Not noticing any difference good or bad between 30mg and 60mg Vyvanse. Will 70mg change all that?

[sharkticon]

Before being on Vyvanse I was having a hard time getting myself to go to work. After getting on the meds it doesn't seem to be a problem. And as long as I get right to work on a task I seem to stay focused on it for longer. I've been doing that for about 8 months. I feel like the drug wears off about 2:00, and by 3:00 I feel done for the day, but I push through.

I got a new therapist and she thought I should up my dose. Upping the dose all the way to 60mg now, I haven't noticed any additional benefits or negative side effects. And I think it gives me all the same benefits as when I was on 30mg. I wonder if all it is doing is helping me stay more alert just like coffee does for someone who is not ADHD which has been helpful. Other symptoms like not being able to pay attention and being forgetful, I have never seen any improvement on. Still get pretty bored easily. I have a theory that Vyvanse is just an energy boost for me. But it helps. Never felt like I was putting on glasses though like some people describe. And if I don't take the meds I feel like complete garbage, which my old therapist said was proof that the drugs were working. But let's be honest, someone who was taking coffee every day and then stopped, is not going to feel very great for a few days, maybe a week. And I think that is mainly what happens if I don't take my Vyvanse for a day.

But I dunno, has anyone found some benefits at a smaller does and then a dramatic difference after moving the dose up? 70mg is the maximum amount for Vyvanse, so I'm wondering if that will make any difference or not.

[New-Diagnosis]

Hi, Sharkticon. I hope you get some responses. I'm on just day-3 of taking Vyvanse and starting off very slowly at 10 mgs. So far, and I know it's probably way too early to tell, I feel the same way you do. I'm a bit more energized overall and my mood has improved, but focusing and motivation haven't improved, especially lacking inspiration to start work. When you were on your initial dose, did you feel about the same as you do now at 60 mgs (it sounds like you did)?

[sharkticon in reply to New-Diagnosis]

similar. Maybe more anxious. I didn't know there was a 10mg Vyvanse. I thought it started at 30mg.

from everything I have learned about ADHD meds the main thing they do is help you stick with and finish things. All the other symptoms of ADHD will most likely have to be managed in some other way. You may still forget things or have a hard time getting organized. I still have to get started on whatever it is I need to get done. It's just the drugs help me to stay focused on the task after I've already started. If I come into the office and get on facebook or something I might end up getting focused on that instead. I guess that's why I kind of compare it to caffeine. In realty both are stimulants. And caffeine doesn't motivate people, but it helps people not be fatigued as much which helps them accomplish their tasks easier. And to me it seems ADHD meds do the same thing but it's like a more consistent longer lasting and more effective dose.

So you may still have to find your own motivation. But once you get to work on it, you may not feel so bored or distracted, because your brain is at a more alert level. It'skind of like it induces stress, which is why I think a lot of ADHD people get anxious on the meds. I think the reason that hyperactive ADHDers are so hyperactive is they are bored and they move to stimulate or entertain themselves, and the inattentive type go off into la la land to entertain/stimulate their brains. And I think years of doing boring tasks can lead to brain frog, which is, one of your brains self defense mechanisms to deal with the intense pain of boredom. So instead of feeling pain you feel nothing. That has been my experience at least. So taking ADHD meds helped lift me out of what I thought was depression.

So you can see that ADHD does not really reverse the effects of ADHD, but rather stresses your body so that you are able to function. At least that's the way I see it.

So my theory is that the higher doses are not doing much more for me, because it's already stressing my body to a point where it pays attention and gets the work done.

Which means that if the dose is too high, people can have a hard sitting still and focus on anything, but for totally different reason than why hyperactive ADHDers cant sit still. The ADHDer is understimulated, and the the one on too high meds is overstimulated.

Hope that helps in your journey. It can be tough to figure out what is best for you. And I think ADHD meds can help everyone feel less fatigue and focus just like caffeine. Which is why we find that more and more people are getting diagnosed. But I think most of them don't actually have ADHD. But if the drugs help they help. And being able to hold down a job and manage life is very important. So I never judge anyone, because there are all kinds of things that can cause ADHD symptoms, and ADHD help alleviate those symptoms even if they don't have true ADHD. ADHD is really just a bunch of symptoms grouped together given a name and put in the DSM. It could change over time. So I think the best way to look at mental illness is by symptoms. What am I struggling with, and are the drugs helping with that thing. And are the negative side effects worth it?

All stuff I wish I knew when I started this journey. Good luck.

[G7BK]

Hi,

I often call my adhd a 'fluctuation of dopamine', lack of sleep and stress depletes it massively, and exercise and sleep ups it massively. As do meds! I think ADHD is a life long thing that still effects your emotions and functioning even when you have got a good sleep and exercise, just not as much, its always there but life will make the 'deficiency' fluctuate.

I find. For me, the only way I can gauge them working is: write down clear objectives and are those objectives getting done or not. Its super easy to go down the physical sensation route but that’s not what they are about just a side effect that also changes as the body gets used to them.

You'll hear the word 'tool' used, i like this, they don’t work like a pain killer. I have to take them at the same time everyday and early or i don't sleep. I exercise, meditate, try to sleep and eat as best I can, i've heard others say this also leads to a lower dose doing the work. I take 30 but im probably ideally on 35 so sometimes I’ll take a 40 but I just start sweating.

For me, I know they work because at the end of the day ive got a certain amount of work done, its not magic and my meditation, exercise and mainly planning the day everyday is essential, so is removing distractions. However when i do all of these things, when i don't take the pills, progress is a lottery.

I find with the pills, I point and shoot like a sniper, without them I point and fire like a drunk lol.

Ive been taking close to a year and only recently have I learned how to use them, aka many breaks and eat food, and take a lot of water amongst other things

it’s just a tool to add to your box of strategies, so sleep and stress needs dealing with in other ways. Try titration or whatever its called? - dissolve the pill in water and divide it into parts, aka (60 / 2 =30mg)and be a bit more flexible with your dose without needing a new box of pills.

The top drs in the field say, always take the minimum effective dose.

Everyone is different and many will make it too generic aka ‘take 50’, I did the water thing for 2 months from 20-50, yes I need more when life gets more, but changing the dose all the time does me no good and often leads to me crashing horribly, so now I take 30 everyday and boost it with a coffee or two if I need it. 20 didn’t work, 40 worked well but my arm pits fell off, and 50 made me anxious.

Hope that helps