Vyvanse vs Adderall XR – Benefits, Problems
Vyvanse vs Adderall XR:
Vyvanse is a new treatment for ADHD and this article compares it to Adderall.
If you want to learn the 10 most important things you should know about Vyvanse, see here.
Are you confused by all your medication options? (Ritalin, Adderall, Focalin, Vyvanse, Intuniv, Metadate, Pemoline – and that’s just getting started!) Figure things out – a Full List of ADHD Medications tells you what you need to know.
Now…
First, it’s important to realize that Vyvanse is Shire’s replacement for their old blockbuster drug, Adderall XR, which is losing its patent.
If you’re being suggested to take Vyvanse, it’s not necessarily because it’s a better medication.
Shire wants to turn it into a billion dollar drug, and has unleashed a marketing campaign of that magnitude, aimed at consumers and doctors.
On the other hand, Vyvanse does have some advantages over Adderall. It also has a few disadvantages.
Comparing Vyvanse vs Adderall is made slightly harder because both drugs are amphetamines. If you take either, you’re getting pretty much the same thing.
That said, there are some important differences.
1) Vyvanse is 100% d-amphetamine, while Adderall XR is a mix of 4 different d and l-amphetamines.
This mix in Adderall may make it more effective, stronger. But it might cause more anxiety or physical side effects. See later for discussion of the differences between the amphetamine types.
The next big difference is that:
2) Vyvanse is released via digestion, while Adderall is released by bead technology.
The digestion release may make Vyvanse smoother, last longer, and have less variability. What you eat might not effect it so much, while Adderall XR may be more effected by, say, having a cup of orange juice.
This release also means that snorting or injecting Vyvanse provides less of a high. As many have pointed out, however, Vyvanse can provide a high just by being taken at higher doses.
Advantages of Vyvanse
We have a full article discussing the Advantages of Vyvanse.
Vyvanse has been shown to have effect for a very long time, up to 14 hours in some studies. While realistically that duration of effect may not happen, it works fairly well for fairly long.
This is likely because its release mechanism is typically smooth, meaning less variability.
Finally, Vyvanse is pure d-amphetamine, which may mean less of certain side effects compared to the l and d-amphetamine of Adderall.
Disadvantages of Vyvanse
Vyvanse is basically nothing more than extended release Dexedrine. And while it seems to have fewer side effects relating to anxiety and release, it may cause more side effects like reduced appetite.
Because Vyvanse is so new, it may be significantly more expensive than other options or not covered by insurance, especially since both Dexedrine and Adderall are available in generic form. We also simply do not know as much about it as we do about the older drugs.
Finally, some users feel that it’s not as strong as Adderall, and that it stops working earlier than advertised.
l versus d amphetamine
Remember that Vyvanse is pure d-amphetamine, while Adderall is a mix of d- and l-forms.
The d form may be more effective at reducing impulsiveness and overactivity. The l form, on the other hand, may increase concentration better, but it may also cause more anxiety. It is also per molecule less effective than the d form, but such a distinction is perhaps irrelevant.
The d form may effect more dopamine, as opposed to both noradrenaline and dopamine in the l form. This theory, however, is not established. Noradrenaline is involved in anxiety responses, which may explain why Adderall XR seems to be worse for anxiety.
Adult ADHD:
ADHD is a lot different in adults than in children. Hyperactivity, for instance, is not necessarily there or in the same form as in kids.
If you are over 18 and worried that you might have ADHD, check out an ADHD Test Made for Adults.
Learn what the 4 Secrets To Success with ADHD are – it could really help you understand what’s going on in your life.
I have ADHD, anxiety and mild depression. I am 33 years old. I have taken Adderall, Concerta, Focalin and all 3 increased my anxiety and made me jittery. I have suffered since I was a young child with concentration, anxiety, etc…. I have been on many different meds and mixtures of medicine. I know everyone is not the same and what works for one person may not work for the next, but I take Vyvanse 70 mg with xanax and lexapro and this is the best I have ever felt. I was a broken person, born with a missing puzzle piece and I have finally found that piece it is orange and blue and fits perfectly. My copay is 22.00 a month.. The other meds I had a 9.00 copay… I don’t mind paying extra. It works great for me and I would probably pay 50.00 copay if it meant having my V…….
Since a million college students will be reading this… Adderall is better for cramming for your exams. Happy studying since its final times :)
ok look adderal and vyvanse afferct people in differnt ways 4 sum it helps 4 others like me we take them 2 get geekd out its pretty much like smokin meth bt nt as good bt still ok
@W lol very helpful. and true- that’s why i’m reading this article anyway.
Im 14 and my doctor has me on 30 Mg and she is treating me for ADD not ADHD. Should I be taking this for ADD?
ADD and ADHD are very related conditions – one is attention deficit disorder, the other attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They are commonly used interchangably =)
was taking adderall & my doc is letting me try vyvanse .. needless 2 say i took 1 60mg & it did NOTHING 4 me so try try again i took another one an hour later and ZOOOOMMMM that did the trick. i would say adderall seems 2 be stronger & definitely helps 4 finals =] whooohooo! only drawbacks 2 takin these is being able 2 fall asleep & get more than 4 hours of sleep! UGHHH im switchin back 2 Addi’s this vyvanse crap is weak.
Sandra, it takes approx 2 hours for the Vyvanse to work and is long acting vs short acting like Addi. If you want spikes of the “high” feeling Addi is the way to go.
If you are actually looking to treat ADHD effectively and want a smooth consistent focus then I recommend sticking with Vyvanse and taking early in the AM and working with your doctor to find the right dose as they start out on 20mg typically and can go up to 70mg/day.
Alright well i am 17 yrs old and i was diagnosed with major depression and Mild anxiety and ADHD. I honestly wasnt aware i was depressed….i knew i was paranoid some what lol but depressed never did i think of since i have a lot of friends i get to go out am allowed to stay late i dont have to ask at time etc….but anyways i have been prescribed vyvanse and they started me of with 20mg. when i weighed 157 at (5’4) it helped a little ex: when asked for an essay i wouldnt even get the first sentence but after taking this i at least wrote a couple of sentence so then the next month they gave me 40 then the next 60 then 70mg as the mg increase my anxietys decrease my vocabulary grew i started not lying bout little stuff that were dumb to lie about….my arguments decreased with my parents and siblings. My grades went from D’ C’ and F’s to A’ and B’s. I made many more friends i even would work things out with my teachers as for extra credit stuff when i was standing at a B??? i wanted to be better i cause i knew i could now. Before being on vyvanse i didnt care bout anything i seem to always make wrong decisions. But Vyvanse 70 mg has made completly changed me its not addictive am about to be off it :) i believe i wont no longer need it since it has showed me i really can do stuff when before i couldnt do anything like i recall wanting to pay attention and start the morning sayin okay kassy imma pay attention for real today id try so hard :/ but i just never seem to catch on i would look at the instructors but my head would be some where else. Oh Adderral vs. Vyvanse i say Vyavanse when still finding the right mg for me i had trade the same dose of Vyvanse that morning with a friend that is prescribed Adderall and omg it just made me so paranoid and so dead like i had no feelings at all like my friends would say something to me that normally would be funny to me but when i was on adderral it was like okay like i wouldnt even laugh it was weird i was just there. Oh and just got my exit level TAKS score and in math i scored a 2305 didnt get comment but i can enroll in dual credit at school or simply enroll in college when my last scores for my sophmore year i ddnt pass math nor science but history and english. and this yr my TAKS scores went up so high!! Ah i am so proud of myself ha my parents even got me a Congradulations cake lmao. For my exit level TAKS score so there you have it the big improvement of vyvanse.
where its says didnt get comment i meant *commended oh one last thing when in adderral or in vyvanse you need therapy as well the pills wont work on their own they need to be followed with a therapist if they dont seem to work. (:
i forgot one more thing lol vyvanse makes you loose your apetite which i was obesse for my age lol. but the right weight for my height i guess so it also made me loose weight am 139 as of right now :) healthier too see. Vyvanse wins lol. But no it just depends on who is taking it tho honestly and if they are taking another medication to balance the effect just the right way besides vyvanse i take fluoxetine 20mg so my psychiatrist said it would balance them out and work perfectly for me. a uncomfortable side effect i experienced of vyvanse was painful headaches! but i managed how for them to go away i told my psychologist that i had been experiencing this headaches when i started 70 mg vyvanse and he asked me if i would eat before taking this and i said no so he recommended me to eat before taking it and has worked headaches are gone. Vyvanse takes an hour to kick in therefore i would take it around 7:40am and school would start at 8:50 so by my 1st block i would be ready to learn. and then by 11:30 or 10:30 i would be tired and go asleep without trouble wen before id take hours to fall asleep. :) i think thats all i had to say sorry bout writting so much i just had alot to say bout this.
Thank you Kassandra, Your review was very helpful. I will ask my doctor about Vyvanse.
Alright so i just turned 17 years old, and my mom thought something was wrong with me in school because my grades were dropping tremendously. I never really had a problem in middle school but when i entered high school as a freshman i managed to maintain a gpa of 2.89. As a sophmore 2.67. As a junior 1.97. To be honest i cant even to begin to explain why my grades have dropped so dramatically. But, my mom took me to a phycologist to see what was wrong, the phycologist diagnosed me with severe adhd. Although i thought i was completely fine with who i was the only answer i could have for my poor grades was laziness. After about a month my doctor prescribed me to vyvanse with a dosage of 30 mg. Immediately after taking it i started to notice effects; it made my body feel tingly and very relaxed. Those were just the physical effects though, the mental effects were astronomical within 30 minutes of taking this i felt the need as if i had to read. I was relaxing in my kitchen and the first thing i did was pick up a cooking book and begin to explore the exotic features this book had to offer. I read about 20 pages feeling nothing but intelligent, it was perhaps one of the weirdest feelings ever. Everytime i take this pill i feel nothing less than extremely smart, i feel like i have to learn everything that i am capable of learning. Once i have helped myself on this mediocation i feel the need to help everyone around me if they do not understand an assignment we are doing in class. Unfortunately for me i started this medication in the last 3 weeks of school with my grades consisting of pretty much all D’s and F’s. Although i have been doing extremely well in everything i put my mind to, its pretty much impossible to bring my grades up from anything higher than a C. My last resort right now is to do excellent on my final exams, which i think i have a chance of doing on this medicine because of how focused and content it makes me. For me to sit here and type this recommendation would have literally been impossible with out this medicine. So for me to sit here and write all this is a true miracle and as wrong as it sounds its because of vyvanse. The only negative comment i have on this drug is that i feel like it wears off quickly because i am 6’2 190 lbs and im only taking 30 mgs, so if the dosage would go up just a little bit then i feel like this medicine is perfect for completing anything you want to put your mind to.
Information for those who take adderall to study or cram for test. Adderall may cause you to speed while you study, but you must be in the same mind frame inorder to take the test and pass. Which is why craming while on drugs may not be the best choice.
I have taken adderall for my ADHD and i just started taken vyvanse. overall i have to say vyvanse helps me more, because i do have ADHD. im not just trying to get messed up.
I just wanted to say to Courtney:
It’s funny that you mention “the missing puzzle piece” since that’s the way I’ve always felt. I’ve tried a litany of drugs and combos and have only had partial success (more often with anti-depressants than anything for ADD/ADHD). I just got health insurance for the first time in years this month, so I am looking forward to seeing if your puzzle piece fits me too. Congrats on your long overdue success.
Adderall is extremely helpful but the problem is I build a tolerance for it so fast that it only works for a couple days then I have to go without it for a few days for it to work again. Does Vyvanse work everytime you take it and does it’s effect weaken the longer you are on in? I need to be on something that will help me everyday and that I won’t have to increase the amount I take or take “holidays” from it.
i have adhd and am a recoverin drug addict that just got outta rehab, so im not allowd adderall because of my record. i gotta say tho this vyvanse stuff works hella good. it doesnt give me a fix or nething that will lead me to abuse it or snort it and what not. i have to admit tho adderall and vyvanse aint got nuthin on percocet. idk what it is about it, (maybe just the fact im not fully over my addict stage) but when i blow anywhere from 7-8 perc 10′s, man you got my attention all day, i study better, work harder, care more and just in a great mood. it would be cool if drs started prescribing percs for adhd. come on docs!! of course the 15′s and 30′s are for partyin only. ha.
no problem stacy ;) and for vyvane yeah i would have to say that i also feel smart when am on it and helpful and yeah if you 6’2 and weigh 190 you definetaly need a higher dosage because 30 mg is mainly given to to toddlers or 5 yr olds. so jus let your psychiatrist kno that you feel like you begin stuff as never before but you dnt quiet finish them yet :):)
I just started my 7 1/2 yr old on Vyvance 20mg. The first day way shocking, he became very tired and zombie-like. His usually extremely robust appetite disappeared and he would not eat a bite until after 6:30pm. My little guy that never sits still, sat in a chair for 45 minutes doing nothing. So clearly, that was way too much for him.
The next day, I split a capsule into thirds ( approx. 6 to 7 mg), (after the zombie day I felt that 1/2 a capsule was still too much for him). I wasn’t sure if that would even have an effect. We continued that same tiny dose all week for school, and I must say he did have a very good week. I’m still not sure if the good week was from the Vyvanse or just a regular occasional good week, but I am encouraged. My mom, who lives with us, says that she definitely sees a change. Anyway, we are trying it again this school week. This is the first medication we have ever tried, so we are very open to helpful comments.
I’m 17, and I started using Vyvanse at the begining of this year. I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was about 9, and i’ve tried practically every medication, and all of them gave me really bad side-effects [no appetite, I wouldn't talk, i felt queasy all the time, etc] [I took Adderall in fourth grade, and the side-effects were pretty bad] As a kid i was uncontrollably hyperactive, but the medicine took me too far to the other edge. They were so bad that in middle-school I had to be taken off meds, and I went to a nueropsychologist who would hook me up to a computer, and i would have to concentrate really hard on things on the screen, to sorta train my ADHD. When I started high school my psychiatrist put me on Focalin, and that didn’t do anything at all.
This year I was put on Vyvanse [I started with 20 mg, now I'm 30mg] and its a total miracle drug!! I’ve never concentrated this well in my life, I went from a struggling C/D student to an A/B student. I still find my self a bit hyper or spacy, but that depends on me, how tired I am, or worked up, etc. Some of the side-effects for me are a loss of appetite until the evening [this has ben managable though, sometimes I am hungry, but most of the time not, I've lost about 10 pounds this year, which isn't bad, its not worrisome or unhealthy], a bad taste in my mouth, and I’m a bit more irritable and moody [but usually when I'm stressed]. I didn’t see if anyone else wrote this but: Don’t take Vyvanse at night!!! You will get COMPLETE insomnia!! My doctor prescribed Dextroamphet 10mg for me to take at night, is sorta like a little ADD medication-shot, a little boost of focus, which is good. These side-effects might seem bad, but I honestly don’t care, Vyvanse helps way too much for me to care!! Its super good this year.. 11th grade has been really stressful, I have a dual-curriculum, SATs, plus other extra-curricular activities, and I think the Vyvanse hasn’t mixed well with the stress, I’ll get very snappy and upset very easily, sometimes anxious [but I think that's just me] but it’s worth it, because if I wasn’t taking Vyvanse I would be 10x more stressed due to the fact that I would be struggling in my classes, and not know what I’ve been learning. I’m not that hyperactive anymore, and my ADHD never included behavirol problems, so I don’t take my meds on weekends, and it’s been fine. When i work on sunday I take it, but if just in the evening i’ll take the Dextroamphet. As someone whose tried almost every known ADHD medication, I HIGHLY recommend Vyvanse over Adderall, and if you have concetration problems at night ask about dextroamphet or something like that
Ally- I’ve also had that problem before, half way through the year I had to go up 10mg which helped a lot because i built up a tolerance. I didn’t know 30mg was a “toddler dose”, it works well for me, I’ve always been given really low dosages, my ADHD is bad, but my body doesn’t respond well to medication.
My body slowly built up a resistance, but when i upped the dosage I was fine, i also take weekend “holidays” so that might help, my doctor says its fine for me to do that so…
My brother had Sever ADHD so he was prescribed Adderall and his grades had come up about 10% from taking them but he had gotten from what i had read almost all the side affects . he had become EXTREMELY Bipolar , from wanting to go and throw a base ball to almost starting to cry and becoming very depressed to want to fight me . about a month after he had been taking them he had some left over from forgetting once in awhile . so it was just both of us home and he asked me if i wanted to see what it was like , at this point he had gotten up to 30mg pills and he never really told me much about it and he gave me 2 ( im 6’2 225lbs) ill say after a while i got jittery , little bit of anxiety but i will say it was absolutely unbelievable how well i could focus on anything . The things that i hate doing i all of a sudden felt like i loved them , felt like i was smart and i could give a never ending lecture on everything . only thing i did not like about it was i took them at 6pm / had fun staring at the roof of me bedroom at 2am till 7 am with no sleep thinking it was a miracle when i saw the sun. another 2 months went by when he was still taking them . I rember it perfectly it was a Sunday morning and he came in my room sweating he couldent breath and he starting vomiting and then he just collapsed . he must of had some sort of OD . scariest thing Ive ever seen we called his doctor and his doctor took him off them right away . couple months later he had just started Vyvanse (Last week ) he has 50 Mg and 30 MG pills takes 70 in the morning he says he just has some trouble getting to sleep and doesn’t have much of a appetite . that SOB today i had a brutal headache so i asked him to grab me a Advil . he brought 2 pills back , i never really looked at them . AFTER i took them and drank and water bottle ( this is at 8pm ) he started laughing his ass off and said he gave me two 50 mg pills , so far i have noticed some what of the same concentration as adderall but definitely not as intense of adderall im a bit jittery and have the same relaxed / feeling smart / talking alot / which im realizing why the fuck i just wrote this long ass thing. but its 12:00 pm now fucking great i have school at 830 tomorrow ill have fun staring at the ceiling . but last off ill say these dont feel as intense as ADDERALL . this was pointless wasn’t it.
23m 210lbs 6″5- i always thought i had add as a kid being that i could never finish a chapter of a book without falling asleep. at the time i thought add was for kids that were way too hyper and just thought it was my fault that i couldn’t pay attention to lectures in class etc. i played basketball, football, and soccer for my high school but could never study playbooks. i never understood why whatever i went out for i just couldn’t successfully learn the things that majority of my peers would execute on. after graduating high school i went to a community college because i couldn’t stay awake during the sat tests i took. after scoring 1000, i took an sat prep class and scored lower. my parents were always on me about studying. truth is, studying was just a solution to knock me out. after community college didn’t work out, i excelled in retail management with a driven yet unstable attitude. when the economy tanked i was under lots of pressure. my company went through restructures 4 years in a row laying people off and changing titles. eventually it got to the point where i was that manager who couldn’t excel in conference calls, meetings, etc. needless to say i was missing something. now that i’m busting my butt in commission sales, my girl friend recently broke up with me, i’m back living with my parents, etc. i finally decided i need to go back to school and succeed. i went to my neurologist who i have been seeing for my controlled epilepsy since age 16. i demanded answers and he suggested taking the “add test?” the most boring test of my life… matching colors, shapes, numbers, and locating a dot on the computer screen. the nurse came in to the room every five minutes to wake me up. i was told i scored a negative 8 which was determined to be severe add. my experience was extremely similar it’s been 5 days on 20mg and the plan is to up it sometime next week after my body adjusts. so far i have accomplished a better relationship with family, co workers, customers, my sales have gone up, i’m happy, making new friends, no regret for my ex gf, no depression, always productive, always awake, always learning. yeah side effects are making it hard to fall asleep like the first night i took 20mg at 730am and didn’t actually fall asleep till 5am. things have been more normal the last two days. the loss of appetite has made me shy away from carbs like bread, rice, and junk food. i can drink water easily as it feels like i’m dehydrated from the heat outside and exercising which is good. the funny thing is that i used to drink a lot of alcohol on a regular basis and since i’ve been on vyvanse… the idea of putting unnecessary drinks into my body has put me in a better position to turn them down. i hung out with some friends 2 days ago at a bar and only had one beer while my friends had 5-6. i honestly feel like a new person without a past. this is the beginning of the new me. my real past was a person headed in a direction that i didn’t want to be. my old hobbies consisted of getting sloppy at the bar, picking up girls, sleeping, and video games. as of 5 days ago i have been exercising regularly, building new friendships, being productive, and just being happy to be alive. living with add, depression, and epilepsy for a combination of 23 years really made me want to give up. vyvanse really put things into perspective and made me feel normal for the first time. i would rather feel this way than any form of high. it’s been 5 days and i feel successful, smart, charming, social, good looking, and the best part is i don’t have to get shitfaced to feel the way i do right now. don’t get me wrong i look forward to a stronger more appropriate dosage as i understand this is only the beginning. i’m going to school this fall and couldn’t be more excited.
You are wrong, Vyvanse is not dexreoamphetamine and this commend does nothing but provide disinformation. Adderall is the dextro and levo isomers of pure amphetamine. Meanwhile Vyvanse is an amphetamine prodrug and much milder and therefore safer. Also Adderall can be snorted or injected to intensify its effects while Vyvanse is inactive unless taken orally. How might we compare there two drugs? Well, there is the potent and powerful pure mu-agonist Morphene. This means in it potent pain killing relief comes from the fact its an active opiate and enters the body as so. Codeine, or methy-morphene is a narcotic prodrug. What this means is in its inactive as an opiate and provides analgesia by its conversion by the liver. Codeine potency much less than Mprphene.Other prodrugs are Hydrocodone and Oxycodone whose pure mu-agonists are called hydromorphone and oxymorphone. Folks,while your PCP might prescribe Hydrocodone, Oxycodone or Codeine, you will not be leaving the Doctors office with a prescription for Morphene, Hydromorphone or Oxymorphone. Vyvanse or Lisdexamfetamine is a Amphetamine prodrug and like Codeine, is much milder than dextroamphetamine. On a personal level I was diagnosed with Adult ADD 8 years ago and been taking Adderall (d- and l-amphetamine). The stuff is powerful and when I stop during vacations my ADD is unamnageable. I am tired and depressed, lethargic and uninterested; and this is beginning to worry me. Atage 48 I will ask my Psychiatrist to change me over to the milder prodrug, Vyvanse. I find I am becoming sensatized to Adderall and even after I take a vacation and cut the dosage from 60 mg to 30 mg, I quickly build up a tolerance, needing 60 mg a day. Just like Morphene will undermine your ability to function from day to day while Codeine is well tolerated, some of us might want to think about talking with our Doctor about a trial of Vyvanse. I know it’s time for me.
Ed is right; Vyvanse is unrelated and lacks the potency of the active dextro and levo isomers of amphetamines. As for Adderall, it contains both the active dextro and levo amphetamine. Vyvanse is considered an amphetamine prodrug. This means it is converted into its active state only by the liver. its metabolites are milder compared to dextroamphetamine when taken orally. Vyvanse also has a longer half-life than Adderall meaning its effects last longer (up to 8 hours) as opposed to Adderall which is 4 hours and Adderall XR which is about 6 hours. Vyvanse can be taken once a day ( 8 AM) without that late-afternoon crash caused by early morning single dosing of Adderall. Vyvanse, by its actions would appear to have a lower abuse potential than dextroamphetamine. The HHS and DEA’s decision to places Vyvanse into the same controlled substance Schedule as Adderall (Schedule II, I potential for abuse) is based not on medical and scientific data, but policy and law enforcement policy. It’s unfortunate that Vyvanse is in Schedule II with its monitoring and scrutiny by the DEA, and cannot be refilled (that’s why you get three seperate written prescriptions. If Vyvanse had been placed in Schedule III it could have be refilled up to 5 times while Doctors would be more inclined to use it as opposed to Dextroamphetamine and Methylphenidate (Ritalin, Concerta). Still if there is one specialty that will follow good medicine over covering their asses is Psychiatry.
I have ADD. I use to take ritalin since I was a little girl. Now I take vyvanse and it has helped me a lot with my studies in college. I recently lost my health insurance, so my doctor is putting me on adderall starting next month. I have been taking vyvanse for a while now and have not encounter any side affects off of it. My niece has ADHD and takes adderall. She is a different person when she takes it and is only nine years old but it keeps her focused. I don’t know how adderall will affect me but if everyone says it helps with studies then I am all for it. Plus it is 300 times cheaper than vyvanse.
Oh yeah, I take back what I said about no side effects because it is hard for me to fall asleep. I, literally, have to lay in bed for an hour or so before I can fall asleep. But I think the reason why I can’t fall asleep is from stress. Doc says I have too much stress on me.
I’ve taken both Vyvanse and Adderall and the difference is night and day. On Adderall, I was alert, social, and generally more upbeat. However, Vyvanse made me downright suicidal after only a week taking it at the lowest dose. I took 60mg of Adderall each day vs. 30mg of Vyvanse. Less of a dose made me more depressed than I have ever been in my entire life.
If you have good experiences with Adderall, don’t switch just because your doctor tells you it may be better. Stick with what you know works. I’m getting back on Adderall ASAP; I can’t stand paying for meds that are supposed to make me feel better but end up making me feel worse than before.
Im 14 years old, but I was diagnosed with ADD in the 4th grade and was put on Aderal for three years, i absolultey hated it. Naturally im outgoing, suppper creative, random (i come off as random to others but i make sense to myself), friendly, spontanious, very social, and basicly the life of the party (: , but when i was on Aderal i had absolulty no feelings what so ever :( I felt as if someone had torn my personality straight from me . Even though it did help me concentrate on school and get my grades up, it made me feel empty, depressed, quiet, antisocial, and very alone; on top of not being able to sleep or eat very much. Being so young i wasn’t fully able to understand what or why i was feeling like this all i knew was it was being caused by the medication, so i would pretened to take it in the morning– hide it in my lunch box– and throw it out when i got to school. Final my parents figured it out and let me stop taking it as long as i could keep my grades up. So that motivated me to force myself to learn how to concentrate and I got low B’s & C’s all through middle school. Then Freshmen year I wasn’t able keep myself organized and concentrated (Geometry and English are easier for me; Physical Science, History and Spanish are harder because i don’t remember things very well), so my grades started slipping. I took one of my old Aderal meds on the day of Finals, and what do u know: was able to concentrate but felt like sh*t ): the same empty feeling. Now I’m in summer school, soon to be going into 10th grade and today was my first day on Vyvanse 30mg (pretty basic for a starting dose). I like it so much better!! I noticed that I felt very attentive, focused and smart, and very very confiednt: (like i knew i looked good today) and it seemed like I knew everyone, and it was easy to say what i was thinking. Mentaly I felt full of energy, but my body felt very relaxed and calm almost tingly. Plus I did my Hw so fast and actually took notes instead of doodling! (: I’ll give it a few days to really be sure but i am much happier with Vyvanse….. Anywayssss the main reason for me describing in detail my life story (ahaha) is for Mothers like ^^ Karen ^^ who are starting there children on these types of medication for ADD or ADHD to please watch there childs behavior when there on there meds, and ask them how they feel about it. Because there are so many different medications out there, and you can always keep trying until you find one that makes you feel good and work well.
Best wishes
— Franceska
P.S. idk if anyone else felt this or mabey its just me and not the pill, but today I had an odd urge to walk around and my hands were cold and clamy… lol? Doen’t bother me just thought it was werid
If it’s “all the same”, then why is it any better ? Perhaps, the truth is that no one really cares, so long as the drug companies get their billions, and the doctors get their vacation bonus promotional perks from the drug companies for pushing the stuff. How sad that a drug rep knows more about a given “medication” than a doctor.
Thank you Franceka…my daughter I felt has had her awesome personality robbed from her for the sake of public school chaos! She is going to start private next year that encourages creativity. Her Dr. switched her to vynase today and I hope it will help her in other areas without changing her too much.
PH…shouldn’t a drug rep know more then a Dr. about what he is promoting??? Don’t be so negative about money and go get some.
24yr old male with troubles focussing and short term memory. First time seeing a psych about it and he prescribed 40mg Vyvanse to test out for 2 weeks. I have tried Adderall from a friend before a couple times and absolutley loved the results. Was expecting to get prescribed the adderall but threw me on this instead. I’m looking for a steady result that lasts all day rather than 4-6 hours like adderall. I’ll check back in a week or so to let you know my thoughts.
For the clarification on the post from Nick posted May 20th, in the new DSM, ADD and ADHD will be categorized as one disorder (ADHD) as opposed to two. In the current DSM IV, it is still listed as separate disorders; however, that will change. Not to mention, many of the medicines are used interchangeably because the two disorders are so similar.
Now my question to Vyvanse users:
Does taking Vyvanse effect your appetite (how so) and what dosage are you on? I am on Adderall and I luckily am not effected by some of the appetite problems people experience; however, I would like to refrain from ever encountering them if I switch.
Thanks!adderall
GuessWho, I am on 40mg of Vyvanse. I take it every morning around 8:00 AM and I don’t have the slightest craving for food or drinks until around 3:30 PM or later. I never ate breakfast even before I was on Vyvanse, but I usually would be eating lunch at the normal 11:30-12:30 period. So it does have a bit of a supressor on appetite for me.
I just started taking 50 mgs of Vyvanse. So far so good. It definitely affects my appetite. I feel pretty good on it. I really wont know if it is helping till I go back to work in 2 weeks, but I sure hope so! From all the other comments it does sound pretty positive for most!
My eight year old son has been on Focalin XR for two years and we have slowly upped the MG’s with growth spurts and weight gain. However, this summer, it has not worked, AT ALL. Today his prescription was changed to Vyvanse. Let’s hope that this helps.
I was diagnosed with adult ADD about 10 or so years ago…in my late 40′s. I have taken Ritalin on a very erratic basis since that time. The doctors tried antidepressants prior to the Ritalin. If I am paying attention, I take 10 mg 3x a day. Usually I only remember to take the first one …hence the erratic-ness. I see my doctor next week and am thinking of asking her about trying the vyvanse. I am 5’4″ and 150 lbs. Any suggestions? Can anyone compare Vyvanse to Ritalin?
So I am 35 years old. I have been on Adderal XR for about a year and a half. As of Today my Dr. had switched me to Vynanse. I recently starting getting more and more irritable with it. SO I guess we are gonna give this a shot. I am wondering about weight gain or loss.. I am the only person ON EARTH who lost NOTHING!!!!! on Adderal XR- I actually gained in the begining.. I have worked my a** of to loose 30lbs. over the past few months I still have 30 to go & I am TERRIFIED to gain it back!! I am the 1% of human beings that DID NOT LOOSE ON ADDERALL sooo I am PRAYING that I may actually get that benafit along with others on the Vyvanse… Anyone else (Probally NOT) have that same problem.. AND if so How does the Vyvanse help with weight?
Iam concerned that this medicine makes people more nervous when the 6h hour rolls around. Some have been given Buspar to help with the extra anxiety this medicine does( Vyvanse ) I notice it makes you more sad and depressed . I am very concerned.
I was put on clozapan and it calmed the mind and my ADD was controlled.
I feel that our worry active minds think alot and we need something to calm it down.
I am 23 years old and diagnosed mysefl with with ADHD…I found myself a psychiatrist and turns out I was right. He started me out with a 2 week trial with 20mg ritalin, I could barely keep my eyes open so we tried 20mg adderall…when I tell you that that had me high im not joking. I have never had headaches that bad in my LIFE and I could actually feel the come down, which was horrible. The next time we decided to go with adderall xr 15mg…….NOT STRONG ENOUGH! I went two days ago and we are the adderall xr 20mg. Now I still havent been to bed since I started taking these and I dont feel like this is strong enough. I really need some advice…I thought 20mg was the highest you could go?!?! Should I try the Vyvanse? I am so afriad to take medicine because while it fixes one thing it destroyees another! I dont even take birth control and i have 2 kids…….lol! this is the first time i am trying anything like this and so far it has only been a bad expierence for me! If anyone has any advice….please share! Thank you!
I thought Vyvanse was a pro-drug, i.e. precursor to amphetamine, after being digested/altered in the gut, it becomes amphetamine. The main advantage is you can give it to kids who were bad boys and girls and selling their Adderall instead of taking it. So why does the author say it can still make you high if you snort it or inject it?
Danielle, our son (now 18) takes 25 mg Adderall XR at 0700 and another 25 mg around noon or so ( to carry the coverage through the evening teenage driving hours). So you certainly can take more than 20 mg XR. This is what is referred to, in a sense, as off label usage…either using the drug for something other than it was intended (think Rogaine, which was originally a blood pressure med, but after the initial trial, men refused to give the Rogaine back since their bald heads were growing hair again) – or using it a higher doses than it has been tested with the FDA.
Remember ADHD falls on a continuum, people have it to different degrees, you might have a little ADD or a lot. You have only been tweaking your meds and your dose for a few weeks – please don’t label it is a bad experience yet. Alot of medical care is risk vs. benefit , and a great deal of it is also what your mind decides.
per guesswho, IN RE: in the new DSM, ADD and ADHD will be categorized as one disorder (ADHD) as opposed to two. In the current DSM IV, it is still listed as separate disorders; however, that will change. Not to mention, many of the medicines are used interchangeably because the two disorders are so similar…actually, Barkley is hoping to get one of the “subspecies” of ADD recategorized. Those daydreamer types (now falling under ADD) are probably not in the true ADHD family, and for example usually respond poorly to stimulants. They want to reclassify them under something more like lazy brain disorder. Another change you will start seeing is the Oppositional Defiant Disorder being linked more with ADHD. The latest ADHD research is finding the genetic codes, now happening in at least seven different research sites. This will link the proper disorder with the proper med.