Vyvanse...finally!! | ADHD Information
I thought I would share my 7.5 year old's story with Vyvanse. After 3 years and 6 different meds, I think we finally found the right one! He takes 50 mg. Previous meds gave him all sorts of facial tics and just didn't seem to work. He is like a new boy now. He is adhd with extreme hyperactivity. I would say he has done a 100% turnaround and he is happy which is the best part of it. He told me that everything is clearer and organized. I used to get a note home every day from school with lists of everything he had done wrong now the teacher has not had a bad thing to say about him in 2 months. All of his schoolwork has went from like c's or d's to a's and b's. The change is amazing, almost unbelievable. During the first week on it I had a ppt because he was doing so poorly, now we are holding off because of the dramatic change in schoolwork. He did lose avbout 10 lbs but he needed to lose a few anyway and now its only about 7 pounds. The only complaint that i have is the rebound at around 4-5 in the aternoon. He gets really angry or cries over the simplest little things. Other than that, sleep is not an issue at all. The rebound is only about a 1/2 hour and he ends up feeling so much better after it. It's like he gets it out and moves on.
I know this med is kind of new and I wanted to share a positive experience. All of a sudden he has 3 birthday parties to go to in the next two weeks. I can't remember the last party he was invited to. Things are looking up! Tomorrow might actually be the first party he's ever been to that I actually don't have to stay at and can just drop him off. I do not have to worry about him acting up any more. It has improved our whole family's life, really!
thats great news. Thanks for sharing
That's so good to hear as well! We did try the 50 first, it seemed really strong so we tried the 30 and it didn't do anything for him, but now the 50 is great. My son was 105 pounds, now he is 97. I know his weight sounds crazy for his age but he is such a big kid and tall, and has always been off the charts for height and weight. He really doesn't look his weight, but he was always eating before the meds, like every hour and not always healthy! Appetite definitely coming back!
We are lucky this year with the homework, only 2 nights a week and they are only 1 worksheet. Last year, was a total nightmare every night, the crying and pencil breaking,etc.
I'm glad to hear your story and would love to hear more updates from you in the furure!
My 7.5 yr old son is also on Vyvanse he is on 30mg. He started right after Thanksgiving and since being on it it has made a world of difference. We just got his midterm report and he got all A's & B's. The best thing about it for us is that it lasts through homework time..it usually wears off around 7:00 with minimal rebound. The biggest side effect we have noticed is loss of appetite. My poor son was skinny before he started at only 48lbs and is down to about 45lbs. The appetite is getting a little better with time. It also gave his a stomach ache the first week and if we miss a day by chance it will effect him the next day. He was on Adderral XR prior and I just was so frustrated that it wore off by the time he came home and homework was a nightmare...now it's 100 times better on the Vyvanse. Just wanted to share my story also!!
Oh you are so luck-homework only 2 nights a week. He usually gets 2-3 things (pages) to do. We usually let him do a page then take a break then come back and do another page until its done.
question for you...how do you get your son to take his meds?? He was doing so well at first when we would sprinkle and stir it in his applesauce then after a bit he didnt like the taste of the applesauce anymore now we are doing the same with choco pudding and all of the sudden he has started refusing or puts a fight up with taking that..not sure now what to do. Any ideas??
glad to hear such success stories for Vyvanse. My son has been on it since November. He takes 30mg and is doing really well. His IEP was last week and the teachers are thrilled with the results of this med. He is doing much more independent work and finishing his home work without too much problems. Last night he wrote a 6 sentence paragraph almost 100% by himself. This is a huge thing for us.
His sleep has not been too affected but his appetite has. He is also 48lbs. Not even sure if he lost as I dont have a scale but its getting better. He eats great in the morning but nothing during the day..so as soon as I pick him up at 6pm, and before we do any homework, etc he has a snack. usually what I packed him for lunch! Then a glass of juice. I save the coke for rebound time. It seems to really help. That and just leaving him alone for a 1/2. SOme days rebound is worse than others and he will get nasty and grumpy but then he is fine.
We are happy with Vyvanse also
I willl have to try the coke thing at rebound time. It is almost scary for that 1/2 hour, like he is someone else. Then everything is fine.
My son's handrwiting has gotten so much better that it doesn't even look like his writing, lol He did his first homework paper totally by himself for the first time ever too, which is nice.
Mine eats breakfast and nothing else all day really, until about 4:00. I just pack him some light snacks for lunch but he usually comes home with them. The time when he seems really hungry, is right before bed. So you kind of have to go with the flow and let them eat when they want.
Glad to hear your son is doing good on this as well.
[QUOTE=sueocon]I willl have to try the coke thing at rebound time. It is almost scary for that 1/2 hour, like he is someone else. Then everything is fine.
My son's handrwiting has gotten so much better that it doesn't even look like his writing, lol He did his first homework paper totally by himself for the first time ever too, which is nice.
Mine eats breakfast and nothing else all day really, until about 4:00. I just pack him some light snacks for lunch but he usually comes home with them. The time when he seems really hungry, is right before bed. So you kind of have to go with the flow and let them eat when they want.
Glad to hear your son is doing good on this as well.
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YEs Ryan is like that too. He eats alot between 7 and bedtime. I let him have what he wants. Sometimes he will eat 3 times!
MY SON IS ON HIS 3RD WEEK OF VYVANSE AND I COULDN'T BE HAPPIER. WE OPEN THE CAPSULE AND PUT IT IN SPRITE HIS CHOICE HE IS 9, AND HE DRINKS IT RIGHT UP. SO FAR SO GOOD BUT I AM PROBABLY LOOKING AT AN INCREASE IN DOSAGE EVENTUALLY.
Will is also doing great on this med! He will be 9 in June and weighs 47 pounds.. I think he's recently gained a pound or two. We started at 30mg, it did nothing for him so his we doubled the dose and it works great. but since it only comes in 30, 50 and 70, we're going to try 50mg when we run out next week.
He is getting smiley faces every single day and I really haven't noticed any rebound. I LOVE IT!
I'm a mom of 3 boys and the two youngest are a set of twins. One of the twins is an angel in school with good grades but has so much trouble focusing when its homework time. The other has ok grades, rushes through his homework but has serious discipline problems at school. They are 8 years old. In December Dustin had his 3rd suspension from school/bus. Being one of those "no meds" type moms I had just brushed off all the signs as him being a boy until then. I said all that to get to the point of my post (and cause i ramble alot)....In December we took him to his peditrician who is the best and he is on vyvanse 30mg. This is the first thing we tried and it does help him but he complains of headaches. I will admit that I'm having trouble convincing myself that its the best thing for him so I haven't been giving it to him on a regular basis. Of course because of that he got another suspension this week because I fooled myself into thinking if I just threatened him with having to take the medicine would work. Did anyone else experience headaches? His peditrician suggested trying to give him motrin with it for a week to see if it got better.
Oh and appetite for Dustin comes and goes. He may eat me out of house and home some days and then nothing other days.
Does it make a difference if i open the capsules? He doesn't have a problem swallowing them....is that why some of you open them?
my daughter has gotten headaches beginning certain stimulants. It generally passed after the first week. I would give her Motrin or Tylenol to treat the headaches.IMO I WOULD NOT TAKE BREAKS WITH THIS MED. MY SON IS ON 30MG AND DOING FINE AFTER 2WEEKS. IT NEEDS TO BE CONSISTANT.YES IT IS OK TO OPEN THE CAPSULES AND PUT THEM INTO A DRINK, NON CITRUS. THEY DISOVLE AND MUSY BE DRUNK IMMEDIATLY. WE USE SPRITE (MY SONS CHOICE) AND IT GOES DOWN MUCH BETTER. YOU CAN EVEN PLAY WITH DOSAGE THIS WAY AS I STARTED MY SON ON 20 MG, THEN WENT TO 30. IF WE GO UP AGAIN I WILL PROBABLY DO THE SAME, PDOCS OK WITH IT. WE CREEP UP ON MEDS AS MY SON IS VERY SENSITIVE TO MEDS.I have a call in to Dustin's doctor but wanted to ask here as well......
He woke up last night saying his leg was hurting. It being 2am I let him get in bed with me and noticed that he kept jumping/twitching. I thought maybe he was uncomfy in my bed so we went to his and after a few minutes he said it was ok for me to go back to my bed. (probably cause i started to snore 
) At 4am he came back and stayed and he was still doing it. Is this normal or am I being paranoid?
Hi, my son just start vyvanse last week. For the first 5 days, I broke the pill into 4 oz of water and had him drink 2 oz one day and the other 2 the next. My dr. said it stays stable in the water. The dose I was dividing was 50 mg. so I guess he was getting around 25 for the first 5 days. The meds kicked in within 20 minutes and he did great; even on the lower dose. He was taking 54 mg of Concerta, but his facial tics had gotten worse and the rebounds in the a.m. and p.m. were becoming unbearable for all of us. Anyway, he is on his 4th day at full dose 50 mg and still doing great, rebound in the a.m. is getting better and no rebound in the evening. Sometimes he gets a little grumpy around 4:00 but nothing major. His facial tics are slowing down. The problem is the meds are now taking an hour or so to kick in. The only difference besides the dosage is his is swallowing the pill instead of me disolving it. Does anyone know if it works faster if it is in water or other liquid over swallowing the whole pill?
Thanks.!
DON'T REALLY KNOW, MY DS TAKES 30MG BROKE OPEN AND IT WORKS PRETTY FAST. NO TIME FOR BRAKFAST AFTER, ONLY BEFORE. I WOULD THINK THAT OPENING WOULD MAKE IT FASTER, WE TAKE AT 6:30 am, school AT 8:00. IT IS DEFINATLY WORKING BY THEN. HE TAKES IT SPRITE BUT I HAVE NEVER HEARD ABOUT USING THE NEXT DAY OR EVEN LATER, IT CLEARLY STATES DRINK IMMEDIATLY.Yes, I saw that is said to drink immediately, but the dr. said it was okay, and the second day the meds still worked so I think it is only with water that you can let it sit. For some reason, the water doesn't break it down. I am going to try opening the pill tomorrow and see if it hits his system quicker. I am trying to avoid the a.m. rebounds that he gets, which again are better on this med than concerta, but still an issue. Thanks for your help!I am so happy to hear success with Vyvanse since my daughter just started taking in last week. We are on day 9. She took 7 days of 30mg and it didn't do anything. She is on day 3 of 50mg. She doesn't seem to have any adverse affects from it other than no real appetite during the day but makes up for it in the evening.
Did you see dramatic changes right away or did it take a while for her system to get use to it? Her teacher says she seemed a little better today but I got the feeling it wasn't a 180 and definitely not a 360.
Please tell me how your changes progressed. Thanks.
We started on the 50 mg, from doubling the 30s, Wednesday as I posted earlier. UGH, UGH, and more UGH is all I can say.
He has completely changed. It's just like he's not taking anything again. He has been in trouble every single day at school since the change, the weekend was horrible and I'm just about to go bonkers. We go to see the dr again in the morning so we'll see what happens. I assume we will then give 70mg a try. I don't know what the max dose is, but I'm guessing 70mg and I'm very sad about that. I thought this was going to be "the right med" this time.
Our dr did say that they are making different doses and it should be available in a few months.
DelanaMae,
yes, I think you would notice the changes right away. We did. He went from great to terrible in one dose. but went from terrible to great on the right dose.
My son's behavior had an immediate effect, like the same day, on the 50 mg. Things are going very well, and it will be almost 3 months. The appetite is the only side effect so far still. I'm not sure how old your doughter is, and the weight?
DelanaMae...maybe the 70 is it!! Keep trying! Let us know how you make out.
MY SON 9 ALSO FLIPS LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER WHEN HE SLEEPS. HE HAS NOT HAD A SLEEP STUDY DONE YET BUT I KNOW IT WILL SHOW UP AS RLS, RESTLESS LEG SYNDROME, I HAVE IT MYSELF.