I am aware that there are other threads that detail other people having tried this drug, but I have not seen anyone having tried this who was not just recently on another ADHD medication directly beforehand. This will be my journal of how this drug has directly effected me on a daily basis. Please feel free to ask me any questions.

Quick About Me:
Age: 21
Sex: Male
Height: 5'10
Weight: 180
Relationship Status: Serious Relationship
Current Diagonosis - ADHD + Bipolar
Medications: Wellbutrin - XX mg
Mood Stabilizer - 25-50mg (depending)
Vyvanse - 30mg
Tics?: Shaking leg to concentrate; Keeping hand in front of mouth, palm out, teeth clenched on knuckle skin (weird, I know)
School: Mornings (Full Time) - History Major (4th year Junior. Graduate Fall 09)
Work: Afternoons into Evenings (Full Time) - (Sales/Marketing/Customer Service)

Extended About Me:

I am a 21 year old male who was diagnosed with ADHD at age 7. For 3 months I was prescribed Ritalin and observation of me was that i had no personality at all but could focus very well and wanted to read and learn a lot more. My parents decided to take me off of it and I feel that was the right choice as I was previously a very outgoing individual.

Within the past year I have felt more aware of my disconnection from the world. I would constantly feel like everything coming in through my senses was to much to break down and process. I had always turned this into my ability to divide my attention on multiple projects or situations at once, but not giving anything full and complete focus for very long. My feelings of being unsatisfied with anything and everything increased. I became bored immediately and no longer felt comfortable alone. This increased to the point that I could not be in my room without the tv on and the computer on as well. It had become so bad that even having an option to go out and do something wasn't worth it as I would analyze how bored I would be, was it worth the drive, would I really have fun, did I really want to leave my room. My temper would flare and I would be constantly agitated, starting a fight and picking the opposite side until my girlfriend was in tears. Even then I wouldn't know why I did it, but I knew that I was in the wrong the whole time.

I have just recently started seeing a P.Dr. It has been a very hard struggle to motivate myself that far. I finally did it though. The first attempt was to fix the depression/bipolar. He felt that the best bet would be Wellbutrin (i will update the mg it's not on me now) and a mood stabilizer (i'll post that soon too). We eventually found the best dosage so that I wasn't depressed or manic but I wasn't just blah (which was a stage of this trial). Then we went to tackle ADHD. He started me on Daytrana for 2 weeks. First 10mg then 20mg. Rash, itchy, no effect on 10mg. I took the 20mg for one day, felt awful all day, so jittery and out of control and then the next day I felt like I was going through withdrawls. Not a chance I was continuing with this. Last night he proscribed my Vyvanse, and thats where the rest of this will take us.

Day 1:<O:p</O:p


Took my Wellbutrin and 30mg Vyvanse at 7:45am. I was already in a fairly upbeat mood but not motivated. I was planning on skipping my first class period class (8:30), which is one of my favorites but I didn't study for my second class the night before. I sat in the cafe, had something to eat, studied for 15 minutes and felt I knew the info and it all was really clear (something new to me) and realized it was 8:45, I could still make the class, and I was motivated to do so!

No matter how much I enjoy this class, I always pull out my iphone and search around. At first I did that and was looking up Vyvanse info, but after awhile I stopped and felt completely focused on what was going on, and interested. I was very interested in everything we watched and listened to (History and Literature of Jazz). As I left the class, I felt like I took in my entire surrounding and it felt like I was "ahead" of everyone else. I usually feel like I'm in a fog and behind but this was different.

I was VERY happy and upbeat. I walked to my next class with a smile on my face and found a place outside the classroom to study some more. I had no desire to fidget, shake my leg, or bite my hand. I didn't have a desire to talk excessively either. My test went great, very focused and I retained a lot of information, then I headed out to work.

(11:00am)Very calm and relaxed drive. Put on some Motion City Soundtrack and sang along. Got to work and popped into my bosses office for a quick conversation about an application he wanted developed for Facebook. Had BY FAR the clearest and most focused conversation I have ever had in my entire life. It was amazing. For once I felt like I got my point across instead of spacing out mid conversation. After that I got to my desk and was very productive and focused. I did feel a little bit of sensitivity to the light from my LCD screen but I am also just adjusting to wearing contacts (and I believe these ones are past their prime).

(2:00pm) When I got up later I felt mildly off balance and very light headed. This is when I realized I wasn't hungry at all and probably needed something to eat. Also, I had only had a Gatorade so far today. I went next door to Starbucks and got an Oatmeal Cookie (as per usual) and went back to eat it with some ice water. I ate it slower then I usually do, no desire to stuff it all in my face which was a good change (I tend to eat food FAST and stuff my mouth). Shortly after my stomach started to feel heavy and uncomfortable. After eating that I felt less focused, still upbeat (found myself smiling randomly, I like that), but no more motivated than usual.

It is 6pm as I write this, just about to leave work for the day (It's slow and my assistant is in doing work for me). I have a mild headache (Could easily be dehydration and due to not eating enough, very common for me). I still feel upbeat which is keeping me optomistic for tonight (light studying, heavy gaming!).

Quick Observations of Day 1:- Very happy and excited!
- Very focused for atleast 6.25 hours. More than normal focused after.
- Stop/Decrease in Tic activity until 5pm.
- Have not yawned once or felt tired at all. (usually I'm always exhausted!)

Tomorrow I will update on the following:
- Mood during the night.
- Headache condition.
- Could I sleep?
- And the one question I haven't see answered: Does tiny tim work?

PLEASE, if you have constructive criticism or suggestions, let me know. I'm really enjoying life today compared to months of not wanting to move.<O:p</O:p<O:p

Great job on keeping a journal. This is the stuff you need to also share with your medical team, especially if any dosing adjustments get made. One issue you may have to deal with down the road is, since your days are so long with school and work, possibly adding a late afternoon booster dose or a small Vyvanse dose early afternoon. However, it is too early to get into that right now; instead the focus should be on seeing how the dose you are on now works, how long it last, and then maybe trying the next higher dose and see if you get an even better benefit.

I am glad you have found some clarity and are benefiting from Vyvanse. Please keep us updated and remember to share this journal with your M.D.

End of Day 1 Update:
- No desire to eat, had to force myself to do so. When I did my stomach didn't like that at all, but after eating and drinking my headache dissapeared.
- Stayed clear and not distracted all night.
- Drove 30 minutes to my girlfriends work after I left work just to bring her flowers. Didn't even stay very long. Went to the mall to eat by myself. Usually im terrified to be alone.
- NO ROAD RAGE OR SPEEDING.
- No mechanical malfunctions :-p
- Became tired at 10:30. Read for a bit and went to bed by 11:15. (very uncommon for me)
- No problems getting to sleep, infact I think it helped me. Woke up several times feeling wide awake and refreshed between 12-3am but was able to get back to sleep very easily. Took my pill at 6:45am, fell back asleep til 7:10.

Day 2 p1:

This morning I found myself awake and full of energy. Usually I have a dehydration headache, I'm starving, and am groggy, but i pretty much jumped out of bed not even a little hungry. I could feel a faint headache but it was so dim compared to my normal ones. Drove to class EARLY to STUDY EXTRA. I'm really surprised I did that, it's like I wanted to. Usually I just feel like I should but can come up with excuses for why I won't. I also figured that I would try and stuff my face and drink extra in the morning to try and compensate for my lack of desire to eat, that didn't work. I ate the exact same I did the day before and couldnt fit anymore down. Drank one gatorade, and it took forever to. I'm mildly worried about this but It wouldnt hurt to lose a little weight, I'll probably try and make protein smoothies or something so my body

I feel very happy. I smile a lot more. I feel like I'm experiencing everything for the first time. I am more focused and less cloudy, but I still have to manually motivate myself, however it is easier now. I didn't expect this to make me do everything I have to do, just to help me do this.

One thing to note, and to those that have no interest in the libido effects please skip, I find that I no longer randomly get erections. It's not that I have to put extra effort in to get them, it's just that they don't happen randomly anymore. Not complaining, I just hope that's as far as it goes. Unfortunately a sexual side effect will undo all this progress as that is more important to me.

This seems to be working very well. I would like to try a higher dosage as I do feel it peak a little and slowly decline but not completely leave.

Watts, thank you for your support, I will print this info and show it to my doctor on tuesday.

One thing to note, and to those that have no interest in the libido effects please skip, I find that I no longer randomly get erections. It's not that I have to put extra effort in to get them, it's just that they don't happen randomly anymore. Not complaining, I just hope that's as far as it goes. Unfortunately a sexual side effect will undo all this progress as that is more important....
Just wait till you have sex on it ;) . You might be different but if you're like half the men in America you're gonna turn into the little engine that could~ can you say stamina?? haha.

Good to hear! Haha

Yesterday I had taken the pill an hour earlier. I felt it wear off earlier as well. This is further proving my point that i need a higher dosage.

I had no desire to eat. Egg and cheese for breakfast. A carmel apple cider from starbucks at 3pm to keep blood sugar up (its my favorite but i didnt even want to eat it), and then 1/3 of what I usually have for dinner when my girlfriends mom cooks. (living away from home, I'll take any hot meal I can get).

Very tired by 11:30. Focused on just playing one game and being social with friends who were playing it, which is new for me as I usually become obsessed with one game and have no desire to be social and play a different one. After I finished playing, I'd usually be compelled to play another, but I decided I would just go to sleep. My stomach did hurt a little at this point. Not hunger, just pain.

Today I woke up refreshed. I had more desire to continue sleeping than the day before and it wasn't as bad as it use to be, but I did hit the snooze button a few times. Took the pill at 6:45 woke up finally at 7:25. I still have that happy feeling and find myself smiling alot, however I did speed past a few people :-O.

My thoughts are still clear. I feel focused but dehydrated, I need to drink more still. One big issue today was that I had a chance to focus on a buisness plan I have been developing and I got REALLY focused but really like giddy/fired up and It lasted like 2 hours. Not bad, but it was like hyper focused and determined.

My appointment was Tuesday and the next is the following Tuesday. He gave me 10 pills at 30mg. Sunday-Tuesday I'm gonna double up and see if it helps.

I like this but need a more of boost. I don't feel like its less effective than it was when I started though.

Med updates:

Wellbutrin - 150mg 2xday
Lamictal - 50mg at night
Vyvanse - 30mg morning

I created an Excel table with columns for:

date
amt/time
sleep
tired during day
exercise
food
focus at work
focus at home
clear head
mood
physically feel
misc
comments

Each row is a day, and I enter details for each topic.

Sleep, I list hours I slept - 12am-6am. I always go to bed at 11, so that could show me if the meds are keeping me up too late.

Tired during day If I see I was tired the next day and I had slept 8 hours, that might show the meds are making me tired. If I wasn't tired and only slept 4 hours, it shows the meds are keeping me awake. If I napped, I list the hours.

Exercise I run, so I list miles. Before meds, running helped my mood.

Food I briefly list what I ate or what restaurant I went to. On the days I had a headache, I noticed protein was low on the previous day, so I increased protein.

Focus I put Y, N, little, etc. I saw I had great focus on day 2 and 3 of each new dose, but then focus drops after that. I might note I had focus, but focused on the wrong thing and didn't prioritize. When meds work perfectly for me, I also prioritize.

Clear Head I distinguished between clear head and focus, b/c the meds have cleared my head (no soundtrack running, no self-defeating thoughts), but haven't led to as much focus as I'd like.

Mood I just list good, ok, sad, wired, fine, etc. I didn't know I was a bit depressed until I took meds. My mood was never good, ok or fine before. Since meds, it's been good most days.

Physically feel On some days, my body just felt the drug physically. I also note headaches, neck aches. I've had physical effects on the first day of a higher dose, but they go away by day 2 or 3.

Misc Things like talk excessively, bounce legs, tap fingers. These decreased when meds were working, but increased on the days I was "wired" from a new hirer dose.

Comments I list events, pdoc appt - brief words that help me remember the day.

Regarding Focused and Clear Head:

I find that my head is always clear and I am a ton more focused UNLESS I didn't keep up with drinking or eating (drinking at a minimum). Thats the connection I see there.

Regarding Focused and Clear Head:

I find that my head is always clear and I am a ton more focused UNLESS I didn't keep up with drinking or eating (drinking at a minimum). Thats the connection I see there.I know I haven't been drinking enough water. I gave up juice and cola in case they decreased the effectiveness, but haven't replaced them fully. And I know I need even more water now. Maybe that will help.

Unlike most ADHD medications i've tried. With Vyvanse unless you eat like a regular breakfast/lunch/dinner schedule you'll find your medication more inefficient; atleast that was the case with me. But by eating properly it works very efficiently. With Adderall XR/Adderall this is a totally the opposite because I've found that eating a meal kills the effectiveness by atleast 45-60% if not completely. Again; however, these are the results of my trials and experiences not everyone elses.

This weekend was excellent. Upped my dosage to 60mg today, feeling amazing. I feel hydration is more of my issue than food. I barely eat cause I never feel hungry so I don't even think about it. I need to fix that but I do welcome so weight loss.

I spent 5 hours cleaning my room saturday. 5 hours..... I was completely focused and ENJOYING it. I've honestly found the fun in everything I do and no longer feel bored. I'll give you the doctor update wednesday as this is a busy week for me.

70mg Today. No desire to eat at all. When I force myself I can only handle a little bit of food at a time without my stomach feeling weird. I'm doing better on hydration. I feel considerate improvement but I feel like it could be better? I don't know as I have no idea what ideal is. I really feel amazing lately.

I've been taking Vyvanse for 2 days now.

I got REALLY focused but really like giddy/fired up and It lasted like 2 hours. Not bad, but it was like hyper focused and determined.
That's what I've been calling my 'caffeinated feeling.'

As I left the class, I felt like I took in my entire surrounding and it felt like I was "ahead" of everyone else. I usually feel like I'm in a fog and behind but this was different.

I had the exact feeling while interacting with co-workers. I usually feel like I'm in a fog and lagging behind in my interactions with them. Because of this, I'm always super cautious and doubting myself. On the meds, I was totally on top of the interaction, even going a step further to good-naturedly challenge them. Surprized myself.

I felt that at 15 mgs (I halved my dosage), I had ADHD like symptoms of being hyper like I was caffeinated. I was super focussed, a bit hyper, a bit motor driven.
I am a bit sensitive by nature so it could have affected me in that way.
I noticed you're a software developer. I am too. One distinct feeling I had was that of being too narrowly focussed when programming. Sort of 'lost in my own alley of narrow thought' feeling. Of course programming does require intense concentration so not sure if my mind was just responding to that.

I've heard a lot of talk about being hydrated. I make a point of drinking about a quart of water during the day. Do you think I should up it? What's your goal as far as drinking water?

I have this feeling of noticing things that I hadn't noticed in a long time at queit times like when I'm at a red light. Certain sublte feelings. Certain ways that I associated what was going on around me with things in the past, long forgotten.

Not noticing any effects with appetite.

If 15mg works for you, keep it there. If it stops working, talk to your doctor and up it. 30mg is usually the starting but whatever works for you.

I can't stress eating and drinking enough. It will ruin ALL of your results if you don't. I honestly feel most of the listed side-effects are due to not eating and drinking (dizziness, blurred vision, etc). It doesn't help that your looking at a screen all day and then probably getting up and walking around (that kills me if i didn't keep up with food or drink).

The feeling of being ahead I talked about seems to be in regard to norepinephrine and dopamine increase. Constantly, i use to find myself bored and unsatisfied. Nothing was ever enough. Imagine playing a video game and being bored immediately, then playing another and doing the same. Going out with your girlfriend but whatever you do wasn't good enough. But occassionally I would find something that was a ton of fun, and I learned from my doctor that when that happens its the "pleasure receptors" in your brain reacting. They release those chemicals. We have a deficiency of those chemicals and this drug gives you a constant flow of them.

Now, granted, that can eventually become normal, but after all these years of not having that feeling I doubt that it will fade.

I'm a software developer?

I completely forgot to mention:

I ate horrible yesterday. Like, nothing more than a yogurt before 8pm and then caved and got mcdonalds. Today I think I'm paying for it as I feel kind of shaky. No good!

Got to work and popped into my bosses office for a quick conversation about an application he wanted developed for Facebook.My bad. I must have misunderstood this sentence about 'developing applications' for facebook to mean you were a software developer.

Not a problem. I'm more the marketing and creative end for that. I wish I could program.

I started exercising yesterday. They took my blood pressure and it was 140/90. I need to fix this, so with less of a desire to eat, when I do I will be healthy, but I've also decided to get in shape (hopefully down to the correct weight for my height).

Has anyone started exercising after they began this medicine? Will my metabolism increase causing this to be less effective?

I have not noticed any difference between 30mg and 70mg. Does this mean I should drop back down or keep pushing?

The big thing is, how much more can I expect this drug to do? Or do I even need it to do anything more? I have no idea how to answer that and would appreciate some help.

One of best pieces of advice I received on these forums (by reading someone else's thread) is to a evaluate a med not by how you feel. I found that very difficult to do.

But once I got it, and started looking at more objective measures like the ability to focus and to control impulsive behavior, I found a good way to measure the meds effectiveness. I will always have ups and downs and the meds are not going to change that, but if the targeted symptoms are being controlled the med is a success. But again I found it very hard to separate feelings from effects, and until I was able to do it, I didn't make a lot of progress.

I have been doing AMAZING except for today.
Ran 3 miles saturday, sunday, and monday. I even drove all the way home by accident when I ment to go to the school, but went back to the school gym. The old me was SCREAMING inside, I would have never done that before, I would have just stayed home.

Today went bad for two reasons:
- I fought moms in line to get Rockband
- A company I had an issue with had their CFO call me instead of just some rep.

So i'm kinda jittery from excitement. I hope I can convince myself to go to the gym instead of going right home to play rockband :-p