vyvanse and sadness | ADHD Information

Been through all this as well.

I remember the nights of not sleeping and crying. I finally went back to work overnights and got paid for not sleeping! It helped with my sanity.

Have you asked your son if he is feeling sad? My son also tried to fit in through out elementary school and struggled. it was actually the other children who were the problem. He got through it and is now in middle school and soo sooo much happier.

His meds could definetly be playing a part with his feelings and emotions.

I have to comment on how lucky you are to have a teacher be so observant. We NEVER had a teacher inform us of what we knew. Our son would tell us of the bullying and when we had them talk with him, he would tell them what they were doing and the only reason he would go back and join in was so he wasn't alone.

Do you believe that it is the kids just not accepting him? I just wondered do to the comment from the other teachers having social concerns previously.

It just amazes me how some adhd'ers can get through all the social and some can't. Mine couldn't. And I swear he wasn't the only adhd'er in the elementary class.

Talk with your son and ask him if things are ok at school. Ask him about friends, playing, not being alone at recess and lunch, etc. See what he has to say. Mine would tell me. I still ask and he is in 7th grade. He is also more of a home body, playing on xbox live with other kids, loving it and happy.

Please post an update, I really care.

My son will be 8 in a few weeks.  We had parent/teacher conferences with his 2nd grade teacher yesterday.  She said he is doing great academically and is very smart. The concern she had was that he seemed sad a lot of the time.  He is on 50 mg vyvanse.  We have adjusted his meds from 30 mg to 40mg and finally to 50mg a few months ago.  I understand what the teacher means because sometimes I do think his behavior is affected that way.  Other time when he is home with us he seems just fine.

His teacher said that she feels the other kids sense his sad feeling and may see it as a weakness and choose not to play with him.  He won't necessarily join in, especially if it is something he is not good at like kickball which the boys like to play at recess.  He has a couple of friends here or there but wants to fit in so badly.  He really likes staying in after care at school and gets to play with kids other than in his class then.  It is so expensive though. 
When we had meetings with other teachers prior to medication they also had social relationship 'concerns' but different issues.   My heart hurts for him....

I have been up all night thinking about this.  I asked my husband if we should go back down to 40 mg and see how it goes.  Maybe a shorter acting medication?
He thinks we need to leave things as they are.  I don't know....

It helps me so much to send this out to all of you who are in similiar positions.  I don't know of anyone I can talk to about this who can really understand what we go through.  Thanks for listening.

Thanks for your feedback.  I will keep you posted.  I gave him 40 mg yesterday and it seemed ok.  We'll see....

Tell me, have you ever asked him if he was sad? Or do you think it is the meds?

How is his social life? How was it before meds?

I did ask him if he was sad.  He said no. He did say that sometimes when he is 'depressed' he is hungry.  I don't know if that is the case though.  The medication definitely affects his appetite however.  I think if he eats a bit more during the day maybe he would perk up!  He definitely does have some friends.  He  seems happy when I pick him up and usually he wants to go to the playground there after school.  I think he is happier playing video games or 'creative' make believe type play rather than sporty stuff, which is fine but at this age so many of the boys just want to run around and play outside. 

My younger son who is 5 is SO different, but he absolutely LOVES his big brother and the two of them seem to play nicely together now that he is a little older.

He had issues fitting in before meds.  I think it is probably better after...we started him the summer after kindergarten. 
I think I am going to continue to give him 40 mg of vyvanse and see how it goes. 
jmpaula40150.1341087963

That is great to read. I am glad that there are no social issues. And he is lucky to have his younger brother, for life. My son wishes he had an older brother, oh well, he is the oldest. LOL

Maybe then for your son it is related to his blood sugar levels.

Just speaking from experience, my sons' blood sugar dropped due to not eating. When he came home, this is when he was 7 & 8 at the time, I would give him a hershey bar. Just a solid milk chocolate, then he moved on to almonds, and that would jump start him. He would realized how hungry he was and would eat dinner. It also made him feel so much better.

I think we all feel better after we have eaten.

Yes, I agree that your son is lucky to have such an observant teacher, and such caring and sensitive parents!

If his "sadness" became evident after starting the Vyvanse, or after upping the dose, then I think you have sufficient evidence to suspect that the medication is a contributing factor to his sadness.    I think your lowering the dose a little bit is a good idea to see if that helps.

From my own experience, Vyvanse is really good at "increasing focus".   Sounds great!   And it is great if I'm focused on some boring job that needs to get done. It's not so great; however, if I happen to be focusing on some negative aspect of life.   The effect on focus is indiscriminate--when it "improves performance" it's an intended effect of the med; when it causes emotional lability, it's a side effect. 

And I think this effect of causing emotional lability is an under-reported and under-recognized side effect of these stimulant medications.  Vyvanse likely is not the direct cause of your son's sad look; the Vyvanse is likely causing your son to dwell on thoughts and thinking that, if not making him sad, makes him appear to be sad. 

Sometimes while taking Vyvanse, I've ended up reducing the prescribed daily dose for a few days because it felt like my brain just needed a break from all the heavy-duty all-day focussing on stuff.  It's as if sometimes my brain is saying "Gimme a break! Why don't ya give me a little time to run like the Cheetah I really am?" 

It sounds like your son has the gift of a bright mind.  Helping him find the best way to be himself and to "fit in" will help insure his happiness and success, while giving the Cheetah in him the opportunity to run.
Thank you for that post.  It helps so much that all of you are out there listening! 

I spoke with his teacher today and she said he seemed 'brighter'. I then told her we adjusted the medication and she said you could defintely see a difference.  I was really pleased.  I think we are going to stick with the lower dosage for now.   Well, It has been several days now that I have switched my son to a lower dose of Vyvanse.  Things seem to be going pretty well.  My husband and I have agreed to keep him on the lowest effective dose possible.  If he needs a little 'extra' work time in school then so be it.  I will say that homework time in the early evenings is definitely harder!  Frustrating is a good word. But....I have made a decision and am going to stick to it.  Most of the time we try to do homework right after school, but some days that is not possible.  Especially on the days I go to work.

Has anyone tried a 'booster' of a lower dose medicine in the early evenings when it is important for your child to pay attention, or act in a non squirmy way? 

thanks!
JM
My daughter is 9 and on Vyvanse as well.  She was really really depressed and saying things like she just wanted to die and that she hated her life.  I spoke with the doctor about it and he said she was on too high of a dose.  She originally started on 30mg two years ago then we slowly upped it to 70mg.  That was when we started noticing the depression.  We gradually backed her down to 50mg and we haven't had any bad thoughts or feeling (except when she is being a typical dramatic 9 year old).  If you feel that your son is "sad" I would check the dosage...it may be too high.

My son is also in the 2nd grade.  My son's school has a "buddy" program.  He  was very shy and it was hard for him to interact with other children comfortably.  He was assigned a "buddy" for recess.  He and his assigned "buddy" were supposed to stick together at recess.  It worked like a charm!  I also had these business cards made up.  100 for like 8.00.  THey have his name on them, our phone number, a picture of a train and say "Let's get together and play!"  I asked the teacher to help my son give them to a couple of kids at school.  Their parents called and we do "play dates" for a couple of hours on a Saturday a couple of times a month.  The play dates have really seemed to help.

Also, out school has Friendship Group with the school councilor.  The kids that sign up go for about 30 minutes once a week.  They play games, work on being fair, work on interacting with others...all kinds of stuff.  Call your school.  There ARE programs out there that you may be unaware of.

 

Good luck!