Hey.
I'm on vyvanse, but it wears off after 5-6 hours. Given that I have 10 hours shift my doctor wants to give me a booster but he wasn't sure which one. He said that strattera might be a good option. Has anybody tried strattera as a booster with vyvanse?
I'm just curious- how long have you been taking Vyvanse?
I have never tried Strattera, but I also take Vyvanse and it works most of the time, but I also noticed it does wear off before 12 hours. I am not sure exactly when it wears off though.
I have the same problem. I’m on 70 mg of Vyvanse, but it wares off after about 6 hours. My doctor added 30 mg of Adderall as a booster. For me, it’s the perfect combination. My husband took Strattera for a few months, but it didn’t help him one bit, especially since Strattera isn’t a stimulant at all, but an SNRI.
I know, which is way I’m skeptical to the suggestion of taking Strattera as a booster.
I’ve tried Strattera when we were trying to find the right medication for me and it didn’t work at all for me.
I’d suggest a booster of 15-20 mg of
Adderall tbh. I’ve been on this Vyvanse 70 mg and Adderall 30 mg booster since 2011.
I did 1 year of pharmacy school, so I know my meds pretty well. JS
If Strattera didn't work before, why would your doctor want to prescribe it again? That's a bit illogical.
Did you read that short article in CHADD's Attention magazine a while back (drat! It could have been ADDitude mag), which mentioned a study on how our meds are affected by how quickly our bodies metabolize the drugs? It has to do with the variety of levels of pancreatic enzymes that individuals produce. The study pointed out that our timing of meds and meals is a factor in that drug metabolization.
I have gastrointestinal and pancreatic issues, so my timing of ADHD meds (and my other prescription meds) are greatly affected because I have to take acidic and pancreatic prescriptions to actually break down anything I eat. (Yes, it's a pain. I take a full set of pills for meals, but smaller amounts for oral meds or tiny snacks.)
I currently take Concerta ER and I find that if I take it with breakfast, it doesn't even seem to be working that day.
If I take it too far ahead of breakfast, it makes me nauseous and kills my appetite all day, but it works great for about 6 to 8 hours.
So I take Concerta ER with a couple crackers (and just a few digestive pills), and wait about an hour to eat breakfast (with a full set of pills). It works pretty good/okay, and seems to last well about 5 to 7 hours.
Because it doesn't last very long, and because I get a rebound effect as it wears off (my ADHD symptoms go into overdrive) ... I take Ritalin (10 mg; the regular stuff) about 6 hours after my Concerta ER.
The tiny Ritalin boost lasts about 2 hours. It helps me stay on track right when I need to cook dinner. And I don't talk my husband's ear off when he gets home 
I guess my suggestions are: 1) try changing the timing of your breakfast, maybe your meds will last longer; 2) try a different extended form of your preferred med if it's available; 3) try a very tiny dose of something like plain Ritalin, that may be just enough to help you stay on track another couple hours.
By the way, I've also done 10 mg Ritalin right when waking in the morning, to help me get organized without the nausea, and taken the Concerta later so it lasted further into the afternoon. Some people do this with kids, to help them get up and out for school, and then the regular meds last through school hours. My only issue was when to actually eat, so I had to give that up. But I don't work outside the home, so my schedule is ok for me. Anyway, that's just another idea you could consider.
Best wishes to you on your journey.
tell me please is it ok.i just have one day and I feel very normal ..for the longest time I can not even get up of the bed. I am so happy but scare of taking the two
I Tried Strattera and it was a PR nightmare. I felt horrible for three days and it had zero benefit so I decided to move to stimulants.
I’ve been taking vyvanse since 2009. I’m on 70mg and it doesn’t help me at all the way it used to. I can fall asleep on it and have zero motivation just like when I don’t take any meds at all. My dr added Modafinil 200mg + 100mg (another half of a pill) so 300mg total with my 70mg vyvanse. That combination definitely helped me for a few years but it has become less and less as effective so my dr switched me to Nuvigil. It works but I’m definitely not at optimum performance. My pharmacist suggested a new stimulant medication that I’m excited to ask my psychiatrist about at my next appointment. It’s called Mydayis and it’s manufactured by Shire, who also manufactures Vyvanse. Mydayis is also a long acting stimulant but it’s supposed to last longer. I think I read it last’s for up to 16 hours.
I’ve heard of Mydayis. I live in Europe and they now made what they describe as “adult version” of Vyvanse which is called Aduvanz. It’s completely bs in my eyes.
But I have the problem that when the stims wares off I feel so tired I could fall asleep pretty much.
There is a dna test where you swab the inside of your cheeks to get skin cells and a lab will give you a report on which adhd medications will be most effective for you. That miserable trial and error phase with adhd medications should be a thing of the past. I did the dna test after I went through the trial and error bs for about a year and based on all of the errors with the trials I had just experienced, the dna test was accurate. The only problem with it when I did it in 2015 is that it didn’t have every single adhd medication on the list. I think there were only 9 of them and there are more meds than that.
Do you know what this test is called?
I don’t remember the exact genetic test I took. I think I remember researching Harmonyx then finding out it wasn’t available anymore, then I think I ended up doing a test called genesight or something similar to that name? I apologize for not having a more definitive answer but honestly, there are probably better tests available now since it was 3-4 years ago that I did this. I had blue cross insurance at the time and the test was completely covered at that time. My psychiatrist essentially wrote a prescription or lab order for me to have it done. I’m going to look into it again and see if there’s a better one with more medications than the one I did in 2015. I also just started having phone appointments with Dr. Charles Parker in Virginia (I’m in TX) and he suggested some other non traditional tests that I can have done locally then he can go over the results with me before he consults with my prescribing dr in TX. Hormone testing, food sensitivities, brain chemistry, and one other test that I can’t remember right now. I’ll make a post about the whole experience once my results are back next month. Side note...it doesn’t take that long to do the tests or get the results but one of the tests requires me not to use any antihistamines for at least 21 days so I have to wait until November 1st before I can even do the test.
It's Genesight (might be Genesite)
Hi,
My own experience is related but in a different way. I was diganosed recently and put on strattera to begin with. I stuck with it through the severe side effects and little gains until i found myself on a comfortable dose 40mg. It offered little if anything on the concentration effects and mostly makes me sleepy if im honest but it helped with how i felt in general. Since its not a drug that you actually feel the effects on like you do with vyanese or the other stimulants adding this as a booster may not noticeably help but i have tried adding equasymxl to my current strattera dose and had positive effects on how long i felt my concentration lasted for 6 - 8 hours. Normally equasym would wear off after 5 - 6 hours.
This boost was taken without the doctors concent however (hes a hard guy to get hold off here quarterly appointments seem to be my alocation). So there should be some truth in this im hoping when i see him next he will prescribe me a stimulant as a boost.
I Have been put on a 50 + 50 mg vyvanse schedule by my ph now for about a week. I had 60mg before, but that Only worked for 3-4 hours (after the irritating wait a couple of hours for it to start working in the morning)
I was a bit surprised at the dosage since ive read that 70mg is the recomended Max dose. But the ph Even talked about 15mg dexamphetamine for the morning..
So Maybe i Have a too liberal doc?
Hi braguista, I’m sorry I cannot advise on the vyvanse and strattera. Just wanted to say that i’m on strattera myself and it does absolutely nothing for the motivation/drive. Though does help the focus/concentration and the barrage of thoughts. Its just the getting started on things thats frustrating!! Course it may be totally different for you.
Best of luck
I’d have to find a new dr. Most of these pill dispensing psychiatrist don’t even keep up with the most recent information regarding adhd medications, combination meds, etc.
ADHD Medication update
Great mornings, Ordinary afternoons. 
Just restarted Vyvanse - completely different experience from last time
Strattera side effects 
Spouse doesn't believe in ADHD
