I'm new to ADHD meds and am currently trying Vyvanse 50mg. So far the effects have been good, not amazing, but OK. But reading into these, and other, meds a little more, I noticed that they're all predominantly amphetamine based. But also as are plenty of illegal recreational drugs.
I drive a lot for work, and this got me thinking, and a little concerned, that if I was ever tested at the roadside with a drugs wipe, this could pickup the amphetamines in the Vyvanse. Has anyone had an experience of this? Are the Police drugs wipes sufficiently sophisticated to differentiate between legal and illegal drugs? Understood the answer is likely to be 'no' to this.
I've never taken illegal drugs, and have never driven drunk, and always obeyed the rules of the road as best I can. I would not want to be arrested for a positive drugs wipe when I have only ever taken legal prescription meds at the correct dose.
I originally asked my Psychiatrist about taking Vyvanse and driving and whether this would void my insurance, or whether it was fine. I asked him because driving's so essential to my working and family life. He's been great so far, but on this, he was a little woolly and unsure, which was a surprise. Surely these question have been asked before?
The only notes I could find on this were contained in the meds box and stated you should not drive if they make you drowsy. But which is pretty unlikely given the nature of the drugs themselves.
Anyone have any thoughts on this?
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DistractedDay
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No, Vyvanse use under medical care and a prescription is perfectly legal. I'm not sure where your worry comes from. Doctors would have trouble prescribing--pharmacies wouldn't want to distribute--illegal medications.
And who is going to give you a drug test? For what? FYI: drug tests don't just test for presence of the med, but also test for the dose of the med. The dose is what's important most of the time. You're taking a legal dose.
Medical examiners identify poisoning for example by the amount of X medication in the system. Two Tylenols, fine. Hold on, the level of Tylenol is 20x higher than the recommended dose--how did that happen? They tell this to the police, and the police start asking around about who might have poisoned the person.
Think alcohol. One beer and you drive an hour later fine. Six beers and drink them close together and you drive soon after--illegal and reckless. Remember, the roadside alcohol test is checking for the amount of alcohol in your system, to see if it's above or below the legal limit for driving. You get pulled over for speeding. Cop gives you a test. Your alcohol is below the limit. Cop gives you a ticket and moves on (assuming you don't seem incapacitated in some other way).
What's your worry hear? This really can go to the very bottom of your worry list. You have the legal right to take Vyvanse, and to have Vyvanse in your system. What you're not supposed to have is Vyvanse not purchased from a pharmacy, not prescribed by a doctor, at 2, 3, 4, 5 times any reasonable dose. People typically abusing the medication take it way way way beyond anything a doctor would prescribe.
There's a famous phrase in medicine: "the dose makes the poison" (also "the dose makes the medicine"). Meaning: almost everything we eat, drink and inhale has a toxic element. What makes for poison and problems is when that toxin hits a certain level.
I'd like to chime in here. I've never taken illicit drugs or driven drunk either. I think of myself as an extremely straight shooter from that regard. But I had a recent visit to the ER, and as a precautionary measure, they did a drug test. I was told by a nurse that I had come up positive for methamphetamines. I said that is not possible. I added as well that Vyvanse is in the amphetamines class of drugs and that surely it must be that. She kind of shrugged in disbelief and left the room.
Thankfully, nothing came of it as I'm sure when a doctor looked at the results they told this nurse that I was indeed right about Vyvanse being amphetamine based. I did some side research afterwards because it scared me that amphetamines and methamphetamines could ever be grouped into the same category on a drug test.
However, the category on the drug test they did more than likely clumped meth and amphetamines all into one bin, and the nurse must not have known much about stimulants or ADHD treatment for that matter. My drug test did show amphetamine but not methamphetamine. I have a prescription and even if you were wrongly accused, you have a legal right to present law enforcement or your employer with your prescription information to prove your innocence.
So you really have nothing to worry about. Your fears are rational though but thankfully, I can share my experience so hopefully you know what the worst case would be.
If you are referring to a breathalyzer test, as far as I know that only tests for alcohol.
I've heard that if a person is suspected of driving under the influence, they might be given options of taking a blood, breath or urine test. ADHD meds which are controlled substances most likely will show up on blood or urine tests.
Keep in mind, even the highest dosage of ADHD stimulants are lower than the concentration that addicts would likely use to get high on these substances. Potency is a factor that might be considered if a police agency decides to charge you, even if you have a prescription. So, as the medication literature always says, "take as prescribed".
I suggest to not volunteer this information ever. I was surprised, not sure why I suppose, that the overwhelmingly angry officer that pulled me over one time for reeeeally expired registration whom I blabbed to about being forgetful and mentioned being medicated for it to theoretically calm him and assure him that I'm not some evil fee-dodger treated me like I had just told him I was drunk and on crack to boot. I waited for half an hour to be let go while he made sure I wasn't "too high" to drive. He was always going to impound the car too, so you can imagine how confused I was that he was this ignorant and paranoid. Ha. Cathartic post, tyvm.
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