I've been reading alot about ADHD and agree with my psychologist that I should get this checked out starting with my PCP. Want to do so, but just noticed costs of Vyvanse (sp?) which seems to be the drug of choice for this condition and I'm worried about its cost. I have United Healthcare PPO. I am currently on Wellbutrin generic Buproprion XL for depression and wonder if that will need to be stopped if I go on Vyvanse.
Who should I be directing these drug questions to?
Thanks for any advice.
Hi there,
I am new to the ADHD diagnosis and have been taking Vyvanse for less than two weeks. The hardest thing for me has been finding the right information on my condition, understanding the medication I have been described and learning what I can and shouldn't' expect from it. My belief is that I need medication to help where my brain is deficient, but that it's not the silver bullet fixing everything. I need to work other areas in my life to get me where I want to be.
As far as what medication should you use, and what will work for you- I feel strongly that need to be a conversation between you and your doctor. There are a lot of considerations, a lot of personal factors, risks, and effectiveness that should be considered with any treatment.
If you feel your doctor isn't providing you the help you need in this, you will need to push them, ask if there's someone else you can talk to, someone else they can refer you to. Not all doctors will be up on the latest with ADHD. If you are persistent, you'll have a better chance of finding the help you need.
One other note- I did talk with my Pharmacist when I first picked up my prescription and had him go over the other medications I was talking just to make sure there were no interactions that might have been missed as well as any other advice on taking my medication. He assured me that I should be fine, but advised me I need to take my medication with a good breakfast- something I might not have known or done without his advise as I tend to skip breakfasts from time to time. But again the point is to talk to your medical experts.
The good news is your asking the questions, don't stop asking them 
Wishing you well in your journey and I have found a lot of support on this board so far. Lots a great people that will listen. Lots of people struggling with what your struggling with. Your not alone.
There are other medications that are cheaper. Adderall, Dextroamphetamine, Ritalin, etc. You should talk with your PCP about medications. You will need a diagnosis of ADHD first. If your psychologists has not already diagnosed you. You might need to see a psychiatrist for a official diagnosis
I agree with BlessedLady's reply. Also Vyvanse, being a type/mix of amphetamines may not work for you. Ritalin is another stimulant but is different from amphetamines. What works for you, will be unique for you. Ritalin does nothing for me, but it may work for you. Also the Dr cannot say that a certain Rx at a certain dosage will work. The Dr will probably go with an Rx at a certain dosage as a starting point . It's all trial and error. What will work for any of us cannot be based on sex, age, weight, height, etc. This can get very frustrating for you, but keep trying to find your 'Right Rx'.
I cannot speak to issues like cost, as I am in another country, with a different system, but I find it interesting that you are on buproprion. We're you prescribed that for anxiety or depression? I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, and given SSRI meds. They did nothing (Took me a long time to admit it), buproprion was the first stuff I ever felt better on.
Of course, that was a long time before my ADHD diagnosis. The fact that I reacted well to buproprion should've been a clue. SSRIs, the standard medication for depression and anxiety are select serotonin reuptake inhibitors, they increase the amount of serotonin in your system. But buproprion works on dopamine, and while no one really knows the mechanism behind ADHD, the working theory is that it's related to dopamine.
So if you're anything like me, buproprion is good stuff, specifically for ADHD. Now that I am diagnosed, I am on a stimulant medication (concerta/methylphenidate), but I still take buproprion. I suspect that I'd be struggling to find the right medication, if I hadn't already been on buproprion. But I being on two dopamine meds, I do stay away from dopamine precursor supplements like l-tyrosine, too much dopamine in the system is bad news.
Again, if you're anything like me, combining buproprion with standard ADHD meds will work well, but be careful going beyond that.
Hi there, I’m not sure about Wellbutrin, but I’m on 20
Mg citalapram, with is a ssri and my doctor told me to stay on it together with the elvanse as two different drugs , one is for serotonin and the other for noradrenaline and dopamine x
I would find a clinical Psychiatrist for medication concerns. That’s what I did over 10 years ago because they know the medications better than a GP does. I’ve been on Wellbutrin and it has helped my depression and ADHD but it took a few years to make a difference with ADHD because of all the learned bad habits. All other meds I tried that were stimulants had bad side effects. RSD and Depression can be a major side effect of living with ADHD. It was for me but the Wellbutrin has fixed the depression so now I embrace the benefits of my ADHD and focus my career on the positives and not the negatives. I hope you can figure out your ADHD strengths and build your life around those strengths and not become another zombie with a medically damaged heart.
A zombie with a medically damaged heart? You are a moron, keep your idiotic comments to your self, you should not be giving any advice.
Good post until that final sentence--you went off the deep end there, so much so that it makes me want to go back and question the earlier reasonable sentences. I have tracked heart problems and stimulants for quite a while--there simply is no compelling research on heart problems.
I just went over this not long ago with a top-level cardiologist. He basically said, the effects of stimulants are usually quite minor on hearts. The risk is generally short term and quite small in the absolute sense.
webmd.com/add-adhd/news/202...
Zombie--just really uncalled for. Interesting that you insult everyone but of course your own medication regiment, that's fine.
You direct drug questions to your provider. A good provider is expert at knowing about drugs and drug interactions. No, you won't have to stop talking Wellbutrin if you go on a stimulant.
Wellbutrin is an antidepressant with an off label use as a treatment for ADHD - and I loved Loved being on it ! I cannot take it anymore because I have developed any allergy to it . Ayvanse if hardly the drug of choice for ADHD starting out .would consider Adderall or Concerta but frist would consider asking to up dose of Wellbutrin . Also get into therapy, get into Adult ADHD management group and take up meditation . you also need to figure out what type of ADHD you have primarily inattentive , hyperactive or mixed and that will also halp determine what medications the Psychiatrist needs to put you on
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