Grant- how much Vyvanse are you taking? I have found that if I take my 2 30mg pills about an hour apart, then that helps a lot with the anxiety. When the drug first starts working is when I get the peak anxiety and so spacing out when the two pills hits makes it better. Maybe there is a way you can split your dose as well. Also, I found that most of the anxiety faded as I got used to the new way my brain worked. At first, the drug really caused me to hyperfocus on how I was feeling which I think made some of it worse.
I had similar initial thoughts about being put on stimulant meds- that they are abused and really horrible and a last resort. Since being diagnosed, I have done a lot of research on the drugs. Ritalin has had more studies and tests done than any other drug on the market, including aspirin and tylenol. It has been shown over and over to be safe, effective, and generally not have long term side effects. Newer stimulants are designed similarly and should therefore be about as safe. Also, Vyvanse is chemically designed to so that it has no effect if snorted or injected - so drug addicts cannot abuse Vyvanse. The drug will only have an effect if it is ingested and goes through the liver. The first week I was taking stimulants I was afraid every morning to take my pill because of my misconceptions. Learning more about how it worked and why made me far more confident that I am doing the right thing. And, of course, it is really helping me.
Thank you for reading my blog too! My therapist is so happy I'm finally journaling and I guess it is just nice to know that I'm writing about something that isn't just mindless blabber. I hope you will continue posting updates about your experience with Vyvanse.
~ADHDgirl
http://ijustlearnedihaveadhdnowwhat.blogspot.com/
Hi.adhdgirl I too I have only been on Vyvanse for about 3 weeks and have also experienced the mild headache between doses 30mg 7:30am and 1:00PM. I am still trying to get the dosage and the timing right. Also, I noticed that at the beginning of my cycle I was a little more agitated, somewhat like I was when not on any medication at all. Hormone fluctuation probably causes this, they seem to effect every thing else in our lives LOL! Why not this too.
I am keeping a diary of my physical and emotional experiences while adjusting the meds so that I don't forget to tell the Dr. what has been going on. I noticed a difference in focus at first it seemed more intense but that may have been me "helping" it along. Maybe that's part it, I'm trying to take advantage of the hours it seems to be in my system using behavior modification techniques to overcome bad habits and utilize new skills so that I can function at a higher, more efficient level.
Knowing that you are having some of the same experiences helps me, I hope that mine help you also.
I'm new to the forums, so please excuse any errors on my part.
I am 15, and was diagnosed with ADD when I was 7, and began taking brand name, immediate release Adderal (the kind that is supposed to last 6 hours) the following summer when I turned 8. I have taken Adderal since then, although I did try Adderal XR at one point, and hated it. When I stopped taking the Adderal, I was taking 20mg ever 3 to 3.5 hours. In August I switched to Vyvanse, 50mg every 8 hours or so. Personally, I find it extremely helpful. I get everything out of it that I got from the immediate release, and more. Also, I find it much smoother than my previous medicine - perhaps due to its unique delivery system. I have experienced no side-affects, but that may be because I have taken stimulants for so long - I lost a very serious amount of weight when I started stimulants.
I hope something useful can be gleaned from that. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.
Redwinged - That's great that you've found medication that works so well for you at your age!!! I'm 43 and have just stumbled onto Vyvanse!! (I wasn't even diagnosed with ADD until I was 40!) I hope Vyvanse continues to work well for you! I agree with you about how smooth it is! I have the same experience. I can't even tell that I'm taking anything. It actually has somewhat of a calming effect on me as well as the focus factor! Maybe you can get back to a healthier weight now.
Good Luck!
adhdgirl: thanks. i will definitely keep updating here and when i get published, i will shout it to everyone who'll listen.
redwinged: sometimes i wonder what i might have accomplished in college had i been able to concentrate worth a damn. it's good that you're getting this stuff taken care of young. things have way leveled off for me. i actually had a night's sleep last night, which was nice. i think today was day 5. i'm not terribly shaky, though today in the middle of the day, i felt a little off. i shook a bit and felt a little odd.
but i should say that i am sensitive to chemicals. i've never experimented with drugs, but i imagine, i could be a cheap druggie. this is the first stimulant i've ever taken and with the exception of day 1, i haven't really felt all wired. i find that my pill more or less takes me the whole way through the day. for the record, i took strattera for 3 months hoping to avoid stimulants. it didn't work out too well. so far, i would support vyvanse.
Yeah, I know... It sound's pretty good for me doesn't it? And in some ways, I am extremely lucky. If only ADD were my only mental health issue.... Redwinged39370.977337963Grant,
I like your sense of humor. :) I have been on Vyvanse for almost a month now and have noticed that pretty much all of the initial side effects have either disappeared completely or are much less noticeable. Even the complete appetite surpression is letting up. So, I would encourage everyone to give it a few weeks if the side effects aren't so bad you are harming yourself with them and the drug is working.
It sounds like Vyvanse is working for you, Grant, and I hope you'll let us all know when you do publish your book!
~ADHDgirl
http://ijustlearnedihaveadhdnowwhat.blogspot.com/
Grant-
I am not a doctor, just someone who has been reading a lot since being diagnosed with ADHD. I would make sure you tell your doctor about the manic feelings you are having on the Vyvanse because this could be a strong indicator that you have bipolar disorder. You may have bipolar and not ADHD or you may have both. People with bipolar who are put on stimulants will often slip into an increased manic state. On higher doses, those symptoms can get worse and include hallucinations, hearing things, and violence towards yourself or others. And in many people, the disorder will develop in their mid-30s and over so you may not have had symptoms as a teenager or young adult.
Your description of feeling like you were writing a great book that ended up making no sense is exactly like a manic episode that my bipolar uncle will have. So please be careful when you increase your dosage particularly. He exhibited no symptoms at all until he was about 35 and then he started getting more and more symptoms.
It may also just be that you had a weird first reaction to the drug, and if consecutive days continue to go well, then that is probably all it is. But still be very careful if they increase your meds because it could create the same problem or worse in you. The other thing that comes to mind that might have caused this is that you work in a coffee shop. Do you drink a lot of coffee or caffeine? Because large amounts of caffeine can react very badly with stimulants. I have actually cut back on how much caffeine I have because when I drink caffeine on the stimulant, I do feel like my pulse increases a little.
~ADHDgirl
http://ijustlearnedihaveadhdnowwhat.blogspot.com/
I appreciate your concern and the information.
Today was another pretty good day. The major difference is that the headache wasn't there. I feel, even now at 6:15PM fairly capable of focusing on the task at hand and I have found the last two days to be very different from the past few months in particular. I tend to go in cycles of severity. I'm not sure how common that is. Some times are much worse than others.
That said, I have never been able to study or really focus in my writing without getting up and pacing and ultimately giving up because I never quite get into the flow. But yesterday and today have seemed sort of miraculous. I don't feel high. I don't really feel jittery either.
I wouldn't even say that I feel particularly "good." I still have my depression issues and my anxiety is still a pain. But that said, I think today I feel more like everyone else than I have in a long time.
So, I guess the lesson from my story (which is probably somewhat flawed anyway since I tend to exhibit 60-70% of the side-effects of almost every drug I take) is that if you can survive the first day or so of the side effects of a stimulant treatment, it can level off and be a good thing.
I admit, I was intensely skeptical. I knew my psychiatrist knows what she's talking about. I mean, she IS a doctor and she DOES have numerous other patients. But I guess I didn't really see how this "evil" drug that college kids all over the country abuse could really help me. But if I don't suddenly tailspin into side-effect city, I think you could cautiously call my case a success.
Adhd girl, I am on 30mg a day. Not a huge dosage, but my psychiatrist knows I can be pretty sensitive to meds.
To everyone, today was much better. Yesterday is hard to explain, but I was not like myself. I was manic, all over the place, and oddly, hyperfocused.
I'm a writer and I had this mediocre idea for a book and the whole thing went sort of out of control. I had this intense vision of what the book would be like and what it would be like to write it and all sorts of crazy stuff that today just makes no sense. For starters, I didn't realize what I was getting myself into. I took the pill at like 1 PM, so I was going like a madman for easily 12 hours. Maybe longer. And I got into fights with my wife and mother because neither of them understood my vision. I almost booked plane tickets so I could do interviews for this unrealistic book.
I can only be grateful that I didn't do it. Or I'd be out some dough. That said, I woke up this morning (I use the term loosely since I am not sure I did much sleeping) and took the pill earlier. As yesterday, I could feel it working within an hour, but the effect wasn't as destructive. I'm embarrassed today at my behavior yesterday. Today though, despite having a minor headache and noticing I was sweating more than usual, I was better at my job. I was much more effective. I have a day job working at a Seattle's Best Coffee in a Border's and in the middle of making a drink, I have a tendency to sort of switch the recipe midway from a small to a medium without even thinking about it. So I end up with too much of this and not enough of that. Today, I didn't do that.
I was much more on task. I accomplished more, but didn't feel insane like yesterday. It was honestly one of the scarier experiences of my life. I was completely out of control. I finally knew what mania felt like and I am happy to tell you all, I am not bipolar. Cause I've never felt like that before.
I hope tomorrow and the remainder of the week are more like today. I actually felt normal for once, which was so good. Anyway, thanks for all your advice. I'll drop by the forum more regularly now that someone with an MD said I have ADHD instead of just my wife trying to explain away why I'm such a mess.
Hi Galter - When I first began taking Adderall for ADD 3 years ago, I was like you. I kept thinking about how it was affecting me - all day long. I kept thinking I was having all of these side effects. Finally, about the third day I got so busy at work that I forgot all about the medication. I actually "lost myself" in my work because I was so productive. Later in the day I realized how productive I had been and remembered that I was taking the new medication. I also realized that when I wasn't obsessing about how it was affecting me, that it actually helped me. So, I know it's easier said than done, but TRY NOT to think about it and go about your daily routines. If you are feeling very shaky then let your doctor know. Also, I've never felt that I've become addicted to the stimulants. I don't even take the medicine most weekends. I do like the Vyvanse much better than the Adderall XR. If you feel shaky at all on the Vyvanse then I would not suggest the Adderall, because for me the Vyvanse is much smoother. But, perhaps it doesn't work the same for everybody. Hang in there and give it a fair chance, but you've got to stop obsessing about the meds. Do some research about ADD/ADHD and see for yourself whether or not YOU think you have it. When I was diagnosed, I wasn't sure myself and I'm a teacher--I see it all the time in kids!!! Once I began reading about ADD, I saw myself over and over again! It's so much more than focus and/or hyperactivity!!! Good Luck! Keep us posted! Oh yeah. The only consistent side effect that I deal with daily is a dry mouth! Easily taken care of-- I drink bottled water all the time which is good for me anyway!
3RingCircus39367.656087963I am much more hyper on vyvanse than before I took it. I think its worth trying all the meds to get the one that fits you the best. I move my feet constantly since I've been on it. I'm going to stick with it for a little longer...Will keep you updated.I am 29 and was diagnosed with ADHD a week ago. I guess since Vyvanse is the new drug, my doctor thought it was a good choice to start with. I also got my first Rx free with their free trial.
I am keeping track of my daily experience with the drug on my blog at http://ijustlearnedihaveadhdnowwhat.blogspot.com/ if you want to know every detail. I have never been on any other stimulant medication. In college I was given several antidepressants as new ones came out and none of them had any results, just negative side effects. I can say so far that the side effects of Vyvanse are much milder than anything I experienced from antidepressants.
I am taking 30mg around 9am and notice it lasts until around 5:30-6pm. The first 3 days I did notice improvement and then the 4th day I really started feeling hardly any difference. I am not certain if I just need a higher dose or if it is because that was right before my period and from what I've been reading, ADHD meds become pretty ineffective during a woman's period.
I took 60mg one day, but it increased the frequency and intensity of my anxiety attacks. The irony is that on the higher dose I also felt more focused and motivated, but then a panic attack would hit and stop me from doing anything. I will have to talk to my doctor about getting back on xanax if they want me on a higher dose.
The biggest negative side effect I've noticed is a mild headache that comes and lasts for 45min-1 hour when the drug is wearing off in the evening. Since this is my first experience with a stimulant drug, I am sure there will be some adjustment along the way. But overall, I do feel like it is doing something positive.
~ADHDgirl
http://ijustlearnedihaveadhdnowwhat.blogspot.com/
I just switched from Adderall XR to Vyvanse. I've been trying Vyvanse for 2 weeks now. So, far I've been more pleased with the Vyvanse. It's much smoother than the Adderall. I don't feel "panicked" at all. I'm more at ease when I'm working even when things get hectic I don't get freaked out. (Does that make sense?) Also, the 12 hour acting dose keeps me from having that burn out that I had from the Adderall. I feel calm at the end of the day but not sleepy. I did have two days with the Vyvanse that were terrible, but I didn't get much sleep those nights and I think it may have affected the effectiveness. I'm going to give it a few more weeks to see how it goes.Well, that is just what I came here to ask. The doctor just put me on Vyvanse 70mg yesterday. It's too early to tell you what I think because I only started today. So far I feel focused and not jittery nor aggitated. I am sitting in my seat not running around. I have my fingers crossed. I was taking amphatimine salts - generic adderall before today. I felt aggitated on it and it didn't keep me level. I did liked the cheap price of it, but hated taking it. I took Stratterra before too, but it didn't do anything for me. I was still too hyper. I like the thought that Vyvance works 12 hours.
Hi Lilah,
Please keep us informed of your progress. Have you been on the Ritalin based drugs before and if so, how do they compare to Vyvanse?
Thanks for your imput.
Curious, have any of you tried the new drug out, Vyvanse? If so, what is your opinion about it, how does it affect you compared to whatever you were on previously? Also, what were you on before you started Vyvanse? I have only tried Focalin XR and Concerta 54mg. The concerta works better for me than the focalin xr did. ( I burned through that in no time, no matter what we raised the dose to, so did my 8 yr old son!) I'm still fidgity and a little scattered on Concerta, maybe it's just my personality! . I definitely am better off than I was before I was diagnosed, but I do wonder if I shouldn't try the other types of stimulants to see which works best for me.
Any imput will be greatly appreciated!