Frustrated with Vyvanse....

[Jen1978]

Hello everyone! I was just diagnosed at the age of 40 a few months ago. I've tried a few different medications with very mixed results so far. I recently started taking 40mg Vyvanase with ZERO improvement of my ADHD symptoms (and there are A LOT!!). Anyone have this problem with Vyvanase? Experience with dextroamphetamine any different? I had awful crashes and a little jittery/anxious with Adderall. I was really hoping Vyvnase would be a game changer.... Any input or personal experiences would be very much appreciated! I see my doc on Monday but I'm just frustrated and, apparently very hyper-focused!

[Lovinit]

I believe adderall and vyvanase are the same drug, they are delivered differently into your system so I can see how you said you had bad results with both. Ridellan is the other stimulant available concerta same drug as ritillain but also like vyvanase and adderall the delivery into your system is different. I would try that out. For me, the adderall and vyvanase works well for me, when I tried concerta, i had some side effects that kinda freaked me out. The first few weeks on it it didn’t do anything for me then my toe went numb for a few days.

[spb1234 in reply to Lovinit]

Adderall and Vyvanse are definitely not the same drug. Vyvanse is lisdexamphetamine which is a fancy way of saying that the amphetamine salt is bound together with a protein that can only be digested, thus providing a more leveled out extended release. Adderall, dextroamphetamine, on the other hand actually has two salts that dissolve or metabolize ideally six hours apart. I also switched from adderall to Vyvanse and things haven’t been better. My days are so much clearer than when I was on adderall, not like they were bad before but they were inconsistent. I’m glad to see you Vyvanse is working for you too

[Packman in reply to spb1234]

spb1234 is correct regarding the drugs and how they are metabolized. I take 70 mg. of Vyvanse with few side effects (and as usual, was started on a lower dose at first. I do not have any bad side effects, but have not improved on ability to focus, follow-through etc. with my "inattentive type" ADD. I have been fortunate to find maybe the best psychiatrist in NE and will begin working with him soon. He specializes in gerontological psychiatry and I am over 65. I wish you and everyone well.

[hldb]

There is a genetic test that you can take for about $300. It takes a saliva swab from your cheek and identifies how your body will process and metabolize different drugs. It is not perfect and doesn't find the magic drug, but it does limit the field of drugs to test, so it is a way to reduce the number of drugs you take in the trial and error phase.

[Packman in reply to hldb]

I had this test done, and believe it is useful in helping doctors as hldp notes above.

[migalley]

Diagnosed at 41, as in last year. ADHD-PI for me. I'm on 30mg of Vyvanase since 28th Dec (after about 3 weeks of back and forth with my insurance, doctor and pharmacy on getting a pre-auth) . I feel a slight difference in concentration however after about 8-ish hours I do get a "crash" of the blues for about 30 mins. My doc will most likely bump me up next week. Your doc might do the same.

My biggest issue is it only lasting 8 hours. I pop a pill at 5 am every morning so at about 1300 after lunch is when I crash.

[toobusy7 in reply to migalley]

I have the same issue. My body metabolizes it quicker than others. I wake at 5am and bed at 10pm. I was wondering if a doctor would prescribe one dose in am and the other in the afternoon. Is it even allowed since they think this medication should last longer but it really doesn't

[LOLA4610]

Vyvanse is a good fit for my daughter but according to the clinical trials, 30mg is the effective dose. My 7yo daughter is on 30mg and it's working well. I would expect an adult to be almost double that. [ Just a thought.] Good to know where the clinicians actually saw a marked improvement.

[spb1234]

Do you think it’s your dosage? I’m only 19 and on my progression through meds, I was diagnosed in fourth grade, had tended to end a medication on the higest possible dosages. When I switched to Vyvanse from Adderall, I was previously taking 40 mg which is the highest dose they can prescribe. So when I was put onto Vyvanse I started up at 70mg. If you still can, talk with your doctor and see if you can increase your dose because I know that when I felt like there’s no improvement, more often than not it’s because the dose was too small. Every ADD/ADHD medication acts differently and that also means different dosages can be less effective even at equivalent sizes. Another thing, it can be hard to do sometimes but make sure you’re eating throughout the day. Because of vyvanse’s chemical make up it can only be digested by a digesting enzyme in your stomach and the best way to keep that enzyme there is by eating. Best of luck to you and feel free to PM me if you want to ask for some specific help. I’m actually looking into not only being an advocate for ADD/ADHD awareness, but also to maybe be an ADD/ADHD coach one day as a side job so I need all the practice I can get!

[Packman in reply to spb1234]

spb1234: You sound well educated on this subject and write very well. I have taught college psychology and studied this issue very much and I hope others appreciate your comments as much as I just have. Keep up the good work!

[spb1234 in reply to Packman]

Thank you! Ironically I’m going to college for software development but my mission on here is to help as many people as I can because ADD/ADHD is something that people, even those who do have it, don’t really know all too much about it

[Rocksmack]

I was on Adderall XR(extended release) 30mg. It's supposed to last about 8 hours but mine was only lasting 6ish. I switched to vyvanse and had inconsistent results. Make sure you eat and don't drink anything with citric acid in it. It's a preservative which can delay the absorption of the medicine for an hour or longer. It can also cause inconsistent absorption, meaning your body may not absorb all of the medicine before it's on its way out in the toilet. Sorry was trying not to be gross.

I switched to a newer drug called Mydayis which is supposed to last 12 to 14 hours. It is the same chemical make up as Adderall, but it has 3 release times where adderall only has two. I find it lasts longer, and is smoother than adderall. I do not get the crash towards the end. It is a newer medicine and there is no generic so it is a little more expensive then adderall but not as expensive as vyvansy.

You may want to ask about adding a kicker to the vyvanse. I tried 10mg of Ritalin instant release which I took first thing in the a.m. then took the vyvanse about 2 hours later because the vyvanse was taking like an hour or more before it began to work. I also tried the reverse, taking the Ritalin in the afternoon to get through afternoon crash and make it to 6pm.

Another option is provigil or nuvigil, taken with Vyvanse or another ADHD med. Research and ask your doc.

[AHen in reply to Rocksmack]

Can you take both though?

[mandyholly]

Hi I was only diagnosed with adhd at age 53 after wrongly diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar. I’m in the UK and we can only get Ritalin, concerta (long acting Ritalin or methylphenidate) or vyvanse but it’s called Elvanse here. I started on Ritalin but didn’t like the sudden spikes and drops so switched to concerta. I seem to be what I’ve heard is a ‘super metaboliser’ as I needed a big dose of 108 mg a day which sometimes I would split the dose or take it all in the morning, this worked well for about 7 months and I still don’t know why it stopped working. I switched to elvanse, starting dose of 40 mg lasted about an hour! 70 mg is supposed to take at least 2 hours to work but last 14 hours but that only lasted 4- 4.5 hours for me . I’m now mixing it with strattera 80mg which stretches out the length of time it works to between 8-10 hours. I sometimes feel a crash coming but not always and take regular protein shakes throughout the day which I find helpful plus drinking lots of water and when the Elvanse/vyvanse is wearing off I take multivitamins, amino acids, BCAA’s and several other supplements which I’ve researched can help. When taking Elvanse with strattera you don’t have to wait 2 hours if you take them together, I personally find if I take them with 30 mg caffeine they work instantly. It’s been a lot of trial and error for me and what works for me won’t work for another as every brain is different and I’ve only been on this combination for about 8 weeks and would still like to get a consistent 14 hours a day but I’ve never heard anyone get that long! Good luck finding what works for you 😊

[Khayaws in reply to mandyholly]

I find vyvanse is helpful but in the dose range I deem helpful the doctor is not going to be approving any time soon.. 70mg 2x a day and I feel like I might be okay.. but im on 60 once, and that took convincing.. I doubt he will even prescribe a secondary med in this family, how on earth did you manage this? Cause I think the secondary might help.. However everyone here just assumes you probably want these for a joy ride and wont even consider. Struggling bad right now

[mandyholly]

I can’t get more than 70 mg once a day of elvanse as that’s all the FDA recommends. Most people are either on strattera or elvanse but I convinced my ADHD specialist to let me try both as I have 2 additional needs kids to look after and was only getting 4.5 hours from 70 mg elvanse. The strattera makes the elvanse work straight away and last 7-10 hours but ideally an afternoon booster of maybe 20 mg would see me past 6 pm but I’m seeing him today and doubt I’ll get it prescribed. Have you tried concerta? 108 mg is acceptable and legal in exceptional cases and I was much better on that, although I had to start on 36 mg which made me sleepy and increase the dose gradually and hoping a few months of it will make it work again as I’m mainly taking stimulants for major depression as well as ADHD. I’ve been seeing psychiatrists for 15 years and do a lot of research and always suggest to them if they have nothing to suggest to me as I’ve been ‘stamped’ treatment resistant for years !

I wish you well