Violent outburts on Vyvanse | ADHD Information

Hi guys, hoping everyone is having a good day and if not, thank goodness for this site!

Our son is 8 and a week ago put on Vyvanse, 20 mg--at first we thought it was our fit, he was doing so amazing, then on Friday he seemed agitated througout the day and in the early afternoon he had the mother of all meltdowns, while on a med. Kicking, screaming, scratching, a path of destruction to our home and himself, then finally I was able to hold him and he just sobbed like a scared, limp, terrified lil guy---it was heartbreaking. The next day, we did give him his med again ( I feel like an awful mom by doing that but we thought maybe he just had a bad day ) which ended pretty much the same way although not quite as bad. Today, no med and we got an appointment for Tues morning with his Psychiatrist. He was on Adderall XR before but it seemed to wear off in the early afternoon ( he would still have bad moments but they werent as often and not so severe ) but uped his anxiety, which is why the doc switched to Vyv. Doc said it would decrease his anxiety and it did for a short time. Not sure what to try next, hence the appointment but just wondering if anyone else has had a similar experience. I realize its a roller coaster ride, and what works for one child wont work for another, guess I just needed to vent. Thanks! Oh and his appetite was bad on the Adderall at first but then seemed to pick up but on the Vyv it was virtually non existent. Pedia sure was a God send but still he lost weight just in the week he was on it so that was going to be an issue anyway.

You did the right thing stopping the medication. There are other classes of
drugs - hopefully the doctor will help you find the best fit.

Good luck!

Thanks Corrina--I will post after our appointment

my son had a very similar experiences with Vyvance. It was clearly not the
right fit for him, and we stopped soon after starting. Hoping you find the
right thing as well! good luck:)Hi Mommatrying, thanks for sharing, glad to hear you found something that works better for your son! We are pretty new to the whole ADHD experience so hearing that we arent alone helps a lot. Wishing you continued luck!

My son has used Vyvanse for 2 years or so and it has been far better for him
than Adderall XR. It truly is a case by case trial for every individual. If his
rebound (what happens when ADD meds wear off) is so severe on Vyvanse it
is not the medication for him or perhaps the dose is to high. There are
several others options that you and your Dr. have available to try. My son is
very sensitive to medication and it took a good while to get it right. He had
terrible rebounds when he was 8 years old. Now that he is almost 12 we
have had it under control for a long time. Do not give up or get overly
discouraged, the benefits are really worth the time it takes to get it right. I
do know what it feels like to worry , you are not alone it this process. Just
when you get it right adolesence rears it's head!

I am so new to this, my son was teated for add and adhd and so forth and the only thing he scored high in that he had was add, so yesteday we went and talked to the doctor and she perscribled vyvanse 20 mg. I am so scared to give him this medicane!!!!! He is the most smartest loving boy and wouldnt change a thing, but as far as school he cant consintrait, pay attenion to hear the directions, and his mind wonders all the time an he's falling behind because he cant stay focused so i had him tested. I stayed up all night researching this drug and im gonna try it tomorrow but im gonna try it with half the dose and see first how that does. I just wondering if anyone knows about the med? i am so scared!!!!

Stop... I think Vyvance is a time released med and you can NOT give a
person a half of a dose! It will act like a street drug if you do. I
mistakenly tried that some years ago with my then 7th grade daughter
and got a call from school asking if she was doing something different as
her behavior was really weird! That is when I found out not to cut the pill
in half!!

Putting a child on meds is a scary move for a parent. We fear harming our
child or being labeled a bad parent .... or....! My experience has been
overall very positive and now realize how necessary this part of the
management of ADHD as my entire family has it. We had a harder time
finding the right dose for our son as he is very med sensitive. Vyvance
was the right one for him, but not for our girls! ADHD touches so many
parts of a persons life that all aspects need to be considered. The social
piece is a huge part of a persons development and needs to be taken in to
account when weighing the med option. I believe people with ADHA who
are not managed by a Dr. are more likely to self medicate ... not an option
any healthy parent would choose for their child. If one med option does
not work try a different one and repeat until you have found success! You
desire to HELP your child, this option can be very successful. Proceed with
caution! Keep your eyes open for personality changes, record them and
the time the reactions happened. That will help the Dr. make wise
changes as needed. Hi all...I too am in the same or similar boat as all of you. I have a 7 year old son who suffers from ADD. He is not hyper or bad mannered/tempered at all. He simply cannot focus at school in order to finish his classwork. It has been a daily battle for him to finish it at home as well as to finish his homework. I have tried Ritilin and Strattera, and neither worked for him. So after nearly a year of no medication at all, his pediatritian and I decided to try Vyvanse with him. I have been sitting here for the last hour with him while he is working on a research project for school. He has written an entire paper consisting of about 20 sentences on his own without ANY complaints at all, not to mention that his handwriting is neater than I have ever seen it!! This is only the 2nd day of being on the meds. Right now, I am so incredibly impressed that it making me forget about all the negative things I have read about it. I was terrified to even try it after reading some of the things about the anger issues and heart problems. I have noticed an increase in his temper, but nothing volotile as of yet. I intend to keep a close eye on him over the next couple of days though and see how how he does. I will keep yall updated...
Hi guys,
I am new in this site and find topics here very interesting,
Hope I can join in your further discussions here,
Thanks a lot!

Sugar7040524.8401388889 [QUOTE=DKSK]Stop... I think Vyvance is a time released med and you can NOT give a
person a half of a dose! It will act like a street drug if you do. I
mistakenly tried that some years ago with my then 7th grade daughter
and got a call from school asking if she was doing something different as
her behavior was really weird! That is when I found out not to cut the pill
in half!! [/QUOTE]

The Vyvance my ds takes is in a capsule form. It can be prescribed as a larger capsule and opened/separated into two doses. Or the dose can be smaller capsules with 1 dose being two capsules and a half dose being one capsule. When starting a new med, Ds' doctor usually instructs us to try the smaller dose and to increase to a larger dose if the smaller does not give results.
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