours of sleep in a mounth and its not that I dont have ADHD I do I have be tested 4 times and all said I was. Plus I NEVER EAT ON it not at all my mom has to force me to eat I am going to quit taking it but my doctor reccomenned to do step downs (lower doses everyday) and I am in the progress! hope this helped people decide to take it or not.
P.S. ITS HORRIABLE!!
Jess…. Your post was upsetting to me. I know I don’t know you, but reading through what you said made me think that Vyvanse may not be for you. Or maybe you need to treat your body with more respect while you’re on it. Like eating more than a debbie snack, and not drinking to the point of blacking out. I like partying as much as the next chick, but you have to know your limits and pace yourself.
I just started Vyvanse, I’m 24, a freelance makeup artist, and have always had a hard time concentrating, motivating, and organizing. Right now I’m starting my own cosmetic line amongst other things and have found that on this drug I’m much more driven and clear headed, so I’m hoping it will make me more successful with work and life in general.
I struggled with eating disorders and depression while I was in college. So initially I was afraid of ADHD drugs because I knew a lot of girls that used them to lose weight, so I thought I would get addicted and use them for the wrong reasons. So when I went to my doc and found Vyvanse I was excited to try something that was designed to avoid addictive tendencies. Although I still can see getting dependent to it.
So here is my experience with it so far…
My first day I felt an immediate high, like excitement I could hardly contain. I felt giddy and energized, but had absolutely no appetite. It was on a sunday, and my favorite thing to do on a suday is go to a big brunch, when we got there nothing looked good to me. It was strange.. but I’ll admit I liked it. By the end of the day I was more inclined to eat and started to come down and felt tired. The next day I felt pretty even during the day. Then I had to teach a class that night and in the middle of it I got a migraine and my heart began to race (I have had these symptoms before without meds, usually do to anxiety or stress). I was nervous to take it the day after, but I did and it’s been fine ever since, I haven’t had the headaches or heart palpatations, and I sleep well. Also I find that I’m less irritable more easy going. I think it took my body about 48 hours to adjust, but so far I’m a big fan of Vyvanse.
Back to the eating thing though… I still have a very minimal appetite, and when I do eat a decent amount of food, I find myself having to run to the bathroom immediately. So, what I’m recommending for you and myself, is to regulate and plan healthy small meals throughout the day. Even if it’s just some toast, a yogurt, a piece of fruit, whatever..
I think it’s important with this kind of drug that you keep your body nourished, it’s an upper, so you have to help your body keep up with it.
Hope that this was helpful…I’m not trying to preach, just giving my opinion. Best of luck to all of you! If this isn’t your cup of tea then move on to the next thing… We’re all in search of perfection(happiness, productivity, organization,success, etc.) Just keep in mind that nobody is perfect! Stay true to yourself!
xo
I am 32 and was just recently diagnosed with ADD. I was on Vyvanse 30 mg for one month and now am on the 50mg dose. I take it early in the morning (between 6 and 7am)and I do drink coffe and diet cokes throughout the day. I have to take Lunesta to sleep at night but my doc says this is fine. My question is, the side affects I am experiencing are bad drymouth, fast heartbeat, and some pretty awful gastrointestinal symptoms…does anyone else have this? I do like the way I am feeling (very focused) on this drug and it has helped with depression as well, but I am also grinding my teeth and I have muscle aches a lot. I dont know whether I should stop taking it. I have also lost 15 pounds since I have been on it. If my heart is racing so fast, is it a bad idea to run on the treadmill or exersize? I have had anxiety and panic attacks in the past and this is how it felt. Any ideas? I dont know anyone else who takes this drug. Thanks.
Hey Jen…
I too have the heart pounding, but I have had episodes with it before starting Vyvanse. I find that if I don’t over do it with caffeine it tends to help keep them at bay. I will usually have a cup of coffee in the morning, and then maybe another caffeinated drink mid day. Also try drinking some sort of sleepy time tea to calm your self down at night, it may help the grinding. As for working out, I would not do things that bring your heart rate up on the days that you’re feeling the pounding. We should really talk to our doctors about this… it says that you should immediately on the info package…
Good luck!
I would just like to say to everyone out there to remember that everyone has a different body make-up and what works for one may not work for another. I am 37 years old and never taken any medication for ADHD. I have to say that I wish that someone would have put me on this sooner(like in grade school) because it could have changed my life. I struggled throughout my entire school years and even in college. And I eventually gave up because I thought “what’s the use?” I had low self esteem because I thought I was stupid. Please give your children the chance to excel and remember that different drugs have different effects on different people. I am in college again and was making c’s. I started taking Vyvanse and now I am making A’s and B’s. I made my first 100 on a test and I have to say that even at 37 it boosted my confidence!!! When I got my test back for the first time I wasn’t trying to hide it from everyone else. Please give your kids a chance!!! You will be amazed what making good grades will do for their self esteem!!!
i’v been taking vyvanse for 4 months now and i do think its better than Adderall. When i took adderall i felt sick and angry all the time.Tried to concentrate in school but it wasn’t working, then my doctor told me about vyvanse. Every since then i’ve been better not in a pissy mood, not even sick unless i didnt take it before eating food but i did have some problems some times i would take it then go to macdonalds and try to eat but i couldnt i would throw up in the bathroom but this only happened twice, so it might not even been the pill but i perfer vyvanse
I have been on Vyvanse for 5 motnhs. I did one month at 50mg and then been on 70mg since. I had the pounding heart, but it went away. I already have anxiety, I take xanax or klonopin for that, so it isn’t a side effect. I take the Vyvanse about 6am and I noticed around 4-5pm it wears off. I did lose about 12-15 lbs, but now my appetite is coming back. I am just about to start my six month on it, and I have to say it works for me. The dry mouth went away after a while. Good luck everyone!
my son has ADHD and we have discoverd it when he was about 9 and we had him on strattera. he said it was the worst feeling he ever had and hated every second of it. he had bad depression, a loss of appetite, and was calling from school throwing up.
we called our local doctor and had him switched to 30mg vyvanse
he has been the star child ever since, god bless his heart
I have suffered from ADD since I got into college… In highschool it was just pretty easy and my neither my teachers nor I noticed it. I’ve also been an alcoholic and both Concerta and Adderall XR made me somewhat more impulsive when it came to alcohol and other drugs. Vyvanse has been great and I’ve been sober for about two months now. I will admit to sometimes using it for somewhat of a rush when going out to a bar with my friends instead of drinking. It doesn’t seem quite as addictive as Adderall, I actually got very hooked on that. The crash isn’t as hard on Vyvanse and I don’t find myself craving alcohol or popping another pill. BTW I just turned 26.
Last week I tried regular Addarall, that was okay at 15mgs a day, but I would crash and that was getting a little annoying. Went back to Doctor, he gave me 2 30mg Vyvanse… Day 1 went well, Day 2 I didn’t focus at all at work. He changed me to 50mg for the free 30 day trial…
Took it about about 6:30am this morning, no appitete all day. Got to work at 8:30 I was ON, getting stuff done ready to tackle my messy desk… Around 1:00pm I went to my intensive Pilates class…All went well until I returned. The the strange feeling took over. Burning in my chest (unlike heart burn), general weak feeling, and it gave me anixeity… Mind you I had’nt eaten all day, proably something to do with it.
I think it’s too much for me… I don’t feel like myself.
Bill from January 30, ’08
I’ve had the same experience as you did with gay thoughts. I’m not quite sure what else to call them. I’m 33, married and never was inclined to think about men, nor do I think it’s the end of the world that I did or others are. Like you, I’m just commenting that it is a definite side effect for me as well.
When I don’t take it, I revert back to not being interested in men at all. When I do, I experience a desire to at least look at other guys a different way.
I wonder if it’s just hyper-sexuality being expressed a different way? Or a change in impulse control? I’m not sure because I never had the impulse before.
If it is an expression of hypersexuality, I can imagine what it would do to teenagers in general or teens that question their sexuality. It seems like this drug would solve one problem and create two more.
I have the same desire for my wife btw, the gay thoughts are just additional.
I’m going to talk to my shrink about it this week. It’ll be interesting to see what his thoughts are.
HI,
I’m a 19 yr old female and have been taking vyvnase 50mg for almost a year. I usually take it every other day, of 2 or 3 consecutive days on, and then likewise off. I have only been taking it consistently like this though for a couple months, and as time goes on, it seems like my side effects (the ‘Coming Down’ side effects, that is) vary in extremes…whether I take it with or without food or whether I do or don’t consume caffeine, etc. I took it a few days ago and the come down was nothing…today, I have a killer migraine, cannot stop crying, feel as weak as if I were on codeine, and feel nauseas, even though I’m usually ravenous when it wears off!!!!
I’m beginning to worry because I need this medication to function, yet these come down effects aren’t very conducive to any type of functioning either…
Does anyone else have a come down/side effects that vary so greatly like this?!
PS- the one come down effect that is always present is a pounding rapid heart rate.
Felicity,
I am very familiar with the “come downs”/ or “crashes” (as I call them) that you experience with vyvanse. I took 70mg a day for four months and finally had enough. The inconsistency in the side effects drove me crazy. I did everything I could to pin-point the necessary daily protocol that would allow for optimal effectiveness of the vyvanse, while minimizing the side effects. Like you, I also tried taking it every other day. I finally went to my doctor and requested a prescription for a mood stabilizer and some sleeping medication. Understand, my side effects were primarily psychological ones ( irritability, depression, anxiety, strung-out-ness) and the mood stabilizer (Lamictal) has helped those greatly. My sleeping medication is actually an anti-psychotic (Seroquel) which helps with the vyvanse – induced insomnia. One of Seroquel’s side effects is increased appetite, so it has also helped with that negative aspect of vyvanse.
Anyways,
There are medications you can take to help with SOME of the side effects. The weakness and irregularities in your heart rate probably cannot be treated with other meds.
Just some info on vyvanse…
Taking vyvanse with/(around the time of consuming) vitamin C can influence how vyvanse makes you feel. (This is in published medical literature, and I can testify to this as well).
Taking vyvanse after a moderate fat/heavy carb meal ( Like pancakes for breakfast with a nice glass of milk) will make the vyvanse work in a more consistent manner. ( I was never a breakfast person, but now i actually enjoy making myself a feast! I take vyvanse/ my other meds around half an hour after I eat, so when they are digested there is already some nutrition in my system. I have found this to provide a much more consistent response to the vyvanse.)
The Sleeping meds for me have really really helped with vyvanse. I find the quality of my response to vyvanse to be in direct relationship with the consistency of my life style. Like you, I am 19. I have an extremely difficult time maintaining consistency in my life due to social reasons as it is. The vyvanse throws in a completely different dynamic to that. If i stay out late with friends, wake up at 1:00 in the afternoon and pop a vyvanse, there is no way I will be able to sleep anytime before 2:00 Am. This “snowballs” and consequently traps me in the cycle of inconsistency. That was my experience, maybe yours are different…
So maybe think about a sleeping pill.
One last suggestion:
If you come to conclusion that your body physically cannot handle the negative side effects (primarily the pounding heart rate). Try Adderall, or another amphetamine based stimulant if you haven’t already. I find adderall to be much more tolerable than vyvanse and I would be on it now if it weren’t for the success of my other meds in reducing vyvanses’ side effects.
In the end, Vyvanse is a bitch. We all know it. However, it is totally possible to make it work.
i would just like to say my daughter is 9 this year and she takes 30mg every day for school and i didnt want her taking anything but she wanted to try something so other children wouldn’t give her a hard time at school and it really really really helps her she can now sit and focus while in school and she does everything the same when she gets home as if she didnt have any meds that day this really does work for the children that need it i know many other mothers in our town that have had different meds for there children and they started this and the kids are doing so much better in school and at home just wanted to say if your child really needs this then try it if it doesn’t work that is a sign your cild doesn’t need this
My 8 year old daughter is on this she takes 30mg the doctors started her on this while she was in school as her mother i have never had her on meds before this so i could always deal with her being crazy and out of control her teachers couldn’t and they were talking about kicking her out of school for her problems in class so we did the meds and they work very well for her some days for about 30 mins she has a belly ach then she is fine when school lets out for summer winter or weekends i take her off her meds i dont think she needs them when she is with me and i let her be who she is even if it is the wild n crazy kids thats my wild n crazy kid and i just let her be her when its time for school i put her back on it so she will act like all the other kids then she doesnt have kids being mean to her or making fun of her for gettin sent out of the room this works great for my child if only others could be as lucky to find the one thing that works *** personal note i think we need better teachers that can handle normal children no child act the same and there is nothing wrong with my daughter she just has to deal with people that cant handle a very gifted child that i think is normal
I am a sixty-three year old male non smoker who started smoking shortly after starting vyvanse.I have been on it for fourty-five days.
I have experienced teeth grinding and noticed a more suspicious nature than before, although it is only enhanced not totally new. I was having trouble concentrating in meetings, thats gone, I’m now focused. I only had one day of chest pain and that was brief. I thought it was the cigarette I smoked. Duhh. Any way it has been mostly positive to this point. I am concerned about some of the things people have written because I do not want to stop taking it since I am really focused in meetings and while driving etc. I have not experienced any sense of being on a drug or high or anything like that at all , in fact quite the opposite, it seems to help my mental alertness and thought process. I will see if the cigarettes are something I can do without. I wondered why I had an urge to smoke since I definitely knew better than to do that, but did it anyway. I am glad I didn’t have any other out of character desires or interests like those described in some of the peoples narratives above this one. I was very strongly needing a cigarette, so I can appreciate the compulsive urge that seems to overtake a person without their awareness regarding why they feel the way they do. I suggest that any out of character behavior or desire could be controlled if the awareness of where it is comming from remains in the conscious arena of the mind, but I guess I will find out if I cannot resist the cigarettes I will have to stop the Vyvanse in order to get a grip on things. I hopes this helps someone to deal with their ADD and I appreciate the honesty of all of the above people who helped me.
Thanks***Michael
Im taking Vyvanse for the first time today and I’ve read over this and it scares me more htan anyhting else… Ill post this evening with how my day goes..
Its been about 4 hours since I’ve taken a 50mg dose for the first time and its nothing like most of these posts explain. I am more focused, but there are none of these crazy, terrible side effects that everyone kept bringing up when they initially took it. My biggest issue right now is a little drymouth and no appetite, but I made sure to eat a hearty breakfast before taking it, becuase its usually better to eat before taking most any prescription, unless directed otherwise. I do realize that each body does react differently to the medicine, so compared to the most of the posts on here, I’m very lucky or they are slightly exaggerating, but ill update this every few days and let everyone know if any new side effects have arose… By the way im not trying to discredit any of the posts on here, but this feels nothing near any street drug, eg: cocaine, meth, etc. I’m a 22 year old male, and I went through my ‘experimental stage’ a few years back and this does not come close to any of those, which is a good thing. Parents, and others condering being perscribed Vyvanse for themselves or their children, this drug is not what most people make it out to be. I was just diagnosed ADD last week and this is my first ADD drug, and its nothing near what some of these posts make it out to be. I feel like I normally do, but with more energy and focus, as you can tell by this post compared to my first one. Once again it is my first day and I know people do react differently, but I just cant imagine someone taking a dose comprable to mine and having some of the effects listed above, its a bit ridiculous in my opinion. When I first read this post, I was terrified to take the medicine out of fear of what may happen to me based on what people have said, but if taken responsibly as prescribed on a full stomach, I think Vyvanse is a SAFE and legitimate ADD treatment. Ill update in a day or two with more.. I hope this helps for now
I wanted to add two more things before I go… I read about how Vyvanse was making some people chew on the inside of their mouth, and I wanted to let everyone know I was having that issue, but I found an easy remedy for it… Chew gum or eat some hard candy (I prefer Jolly Ranchers); it keeps youre mouth entertained. Also I just wanted to give my personal opinion on something. Having ADD or ADHD does not mean bad grades automatically. I graaduated sixth in my class and made a 32 on the ACT, and I was not officially diagnosed until last week, and Ive been this way my whole life. I did drop out of college, but not because of my ADD. My doctor was stunned that I made good grades in school, and the thought that children/adults with ADD are automatically going to make bad grades is more a stereotype and an excuse rather than truth. That is my personal opinion though.
Wow, Marion. You describe your child as crazy and out of control and that being no problem for you. Then you say it was a problem for her teachers and she was on the verge of being kicked out of school. You also describe other kids being mean to her for getting sent out of the room. In defense of the other kids, they probably were sick of her” wild and crazy” and out of control behavior. Being around a child like that disrupts their teacher’s ability to teach them and probably makes them feel unsafe as well. It is a teacher’s responsibility to provide a safe and secure learning environment. I taught for a few years. We were not allowed to suggest a child be screened for ADHD and certainly not allowed to suggest medication for them.
There are many kids that have more energy than others. This does not mean they are ADHD. There are also kids that throw desks, constantly interrupt class by talking out, cutting up, picking on other kids and basically just being disruptive. IF my child was one of the later, I would take responsibility for my child and take her to the Dr. to be evaluated for ADHD and if needed, put my child on meds. If I didn’t want to put my child on meds, I would definitely not put her back in school where she would continue taking away valuable learning time for the children in her class.
Marion, at least you have your child on meds. Too bad you had to slam your “wild and crazy, out of control yet normal and gifted” child’s teacher s and all teachers in the process. ****On a personal note, we need better parents who take responsibility for their children’s self described “wild and crazy out of control” instead of calling it “normal and gifted”.
Cathy, I had my first night terror I have had in 20 years when I started to take Vyvanse. I asked my Dr. about it and he told me it can cause hallucinations and bad dreams, which is what a night terror is a combination of. He told me to be aware of it and if it continued, to let him know. I haven’t had one since but have been told by my signifigant other that one time I bolted up into a sitting position in my bed looking terified and babbling about something he couldn’t understand. I had a vague memory of it in the morning, but I haven’t had anything else happen besides those two incidents. Good luck, as I remember how horrifying night terrors were to me when I was a little girl. I hope it is just a nasty side effect that will get better or disappear over time.
I forgot to mention that I am on 70mgs of vyvanse and I also have high blood pressure(I have had it for 10 years since I had an aortic dissection repaired at age 27). I know Vyvanse is supposed to increase your blood pressure, if anything. It is really strange. When the Vyvanse starts to wear off around 8 or 9 pm I start to be very aware of each heartbeat and every breath I take. I also feel little cramps in my chest. I then take my blood pressure like I am supposed to three times a day and it is very very low, like 84/33 in my left arm and then 95/40 in my right arm with my pulse being about normal at 55. My diastolic(or whichever the lower number is has always been very low(in the 40’s-50’s) but my systolic has alway been in the 120’s-130’s. During the day when I am on the vyvanse it stays at around 105/45. Sometimes I am scared to take my nightime catapres(another blood pressure med I take that helps me sleep too) for fear of bottoming out and not waking up. Anyone else had this bizarre reaction with thier blood pressure/ shortness of breath and weird feeling and pounding heart beat in the chest? By the way I am on Vyvanse since I am on so much blood pressure meds that I walk around like a zombie I am so worn out and tired. The Dr. tried me on provigel to no avail so decided to try vyvanse. It working fabulous in the day, though I do get a slight euphoric effect after about an hour of taking it that lasts about three hours.
My 19 year old started Vyvanse 2 weeks ago. We didn’t even think that it would interfere with his physical conditioning as nothing he took in the past changed his cardio capacity.
He was assigned sprints for his team and he complained of extreme chest tightness to the point he did not feel he could get adequate breath. He also complained that he had headrush every time he stood up and had to catch himself from falling by steadying himself on a wall. I am terrified. He is on a very low dose of 20 mg. He says it really helps him with focus and concentration for hours- literally. But he even admits that the trade off is not worth it. I only hope that there is no permanent damage to his heart.
Anne that is the same question I have. I don’t want to tell my Dr. as I know he will take me off it immediately due to my aortic irregularities. But if there could be permanent damage to my heart when my aorta is already shot, it just might put an end to me. Anyone know if Vyvanse can damage the heart when it feels as if it is giving you tightness and cramps in the chest? It only seems to be when it is wearing off for me at around 6-8 hours that I notice it so much that it causes me to stop and say “wow, what was that?” I also take spin classes four nights a week but I haven’t since I started this med as I feel that might not be a good idea. I am going to call my Doc on Tuesday. If he wants to take me off of it I guess I will just have to find something else that will help keep me awake at work. I told him already that I was concerned about taking it before he prescribed it for me and he said ” Well then since priovigel gave you shortness of breath and you can’t take Vyvanse it looks like you are going to have to do what the rest of us do and drink coffee. I already drink coffee all day.
i am a teen with add. when me and my parents went to the doctor for help he told me to exercise, diet, and play video games. he also gave me fish oil, which didn’t help. after a week he persscribed me vyvance. first 30mg then 50mg all the way up to 100mg. at 100 i felt amazing, not high, just focused. i got things done with no side affects other than loss of apitite. i didn’t care because i’m a big kid and needed to lose weight. after 2 weeks i went back in and found i lost 40 pounds! mainly because i was taking advantage of the loss of apitite to lose some weight. i told i would eat normal now and i thought everything was ok. untill, i had to refill my perscription and i needed to go to the doctor for a form. he had already talked to my parents about my meds and changed them to concerta. i have been on concerta for 3 weeks and it has othing but hurt me. it doen’t help with focus, i can’t sleep until 4:00 in the morning i become extremely depressed and i’m always hungery i gained 20 pounds back now. they won’t tell me why they took me off vyvance. i don’t know what to do because if i stop taking it i get more depressed. i would like to go back to vyvance.
Well, I developed premature ventricular contraction after starting on Focalin. I stopped it’s use but the skipping the beat continues. I have a Rx for Vyvanse but after reading all the comments, the bottom line is I rather have my wife act as my pill than to intoxicate my body with chemicals to manage a so common behavioral disorder. I’m 42
Son has been on vyvanse for 6 months, every now and than, I take him off for a few days and when he starts taking it again he gets really bad nose bleeds, is this a coincidence or is anyone there having nose bleeds as well? He is 14, dosage is 30mg.
I am a 40yo male with ADD. I have taken up to 60mg of Adderall XR and IR for 2 years. In addition, I have abused it by crushing and snorting it. Usually on a binge basis. At perscibed doses, Adderall gave me the following side effects: Dry mouth, hot flashes, decreased appetite, chronic low grade earache, moodiness including anger outbursts, decreased personality including sense of humor. Various sexual side effects including ED and increases compulsivity. In consideration of younger readers I won’t discuss these in detail in this forum. Adderall seemed to create a desire for more of the euphoria it so easily produces. This lead me to snorting it for a stronger effect. This high does not last as long and leads to wanting more. At these dosage levels, the thereputic effects for ADD are gone. The high is more like cocaine.
I am currently taking 70mg of Vyvanse. It is very different than the Adderall. The onset is slower. The high is not as intense and seems to fall off more gradually. I have observed a marked moodiness and decreased effectiveness when combined with caffiene. The medicine seems to also work much better if I eat on a regular basis. Even if I’m not hungry I try to have something in my stomach. I am much less likely to abuse Vyvanse. I not saying it can’t be abused. I’m sure some people will try. If it must be absorbed in the gut, then snorting it is a waste of time. An abuser might as well just swallow it. I also hear that the level of the drug in the blood system does not continue to increase after 150mg. In other words 220mg doesn’t produce a greater high than 150mg. Therefore the risk of overdose is supposed to be lower. The sexual side effects are decreased but still present. Dry mouth and occasional sore throut(sp) are minor annoyances.
It works great for me and I have no desire to abuse it.
I have been on vyvanse for a couple months now after being on adderal XR for a year. It started out ok. I mean its not like the adderal, were i accomplished so much in a short time, but it worked. However, tomorrow morning when i wake up (if i ever get to sleep) i will be calling my doctor to GET ME OFF THIS!! i have an appointment wednesday, but after the tremendous episodes of depression, anxiety, emptyness, worthlessness, feel like im a complete messed up person, that i had today, i cant take it anymore. DONT GET ME WRONG, personally, i think there is something else wrong with me (was reading up on bipolar disorder and personality disorder) But i feel that vyvanse is to blame for this(at least in me) Today i was like a roller coaster. I was happy, then crying about how my life is a mess, then sorta fine, and well you get the idea. I have also felt like there was a presence at times, like un-natural. I just cannot deal with these side effects any longer. I’m tierd of being depressed and Vyvanse sure has brought back, or even worsened my depression. THIS PROBABLY is the EXTREME of the side effects, But i no longer will take this. Sorry it did work at first, but like others have mentioned, there is just not enough data for this drug, and its like we’re test animals.
I’ve been on Vyvanse 70mgs for several months, and have loved it. It helps me to focus, stay more organized, and even controls my mood swings nicely, without any harsh “let downs” like some of the other meds I’ve been on. I was also able to work out without fearing cardiac arrest, which some of the other drugs made me feel like I was on the verge of. Unfortunately, it seems that recently I’ve developed a tolerance for it, and am just as ADD as I was before I started taking it. What are my options so I can get back to having a “normal life.”
Also, parents of young children, please be aware that doctors prescribe full grown adults dosages of 30 and 50 mgs of Vyvanse! Those are entirely too strong for children, and whenever trying out medication, you should (please) ask for the lowest dose possible, and work your way up. As an adult, I did, and do for my daughter. Thank you
im a GiRL and im SEVENTEEN. after reading almost all of these posts, one after another, i really wanted to share my experience with vyvanse.its really weird because i love researching how people feel from taking this pill..like all the differnet side effects..its really interesting to me because sometimes i feel like how i feel is unnormal.
anyways, i take 70 mg of vyvanse daily.i took it april through june of 2008 and then stopped for summer then picked up again mid august. its basically a LOVE/HATE realationship…..back in may i was getting really good grades, the best ive ever gotten in my life and the medicine was working very well and most of the time i felt good. although it took about a full month for the medicine to fully kick in all the way. oh and when i say i felt good..i was getting a high off the medicine most the time and i loved it..id go to school and just be excited and ready for the day to begin. but every now and then back in may i would get depressed and shaky and so self concious it would be almost unbearable. everything would makes me unhappy and i completly didnt understand myself or understand who i am at all….also on these bad days, i would get MAJOR anxiety. also at night time when i drove sometimes i would see hallucinations..not kidding. like ill think i see like a random person just standing in someones yard..when its really like a tree or something. it really freaked me out. my vision at night was pretty messed up. also another thing is..my heart beats incredibly fast when i take this. it also makes me have an addiction to not eating. im only 110 pounds and clearly not eating is not healthy for my body, but when i take this pill its like i have the power to be anorexic.i mean everyone who takes this pill does. but for me it has this weird effect on my brain and it makes me love to not eat. i used to love food but i always have wanted to get skinnier (secretly), and would try to get throughout the day without eating, but i couldnt because i couldnt resist my love for food. now taking vyvanse controlls that and makes me strong enough to say no to food since im never hungry. its really incredible. i feel like the more i dont eat, the more i feel shaky, naueous, dizzy, unhappy and depressed, and undsercible is when i DONT eat. So for me eating would probley make those symptoms go away a little bit. i cant even really describe how this medicine makes me feel sometimes but this medicine can deffiently mess with your head..like it really messes with my mind. i cant even explain it. im truly addicted and i love this medicine because now without it, i cant function. im addicted. i know for a fact. i just hate how it messes with my head and makes me nauseous some days, while i love how it makes me do my homework and i love that great feeling it gives me. honestly i dont know whats better..taking it..or not. i feel like this drug hasnt really been researched enough and i also feel like the human brain and mind are so complicated that people dont really understand them at all. i just wish someone felt at least in some way the same as i do and i wish i could explain it more in a way that makes sense.
vyvanse is the shit sonnnnnnnnnn
Either I’m not ADHD or this drug is even better than expected. I took my first 50mg dose this morning and the old feelings of meth were there all over again. My head tingled, jaw grinding, gotta move feelings all over again. One more try before I flush the rest.
Girl who is 17 was watching the shadow people play; the same hallucinations that a person does on high doses of methamphetamine.
I am apalled at the first 20 or so comments I read. I just stopped reading. This is a MEDICATION not a recreational drug. There are people who really need it, and if you do, it will work well. After 4 years of Ritalin in increasing doses, my son was given Vyvanse and it has worked fine. Not only is he focused, but, he is motivated and wants to do well. It saddens me to have to give him a stimulent, but, if you live with someone with ADHD, you will definitely understand the need for it.
After reading a lot of these comments, I have no idea what to do with my son who is 14 with ADD. I will check back though because finally at the end people with heart conditions is what I was looking for. In the pamphlet for the medicine it states “sudden death in patients who have heart problems or heart defects”. My family history have a lot of heart problems.
Thanks to the teenagers comments doing the medicine as a way to get high. It shows me, that I need to watch my son as he gets older to make sure he is taking his medicine correctly and not using it to get high. I hope you stop doing it though, your heart isn’t something to mess around with getting high!!!
it seems to me that Shire PLC is more interested in making money, since they are about to lose the patent for adderall, and are now pushing a drug that they barely researched to replace the profits they will lose on adderall.
and for those self-proclaimed speed freaks: if you tell your doctor that you have a speed problem and he gives you speed anyway, shouldnt that give you some sort of signal that this guy is a fucking quack getting kickbacks from the pharmecuetical company? you think at first, “yay!!! legal speed!” that is until youve used a whole months supply in 4 days (like a poster above did). I cant believe that the company is actually saying that this drug not addictive. its in the damn AMPHETIMINE family. for those who dont know, it can be used as a key ingredient for METHAMPHETIMINE (currently known as the most addictive drug ever)! thats all we need are a bunch of cranked up children. most people who have problems with any form of speed normally have a severe issue with depression and/or add/adhd. IF A PERSON WHO HAS ADD/ADHD HAS A SPEED PROBLEM, THEY SHOULD NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER BE PRESCIBED A FORM OF SPEED. its as tho doctors are now street drug dealers. if you told a friend that you had serious problem with alcohol and they gave you a beer because under their logic ‘at least its not hard liquor!’ do you think that they are you friend? these doctors are doing the same thing but charging people for it. i bet a million dollars that this drug will be taken off the market because of the amount of adverse side effects. 10% of the initial group stopped taking the meds because of side effects. TEN PERCENT!!!! which is far more than the 1-2% for adderall and ritalin.
I dont blame the parents. a few parents have said that its helped their kids. i wonder how long it will last. a few months before you have to increase the dose to that of an adult?
my aunt started her son on this medication this morning and she actually had to go to the school and get him right after she dropped him off because he couldnt walk because he couldnt move his legs. he is also displaying SERIOUS anxiety (some is normal for a kid, but never has he displayed tension like this), numbness through out his body, LARGER LACK OF CONCENTRATION (isnt the purpose of the drug to help this?), and extreme stomach pain. this is only day one. what makes me upset is that his supposed doctor met with him for 15 minutes then prescribed him a 50mg dose. I cant believe that a pharmeceutical company could be this corrupt. wait.. of course i can. money is the root of all evil and this is a prime example of these companies taking advantage of health issues for money only to make them worse.
Do yourself a favor and steer clear from caffeine on this medication, it made me turn into a zombie and want to crawl out of my skin…yikes! I was on Adderall XR 15 mg and Im thinking to switching back. I’m currently on Vyvanse 50 mg, and I feel demotivated, edgy, and like my personality is subdued. It’s true that the longer sustained release feature of the product does seem to help alleviate some of the withdrawal symptoms, but I still feel one of two ways when on it, like a zombie or wired and edgy, I can definitely tell when I’m experiencing the peak of medication release. Adderall XR definitely made me a bit more chipper and motivated. I’m 29 and work in the pharma industry and have done much research and looking into the package inserts of each products and studies and reviews. It’s hard weighing the pros and cons, but I’ve decided feeling in good spirits and motivated even if it’s for a shorter period is worth not feeling how I feel on Vyvanse, especially since with Adderall XR I can have more flexibility with dosing and boosters for maintenance. Everybody is different in how they are effected by each product, but studies suggest they are comparable with exception of some very minor differences, so nobody is wrong in their experience, they just need to find the right fit for them and luckily we have many options and I’m sure at the rate of research even more options in the future…Best of Luck to everybody finding what works for them! ;o)
I have been off of ADD meds for 6 years. I have problems focusing, but i didnt worry about it until I went back to college, and now i feel like i really need it. To KAY.. please be really carefull. The symptoms you are describing sound like drug induced hysteria/psychosis reaction. This is why I stopped all drugs. I feel that adderol brought those symptoms out in me (aversion to people and activities ect) it is not very much different to low doses of street drugs such as cocaine, or meth. The chemical structure is very very similar. not to say that they are not usefull to some if properly used, but they still come with a price (not monetary) BE CAREFULLLL!!!!
My son was diagnosed with ADHD when he was in 1st grade. He has prescribed Focalin and did well on this for several years. He also took Strattera (this med made him suicidal) He is on Conerta 54mg now and has done well on this. It is not working as well now, since he has been on this for several years. I have been given a presciption for Vyvanse 30mg. (I am waiting until the weekend to start this) I was told by the doctor that Vyvanse works best if they have been on other ADHD medications first. My son is now 12 and I am not sure if his behavior problems are age or ADHD related. All medications work differently for everyone. As a parent, you know what is going to work for your child.
I have a question I would really like to know the answer to…
How do the milligrams of Vyvanse and Adderral compare?
In other words, 70mg of Vyvanse would = that of ?mg of Adderall.
I’m 18 and I’ve been tested 3 times each by different docters with severe ADD and for years have been prescribed off and on Adderall IR, XR, Ritalin, Vyvanse, including generics of nearly all the above. I have to say I do like this medication. I also would like to add… to all parents reading about this drug for the potential use of it for their child, you have to understand it works different for everyone. Most of the bloggers on here, are obviously not educated enough to advise you on your childs health. IF VYVANSE IS PRESCIBED PROPERLY IT WILL WORK. To all of you who are complaining about the negatives of it why are you still taking it if it’s doing more bad than good? If you are having all these horrid side effects and “high” feeling, then this drug OBVIOUSLY is not for you. Lets be serious here, for people like myself who want to learn more about this drug. For the health of us all. Thanks for your time!
Please read the entire pamphlet when this medication is prescribed to you or your child….while it does work in 90% of the testers….the other 10% experienced EXTREME emotional episodes of happyness and sadness. The leaflet warns of possible maniac episodes in about 10% of users. I’ve seen my best friend ruin his entire life after a mere 2 weeks on this medication. If there are any kind of unstable emotions….don’t take this. Please have your children clinically tested for ADHD, and ask for brain imaging. These drugs will not have the same effects if you do not have ADHD.
I was wondering how fast this medication works? I am starting my son (11 yrs – 147 lbs)on Vyvanese (nothing else seems to work) and was wondering when I should start noticing changes. He will be taking 50 mg 1 time per day. Please let me know.
Kathy
I just took the 70mg pill and let me too you i don’t plan on taking it again. I felt very dizzy and my pulse felt like it had bumped up a lot. It is a very weird experience and if you are going to give it to a child (I’m 20), be aware that it could be scary for them. Definitely don’t give them a high dosage if it is their first medication.
I am VERY sensitive to this type of medication. I am 48 years old with adult ADD & I take the new 20mg version of Vyvanse. I realize that everyone is different but anyone who starts out taking the highest dose of this medication (I’m including the doctors that actually prescribe this medication) aught to be tested for possible substance abuse themselves! This is a VERY strong medication & one needs to start out with one of the LOWER doses (i.e. 20 or 30mg pills) & if that’s not doing the trick, work their way up to the higher doses. I am not a rocket scientist but people, this is just plain common sense! Along with Vyvanse, I take 10mg of Lexapro daily. I’m not saying this will work for everyone, obviously it won’t. Vyvanse can be a very good medication but you just have to make sure that you don’t bite off more than you can chew as far as the doses are concerned. Good luck to all.
I took some Vyvanse at 6pm on sept 13, i was wired all night. I still havnt gone to sleep and its almost 11pm sept14. Its some good stuff.
I am surprised at the high doses most people start out with.
I am a 34 yr old woman and was RXd 20 mg a day to begin with.
Today was my first day. I opened the capsule and poured out about 40% of it into a cup of water to drink.
I don’t think I felt anything yet (it is now 3PM,) which is fine by me. I want to titrate up very slowly.
I have fairly severe anxiety and panic as it is.
I am taking this drug very cautiously.
I also take wellbutrin sr 150 mg, and xanax .25 as needed. So far today I haven’t needed it.
Tomorrow I will try to take 1/2 the capsule (10 mg), and I will update then.
I am not against higher dosages, but please start out smaller.
My son takes 27 mgs of concerta and 5 mg of ritalin if he needs it in the afternoon.
Other then chewing on his lips, I haven’t noticed any reactions he has had to it. Concerta has really helped him.
im 18, i used to be prescribed to 25 mg adderall XR and 10 mg immediate release adderall. it did wonders for my attention problems but after 3-4 months i was turning into an irritable, angry person, with outbursts of anger. in a low point of my life i was switched to vyvanse. and it was like the magical medicine. i returned to my old self, the outbursts dissapeared, and my attention problems were further solved. im now on the 70 mg dose, and i recommend it to anyone who is having trouble with adderall. this helped me a lot and hopefully it will for you too.
My son is 6 years old and he has been taking 20 mg of Vyvanse for 3 weeks. The effects have been positive, but I have not seen the medication lasting the 8 to 10 hours that I was promised. It appears to only last for 6 hours. Has anyone else found this medication to fall short of the 8 to 10 hour period? Obviously I will check with my son’s neurologist, but does a larger dose (30 mg for example) last a longer period of time? Or does it just have a stronger effect for the same period of time?
One of the things I have not seen mentioned here is the sever side affect of drinking alcohol while this drug is in your system. Beware! It intesifies the affects of the drug but will make you very agrevated, aggresive and down right mean. I also dont remember most of the night after only two martini’s. My sexual inhabitions were gone and it causes exteam confusion. Be carefull!!!!
Just about ruined my marraige!!!!!!!
I have been taking Vyvanse 30 mg for a month. I really like it and have had no bad side effects. It gives me more energy, helps me stay focused, complete tasks, etc. It also keeps me from falling asleep during the day, which before I took this medication, I would do about 20 times. It is amazing to be able to go throughout the day and not nod off. This isn’t why it was prescribed to me, but a huge benefit. The Vyvanse does not make it hard for me to fall asleep. I would not advise taking it too late in the day. The only ill effect is that it has raised my blood pressure a few points.
TO KATHY:
I’ve been on the 30mg dose of Vyvanse for just over a year now.
The pill will take effect the first day your son takes it, if that’s what you mean.
For me, it usually takes about half an hour for me to start noticing a difference in my behavior, and about an hour for the medicine to reach its “peak,” which lasts for me anywhere from three to five hours.
I’m 20, so I’m not sure if the dosage/body size would have an effect on the information I just gave you.
Hope this helped!
My son is 8 years old and was recently diagnosed with ADHD. My husband and I did not want him on medication because of all of the horror stories we’ve heard about the kid becoming a zombie. However, we decided to put in on Vyvanse (20 mg). This caused him to be very dizzy and have headaches. After talking to the doctor, we decided to split the capsule everyday so that he only gets 10 mg. This has worked extremely well, allowing him to focus in class and he still has his same active personality, which is fine. He now goes to his desk to do his homework by himself without me hovering over him to keep him on task. That is probably the most amazing thing. Something that used to take us hours to finish, with lots of yelling and crying, now only takes 30 minutes. All doubts that I’ve ever had about using medication are gone. However, it is concerning when you hear of some children taking such high doses of these medications. I would hope that parents are trying their child on the lowest dose and if there are still bad side effects, you should discuss cutting the medication yourself to get an even lower dose. This has worked for us.
I have been on Adderall XR since the latter part of my my freshman year of HS, now I am a Junior in college. I loved my Adderall XR because my grades when from D’s and C’s to A’s, B’c, and C’s. Now In college I am pulling a 3.0 GPA. I dont know where I’d be without the medication. I personally feel that my parents did nothing wrong with my up bringing, I was active as a child on swim team, even having a job all through HS. I was active, but my attention span wasn’t quite as active and I struggled. It bothers me to hear adults say that it isnt biological. Currently I am on the pre-med track and have taken many psychology classes. There are so many chemicals and processes going on in the brain, the smallest error can happen and have a huge effect, and its making me realize more and more that it is biological. Now, thats not to say some kids maybe just might grow out of it, but still to this day, my friends can TELL ME when I do or don’t take my medicine, still, and I am 20 years old.
Currently I just got switched to the 60 mg dose of vyvanse, and so far I am quite pleased. Havent had any issues at all. With concerta being my first med that I ever tried, that made me really sick, missed some school days due to nausea. Adderall XR was heaven. I am excited to see how vyvanse works as I continue on with it. I have to say, what I really like about vyvanse is how much longer it lasts. My adderall XR would wear off around 5 or 6 PM and I would have trouble doing HW or studying at night for my classes. But now, I am able to do my work until about 9 PM at night.
I am quite pleased with this medication.
As far as for parents, let me tell you what my mom did. For many years, my mom was told I needed to be put on medicine. We waited til my HS years for me to put on because she had fears of how it would affect my brain chemistry. My advice to parents, wait until after your child has started puberty. In my classes there is research showing that kids that start meds for ADD/ADHD before puberty are more likely to stay on meds the rest of their life because it can change brain chemistry. But, starting after puberty allows them to eventually come off.
Please don’t be scared to put your child on medicine, It can hurt them more not to, making them struggle in school and can lead to worse problems later in education. Before my adderall XR, i didnt think I was going to get to go to college or even reach my dream of becoming a pediatrician. Now I am in my junior year of college getting ready to take the MCAT exam in a year and a half.
If you have any questions, I would be more than happy to answer them with my own personal experiences. Buldawg3988@aol.com
I am a freshman in college and during my junior year in high school I started taking Adderall XR for the first time. It helped with my school work, but once the medication started to wear off I became irritable. I took it through the school year but began the slow release Adderall during the summer while at summer school- that gave me bad headaches. The last month of summer I stopped medications all together. Once school started though, I took the Adderall XR again and began feeling very depressed for no apparent reason. Due to this feeling of depression, I stopped taking any ADD meds all of my senior year. My grades suffered, but I was willing to sacrifice for fear of Adderall’s side affects. One year later- the course load of my first few weeks of college was overwhelming and my doctor put me on vyvanse. Today was my first day, and after about 2.5 hours, I started feeling that depression again. I don’t take any other medications besides birth control, and I’m not sure if I’m having this feeling because it’s the first day or not. Did anyone else have a strange experience like this on adderall or their first day on Vyvanse?
The crack heads on this page need to step off.
I believe my ADHD son is artistic, sweet, funny, and smart. I go out of my way to reassure him of this.
I read a Medical study that says kids and adults with ADHD/ADD have high levels of alpha and theta brain waves, these should only be in high amounts when we are alseep ADHD/ADD or not. Alpha and Theta BW control the dream state. When we are awake, when we work, study, or play we should have high levels of Beta Waves.
People without ADHD/ADD have normal levels of Beta waves just sitting,
when reading or writing, or playing cards for example the level gets a little higher.
Kids and adults with ADHD/ADD were testing doing these things— their Beta levels remined lower than normal and their Alpha and Theta levels remined higher than normal.
Knowing this, I would like to know how some nut case decided that parents are to blame for ADHD/ADD? I mean, do you believe that we have control over our kids brain waves?
Please get a medical license before you open your mouth!
As for Vyvanse my son is start on it next week. Those that have said don’t play with the dose, you are right. If my son has a reaction that is not desired, I will call his doctor at once and do what she says.
I am also taking my son to a licensed Acupuncturist for herbal theraphy as well.
For those who gave usuful info, Thank you very much.
The Brain Wave study proves that ADHD/ADD are real and not a crock.
you guts are stupid if you is aq crackhead then go snort some foclin or ridoline or adderar or conserta ya now i mean i was once a crackhead but that shit got me off of it so im clean of crack now
I have been reading all the rants from the druggies on here. Not very useful. My 8 yr old grandson has ADHD, so to those who don’t have anyone who lives with it, are misinformed. He started off with Strattera. It worked for awhile then not. He wanted to sleep alot. He was having fits of temper and not listening, fidgeting, etc. We talked to his dr and he suggested Vyanese. He started off on 30mg no help. He increased it to 50mg for a week to see how he felt. He is now on the 50mg. His attention and temperment has changed drastically. His summer daycare and teachers have said they have seen a HUGE difference in him since he started it. He is getting A’s and B’s in school. He says he feels much better. His appetite it up and down. He is starting to sleep much better at night. Like every other medicine you have to watch for side effects. So far he has none. Like everything else there is always going to be some idiot out there to abuse any drug.
hi im 20 year old male about 280 pound football player …i got diagnosed with adhd and my doctor gave me Vyvanse 50 mg ive been reading alot of these reviews and i am worried cosindering this is my first mediation for my problem
My son is 14 years old and has been on Vyvanse for two months. He now has tics because the Vyvanse has triggered it. So I have been told by a neurologist. For those of you that said your child has the uncontrollable jaw movements, PLEASE tell me what you did to stop it. It is so awful to see your child go this. I am so sad and angry all at the same time. I totally understand what you are going through. Thank you
I’ve noticed that some other people have experienced twitching as a side-effect in their child. My son has experienced this as well. When I spoke to his pediatrician about this she told me “I wouldn’t worry about it, he probably would have developed that anyway without the drug.” Huh?!!! He didn’t have this twitch before, and ever since he’s been on the medication (which by the way works very well for him) he twitches up a storm. Needless to say I was NOT happy with her response.
So, I decided to research into other possible reasons for twitching in my son and discovered that magnesium deficiencies can also lead to twitching, and calcium is an antagonist for magnesium. My son happens to drink milk like it’s going out of style so he gets more than enough calcium…but it led me to thinking. If calcium is an antagonist for magnesium, perhaps this medication could be as well…which is exacerbating the deficiency making it more prevalent, causing the twitching. So I decided to try something. Each morning I give my son approximately 1/4 cup of nuts to munch on (almonds, peanuts, brazil nuts, even pumpkin seeds)…while I fix his breakfast (he always wants something quick to eat while I’m cooking). I’ve noticed that since I’ve begun doing that….his twitching has TOTALLY disappeared. This also worked very quickly. One day he was twitching up a storm, the next day…he wasn’t (after giving him nuts THAT morning.)
Give it a try, it worked for me. I absolutely could not accept that my son was going to have to live with this twitching.
RE: Posted by: Cathy October 7th, 2007 at 2:11 am
Yes, same here, went back to adderall XR, and major difference yet positive, no fog, memory recall control, etc.
So im a 19 year old male and ive recently been turned on to Vyvanse (30 day free deal.) I started taking Adderall XR when i was 14 and took that for 4 years but i mostly just took it to humour my parents cause they thought it was helping, although it wasnt. I havent taken any adderall for 14 months now and just recently (about 2 months ago) my ADD started becoming an evident problem again. I think its because im still in high school (Sr.) trying to make up credits and its very very hard to concentrate on all the things i need to do. So after going to tge doctor today, i came home with this stuff. Im really kind of nervous about taking it though after reading all the stuff about it like side affects and whatnot but theres really not much i can do because i highly doubt my doctor will give me adderall again without seeing a psychiatrist because i have a history of drug abuse and dependance. Guess ill pop one of these when i wake up and wing it… My question though is has anyone smoked some bud before doing this/while on it? I smoke 2-3 times a day with my friends before and after school so id like to make sure it doesnt interact too severely.
My son is on vyvanse and strattera, He has been on strattera for about 2 years, and two months ago vyvanse was added. I find he is doing better in school. He has started at a new high school this year and i find he is more aggressive in his words and has sort of an attitude, could this be from the vyvanse. He had similar side effects from paxil. When I took him off the paxil, he seemed to be his old happy self again. I wonder if the vyvanse is similar to the paxil. I will speak to his MD next month
I am a 34 year old female diagnosed a year ago with Bi-Polar II. I am currently on Lithium, Lamictal, Wellbutrin and Vyvanse. I want to get off some of these Meds and was wondering if anyone knows why I am getting an ADHD drug for Bi-Polar disorder? Does it treat my Bi-Polar depression? At first I thought I might be ADHD because some of the Bi-Polar symptoms are the same as ADHD. I’m a bit confused does anyone know? Thanks.
Alex, Give it a try. I thought it would do no good for my grandson. Maybe he one of the lucky ones that it doesn’t bother. He is like night and day when he doesn’t take it. It is hit and miss as far as the dosage goes. Most of the info I have read on it says it may take 6 months to level it out. Don’t give up. Most normal people know you DO NOT smoke any dope of any kind and take drugs. They must have a death wish. The illegal drugs are doing more harm than the add or adhd meds.
Jen, I’m not sure why you would be on this drug if you are Bi-Polar, because everything I’ve read states that this drug can make the symptoms worse. This was taken from this website I hopefully have showing under “Warnings & Precautions” (In people with psychotic disorders (such as schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder), Vyvanse can make psychotic symptoms (such as thought disorders and behavior problems) worse. Also, Vyvanse can make bipolar symptoms worse, especially manic symptoms.) I would absolutely talk to your Dr. about this and find out why you’ve been put on it.
Thanks Anita. I am not classic Bi-Polar more Bi-Polar 2 with most my problem being the depression and suicidal tendencies. I don’t have severe mania. My mania would be a little bit more “energetic” then what would be a persons normal state. I just wondered if anyone ever heard of this drug being used for Bi-Polar 2 and why? I guess it is also possible that the Dr. thinks I may have ADHD as well as Bi-Polar disorder. I think that can happen. Thanks again I will definately talk to my Dr. and find out for sure.
I have adhd and was recently prescribed Vyvanse 40 mg to take w/ 2 5mg Dexedrine tablets in the am for a kickstart. I am a recovering cocaine and meth addict and I can tell you this stuff takes away ANY and ALL cravings. I love it. I do not feel like a criminal anymore!
My son who is now 18 has been diagnosied with add when in the 1st grade was on ritilin up to about 2 years ago switched to strattera felt weird coulnt pen point the weirdness. Now on vyvanse 30mg for about 2 years off on weekends and summers. Had an episode where he decided he was not going to come home and then the next morning thought takeing the car away he was going to walk to school and we had to wrestle him to the ground. He drove to school we followed called the school he went straight to the guidance office crying this kid never crys has never been in any trouble. He is saying something was wrong the night before felt weird , cannot pin point what made him feel this way and says he is confused on what happened and wants to get counseling because he knows that something was not right. does anyone know if you could have this kinda of reaction after being on the meds for so long. He does have mood swings in the evening but nothing to bad.we do not want this to happen again neither does he thats why he is go to the psycrhatrist to see if they can help him figure out what happened
My best friend began taking Vyvanse 30 MG this past August. He and I used to be VERY close. I mean extremely close and all. We were like brothers. We are both musicians and played gigs and what not together. But ever since August, he has been a different person. He has been irritable, very self-centered, very arrogant, a know-it-all, argumentative, and very hurtful towards me since he started this drug. He has been diagnosed with ADHD since he was 8 or 9. He used to take Adderall when he was younger and stopped last year. Last year, he was the sweetest soul that you could meet. He cared about how I felt, about how I was doing, and vice versa. We had a mutual loving friendship. He worried about me when I was down. I take Zoloft 100 MG and Carbolith 100 MG. Now, all he does is go to school, goes home, goes to music lessons, sees his girlfriend over the weekend and that’s it. He doesn’t want to do anything with me anymore and is a completely changed person. I speculate that this medication has changed him into a very uncaring and cold person. What should I do?
Jack…talk to your friend. You didn’t say if you have tried that. His behavior could be related to the medication but it could also be related to many other outside influences. I have no idea how old he is…but part of that could be an issue as well. Not to mention, are you SURE he’s not taking something else as well, recreationally? I’m not saying that this medication might not be contributing to the problem…but there could be many other things as well.
My 5 year old son was prescribed Vyvanse and had a reaction to the medicine, he started talking fast, got real nervous, heart rate sped up, he was so hyper he couldn’t stop talking, then he started seeing things that weren’t there. It was so sad and pitiful to see my child suffering. I took him to the hospital, after going to the hospital they sent me home to let it wear off but it took 12 hours before he quit seeing things.
Im 20 years old and was prescribed Vyvanse 50mg, this is my second day on it. So far, it hasnt been too bad, I can focus a lot better and actually get things done. However,iv had some side effects…shortness of breath, dry mouth, fast heart beat, loss of appetite, and headaches. Im wondering if maybe im just having these because its only the second day. Does anyone know how long these side effects usually last? This is the only medication I take.
I am a 22 year old female, just prescribed Vyvanse as well as Lexapro. I have always known I had ADD but finally grew some balls and went to see someone about it. I was diagnosed with depression as well as ADD. Yesterday was my first day on both pills. I swear people had to have thought I was high on coke. I couldnt stop licking my lips(today i woke up with giant red lips that look black and blue and had to ice them!) I also had terrible drymouth, no appetite, high heart rate, and was very fidgitty. I didnt go to bed until 7am… my sister was up for work before I went to bed! I woke up at 10:30am and I actually felt okay? I popped another Vyvanse, and went to 3 classes today, and I for once actually was focused! It was wierd, I didnt feel coked up or anything (i’ve never really experimented, but i am assuming that is what it feels like to be high on coke) It is now 9pm, and I am feeling pretty good. I decided to take the Vyvanse in the AM and Lexapro at night. I think the mixture in the morning was just too much for me, or it was the first day and i was getting used to it. I feel like if it keeps going this good, I have lived my whole life without this magic pill!
p.s. These are the first “mental” drugs I have ever taken. Also, after one day, you shouldnt feel discouraged, I had a TERRIBLE first day, but today was great. I guess it just works differently for everybody.
I am a 20-year-old male in the middle of college & Vyvanse has done wonders for me when it comes to studying and applying myself in school. Not only am I receiving high grades, but my overall motivation in life has sky-rocketed.
However, I am a victim of the insomnia related to this drug (could possibly be due to the fact that I am a college student and don’t take my pill until 1 PM when I wake up). Overall, I think the medication has improved my life in numerous ways. I would recommend it to anyone who has young adults in college who are having a hard time with their studies, or to finding general purpose to life.
Scotti: try taking it in the am. My grandson takes his at 6:30 am, when he gets up. He is fine. His bottle says to take it in the am also. Good luck.
Wow- my doctor suggested Vyvanse after my Concerta stopped working and I asked for Adderal XR. I took that for a month at 20 MG but always felt like it wore of by 2pm. This visit I asked to have it upped to 30MG which she did, but again suggested Vyvanse as it would last till 6pm. I am a 40 y/o male and this site has confused my decision(and sometimes shocked me in the process). The teens that are abusing this drug and others like it either perscribed or illegal, are they crazy? And I feel for the parents of the kids suffering numb limbs, etc.. guess it’s all a crap shoot.Does anybody 35+ have any advice on how this drug specifically worked in ways that Adderal XR didn’t? And long term, do those effects wear off as seems to be the case with most of the other drugs? My strongest addiction is coffee. I have never smoked pot, done hard drugs and I don’t drink so I am a clean slate for this. Just want to be able to complete a task, follow through and get organized in my personal life as well as work. I plan, make lists, start.. just can’t see it to completion.Any advice is welcome. Thanks- and to you idiot teens, as my 11 year old nephew says ” make wise choices”.
Mac, the effects that vyvanse had on me as compared to Adderall XR and Adderall IR were very favorable. Adderall XR always seemed to work for the first two or three hours but after that, each time the drug was released into my system the feeling of heightened concentration was replaced by the feeling of nervousness and confusion. The Adderall XR seemed to exhaust my brain and the drug became more and more unwelcome in my system as the day went on. I switched to Vyvanse and am in my second month and it has a much smoother and consistant release into my system throughout the day. I also find myself able to calmly concentrate on whatever I need to focus on as opposed to adderall where I seemed to focus on everything that I looked at. My sleep is normal. My attention span is just as strong until the end of the day. With most people I have found that Adderall XR seems to really show its bad side effects towards the end of the drugs effectiveness i.e. the end of the day. I felt no bad side effects on vyvanse. So, as from my personal experience, I say that you may want to give it a shot, Mac.
I am 37 yrs old with 2 boys 11 and 10 both have ADD my 10 yr old has ADHD. We have tried alot of different medication, When we tried Vyvanse at first it seemed to be the answer to both there problems. Now I am dealing with alot of side effects. I was told they both have Tourettes syndrome, I took them to there doctor and was told it must run in my family, he then gave us Halperidol for there body twitches, Which comes with alot more side effects. They had trouble sleeping so he gave them clondine, when they started waking up in the middle of the night he gave them seraquel. I am looking for a new doctor, however there grades still stink!! I have hired a teacher to help them, They do fine when he is here but when they go to school they are back to being the same way, (still failing), I have a family therapist who is great and trying to help us get the children off alot of these meds. Some people have said they need there dosage upped. These kids are on so much medication I ask myself Am I making them into future drug addicts? I have trusted my doctor but I think he makes more money off the kick backs then he does on my kids. Have these kids turned into a $$ sign for the doctors? Thanks for listening sorry just at the end of my rope.
my 14 year old daughter was on Adderall–very anorexic. Concerta–seemed to have no effect. Daytrana–irritated her skin. We started 30 mg of Vyvanse. Seems to work well. At drs request, upped it to 50 mg. fine in the morning but VERY irritable in the afternoon–screaming at her sister, just wanting to be left alone. Is this temporary or a sign of a serious side effect?
I was recently diagnosed with ADHD and a reading disorder, but i have a catch..i’m also a recovering addict from coke and meth….this medicine has done wonders for me. I went from C’s and D’s in classes (college level, and these are just the grades i got if i finished the class at all the last 2 years) and now i’m almost done with my first semester on this medicine and being diagnosed and i’m holding 2 b’s, 1 a, and a high c that will be a b before the end of the semester in 4 weeks.
i think that this is a great medication for people with ADHD, but it is a med that makes you feel ‘high’ when you already know what ‘high’ feels like…..but i have been clean and sober since i’ve been taking it because it helps curve that craving to use and it also stops me from be impulsive and obsessive….i focus on work and school and that is it now.
i never thought i could live without drugs, let alone ever get sober…and now i’m sober, in NA, got a sponsor and i’m happy. if it weren’t for this medicine, i dont know if i’d be sober right now.
my bro’s have adhd too and are on adderall, and i used to steal it from them…but that medicine was nothing compared to this. I take it in the morning and it kicks in less than 30 minutes later, i get my job done, go to class and can take a nap if i want. I couldn’t do that on addearll because i was too wired. i’ve even suggested my bro’s get on it and my mom is looking into it.
i am happy with this medication and eager to see how it helps me in my sobriety, life and school.
I am a 26 year old professional. I had been taking adderall XR 15mg for about 18 months. I never asked for more of a dosage because of fear of becoming dependent on the drug. I have a family history of ADHD. Adderall XR has been great for me as far as motivation and concentration. I’ve had two promotions and 20K in pay raises! However, some of the side effects are very unpleasing. The number one complaint is I sweat tremendously. I have tried everything and nothing works. I also have the typical dry mouth and loss of appetite. This is very normal for this type of medicine. Friday I went to see my doctor and he suggested we try Vyvance 40mg. This is my second day of taking it and I’m not sure how I like it. I know that I am not sweating like I was with adderall. However I don’t feel as focused and I have some nausea. Yesterday I felt a little disoriented and not like my self. I want to give it some time before I make my decision.
to Lisa: What is the dosage? My grandson started out on 30mg. He was getting irritable and out of sorts with everyone by 5pm. He upped the dosage to 50mg. He takes it about 6:30 am with breakfast. It takes a short time to kick in after he takes it. He is not very pleasant to be around in the morning until he gets his pill. He doesn’t want to get up in the morning. We have found that by him going to be a 1/2 hr earlier(7:30pm) he is better. I think he doesn’t get enough sleep. He know if he gives any guff he goes to bed a 1/2 hr earlier yet. It really seems to help. He goes to bed easier on the 50mg too. His teachers have said they can tell the difference.
To HG: Is she getting enough sleep? This does seem to help. He gets irritable with his sister at times too, but other days is fine. She may need it upped yet. What time does she take it in the AM? He takes his about 6:30am. It takes some time to tweak it to the right dosage. Good luck to all.
These kids don’t need drugs, they need God, they need better parents, and they need more discipline. I was whooped at home, at school, and at church, and it is the only reason I am not now rotting in prison or a race-mixing dope smoking Democrat. It’s all the parents fault, the parents. the parents, the parents! God bless those Americans deserving of his blessing, and his chosen people Jews.
Hi all jus thought i should share my experience with these substances.`I am a 22 year old college student not prescribed to adderal but have been taking it for most of college. The results are amazing; I maintain a 3.6 gpa double majored but the dependence is quite a point of distress. Mind you there is a “high’ feeling as well as a crash, but i do not take it unless i have work to do. Maybe im add, my father had severe add, but it has never been diagnosed. Attempting school work without adderall is nearly impossible, thus i take it quite frequently and must reiterate how tremendous the results-in senior level game theory and economics of public finance i recieved two 100% on the last tests, as well as an A and the third highest grade in econometrics,while rarely attending class. I cannot deny my dependence on this drug, but am not willing to sacrafice the success i achieve. I could not imagine taking it everyday (dealing w the social ackwardness, anxiety, and numerous other side effects) and this maybe a sign that i am not add,also taking adderall does not calm me down but pumps me up and gets me excited to study. Do these things mean i should not be taking it? who knows, just thought id put it out there and see wat some others thought. And while many people will criticize this post, mind you that this is reality and is a very common practice amongst my demographic. I am not a meth head or ever addicted to hardcore drugs(such as many others on this forum),but my experience with adderall is worth noting. ALL that being said, tommarrow i will take this vyvanse and study for 5 hours then take a test(hopefully). Or i may end up sitting in the library and looking at the wall all day. we will find out soon enough, all i can say is hopefully this stuff works
I am currently on Vyvanse. I think its really great for my ADHD. The most side effect is that I get a pretty funky taste in my mouth when I dont have gum and that I have a loss of appitite. Im 16 and in highschool so 8 months ago when I first started taking the med I wasnt really going to complain about the fact the I was loosing a little bit of weight. I have never had a problem with this drug, unless I forgot to take it, until now. So far I have been up for 72 hours after taking my regular dose on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning [because of this I was trying to find out what was wrong and came across this website]. Now Im all for getting to use all 24 hours in the day, but a persons body needs rest every now and then. Im starting to get a dry cough with everything as well. Dont worry I am going to a doctor in a little bit, but what would really do this to me?
Also some of my day to day on the Vyvanse is that I tend to have to piddle a lot and my eyes feel like they are buggin out. But I went from being a very troubled, failing student to a still kinda troubled to a respectfully passing student. This isnt for everyone and really it is unfair to all the unresponsible people who use the drug to advance in work or schools. The people with ADD/ADHD use this to become normal, people without ADD/ADHD use this and become above-normal. Even that should be considered abuse of the drug.
but so yea, bout the not sleeping…ima dreamer, and I need some time to catchup. If this is all just the drug, why did the effect last close to 24hours, basically until the next time I had to take a dose?
I hope people reading and trying to help their children with adhd or add PLEASE ignore the stupid remarks from the likes of Joe Thebiblethumper. They are completely clueless as to what is going on with the children. You DO NOT whoop the daylights out of children with adhd or add. The Vvyanese, or whichever medicine works best for your child DOES help. Just ask your child. My grandson admits he feels better. He is punished by sitting in his room for a short period of time. Things have to be in short time not long time. Some of these rude remarks are just uncalled for. What kind of a church gives whoopens as he calls it?? Some of these people need to get a life!!
To fm: Take the Vvyanese. You will not sit and stare at the wall. My grandson’s concentration is much better. He is getting A’s and B’s. Good luck to you.
Jamie: You didn’t say what dosage you are taking. My grandson takes his at 6:30 am. He is 8 and takes 50mg a day. He was having trouble going to bed at night but now that he is used to it he goes easier. I have found that if he goes to bed a 1/2 hr ealier he rests better. His appetite is off and on. He has not lost any weight. Everyone reacts differently. I hope you get the right answers from your dr. Don’t give up.
To: Joe Biblethumper,
I feel that there can be exceptions to this. I too felt that many children just need better guidance and some positive attention/role models. This was before my second daughter was born with cerebral palsy; who is now 7. Since the right side of her brain was affected by a clot/stroke during delivery she has hemiplegia and her left side fine motor skills are not that great. She has multiple diagnosis’ due to the stroke. (Strabismus, Epilepsy, now ADHD). She struggled in school (kindergarten and first grade) and I had three different doctors evaluate her before I put her on medication for it, because I felt horrible about taking her neurologists’ advice just because he said so (went to two pediatricians and a developmental specialist as well). She has been on Vyvanse for about a year and she is reading and received and excellent student award and the school had no idea she had been on any medication other than her seizure meds for months. She was much more focused and not getting distracted by every little thing. She still has focus trouble, but the fact she can read and count despite her neurological issues is worth it to me. I do not want her to be on a medication at all, but if it gives her the gift of education where she can retain and concentrate, I feel that if she didn’t have it she would literally fail in school. She has the occasional temper tantrum and she can be very stubborn at times, but for the most part she is a much more pleasant little girl to be around. We have tried everything previously before resorting to meds. She had & still has behavioral counseling, we tried DHA and diet change. It did not matter what we did she was out of control. It is a bad day in this house if she doesn’t get her medication (and we rarely forget now) and I hate it but at the same time I cannot let her just disrupt her entire class and become so out of hand that she cannot even attend school or learn. I feel she needs a decent education and in order for her to obtain that she needs focus and clarity which this medication offers her.
If it was just bad parenting then the rest of my children would have major behavioral issues and they do not. I have four and the only ADHD stems from a neurological problem which brings me to my final comment for negative people… unless you are a neurologist you really have no room or experience to say what is right or wrong for each individual case.
I have read that some are having trouble with loss of appetite. This is an issue with my daughter as well and we supplement that with a Pediasure daily. This ensures she is getting something into her system when she eats like a bird. They have several flavors beyond vanilla.
I am 20 years old and a current college student. I have been perscribed vyvanse for over a year now. For the first six months I was on 70 mg and had to lower the dose because I felt like I was cracked out every day. So I talked to my doctor and he lowered it to 50 mg. My side effects were still horrible so I decided to only take it when I really needed it. In the past, my side effects have been dry mouth, jaw clenching, HORRIBLE headaches, hallucinations, rapid heart beat, weak joints/muscles, no appetite (but when I don’t eat I get nauseated), etc. Like another person has stated before, I have caught myself writing papers, and when I go back and review them, there are entire words or phrases missing from them, which is really scary because I’ve never done that before.
An experience I had the other day has made me want to make a change so this drug will go out of the market. For example, I woke up at 7am, took my vyvanse and went to school. It kicked in at 8am and I was very focused and felt very happy. When I was walking to my second class, I looked up at this girl, and I don’t know if any of you have seen Eternal Sunshine, but she had no face like some of the people in that movie. It really freaked me out and I started getting these crazy thoughts in my head, so I started to believe that I was going mentally insane. When I got to my second class, I was still very interested in the subject and took notes like crazy. When I was walking down the stairs to my third class, my legs gave out and I almost fell down the stairs, so I had to hold on to the railing. Once I was on flat ground, I couldn’t figure out how I was walking because my legs were completely numb and I couldn’t feel them at all. It was almost like I forgot how to walk. By the end of my third class, I was extremely pissed off/emotional. So I decided to skip my fourth class because I was in such a crazy state of mind. When I got home and walked in my room, I saw a man in all black staring at me for a split second and then disappeared. It really scared me and I started to feel very lonely and depressed. I started to get suicidal thoughts which I NEVER get. I’m usually very happy and full of life when I don’t take vyvanse, that’s another reason why I only take it when I need it. Anyway, I was supposed to be studying for my exam that day, but every time I looked at my notes my head started hurting because there were so many words and I became very overwhelmed. Then I tried to study online and just stared at my computer screen blankly and couldn’t think what so ever. I felt like a zombie. My heart started skipping beats, so I did yoga and that helped a little bit. I was still extremely depressed and insecure. Everytime my roommate came in my room and wanted to talk to me, I felt very self conscious and nervous to talk to her, which is weird because she’s my best friend and I can usually talk to her about anything. I don’t understand this drug at all, because I thought it was supposed to make you more open and more talkative/social. It only does the opposite for me. It makes me anti-social and I feel like a completely different person, like I’m out of my body looking at myself in disgust.
I realize that I was one of the first 1000 people to take this drug, and I now realize why the first month trial was free. It’s because they didn’t do enough tests with this drug and so they tested it on adults who were like guinea pigs. I understand now why this drug has so many more side effects than Adderal. It is because they say that you can’t abuse this drug, and so they put more chemicals in the drug so that you can’t abuse it, therefore there are more side effects. Apparently that is complete BS because you definitely CAN abuse this drug. I’ve seen it been done. It seems to me like Doctor’s are just feeding people all this BS so that they can make money off of you. Some of them don’t seem like they care at all about their patients. That is very sad to me, America seems so selfish these days. I really don’t understand how it was tested on ONLY children, when many of you have stated that it has given your children seizures and things of that nature. It is very scary to me to think how a child would feel on this drug. And for those of you who are giving your child vyvanse at the age of 5, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!?! That is so crazy to me. They haven’t done enough tests on this drug, there are way too many bad side effects to make it worth it. They should have just stuck with Adderal but no, they wanted something “unaddictive” to replace it. I definitely would have chosen Adderal over this, but my doctor knows about my drug history, therefore he wont perscribe it to me because vyvanse, like I said before, can not be abused. HAHA! This makes me so mad, it makes me want to do something drastic to make a difference in health care. I wish people would wake up and realize that their Doctor is not always right. I think that ADD/ADHD is all in your head and you can get over it without medications. There are other, healthier ways to control this so called “disease.” I wish that I could do something to make this evil drug go out of the market. Who is with me?
Also, my e-mail is sailtothemoon4600@yahoo.com if any of you would like to discuss this with me.
My seven year old son with Down Syndrome was prescribed Vyvanse 30 mg and the first day was the last day he will ever take this medication. He was in a trance all day playing with one toy and his eyes went crossed. He was unresponsive to anyone and everything around him other than his toy snake. He also mumbled and groaned ALL DAY LONG until the medication wore off. It was a very scary experience for me. I would not recommend anyone giving this drug to their child.
Abby I am SO sorry you had such a horrible experience with the Vvyanese. NO one deserves to go through that. I hope you do find something to help you that won’t have those terrible side effects.
I do have to disagree with you and the others in saying that ADD/ADHD is all in your head. I do not believe that at all. Maybe my grandson is the exception to the rule for no side effects, or maybe he just hasn’t had any yet. We are keeping a close eye on him. He is 8yrs old.
Good luck to you and I hope you get the right medicine. Don’t give up.
I am 20 years old in college and lately have been stressed with school. When i was in the second grade i took ridalin for a month and it gave me extreme headaches and never took any medication again till this week. Over the years ive struggled with having ADD symptoms and have worked to control my concentration throughout school, and having tried to stay away from these kind of drugs. As a last resort i got a persciption this week of 40mg’s and have taken it only twice on wednsday and thursday. I am very scepticle about taking any mind altering drug and talked to my doctor about it in a very in depth conversation. I was thinking i was going to get some concerta but he told me about this new drug vyvanse. he said you could not abuse it or become dependent on it, that went right out of the window the first day i took it. Now that im researching it i know why he pushed this drug over the others. The first day i took it i felt like i was in a very relaxed state that made me happy, basically high. my pupils were huge and my pulse at rest was around 96. i felt my heart rapidly beat and skip at times. i did not eat much. the next day when i toook it i felt the weakest i have ever felt. it was like i was walking around in a daze on the verge of fainting. i made my self eat in hopes of feeling better and that just made me gag and nauseated. i keep reading about kids taking up to 70mg’s of this and basically going into comatose staits with there eyes open. i dont know why any parent would give their child any type of amphetamine. i agree with the post a few above mine from abby. this is just another sceme of pushing a drug to make a quick dollar before their patten expires. ist called self control
I have been on Vyvanse for 3 months now. I have had none of the side effects mentioned by most of the people on this forum. The only bothersome thing about this drug is the fact that I take it at 9 a.m. and still find it difficult to sleep at midnight. I started at 50mg and got bumped up to 70 my second month. I can focus better at work and school. I can’t say that I have more energy, but definitely no less. No “zombie-like” states either. My advice… lay of the street drugs. As the drug information says, you should be screen extensively for other psychiatric disorders before starting this medication. It isn’t designed to be taken by people who are just bored with life. And as for taking off the market which I have seen suggested by several people… would you take penicillin off the market just because some people are unfortunate enough to have an allergic reaction to it?
Steven try taking it earlier in the day. Try around 6-7 am. It helps.
My doctor started me off on 30 mg of Vyvanse and after three days I had to stop. My side effects consisted of a severe headache behind my eyes (my eyes hurt beyond belief), joint pain, and insomnia. I also found that I wasn’t able to accomplish anything – I knew that I needed to get things done but just couldn’t focus. On the fourth day I experienced the following symptoms – dizziness, nausea, insomnia and severe cold sweats (I would fall asleep only to wake soaked head to toe in sweat…this happened four times throughout the night). I am not sure if these were symptoms of withdrawal or not. The up side to Vyvanse was that I felt much happier and was much more pleasant to be around. I could see where this drug may help me and I may resume taking it, but I was wondering if anyone else has had the same experience?
If you have dry mouth, chew gum. The movement gets your salivary glands going, which is one of Vyvanse’s targets. I have to chew gum all the time when I take it, it keeps your mouth moist.
I’m 33 and was diagnosed with ADD & OCD. In the beginning I was diagnosed with Bipolar I or II (I’m on the low end) and depression. My ADD didn’t kick in until later in life. In ’05 I started with 50mg and then 20mg of Prozac. Then they increased the Lamitcal and Prozac. I was good for a while because the Lamitcal stabilized my mood and Prozac had gave me a little pick up. Also, my situation changed and I was pleased at the moment. After a while my doctor increased the Lamitcal to 200mg and the Prozac at 40mg. Now the Lamitcal was ok but we decided to increase it again….300mg (Oct. ’07). I was so drugged up that I didn’t even know it. It took several people to tell me I was in a daze. I played it off and just put it on the stress. I lowered the dosage because I was a walking Zombie!!! Then February of 08 my doctor gave me 150mg of Wellbutrin, 200mg of Lamitcal and 20mg Prozac. The Wellbutrin worked wonders up until this past October. I talked to my doctor and I stopped taking the Prozac. By this time my Wellbutrin was at 300mg and 200mg of Lamitcal. I was stuck at a plateau and didn’t know what to do. The Wellbutrin was increased to 450 and Lamitcal remained the same. Still nothing…no improvement in my mood or anything! My doctor suggested I try 2mg of Ablify and 30mg of Vyvanse. I tried Ablify before and it gave me a headache. This time I said I would try it again but half the pill. That gave me a headache so I decided not to take it. I decided to try the Vyvanse…the first night I only got 4 hours of sleep. I took it again around 6am and I didn’t have an appetite. That night I went home and passed out. Also, with the Vyvanse I took the Lamitcal and Wellbutrin (300mg). I decided to experiment and not take the Wellbutrin. The effects of Vyvanse went away so I increased it to 60mg and nothing. I can admit I’m more focused (I read all the comments yesterday). Over the Thanksgiving holiday I got my appetite back and then some. To ME the best part of Vyvanse is that suppresses my appetite and gives me the energy to go to the gym. Next week I’m going to the doctor so we can fix this. In my opinion I think I should stop all medicine except Lamitcal. My sister is telling me to try Adderall then she suggested Zoloft. No, she’s not a doctor but Bi-polar and have ADHD. She’s been through a few meds and I watched her on that rollercoaster to getting it right. I took Zoloft years ago but I had tremors. I’m beginning to start therapy to work on different behavioral changes. Now I’m at a point of what do I need to take to help me in this process? Any suggestions or ideas would greatly be appreciated.
I’m responding to the discussion as whether or not Vyvanse is addictive for an adult w/ADD. I’m a 45 yr old woman and have been addicted to meth well over 10 yrs ago. I was a well-functioning addict. I quit because I was basically fed-up w/wasting my money over really crappy crank. The stuff I was getting was just too inconsistant and it became way frustrating. After a few years of being clean and my constant awareness that I really did suffer from ADD my whole life. Scatter brained most times but I missed the times when I could really laser focus on things. Went to a good Shrink who 1st prescribed Focalin XR, which was ok but it made my hair fall out. Then I was prescribed Vyvanse, 70mg a day. What a great drug! I’m able to focus, sleep, eat less and maintain a nice even mental keel. And I’ve been taking it for over 6 months now!. Somedays, I’ll take more than 1 a day, but no more than 3 a day, and that’s rare. It’s an expensive drug, but way cheaper than anything you’d get on the streets. I’m prescribed 90 days worth at a time and typically ran out after 2.5 mos or so. The 2 wks before my next appt, I just chill, and it doesn’t bother me at all. In fact I feel no ill effects or withdrawls. It’s like the drug stays in your system for weeks after.
Hello all,
I am a 34 year old male who takes Lamactil for mild bi-polarism. My Dr. and I decided to try Vyvanse for a ADHD problem I had avoided for years. This drug worked like magic for the first week. I had never felt better, had great concentration and got more work done in a week then I have ever before. On the 7th day while I was at work in a meeting I started to convulse and have uncontrollable twitching. I was taken to the ER where they immediately told me to stop the drug. As a precaution, I took an MRI, EEG, and meet with neurologists and it was determined that it was in fact caused by Vyvanse. I could be the only person with that reaction, but thought someone else may want to know that.
Well, I’m gonna start off by saying that I have ADD, Tourette’s, anger problems, and insomnia. The insomnia’s completely unrelated, it’s persisted since I was young and happens whether or not I take my meds. Surprisingly enough, I find Vyvanse actually HELPS my TS. I’ve tried Concerta and Strattera in the past, neither of which helped. (The Concerta was before Tourette’s really presented itself, and man, would I hate to see me on that stuff now. Strattera just turned me into a loose cannon with ADD.) Stuff in general tends not to work for me (I used to have bad acne, and I had to have tried over 30 different products, even prescribed antibiotics did nothing…time basically was what made it not bad) but Vyvanse DOES…or did. And I really don’t want another witch hunt, like the ones I’m still kinda on for my insomnia, my skin, anger problems, etc.
I started taking Vyvanse around August 26th or 27th. Doc started me off with 30mg which worked great at first. I did notice a little decrease in appetite and some intense dry mouth, but it was nothing too serious. Then school started, and I was doing great for a little while. I could pay attention like I have never done before, was in a good mood, and I really didn’t mind doing my work which is huge. But then I noticed it wasn’t working as well. I went up to 45 and then up to 60. When I got to 60 it was working pretty good but my appetite and dry mouth were the same, and I also had a little episode of increased heart rate (I say with 100% confidence that Vyvanse was not entirely at fault, but that still wasn’t normal). Well, I guess it’s still working alright but it’s not anywhere near where it was. Yesterday, I was up early and took one, and about a half hour later my mom gave me another. Forgetting about the first one, I took it, totaling 120mg. I went to school with absolutely great results. It was so easy to pay attention, work was so easy and I actually almost ENJOYED doing it! And I had a lot of energy for someone who hadn’t gotten more than one hour of crappy sleep that night (like I said, insomnia). Today, 60mg, ehh. I still haven’t started on all the crap I have to do, and I’m not looking forward to it. In fact, it’ll be nice if I do it at all.
Thing is, it seems to me that I’ve built up a tolerance. I’ve never abused it, don’t take it on the weekends, and I didn’t take it at all during the 4-day weekend, but it doesn’t seem to help. I don’t want to mention that 120mg did it for me, because I think my mom will jump to conclusions and assume that I’m abusing it intentionally. Which is quite likely, because she knows I [used to] smoke marijuana (which kept my insomnia and occasional minor night terrors in check, but whatever), so she always assumes that sort of thing. Even though I’m always honest about stuff, get good grades, do volunteer stuff from time to time, and stay out of trouble, I guess my former occasional marijuana use negates all that, huh? Alright, now I’m just getting off topic.
Okay, but the bottom line is, does anybody have any insight as to why it only worked at such a high dose? For what length of time should I stop taking it so that I’ll lower my tolerance, or should I just think about trying something else?
Ok, I have a question now. I was saying before how GOOD my grandson has been doing on Vyvanese 50mg. Lately he has been having tantrums-morning before meds kick in. He is becoming VERY mouthy. His favorite sayings now are “I hate you”-“NO”, “leave me alone”, and “I wish I didn’t live here”. He is always telling us and his sister I hate you when he is mad or getting in trouble. Other times he can be as sweet as pie and very lovable. We keep telling him that is too bad because we love him. His parents are divorced and his mom is getting to her last nerve. One minute he hates her and then 10 min later he is hugging and kissing her. We have noticed he is this way with his cousins also, esp when he doesn’t get his way. Blames everything on everyone else but himself. He has had his play station taken away as punishment and that makes him madder.
Going to call dr today for suggestions. We are tired of changing medicines on him. It is not fair to him.
I forgot to add that he doesn’t want to live with his father. He complains he is never home. He is using that as a ploy towards his mom. He is 8 yrs old.
Check it…
It is my belief that the epidemic of ones inability to focus, is not the fault of the individual’s focusing power, but of the lost “FOCUS” of our “Modern Society”.
My parents and I have been told by doctors that “I” have a problem with “MY BRAIN”.
That I am unable to “focus”.
Well check this out:
“I” DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH “MY BRAIN” AT ALL!
IT IS OUR SOCIETY THAT HAS “THE PROBLEM” WITH “MY BRAIN”.
Our society has failed to include all individuals in it’s growth.
Just because I don’t “KEEP UP” doesn’t mean I’m anything less.
And just because My mind is beyond the “Normal Realm” of creativity, curiosity, and conceptualization. Doesn’t make me anything more.
There are Turtles and there are Hares.
Turtles are amazed at all the beauty in this World and are therfore in no particular rush. To the Turtles, all things can be found interesting, amusing, and educational.
Whereas the Hares are more interested in seeing what they can make out of this World and are therfore in an ever increasing race to make the next best thing. Sure the Hares are interested in education, but find only the direct information that accompanies their goal to have any relevance.
So the Hares make something that will supposedly help the Turtles (strangely similar to the street drug called “Speed”) in hopes that the Turtles will become, or atleast, behave more like the Hares.
That is Insane.
The Hares need to calm down a little bit and listen to what the Turtles might have to say a little more.
Life isn’t about MONEY
Life isn’t about POWER
Life isn’t about DRUGS
LIFE ISN”T ABOUT CONTROL
Life, is about Love.
i started my 8-year-old son, who is autistic on 30 mg of vyvance. i was wanting to know if there is some sort of “adjustment period”, because i have so far found nothing online or in his med booklet about it. we started friday, with him having some initial side effects of upset stomach, dizzyness, teeth grinding, and insomnia. the next day went off without a hitch- no side effects and slept just fine. the last two nights however, he has complained of being extremely itchy, which reminded of me a drug addict coming off his high. i have gave him some benedryl to help (which i’m not entirely sure it was the smartest thing, but he was miserable). along with being itchy, he was really flushed tonight. he’s also overly emotional and still isn’t focusing well at school (almost worse now because he’s extremely chatty), according to his teachers today, which is why i asked the question about adjusting to the meds. i feel very conflicted as this is very painful for me to watch my child go these changes and being the first time we’ve ever tried anything like this, i wanted to at least try to see if it made any difference for him. i would rather have my old son back than having him crying at the drop of a hat. anyone have any ideas if i should just hold out for a few days longer and symptoms subside?? like i said, i’m close to being done with it.
At 47, I read an ad in the paper looking for adults with ADHD for a medical trial. I laughed, my wife made me go. I became a documented adult with ADHD. And it all made sense. Dox promised to help me out at the conclusion of the study.
Doc put me on Vyvanse. Wow! I didn’t know that there were actually complete sentences in books. I really don’t know how I ever made it through school.
I am a professional in a very intense profession. ADHD was probably beneficial as it helped me develop competencies to deal with 100 critical factors at one time. But school, college and life were absolutely a wreck. Vyvanse almost seemed “magical”.
Downsides: expensive, dry mouth and difficulty with urination – thought it was prostrate trouble but wasn’t.
Doc tried three other common meds – none did anything for me like Vyvanse. So, I’m going back to it. It works for me.
(And, yes, ADHD is hereditery. I am my father’s son as mine is mine…and it is past midnight but I’m not on Vyvanse right now 🙂
Hi, i am 18 years old, female. and ive always thought i could possibly have ADD or something along those lines. I have a hard time focusing in school but i try really hard and am able to get decent grades. My friends takes 70 mg Vyvanse and i know it wasnt the smartest thing, but i took it. I felt wonderful the entire day. The only negative side affect was my decrease in appetite. To make sure it wasnt in my head, i took it for the next week. I have never been more alert and focused in my life. My listening skills multiplied and i get so anxious to talk and have conversation with people. Im not sure what to do, but after feeling how i felt, i want to keep taking them WHAT SHOULD I DO?!?
I have taken ADHD meds for years, the best medication I took was something called ‘Desoxyn Gradumet’ as a teenager, it had no side effects, was more mentally stimulating and felt milder than caffiene. My second choices are either Dexedrine or Focalin. Adderall made me psychotic and paranoid and Ritalin and Concerta made me grind my jaw so hard that I broke a few back teeth.
I tried the Vyvanse from the Dexedrine Spansules and took 2 70 mg in the morning and 1 70 mg at 2 pm, it was the free trial and this drug did nothing at all to me, it felt like I didn’t take anything at all, I was hyper couldn’t stop talking or cracking jokes, touching everything and every noise drove me insane, impulsiveness and talking out loud were there too. Now I take Focalin XR and IR during the day because it helps me without turning me into the polar opposite of my being like Dexedrine, which made me super appropriate and introverted and humorless and dull, was a miracle as a kid but as an adult it was a little much.
Different things work different for others and I was a little disappointed with my experience with Vyvanse.
My 9 year old daughter started taking 20mg of Vyvanse last Friday. She said the meds made her feel funny. She took her next dose Monday and took a math test. She said the meds “made her check her work!” She made an 82! She has also been doing her homework in half the time and without a big fight. I am not too concerned about side affects. She does not seem to have any. I am worried that her dosage may need to be increased as she gets used to the meds. From reading the other postings, this seems to happen alot or a new medication is needed. I was hoping that one medication would work and always work. Can anyone tell me what to expect with how long a medication keeps working?
Hi, im 15 year old male and i take 30mg of vyvanse i started in mid october. I myself as a kid who takes this medication and goes to school can say i am very pleased with this medication and it really seems to be working for me. Prior to taking it i was failing all of my main classes that i had to go to summer school just to get into. as of now in school all of my grades have gone up, not because it “made me get smarter”(doesn’t) but because it made me focus on what i wanted to do, i have become much more organized and have stayed out of trouble since i started taking it. I have also been moved from foundations classes to normal level classes. Im not going to make this long but ill say it has helped me with everyday things and will improve my future, also the first day will probobly be a little rough for people who havent taken other adhd medications.
This medication has helped me focus overall in school/non school tasks throughout the day.
My doctor has also given me medicine to aid me in getting to sleep when i want to so with these two medications i can honestly say its great.
(last aprox. 12 hours)
Maggie I would see your dr and ask for a prescription. If it works for you that is great. It works for my grandson. His temper problems are not from the meds. He is working on it now. His grades are great and he is paying attention in school. Please disregard the idiots on here who are preaching the “all in your head or parents fault” theory. Can’t please them all. Good luck to you.
Im having trouble understanding why my dr. would give me vyvanse knowing that Im a recovering meth addict.
I have no perscription for Vyvanse I am a college student, who just like everyone else is looking to get an edge in the competitive world of education. At my school there are many people perscribed the drug vyvanse and often i find myself needing one in order to focus during tests and writing papers.
I have been taking vyvanse no more than twice a week for over 9months in that time I have had only a few experiences that truely worried me.
-Mild Psychosis (when taken with no food)
Limited to
– Hearing things that were not there most often my name
– A euphoric feeling of connectivity to others
– Extreme increases in sexual urges
– The most dangerous being mood swings that most commonly involved feeling increased emotions such as sadness or aggression often made worse by the iritability that can come with the medicine
– Minor Delusions in which I felt as though if i tried hard enough i could solve the worlds problems if I thought about them hard enough
-Drymouth often coupled with an unpleasent taste this often came after the initial platue of the drugs onset
– Lack of apitite that could often last the entire day
I have taken the 30mg and the 50mg
Although I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 13 the drug is a mental stimulant and as a message to the parents
This is not something for your children even your teenagers
Vyvanse is a powerful mental stimulant if as a patient someone has been misdiagnosed and they lack a strong willpower the delusions and the mood swings are very powerful and can over take rational thought in those who do not understand coping with a chemical interfering with rational thought.
It would be a very tenuous and non-existant arguement for me to try and say that I should be using vyvanse
My point is simply to warn those that say perhaps you are considering the drug. If you are misdiagnosed and given a large dose you may find yourself with a mild addiction or many other mental health risks on your hands.
Our child has been on Vivance for about a year now and things are getting bad. She seems to be all over the place. And we have had a parent call and tell us she is wild when she goes over to their house to play. This is not like our child! She use to be so soft and quiet and now she is all over the place and alomst seems mean . She is happy then sad then yelling in her sisters face! She will not listen to us, if we tell her to do something she will ignor us and swear at us. Our child would never act like this! This has only been since she has been on Vivance. Her grades also do not seem to be doing better. We have no clue what to do anymore. I have called her doc and we are waiting for her to call back. All I know is if you are thinking about taking this drug or giving it to your child, really think about it weigh all of your options and use it as a last resort!
my son had tics on adderal and concerta. is he likely to have them on Vivance?
I am a 52 year old male ADHD patient who is currently taking 60mg Adderall XR, 120mg Methlyn, and 54mg Concerta daily. The results have been positive although I definitely have built up a tolerance to the mixture. I experienced Vyvance for the first time today and would have to say it is the most effective of all! I feel an experience that is difficult to put into limiting words. Sharp, clear, focused, more energy, less depressed, easy going, confidance, and more attentive. They should consider a drug like this to help with depression, drug addiction to coke, meth, opiates, halleucinogens or alcohol!
YES, tics are a side effect we have experienced. After 8 months on Vyvanse 50mg, I discontinued giving it to my son, age 15. He also experienced irritability with family members, thoughts of suicide, and hearing someone calling his name (auditory hallucinations), nightmares, and extreme anxiety. After discontinuing it, my son is less irritable, but the motor tics remain. Vyvanse gave my son Tourette Syndrome and I am in the process of filing an adverse drug event with the FDA. Here is the webpage for more information – http://www.fda.gov/medwaTCH/report/consumer/consumer.htm. DO NOT USE VYVANSE if your son has a history of any tic disorder. My son had no tics prior to Vyvanse complex motor tics after taking Vyvanse which persist despite discontinuing the drug.
i am a college student, who doesnt use adderall or vyvanse all the time, but i do believe that i abuse it when i take it, i have snorted 150mg of adderall xr in a 24 hour span(no, i do not take them all at once)and i have snorted 180 mg of vyvanse in a 20-22 hour span – i know i dont have an addiction – i just highly use it on nights that i want to pull all nighters – with adderall xr i noticed very miniable side effects – i am more comfortable taking adderall then this new vyvanse pill – throughout the day, i was extremely happy though, i kind of hand jittering hand movements though, but i have always kinda been twitchy and restlessness when i take these meds, only becuz thats part of the speed/trip that most students want – most students want to get to the point where they see stuff and theyre parinoid – some nights if im done with homework i do that becuz ill admit that it is fun – but 90 percent of the time – i use these kind of meds so i can concentrate while reading or studying – i have noticed that the most boring subjects entertain the heck out of you – i am not the type of girl to like school but while ‘gone’ on these meds i feel like a nerd – i want to learn and investigate more about the topic in which i am readying – also i love the fact that it loses ur appetite, i know thats bad for you, but as a college girl, im always in competetion for boys, i have noticed that sometimes i have to make myself eat or i would probably pass out from not eating – also it makes me walk faster to class which is always a small added extra – but during the time where i have had too many mgs i notice to have side effects – cotton mouth is huge – worse than weed cotton mouth by far – i have not experienced a bad taste – very early this morning i kept thinking i was hearing faint music coming from somewhere – at first it was just bugging me becuz i was in the middle of reading, but after a while i got somewhat paranoid but just laughed it off – also early this morning, i thought i had somewhat of a faint rash on my arms, it could of been that i was seeing weird things, or it could of actually been something serious, i notice that while im on vyvanse i get body temp changes quickly – im cold, then hot, then cold again and so on – i have not had any heart problems so far with vyvanse, but u never know about the future – with adderall xr, i was coming down from an extreme(i do NOT recommed anyone doing this) 4 day no-sleep no-eating but drinking caffine and smoking cigs + 510 mgs high and i noticed some side effects, my heart was racing like crazy and i thought it was going to jump outa me – very weird feeling – while using both these drugs and abusing them, i have never had sleep problems the next night, obviously if im pulling an all nighter i dont sleep, so by the next night i am ready for bed and pass out, but i wake up at a decent time – i heard of a kid that only swallowed 90 mgs of addys and he slept for 4 days strait! ppl thought he was in a coma – i kno abusing these drugs is bad for me, and its even worse that i like to snort them, but my school work has definelty improved, lost minimal weight, works as an anti-depressant during the day, and i feel good that i can actaully concentrate on reading! it is not hard at all to find these sorts of drugs and others on a college campus – i plain to keep taking these pills – i do have a plan of action though, to cut back on snorting and not take so much – have u ever been high from weed but u smoke another bowl just the hell of it? – i think thats what i do – but i am just wasting a good pill that could be saved and save me more money – also while taking vyvanse, that night i just kinda sat in the same chair in the same posistion for almost 9 hours, but i did feel sorta numb in my butt and feet, i believe it was becuz i never moved and stretched, and i also have bad circulation – as a college student, i am no professor or doctor, but i am one whos tried drugs(weed, opium, adderall xr, hydrocodone, oxycotin, vyvanse) and i advise parents to NOT give this ‘vyvanse’ to ur children – i believe it is not safe enough – and i do believe that it addictions do/will accure, maybe not to vyvanse, but once u have tried it, u like it, then u want more, and its cheap, middle schoolers could even get ahold of some easy – just please be aware – i do NOT think this vyvanse is safe for children(while i do believe they would kinda like the high, cuz come on, who doesnt?) it is still not alright for children until more tests are done – i am going to try to stick to more adderall xr becuz thats what i feel comfortable with – hopefully the company will finially realize the health risks and stop prescribing them with out doing more extended tests – thanks for the space to type my story
I’m a 41 year old man who has suffered with depression and anxiety for 10 years; I was resistant to drug therapy for many years. As probably most of you who have already posted or who are reading this now I went to numerous councilors and doctors to find out what was going on with me, my symptoms were the Depression (all of the issues that go with that), Anxiety (and all the issues that go along), some Bi-polar symptoms your basic feeling of being trapped in your own mind and trying to get out! I finally found the right councilor and the right doctor, I began my counseling sessions and it was recommended that I go see a drug specialist this doctor whole focus was on explaining the chemical make ups of the human brain and he’s very good at what he does, My issue was a chemical imbalance that was never diagnosed by anyone I ever saw. This Dr. suggested a drug cocktail to include Vyvanse. I should have listened to my gut (voice in my head the not crazy one) and stayed away from drug therapy or at least researched for myself! The first week I started on Vyvanse I instantly noticed a difference in myself, I was focused and had energy and just felt good! In that same week I had an appointment with my family care doctor who has been with our family for 10 years or so, I explained to her what I was taking and why (she already knew why) she was concerned that I had not consulted with her first. As the exam progressed a base line set of vitals was taken (BP, Pulse ect) well my BP was through the roof and I was having an irregular heartbeat, now I’m in good shape and never had any issues with my BP or my heart before, My Dr wanted me off the drug therapy right away and another evaluation done, I somehow talked her out of this and assured her that I would talk to the Dr I was seeing for the drugs (of Corse I did not) I was feeling great for the first time in 10 years why would I stop this, I learned that it takes sometimes up to 14 days for the drugs to settle down and start working (they did). I was feeling so good that I did care it was destroying my family, I kept telling everyone I’m alive for the first time, I’m seeing things clearly no brain pain (those of you with these symptoms know what brain pain is) I wasn’t listening to anyone even if I did hear them say you have changed and my response was always the same YES I know it going great! I now know that the drug therapy I was on including Vyvanse was false! I don’t know if Vyvanse is to blame for sure, I’m sure it did contribute in some way to my overall status. Please take the time to research this drug and ask a lot of questions about it and if the Doctor you’re seeing doesn’t take the time to answer and c are about what may happen as a side effect GET UP AND LEAVE! Before it cost you the ones you love!
I am a single mother who hates branding children. I hated the term ADD or ADHD. My son has always been hyper. He has always been a handful. Very bright, energetic but easily distracted. Since he was a baby it was always on the go, up and down. Everytime someone would say your child has ADHD i would always say he is just a boy boy and needs more room to play and i need to discipline him more. I have always been active in everythign that pertains to my son. BUt when school started it was awful. He was always being grounded, punished at school, punished at home. I would cry and pray and say why does he have to defy me. Why wont he behave. I had a breakdown when i went to a ped. and his doctor told me if you do not hold him still you will need to leave my office. I said thats find and he went on to say i was a bad mother and i needed to find a father for my son. I was devestated. Changed doctors and his current doctor noticed within the first 5 minutes that he had a bad cas of ADD. We could control the hyperness but he was so easily distracted. THis year i finally realized i was not a bad parent and my son was not a bad student or a defiant son. HE was amazing and he needed his medication to help him focus. VYvanse has been amazing. He has been taking 50 MG and it works wonderfully. He struggled so much but this year is his happiest. He came home and said MOM, I am student of the month with tears in his eyes. A straight A student. I was so proud of him. So for anyone who says i am lazy or don’t want to deal with my son and just want to take the easy way out. YOU DON”T KNOW THE TRIALS THE MY SON AND I HAVE HAD TO ENDURE!! The tears shed and the countless of hours of counselling, therapy, psychotherapy….. If your child were diabetic and needed insulin would you withhold it form a child. THe same way many children get overstimulated with information and just need something to calm them out so they can process all of there thoughts and brilliant ideas.
SO THANK YOU VYVANSE IT HAS SAVED OUR FAMILY AND BROUGHT HAPPINESS TO MY SON
I’m 20 years old, and I recently started taking Vyvanse and have been taking it for a little over a month. Since I have started taking it I am more focused, motivated, I have stopped having anxiety attacks, and I have a better attitude overall.
Negative Side effects I’ve experienced include:
Dry mouth (but I chew gum)
Dizziness
Decreased appetite
Increased heart rate (at times)
Chest pains (probably due to anxiety)
I have also been diagnosed with having GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder), where I worry about little everyday things to the point where I have attacks and can make myself physically ill. I believe the constant anxiety causes me to have hypertension and moderate to high blood pressure.
My concern is:
On my first visit to the doctor, when he checked my blood pressure it was 138/80 or something like that. And then my second visit it was 140/90. I know it says that people with high anxiety and blood pressure should not take Vyvanse, but the Vyvanse actually helps me tremendously with my anxiety. Since taking it, my anxiety attacks have been few to none. And now I’m terrified that if my blood pressure gets any higher on my next visit, that my doctor will take me off.
What should I do? Does anyone else taking this have issues with anxiety disorder or moderate to high blood pressure??
I’ve been on Vyvanse for almost two weeks. These two weeks are 30mg, next two are 50, and the second month is 70 (we’re finding my correct dosage). I will say that obviously 30 is too little, as it picks me up and dumps me 2 hours later. The first three or four days I had stomach cramping, I smoked too much and my throat became raw, I felt really good on the “up” and very down on the “down”, and I thought this medicine couldn’t possibly work out.
However over the next few days I noticed the side effects mostly disappearing. The stomach issues are gone, and when I feel any discomfort, twitching or weakness in my stomach I realize now that’s a sign that I need to eat. Eating fixes it. The two hour deal didn’t change though, although it became variable between one to three hours of up before the crash. I began taking the pill midway through my workday so that I wouldn’t crash until the last hour or two.
For two days in the middle, I went ahead and switched to my next-up dose of 50mg, and had much better results. The up wasn’t so powerful and distracting, especially when taken with a big breakfast. The down happened about 3-5 hours later, usually closer to 4, and wasn’t nearly as nasty. The last couple of days of last week it took me two 30mg pills to make it through the workday, and I was irritable at home.
I took myself off the drug last weekend to let my body readjust (no bad side effects from stopping yet) – I shouldn’t have tried the 50mg as I lessened the number I have to take consecutively now, and I shouldn’t have doubled up on the 30’s, but at the time I felt I had no choice. I did Monday without pills, Tuesday I took two 30’s. I plan only to use either 0 or 2 each day until I get to the correct time for me to start my 50mg dosage. Hoping those weeks will be better.
I have used Adderall a few times in the past for various things, mostly focusing on a personal project so that I could finish it. I find that for me, Vyvanse has more of a “high” than Adderall, despite what I’m reading online. It’s more of a druggy high though, the kind I would prefer not to get addicted to. Adderall didn’t give me that much of a cracky high, nor did the crash I experienced later feel so bad, (each time I split a 20mg into two 10’s and took them approx 2 hours apart, gave me 6-8 hours of productive focus time each time).
I’m excited that the side effects are dwindling, and if you’re experiencing nausea, cramping, weird stomach sensations, etc, hang in there a few more days – mine were awful (I puked 6 times the second night – I just couldn’t stop getting sick, and had nothing in my stomach, which was possibly my primary problem), but all that stopped and things got much better.
I’m looking forward to my next two weeks on the 50’s, even if I still have to adjust my schedule up a little to keep from crashing before close of business. I’m also looking forward to my month on the 70’s, primarily because having experienced the 50’s as a 3-5 hour deal, I’m hoping the 70’s might just hit that mark that allows me a full work day AND some good family time before wearing off. It’s odd to me that the higher dosage (50) had fewer “high” and “low” effects.
Also, for someone above who mentioned it, I do notice that Vyvanse, at least a couple of times in the first few hours, does do an up and down, almost MDMAish deal for me. I don’t mind that, because when it drops me off I have the knowledge that within a few minutes I’ll be feeling nice again, and it’s never long. I suspect that up/down effect will even out as I keep the drug in my body on a steady daily dosage.
And finally one last thing, as far as the “crash” is concerned. I think a lot of people mistake the 2-4 hour crash as the end of the drug. It’s not – if you notice afterwards your focus is still there for several more hours, just as the drug states. It’s just that the crash effect itself makes you feel shitty and you can get preoccupied with feeling shitty and not notice your focus is in tact. Unfortunately, feeling shitty is a motivation killer, so focusing without motivation to do something isn’t all that useful. Again, on the 50mg days I didn’t experience this phenomenon, and I suspect it’s a problem with taking too low a dose and having your body basically bringing itself to baseline before you take the next day’s dose, versus having the drug in your system day after day.
I will be trying Adderall single doses after the 70mg week, just to see if it’s better for my work and home life than Vyvanse, but I have to say that regardless of the negative effects I’ve experienced in my short time on this drug, my productivity during my good time is through the roof.
One of the reasons I’ve never wanted medicine until now when I’m 28 is that my hyperfocus is one of my absolute favorite traits about myself. When I’m into something, I can hyperfocus on it for 48 hours and just tear it to pieces (in a good way). Problem is, when I’m NOT into something (ie, day job grunt work, boring business stuff) I find it almost impossible to do anything at all – like an inner magnet is set to repel. I don’t believe anything is “wrong” with me, I just don’t believe my brain is properly wired to cope with ratrace life. Being that I have to work to support my family, I’d rather adjust my brain chemistry to the situation than keep forcing myself to do things I hate. What I find most interesting is the intense level of enjoyment, interest and hyperfocus I am able to put into the things I normally find so terribly boring. When the pill kicks in at work, I actually enjoy my job. I’m fast, accurate, and think things through the way I never have before.
Perhaps the only “negative” side effect of this hyperfocus is my tendency to over-express myself when writing, such as in an email to a coworker or, say, when writing about my experience with Vyvanse in a forum… I’ll stop now 🙂
Jenna – Talk to your doctor about coupling your ADHD treatment with an anti-depressant such as Lexapro or Zoloft. If you are not receiving counseling for the GAD already, consider adding that to your treatment.
My 12 year old son showed signs of attention problems at 4 years old. We changed our routines at home & incorporated everything we could find to help him deal with this according to pediatricians suggestions. At 6 years old, he underwent psychological testing and received the official diagnosis – still I did not add medication as I believed we should not unless necessary.
In the following three years, he went through multiple trauma’s in his life (long story) and as a result began counseling. After 6 months of therapy, he was diagnosed with GAD and again with ADHD. We started him on Lexapro due to anxiety (because I believed this was dominant). He had extreme side effects from both the Lexapro and every stimulant medication we tried him on. Basically, the doctors told me that you MUST treat the DOMINANT problem (whether that is GAD or ADHD).
ADHD can CAUSE anxiety issues…….. so your GAD is being treated somewhat by taking this ADHD medication. However, if your anxiety is not helped enough (thus you have increased BP, heart palpitations and anxiety attacks) then you need to treat the GAD as well.
My son is now 12 and we have had great success through therapy ALONE (no meds) treating his anxiety. However, the ADHD is now extremely difficult for him & causing anxiety and we have had to accept trying medication again. That’s why I’m on this site, reading about Vyvanese. He begins the medication tomorrow. I am optimistic.
Talk to your doctor, Jenna – about how to treat your anxiety. Stressing over losing your medication is only making everything worse – don’t wait for the doctor to suggest it, call him and talk to him/her about what you can do for the anxiety.
God bless you,
Amy
I’ve been on Vyvance for 3 months now and have been working with my doctor to get the correct dose. We started with 20 and I’m now at 40mg and I think thats where I need to be.
Prior, I’d just stare at my computer and couldnt focus on how to get started (programmer). Now, I can see the code, see the problem see the solution and write to my hearts content.
On the down side, I noticed a rash of some sort on my skin and have been using a topical to see if it can keep it in check.
I can’t remember if it started before the Vyvance or immediately after the dosage increase or if its something else.
I’m not ready to stop Vyvance to see “is that it” as I do like being productive at work and would prefer to see if others are having some of the same symptoms??
Amy- Thank you so much for your suggestions.
I see a pshycologist as well as a pshyciatrist. I’ve been in theraphy for 5 months. Its going well, but GAD is something I’m always going to have issues with and I’m still learning how to cope with certain things and situations.
My doctor is currently trying to find an anxiety med that will work for me. I have already tried Lexapro and Zoloft, and hated both of them. They make me nautious, and tired, and I’m constantly yawning.
I’m going to the doctor today, and hopefully we will find another alternative. I’m trying to remain calm and not freak out, cause I know if I get anxious my blood pressure will go up.
I’m just gonna try to keep in mind that they know I have anxiety and take that into consideration for being the main reason for my high BP. I’m sure once I find the right anxiety med, I should be fine…I’m hoping.
I was diagnosed with ADD in third grade. A double blind study concluded that my attention and focus responded positively to ritalin, and I swallowed ritalin morning, noon, and night until the fifth grade (it was embarrassing as a kid to have to take meds in public school). But then Concerta came out, and it was a life saver. I didn’t have to take meds at lunch anymore! That was awesome, until eighth grade, when it stopped working altogether (I couldn’t be on a high dose, legally) and I was put on Adderall. This bumped me up too far and revealed my second major diagnosis:
Bipolar Type I. I was hospitalized for a hypo-mania and taken off all stimulants (bye, ADD meds). This was a time of much craze and, being manic, I don’t remember much, because the doctors had been pumping horse-doses of lithium into me. I was fourteen at the time, an October freshman in high school.
I believe I was put on Strattera to test a stimulant-free option. Ha, what a bust. Strattera isn’t even worth trying. I also believe that lithium carbonate (pale-pink misty pills of cloudy stupor) ruined my life.
I was back on Concerta after a cautious discussion with my psychiatrist, but then when I was shipped off to boarding school (age fifteen, sophomore) in Utah, I was taken off lithium (thank god) and so I have been on lamictal (lamotrogine) ever since and I’ve loved it. I’ve been free of all side effects since starting (except the occasional headache).
Tolerance brought me back to Adderall and then faced me with the patch, Daytrona. I tried that, and didn’t feel anything. Then, one day in my senior year spring, it happened.
Age eighteen, new med, wanna try it? Sure. And the med was Vyvanse and the results were;
SPECTACULAR
I love Vyvanse. I love this drug. It has anti-depressant properties (woohoo!!!) and it makes me feel great! I grind my teeth a bit and I don’t eat much when I’m on it but I don’t care, as it makes me very productive and I can even direct my focus as I please (unlike with Adderall, when I was focused but never on-task).
This drug has made my life liveable; my ADD is a monster and greatly affects me every day. Vyvanse let me take control of my life and even got my into college, where I am now as a second-semester freshman.
Yay, success story!!!
I found out that my son had ADHD at the age of 6 but knew he had it at a younger age. His first 2 years of school were just a nightmare with trying to find a medication to help him and dealing with teachers that just wanted to lable him the BAD KID. He his 8 years old now in 2nd grade and in a school that only deals with kids with ADD/ADHD. He has been on Aderall rx, Daytrana, Concerta and now Vyvance 50mg. When her first started taking it the results were great finilly my son had emerged, but now things have slowly take a turn for the worst. He behavior is just off the charts having trouble with his peers again talking back to his teachers and I mean just out right mouthy. Kids will be kids and will mouth off every now and then, then you correct it and all is well but now that does even work. He is even becoming more aggressive fling of the had like he can’t even control his emotions. So if anyone is having similar affects with Vyvance let me know..maryahalsey1998@yahoo.com I just want my son to be a happy kid again.
25 y/o male, depression and ADD. Have been on 40mg Celexa for the depression but still couldn’t focus or accomplish anything, normal ADD symptoms, etc. Doc prescribed Vyvanse, 30mg to start; popped my first pill about 7 hours ago. Had an incredible high for about 15 minutes and then it dropped off; felt good. Certainly helped me focus- only problem is, I’ve been focused on researching this damn medicine all day! I read every single post on this page, plus about 5 or 6 other similar pages. Well, at least I have a thorough expectation of what may come! Now, off to see what, if anything, I can actually accomplish on this bad boy.
hello everyone! i am on vyvanse for about 4months now. i have been adhd since i was born lol!!! buuttt ive tryed eveything on the market. my last was statera,ps horrible. all i wanted to do on stratera was sleep & be a zombie! lol but this new vyvanse im on is the 70mg. I can relate to people when they talk & say not everyone is going to have the same side effects, thats true!! my side effects are extremely dehydration. my skin is dry and i get rashes, i am never hungry during the day & at night i starve because meds wore off. also, i dropped 30 pounds!! im a very hyper person and i can not focus or comprehend anything. i can feel the vyvanse work at times when im chilled n relaxed. but the second i move around or up n down doing things my “buzz” is gone n the meds ware off. i like it how it makes me feel,but i dont kno if im too cray bout this med! i need somethin to REALLy help me focus and not bounce off walls and not comprehend anything i read. i am not sayin anything bad bout this medicine by no means! i wish the best of luck to everyone out there taken this and i hope it works well for you. also i am the type of body that takes onto side effects wwaaayyyy before the meds even work on me. but good luck to all of u! and myself too lol
Hi everyone i am on vyvance. i get perscribed the 70mg. i like it a little. but not too much. i like the feeling it gives you. you can feel it working. like gettin high off weed,but the moment you started moving around and doing way too much you weed feeling leaves the body. the medicine doesnt really help me too much. i am a bad adhd and on this medicine i still can not concentrate. I have taken to the side effects. they are : my blood pressure was high on my doc visit, my heart races/papiltations, never hungry i litterally for get to eat so i droped 28 pounds no joke, im always thristy and dehydrated i drink alot of water a tooonnnn of water and never pee thats when you know your body is craving water. i also get dry mouth/cotton mouth and i have bad breath lol i just chew gum. i notice if i drink orange juice or any acids it takes away my medicine feeling and last but not least i get rashes on hands and arms i beilve its cause i am deyhydrated! an interesting fact for aDD/adhd meds: proven fact that if the medicine is making you hyper,lots of eneregy anything opposite of slowing down that means your truly NOT add/adhd. the point of the medicine is to slow you down and make you calm and everything is supposed to appear closer and more concentrated. basically like smoking weed! lol thats the best way i can describe it. so if you think your add/adhd and u r mad becuase the medicine is not working for you and your up & down and side to side talk to your doctor and try to get diagnosed with the correct issue you may be having.
I have a 16 year old son whose doc thinks he should try vyvanse, and I’m glad I found this site because it makes me think we should pass.
Reviewing this site, it looks like most of the problems with the drug occur in younger people, especially teens. The young people who do like it seem to like it only because they feel high. Some people with a history of drug abuse say the vyvanse helps them stay sober. FYI, you’re on an amphetamine, so your’e really not all that sober.
To you other parents, you have my sympathy. You’re damned if you do (note that most of the serious druggies on this site are teens who started ADHD meds at a young age) and you’re damned if you don’t. My own kid was called “borderline” ADHD at age 7 and was not placed on meds. He did OK in school and life in general until high school, when he found drugs. Now he is into weed and experimenting with other stuff. NOW the docs say he has ADHD for sure, and needs meds. It’s interesting how the “borderline” case became a clear-cut case of ADHD overnight.
I am through questioning my parenting. My other kid is wonderful, well adjusted and successful. Both have been given every advantage and a mountain of love, encouragement and attention in an intact, churchgoing, middle class home. My honest opinion is that if your kid has ADHD, it’s not your fault. But buckle up, because it’s going to be rough. One med works for awhile, then they develop tolerance or side effects. The doc writes a new scrip and moves on to the next patient. Life is hard for these kids and always will be because there is IS NO CURE, SIMPLE EXPLANATION (e.g. bad parenting) OR PERFECT PILL TO FIX IT. Drug abuse is heartbreakingly common as these kids grow older. A majority seem to have an addictive personality. Sorry, I don’t mean to be pessimistic, it’s just the way it is, although it is patently unfair. I never thought my kid would go down that road, EVER!, but he is.
Good luck to all of you struggling with this. Don’t judge yourselves too harshly, whether you have ADHD or you’re the parent of a kid with it, it’s not your fault. Don’t blindly trust your doc. Don’t assume that you must take drugs just because a doc pulls out the RX pad.
Lastly, if you use drugs for fun, don’t assume you are just a normal kid doing what kids today do — face the real possibility that you have a problem that you better address. The worst thing about addiction is that it is the only disease that makes you willingly lie back and smile as it ravages you. It makes you hurt anyone who tries to help you. It makes you want to defend it, justify it, minimize it, conceal it. PLEASE, get help.
I just started taking Vyvanse a couple weeks ago. So far it’s the best ADD med I’ve ever taken. I’m 34 years old and have been on Metadate, Ritalin, & Concherta. I am also bipolar and several of the afore mentioned have caused me to have paranoia and manic symptoms. Vyvanse on the other hand has not. We will see what happens with long term use. It has made me able to cope with depression and actually accomplish things during the day instead of wanting to sleep all the time and do nothing. A lot of drugs cause nightmarish side effects. I’ve taken Lithium and I manifested every side effect known. It worked great on my bipolar disorder though. I could not take the side effects and therefore had to discontinue use. I also took Geodon and it almost killed me. I had the muscle spasms and pulling into the center paralysis. I went to the ER, I felt like I was having a heart attack. Unfortunately the ER I went to was totally incompetent and I sat there for a couple hours in pain. Then, it subsided and I left. I learned to not tell them I am bipolar because they automatically think you are crazy and will not help you. The ignorance about these disorders shocks me sometimes. I always tell someone new in my life about it so they understand what may happen at points. Anyway, good luck to all who suffer. Be careful.
OK…I have been taking Vyvanse on and off for over a year. Lately, I’ve been taking it more consistently because I truly do need it, essentially to get up out of bed or to think clearly for on minute. I always took 50mg/day and it lasted for 7-10 hours.
I am so different on this med – I can actually get UP AND DO SOMETHING and THINK – that it is too depressing to come off of it or just to not be on it, so I did take one every 12 hours a couple times for just one day (once I took 1 every 12 hours for like 3 or 4 days and thought I was going to die and couldn’t swallow and went to the ER).
I’m struggling now with the fact that I can’t be on it literally 24/7 because the changes is so significant, it’s like dying to come off of it and I’m scared I’ll have a heart attack if I do one every 12 hours.
Can anyone offer some suggestion? Help??
I was prescribed Vyvanse about a month ago, 30mg. I took if for a few days and then stopped because within an hour of taking it, I started to experience some pain in my chest, left arm, and neck. Today I tried taking one again, wondering if it was a fluke, but the pain is still there. It’s not terribly severe – more like a dull aching that comes and goes – but it’s definitely got me worried. I’m also on 300mg of Wellbutrin and 30mg of Remeron for depression/anxiety. I’m hesitant to tell my doc about it because it’s really helped my focus and I feel so much calmer – I don’t particularly want to be taken off it. I don’t think I have any existing heart problems (I’m 26, female, never been diagnosed with anything). Has anyone else experienced this? What have your doctors suggested? Will the pain subside with regular use or is this a sign of something really serious?
I have been taking Vyvanse for the past 3 days and honestly I feel great. I want to say to the people/customers who are giving negative feedback; most of you are on multiple drugs, and if you take the time to google/drugs.com you will see that mixing depression drugs/migraine drugs/and other adhd drugs will increase side effects. Also keep in mind that a symptom my be caused by other medication you are taking.
Anyway, it has helped me so much in the past 3 days. I feel happy again and in control of my life. I will agree with some of the statements mentioned.. I have also felt that “out of body experience” but it think its you just being totally being in the “zone” I really feel you should try it. Im currently on the 30mg dose and feel wonderful. Not to mention it makes you feel full all day. I really like how when Im ready to go to sleep I can… no insomnia. Vyvanse is amazing….Don’t believe everything you read on here.. anybody can post comments!!
ok have a nice, bye, love you
I have an 11 year old daughter who was taken off of Adderall XR and put on Vyvanse. She is only on 20mg and has been on it for only two and a half weeks. All I can say is I HATE it. She seems to talk more, it wears off quickly, her attitude is worse if that can be possible, and the worst side effect I’ve seen is that she is very constipated and sometimes to the point wear her butt bleeds and she has really bad stomach pains.
KP- i am having the exact same issue and came here to see if anybody else was. i am so terrified to tell my doctor about the chest feelings i’m having b/c the drug has completely transformed my life and attitude and i don’t know what i would do without it. i don’t get mine everyday, and when i do it is not painful, its just scary because i know it means somethings going on with my heart. i think that my problem might be that i drink a lot of coffee..i try not to, but when i don’t i fall asleep vry early, generally 12 hours after waking up (basically as soon as the drug wears off). if i don’t drink coffee or take vyvanse, i could easily sleep all day. if you don’t drink coffee, your problem might be an interaction with the other medications you are on. have you considered just using vyvanse? i first started seeing a doctor b/c i thought i was depressed, in large part b/c i felt useless as i was not able to get anything done. i think that vyvanse increases anxiety in some people, but since i have been on it, i actually spend significantly less time worrying and more time getting stuff done, and i have a much more positive, can-do attitude about things. it also has helped me sleep better at b/c i’m not thinking about everything i can’t do and i was actually awake and doing things all day. keep me posted with what you do or find out! thanks.
My son is 10 and after 5 years of severe esteem-devastating school struggles (and home, and camps, and clubs etc), we’ve gone through the gamit of therapeutic, dietary, neurogeedback and naturopathic interventions, with the gap between his intelligence and performance/behavior growing. I finally agreed to try medication as part of the total package in hopes of it helping him be responsive to the other interventions, and he just started 20 mgs Vyvance 3 days ago. As a teen counselor myself, I’ve had “the talk” with so many other parents and kids, and encouraged them to try medication with cases like my son’s…but, when it was my own, it’s been a harder decision! I’m also a recovering addict, and walked the delicate argument btw “Do I teach him to solve everything with a pill?” vs “Do I wait until he discovers something illegal that helps and self-medicates?!”
He had the best day he’s had in a long time and felt great about himself. He was self-reflective and insightful. Having just been diagnosed with a writing disability and having anxious FITS about writing more than 2 lines, he cranked out a lengthy writing assignment like NOTHING! HIs non-stop and talking and noise-making seemed much better. He is having trouble getting to sleep, and I caught him in bed 3 hrs after bedtime WRITING IN A JOURNAL that he started yesterday!! (Not sure how to react to that, honestly). He also had horrible blood-inducing constipation. He did have some side-to-side jaw movements today too – that I hear others reporting – that he didn’t even notice. I”m going to try some herbal & nutritional stuff for the sleeplessness and poopin issue, but does anyone have any suggestions for the jaw stuff? Do these symptoms usually subside in kids?
I’m also getting nervous as I read about the multitude of long-term affects from mood swings to tolerance/withdrawal = physical dependency! The down side of a newer drug, I suppose…
I just want to believe…seeing his expression when he showed off his school behavior chart full of positive comments where the complaints usually are was awesome!
I’m eighteen and have been taking Ritalin for 12, almost 13 years. My doctors have slowly upped my dosage, topping out at 40 mg of Ritalin LA (long acting). I remember reading my old report cards from 1st grade, saying I used to get up and walk around during class and talk out of turn, fail at concentrating on tasks, etc. My mom and sister also have ADD and we all experimented with different kinds of meds. Ritalin was best for me and my mom, my sister decided on adderal. Since then I have excelled enormously in school (I now go to University of Michigan). However, since coming to college, I have been experiencing EXTREMELY intense and very frequent muscle spasms, especially in my right eyelid and the tops of my knees and bottoms of my feet. At first I thought it was from stress, now I’m thinking it’s time to try something other than Ritalin for my terrible ADD. is vyvanse a good idea for me? On the rare days I forget my Ritalin I end up going home from classes because it’s completely useless to try and concentrate, I eat ravenously, and I am obnoxious, twitchy and tired. I HATE how I feel without Ritalin but I think it’s time to try something new. Also in the past year I have had a half a bottle of Ritalin stolen from me, crushed and snorted in my dorm bathroom. I’d like something they can’t f_ck with or can’t identify. Also my sister who is 21 has had her adderal stolen and she is doing the trial of vyvanse now and says it works just like adderal.
So, should I try it?
hi i have been taking vyvanse for several months, previously i was on concentra untill i had a tolence for it. look vyvanse works great, i am alert, awake, i can focus is school, the appetite thing well, yeah it decreases my appetite but then i get gastric reflex really bad, so i eat but then it comes back. nonetheless, i have a question for someone out there taking vyvanse. Do you ever experience heart irregularity or too fast. since ive been on vyvanse my pulse went from a 70 to 119, and blood pressure is either to high or too low. Im a bit scared because number one i dont want to stop the drug, i need it, i finally have stopped struggling in school, i read and i comprehend, i study and i remember, i can finish what i need to finish is one day, i can pull all nighters for tests, i can wake up early and take it and 30 minutes later feel awake and alert. ok so the question is, Do any of you guys ever feel heart pain, chest pain, and when your sleeping do you feel your heart different as if it has 3 rhythms instead of 2, for example,instead of hearing luv duv, you hear luv duv duv. what should i do? i need it, i cant fail any classes. the worst part is that i am a type A personality, i am naturally a perfectionist, i exceed my superiors expectations, i always have to be ahead, i must be ahead and have knowledge, i must be acurate. God how do doctors do it? i study for 15 to 16 hours a day, go to school, yet i still feel like i havent accomlished enough. i want to be a good doctor, i need it, i so desperately want to be a doctor, but the pain in my chest keeps getting worse. should i stop and risk my grades? should i risk not knowing the material or grasping it like i would when on vyvanse? this is my life,my career, i have sacrified so much. All my life i had to be the one who stay in to study for hours, while others get to go out and have fun and still get the same grade, since i have been in vyvanse i can study and get ahead. now those in the past whom got the same grade without much effort dont stand a chance if put in a classroom setting with me. someone please, is this normal? what do i do? understand everthing i am, everything ive done, everything i stand for, is “do what ever it takes to get to the top!” but the pain keep prolonging and getting stronger. i feel as if i stay on it, i will not last much longer, maybe 2 or 3 years. My airway constricts, (i have asthma) so i quit smoking ok. yet at times i feel out of breath, i cant run my 5 miles in the morning with out breathing hard, at times i feel numness in my left arm,uhhh, someone please answer!!! and if you are asking if i have told the physician about this, the answer is yes i have, but they refuse to look into it since i am so young. i am 25 years old, and they say im too young to feel these symptoms. well does that mean they dont exist? am i crazy or is there someone out there that feels this??? please someone, anyone!!
vyvanse is wonderful and it works but what do you do when yu start to have chest pain, and each time you take it, it gets worse??? maybe its not the drug maybe it is?
I read some posts here that said that kids with ADHD were the results of bad parenting!And the parents that decide to put our kids in meds are nuts? Or because we live in a nuts society? Well the society is nuts,but not everybody thinks that the solution are meds. How people can write something like that? All of you need to do some research and actually understand what is ADHD.I can tell you that I was one mom 100% against the use of pshycotropic drugs in kids until I learned in the hard way that my own son was ADHD and needed some meds just to help him.ADHD is not something new,what happen is that now with the advance in communication and in the medical field and the education in mental conditions,now we have a little bit of knowleadge in how to identify and treat ADHD. Now for this people that say that ADHD is something new,I have news for you: The firsts researches about ADHD took place at the end of the 1700’s. The first person that wrote something about this condition was Scottish-born physician and author, Sir Alexander Crichton so please everytime you tink that ADHD is a modern’s parent excuse,think twice.
When my son was 5 years old (kindergarden) his teacher told me that my son showed ADHD signs. I just tought that like a regular boy he was just with extra energy plus like I didn’t have a backyard at that time he didn’t have the space to burn all that extra energy.I just dissmissed the teacher concerns, but I started watching him more closely. When his regular teacher took her maternity leave and another teacher came to the classroom and told me the same. I talked with his pediatrician and he runned some tests. When the results came back my son was diagnosed with ADHD. He recomended medication and like I said before about my oppososition for meds, my answer was no.I just dismissed his diagnose thinking that every kid that actually was normal was treated like a sicko and that lazy parents didn’t want to handle normal kids with extra energy and the only way to make their life easier was to medicate their kids. Like I saw my son like the energizer bunny all the time I tought that the answer was to buy a house with a big backyard. Me and my husband with all the efforts,sacrifices and economic strain beyond imagination(specially because I am stay home mom) bought a house with a pretty size yard so he could be a kid. Surprise was that this kid would get up at 6 am,eat breakfast and go to the backyard and run,climb,run,climb like it was not tomorrow (Thank God we moved during summer vacations so in that way my kids didn’t have to go thru start in a new school during mid term). And still at 10 pm he still was going around the house to see what he could do! This lasted for 7 weeks!!! Then he started first grade and two weeks later the teacher asked me if my son was tested for ADHD! Now that was a surprise for me, because he was in a new school,new county,how this teacher would tell me this? Well I took him with a new Dr. and he runned new test on him,the same results and the same recomendation and still I said no to meds.
Now I started noticing that my son couldn’t finish homework in a decent amount of time (3 hours for a 1st grader,it’s just coloring and writing simple words),always looking around him to see what he could do, but not his work,starting fights with his sisters or his brother,screaming or getting angry for little things,answering back at me or trying to argue with me for anything,or when I tried to put him in his room and grab him by his arm he started getting physical aggresive towards me. Now some others things seamed more obvious because were getting worst like the problem to go to bed,moving around in the chair,couldn’t wait in line,moving his hands or feet all the time,couldn’t finish things like regular chores,not following simple instruction etc. He started having big behavior problems in school like getting out of his classroom because he felt like it,answering back at his teachers,picking fights with his classmates. His grades started falling big time,he couldn’t finish his work,always looking outside the windows,etc. At this point I started feeling that something was really wrong and started looking for help,but still was against meds.
I read every single book I could put my hands on about how to treat ADHD with no meds. I even tried the Feingold diet step by step. My house looked more like a organic supermarket + kindergarden than a home.I removed all the “stuff” that this books said was not good for his brain. I avoided supermarkets and stores,always looking for somebody to babysit my son (no good about that because most of the time people was saying no and no because of his behavior). Meanwhile my son was getting in a deeper hole and I didn’t know what else I was supouse to do. By this time my son was in second grade and everything was out of control. He was having extreme temper tantrums,his grades were worst than trash, even that he really tried hard,his selfsteem in hell,he almost got kicked out of school and still I was against meds. I tought that I needed to learn more,try harder,that I was a bad mom because I couldn’t control my child,that maybe I need it to spank him for the behavior,scream,curse, etc.. At the end I didn’t even try to put a finger on him or scream at him.My husband in the other side was saying that I needed to be more “hard”,that in old times people used to spank kids and nothing happened.After I reminded him about my childhood and my feelings/experiences he dropped the spanking/hitting chapter. I knew my son was trying hard but he didnt know how to do it. He apologized and cried every time he felt he made somebody upset. All this situation made my family life almost hell. We couldn’t have a regular family dinner,regular quiet time or go to the movie theater or to a toy store. Now my son was starting third grade. And everything was the same and took a turn for the worst,one day my son started screaming,jumping in the chairs and trowing things in the classroom. His teacher needed to evacuate the classroom,moved the other kids to another classrom with another teacher and when he came back to try to control my son,my son kicked him,punched him and bit him in his hand (he needed 3 stitches). When I arrived to the school my son was trashing the principal’s office. That day I knew if I didn’t do something really drastic,my son was destined to be in jail or in a mental ward. I talked with the principal,apologized with the teacher and he understood everything and he didn’t press charges against my son. The same day I went to the closest hospital and requested an appointment with a Dr.I remeber that I sked the receptionist/nurse about the best Dr treating kids with behavioral issues and she told me “Dr Huges” and thank God she got a opening for the very next day.The next day I showed up for the appointment with my son and explained everything to her and my position against ADHD drugs and kids. She just explain to me that I understood,as a mom,that these drugs were not beneficial for my son because of their high predisposition to get “hook up”,that they were powerful drugs and like every mom I was trying to protect him from any harm in the long run,that I didn’t want a kid in zombie state in my house,but if I tried everything under the sun without meds and no change,only worst behavior and grades that maybe I could try something “else”.What really impressed me was the time that she took with me and my son. I know that some Dr just rush everything because the have another patient,they never take the time to ask important questions (like since when he starting showing up the symptoms or how is the interaction with parents/siblings/peers in home/school or what steps we follow in the house to try to correct the unwanted behavior,etc). Or actually answer in depth your questions. She gave me an appointment for the following week,gave me a list of all ADHD drugs available and told me to do a research,write down the pros and cons of any med and my questions and together we will try to get the best for him. I spended the whole week doing my little research for every med created for ADHD.By the way,the diagnose she gave him was ADHD+ODD.What I think that really helped with my son’s Dr is that she too have a kid with ADHD and can actually understand the whole situation.
For the next appointment the Dr and I talked for almost 2 hours about meds until we decided to try Concerta in the lowest dose (18mg).The very next day he started the medication and two hours later he was another child!! He was picking up his toys without me telling him.When I asked him why he was doing it, he just answered “Because its my responsability to pick up after myself”. I almost dropped dead!!!.The rest of the day he got like little ups and downs,but was a big change! The next day was even better,no problem at all just that he couldn’t go to sleep. His first day of school after he started his meds was just PERFECT! His teacher (The one with the stitches) was just extreme happy with his change,better concetration,no jumping or running,waiting his turn,raising his hand not blurting the answer,just a little bit “energizer bunny”,but not out of control and I liked that because I like kids that act like one,not like grown ups and my biggest fear was a sleepy,zombie or a “high” kid. He told me that he found my son just with a little bit of innatention maybe because the size of his classoom and told me that my son could need a smaller classroom or time apart with a special ed teacher,just to boost his learning,because after so many problems he was extremely behind even that he was extremelly smart when he concentrate and super excellent with numbers. He helped me to get a evaluation done with the Board of Ed. One month after my son was assigned his IEP, a special ed teacher that would help him every day for one hour and a speech therapist to help him with his speech problems.
In his one month follow up with his ped. my son was doing fine, but not at night,it would take me hours to put him to sleep or he would wake up at 3 or 4 am.The ped prescribed Clonodine 0.1 mg. That night my son sleeped like a baby and the next day he was perfect and ready.
But after 3 months my son’s teacher started to tell me that he was ok in the morning but he started to “fall apart” in the afternoon. I felt the same way too because he was all over the place in the house.I made another appointment with the ped and she increased the dose of Concerta (28 mg) and increased the Clonodine (0.2mg),but after 1 week in the new dose my son showed aggresive behavior. Before changing the whole med,we tried one last shot with Concerta,we decreased the dose back to 18 mg and added Ritalin 0.5mg at 12 pm to give him a little boost in the afternoon, but after 3 weeks was the same behavior (ok during the morning,bad at the afternoon and in the last week it didn’t worked at all). Now we decided for Vyvense 30 mg,removed the Ritalin and left the Clonodine at night. The first night with Vyvense,he got a bad moment going to sleep. But the second day was just Perfect!,even better than Concerta. And from that day until now Vyvense its been working for him at that dose. The side effects are dry mouth, but I talked with the teacher and he allows him to bring sugar free hard candy and a water bottle in the classroom and loss of appetite and weight loss,but I fixed that changing his diet to a highest caloric diet (More beneficial calories not just empty calories) and right know he catched up with his weight and he is 2 inches taller,so no worrying about growth.
Now he have a best friend and a second best friend.I allow his friends to stay overnight (something I couldn’t do before because he used to fist fight with his fiends and at the end he finished with no friends at all).I don’t let him stay over night in nobody house,sorry, I don’t trust people with my kids (protective mode as always).He have birthday parties invitations all the time,my family situation changed 180 degrees. Now we can do what any other family does every weekend. We can go to the park without worring that he would finish in a fight with other kid,or trying to go to the street or the lake next to the park (of course always checking if anything happen or the wrong person is around).We can go to the toy store without a tantrum because he wants something,we can have a regular dinner,we can go to the movie theater or the mall or the supermarket. Or just quiet time watching a movie in the house or go to Mc Donalds!We can take him to family or friends house and no more broken windows!!! (We already paid for 5 of them!)
Those that say that kids with ADHD are the result of bad parenting, think twice. I don’t think I am the perfect mother (I don’t want to be one),just trying to be a good one. What I did wrong? I took care before getting pregnant,during and after.I went thru labor with no pain killers,no epidural,nothing! Don’t smoke,rarely drink (Just in special occasions like 4 of July,New Year’s eve or in the superbowl).I have a normal family with 4 kids that I love with all my heart and a hard working husband thats is a excellent,supportive husband and father.We dont argue in front of the kids,our problems we try not to let them cross to the rest of the house. As the primary caregiver I don’t hit my kids specially because my mother used to beat me when I was a child and I know the pain and the horror that you feel as a child when somebody abuse you. I never wanted my kids to see me in the same way I saw my mom: afraid of her. I don’t curse at my kids,I don’t scream at them (just raise my voice when I need to do i). I try to provide the best of me just for them.I stopped college because they needed me and I don’t regret it at all (I can pick up later my studies) Am extremelly involved in their school,I talk with their teachers every day (benefit of not working outside),social worker,school principal.I talk with everybody that have to deal with him about every single Dr appointments,change in his meds,side effects or severe side effects and to let me know if he shows any kind of changes (good or bad).Am involved in their extra curricular activities,their friends and their parents (just to know with what kind of family my kids will get involve with).I talk with them every single day even its just about toys or tv shows.But above all that,the love they recive in our home. It’s that bad parenting?
About the comments that parents were almost nuts in they put the kids on meds,like a I said before,I was totally against it, until I hitted the floor. Like I said,I tried everything,from diets,psycologist,chore charts & tokens,karate,family therapy,behavior therapy. You name it, because I already tried, From the moment my son was diagnosed with ADHD until the time I started his med passed 3 years and a half. I still remember how my son was frustaded with himself,how he cried because he didn’t behave or because he didn’t understood or didn’t remember or left his homework in school or in the house.How he used to come from school because he didn’t have friends or other kids called him “weirdo” or “pshyco” or “road runner”.Or how he hated school because he was “bored” and his morning tantrums. Or how many times I tried something new just to help him and at the end I lost my time,his time and money. How many times at looked at him while sleeping and I cried and asked myself what else I could do to help him or what I did so wrong that he was like that.And I didn’t “have” the answer for his condition until I bended my arm and realize that sometimes you have to accept that you have to try even the things that you say “never”, because maybe thats the answer.
For all that people that talk about that the parents that gives kids meds,do you think is easy? Believe me it’s time consuming,trial and error meds,a lot of times it’s frustating and the money that u have to spend in Dr appointments,tests,meds,therapy,gas,etc. But when you get the right med at the right dose it’s a relieve,not because the money,because finally your kid will get better.
I don’t understand the big taboo about mental illness? If somebody is Squizofrenic,they need meds unless you want somebody screaming and talking about voices and even hurting themselfs or somebody else. The same with bipolar. Normally,the mental conditions are hereditary,its nobody fault,its just there. Whats different if it’s a child with a mental illness? Years ago people that got babies with any kind of retardation,cerebral palsy,autism or down syndrome used to give them away or hide them from society,not anymore! Specially in this era that we have information at our fingertips and we have available the education to understand and treat different conditions since childhood,including cancer.Whats different with ADHD and all the spectrums that comes with this condition? I want to know if the people that it’s against medication to treat ADHD is against the meds to treat pediatric cancer? What those kids receive it’s poison,literally! But still its one of the best resources to fight cancer and parents all over the world every day cross their fingers everytime their kids recive their treatment and pray for health, a normal life for their babies.Nobody judge them, nobody say “It’s irresponsible to let a Dr to put poison in your kids body”. Or kids with diabetes that needs insulin shots every day,I never heard “Why you put insulin in you kids body,if he is like that,maybe,someday their pancreas will start working 100%” You can say “But cancer or diabetes are cronic illnesses,if you dont treat them,the child can die” Well the same with ADHD,if you dont treat the kids with ADHD can cost their fullfilment in this life.Drag low selfsteem,bad grades innecesarily because they have what it takes to learn,legal problems in school and outside and in the end,loose their life in the world of drugs and crime.And maybe if they can recover from that,it will be harder to get up and a society pointing their fingers at them. Stop judging the parents with kids with ADHD that decided that a good option are using meds as part of a whole treatment. We are using all the help and tools available to help our kids to have the most normal life possible. Its that bad? Its bad to want the best for our kids?
Somebody said not to start any meds on kids because they cant decide about the meds. Sorry,but kids have no maturity to decide what is best for them. We dont wait for the kids to decide if they want to go to school so in that light,they cant decide if they take motrin,benadryl,claritin or concerta.
And to all the parents that are still looking for answers,please DONT STOP looking! There is help available,if its not vyvanse,maybe concerta o ritalin.Just try to get a good Dr that understand you situation and a good therapist. If you think that you child can do better in a smaller class,go for it. Make the board of ed in the place that you live to run tests and make your voice be heard,because thats you kids voice.And still you dont feel confortable with their decision,take it to a higher place. Be worst than a pimple in their butts (sorry for the expression) And if your not happy with his Dr,change it. You can do it,he works for you child and if you feel that the Dr is not giving you the services that you kid needs just fire her/him. And continue looking until you get the right one. Try to educate people about ADHD,sometimes we have to teach the teachers how to deal with this condition, teach school personnel,family,friends,coworkers,etc, but please never stop looking for the right treatment for you kid (with or without meds). You are the only one that really knows your kid and their only true advocate.Get involved in a support group with other parents with ADHD kids or similar condition. Learn from them and teach them too.Learn how to rely in other people that you really trust chores or babysitting. Sometimes you need a break 😉
Its not easy.Having a child with ADHD its challenging,but full of new discoveries and new strenghts. Expect good times,not that good times, but something I assure you, you will discover a stronger bond between you and your most precious gift.
You can tell everyone is on some kind of drug right now because there’s a shit-storm of paragraphs.
I am a teenager and i was diagnosed with ADHD when i was in 3rd grade. The first med i tried was Concerta, it worked at first but then i would start to have ups and downs. Then in 7th grade My mom and my Ped. decided to put me on Stratera, the same thing happened as with Concerta. Then i just stopped taking meds all together and my grades fell, i became very irritable, and anxious. Then in the middle of 9th grade i started Vyvanse, this medicine has helped me so much. ive been able to concentrate in class, pull my grades up, and become a happier person. the only problem i have is sleeping at night, it takes me hours to fall asleep, and sometimes ill wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning, other than that i have no complaints about this med..
My 7 yr old’s story is similar to many above. I knew from age 3 something was different about him. He was and is very bright, very verbal and personable at a very early age…still is. I started getting notes from teachers at age 3 including summer camps all the way through 2nd grade which is where we are now. He was always having problems, not so much physical fighting, more blurting out, lack of focus and daydreaming. He was officially diagnosed ADHD 4 months ago. We tried behavior therapy with little results and I knew that would happen because we had already done that for a whole year in first grade. We have since started Vyvanse and been on it for about 2 weeks. I noticed some positive changes in the morning it was no longer asking him to get up, brush his teeth put on shoes 5 times; I ask him once and he does it, so that is nice. He even did his homework without me asking. Teachers say they have noticed some improvement but not significant. Soccer coach said no real improvement either but practice is end of day so it is probably wearing off by that time. His eating is the same so no change there; it was poor to begin with. He is up a little later at night now but not as bad as I was expecting. I have noticed that he is extremely more talkative…so much that sometimes he mixes up his words. Also, he just got an I-POD shuffle and I asked him to write down a list of 5 of his favorite songs and when he did that, all is b’s, d’s and p’s were reversed as if he was dyslexic (he did not have this issue before the meds) so I thought that was a bit strange! the first day I also noticed an increase in tics, squints and rolls his eyes during certain times. That was the first day, I have not really noticed any of that since. I am giving till end of month on this med and will then discuss with pediatrician how to proceed because if it is really not helping him at school…that won’t work. I have been looking into something called neurofeedback (EEG) and was wondering if anyone else had experience with it? What about metrinome therapy?
PLEASE RESPOND!!
Does anyone else take 50 or 70 mg like every 12 hours and just stay awake and only eat a small bit in between doses so that you can get everything done and feel happy and not eat for a few days? (And then have a sleeping fest on the weekend?)
Hello, I have been on Vyvanse for three months now. The doctor first started me off at 50mg, then bumped me up to 70mg. For some strange reason the side effects seemed worse on the smaller dosage. Maybe I needed some time to adjust. But I do notice that I get the chest pains ever so often. I’m 39, and never had any problems like that before. When I don’t take it on the weekend, I don’t get those pains. Also like one of the other people that posted on here, I also experience the shortness of breath from time to time. Personally for me the benefits out weigh the side effects at this point. Vyvanse has really helped me concentrate, at work I have become very detail oriented which my boss has noticed. Also it has helped me be more alert in general.
I am bipolar and I am getting my treatment.
Also I am ADD so I am taking this drug
I started yesterday and a vein of my forehead pop up in one side and it hurts a little during the day..What should I do?
Hi I have read alot of these and most have had pretty much the same things to say about the drug. I also have some chest pain and also is more on smaller doses but my main concern is I have started having sever ringing in my ears and it is driving me crazy. Has anyone else had this happen. I have been on the me