Without much warning, doctors now seem to be falling over each other to switch their patients from Adderall XR to VyVanse. My doctor was nothing short of insistant that I give Vyvanse a try and he gave me a 30day free trial card yesturday. I understand that many need to change their meds from time to time due to tolerance issues, but I felt like I was doing fine on the Adderall XR. Originally I was being prescribed Adderall XR 15mg (2 times a day) but I generally would only take one in the morning and half of one in the afternoon. (I would open the capsule and wash the pellets down with water which seemed to work better.). I have been on Adderall XR for eight months and felt I had adjusted well to using the drug without major side effects. I felt I could moderate my dosages well and would take vacations from the drug on weekends. Now that I am starting a new type of drug which I was told by my doctor is only "slightly different" from the XR, I am left wondering if I will have any regrets. Secondly, he wrote me for 60 caps of 30mg Vyvanse to take twice a day, and the FREE 30 DAY card would only cover 30 caps. Not sure how I am supposed to take my dosage, but I will likely start by taking two capsules one time a day. I will have to get another refill in two weeks. Can anyone relate to this story and can you tell me how the two compare (pros and cons) against each other? Many thanks!

Charles of East Texas

I've never taken Adderall, but I can tell you I'm fighting my psychiatrist to stay on Vyvanse...he wants me to switch to adderall...so if at any time you want to compare notes on side effects...lemme know.

Hi Blue- Started Vyvanse today. So far it seems smoother than adderall, but I would not dare form an opinion on my first day or few weeks of taking it. I've learned not to form an opinion early on with certain ADD drugs due to exagerated sense of well being amphetamines initally give. I had been on XR for eight months and had developed a level of tolerance to it but I was still getting a good degree of benefit. I also took weekend vacations which I think is essential when taking amphetamines. How long have you been on Vyvanse If you don't mind telling? I am wondering if I can take vacations from the drug as I did with adderall. Adderall also suppressed my appetite which was also a good benefit for me. So far the Vyvanse is doing the same thing but I have read where others complained of being hungry. Time will tell I guess. Charles of East Texas

Being hungry? Yeah...see I havent had a solid meal since um...Saturday night and even then it was only 2-3 bites of everything Mom cooked. I'm just never hungry or am hungry and get started with something only to forget.

I've been on Vyvanse since September of this year. I'm not sure how long that "sense of well being" is supposed to last, but so far it hasn't gone away; I always have it for a good 4-5 hours after taking my meds.

As far as taking weekend vacations...I've done it many times, especially if I don't have anything pressing going on that I need to deal with. Only thing is when I don't take it I am not the best person to be around...the frustration lvl bottoms out...it doesn't exist.

My other thing about switching is I take my Vyvanse once a day...when I wake up and to go Adderall he's telling me I would be taking it twice a day. I can barely remember to grab my keys before I go out to the car...let alone remembering to take a second dose in the middle of the day.
Hi Blue- Started Vyvanse today. So far it seems smoother than adderall, but I would not dare form an opinion on my first day or few weeks of taking it. I've learned not to form an opinion early on with certain ADD drugs due to exagerated sense of well being amphetamines initally give. I had been on XR for eight months and had developed a level of tolerance to it but I was still getting a good degree of benefit. I also took weekend vacations which I think is essential when taking amphetamines. How long have you been on Vyvanse If you don't mind telling? I am wondering if I can take vacations from the drug as I did with adderall. Adderall also suppressed my appetite which was also a good benefit for me. So far the Vyvanse is doing the same thing but I have read where others complained of being hungry. Time will tell I guess. Charles of East Texas

sounds to me like there's no real benefit to anyone taking vyvanse other than SHIRE pharmaceuticals (they have a monopoly on a new A.D.D. med. )

dont be manipulated by your doctor and worse yet , those slickly dressed, fake toothy grin having Pharm. sales reps . that you see at the doc's office to push their drugs...

sounds to me like there's no real benefit to anyone taking vyvanse other than SHIRE pharmaceuticals (they have a monopoly on a new A.D.D. med. )

dont be manipulated by your doctor and worse yet , those slickly dressed, fake toothy grin having Pharm. sales reps . that you see at the doc's office to push their drugs...

For some folks with a history of drug/alcohol abuse, it's a godsend. Also could help curb abuse among young people.

I just began Vyvanse today and was diagnosed today and already am taking Provigal what can I expect with Vyvanse? Will it give me energy?

Well, I switched from Adderall XR, been taking Vyvanse for about a week now.

Typical amphetamine side effects are all still there (appetite suppression, cardiovascular stuff (increased blood pressure, etc.), etc.) but overall it feels a lot smoother than Adderall.

I am wondering i should try Vyvance instead of Adderall? For full day coverage and maybe less harsh?

Well, after taking it for about two weeks, here's what I've discovered:

Vyvanse is GREAT if you take it early in the morning. Like before 10AM I'd say. It lasts all throughout the day and side effects (while still there) are less intense than with Adderall.

However, if you only need to be stimulated for a couple of hours, I'd take Adderall XR. Because if I took the Vyvanse after lunch it gave me insomnia.

Also, I felt kind of 'dull' on Vyvanse. It doesn't really give me the 'euphoric' sensations that I get with Adderall.

Either way - they're both pretty good but I think I'm going to stick with Adderall XR for the time being simply because I don't need to be medicated for 10+ hours everyday.

Well, after taking it for about two weeks, here's what I've discovered:

Vyvanse is GREAT if you take it early in the morning. Like before 10AM I'd say. It lasts all throughout the day and side effects (while still there) are less intense than with Adderall.

However, if you only need to be stimulated for a couple of hours, I'd take Adderall XR. Because if I took the Vyvanse after lunch it gave me insomnia.

Also, I felt kind of 'dull' on Vyvanse. It doesn't really give me the 'euphoric' sensations that I get with Adderall.

Either way - they're both pretty good but I think I'm going to stick with Adderall XR for the time being simply because I don't need to be medicated for 10+ hours everyday.

Thanks Ben, this was a really helpful post for me in trying to decide to ask my doc to switch to Vyvanse from 20mg Adderall XR. I think I'll stick with XR for now as well.

The only thing that really impresses me about Vyvanse other than the duration, is the fact that food supposedly doesn't affect the Vyvanse at all. I hardly ever hear people talking about this when comparing these drugs, and for me at least, it's a VERY important issue. A lot of times when on Adderall, I'll eat a medium sized meal and I can almost instantly tell the effects of the Adderall have diminished by a considerable amount.

Is it a fact that with Vyvanse I won't have to worry about this?

I havent been around for awhile but they placed my kids on Vyvans in August 2007 and I will tell you for me it has been a god send with the kids you can see a HUGE difference in them especially my youngest who I was called on 3-4 times a week for behaviors last year even while on the adderall and I have been called once this year a day he hadnt taken his meds. I have a child who the teacher says is one of her top students and I am no longer a slave to the phone cringing when the school number shows because it doesnt very often now. Both kids have brought home straight A report cards since starting this and like I said the behaviors went up from alot of Imporvment neededs to Satisfactories.

I'm going to switch from Adderall XR to Vyvanse in a few days.
I hope I will like it better than Adderall.
The only way to know is to try it yourself.

The potential cost of trying a new med is only a short period of time without a more effective medication and the knowledge that what you are taking now is better.
The potential cost of not trying a new med is potentially never taking the more effective medication and never knowing.

;)

After reading all of these posts about vyvanse , I don't think i'm in any hurry to switch to it or try it ...
Just another way for Shire to make another 200 million dollars is all it sounds like ..

I've been on Vyvanse since Fall of 2007. Currently on 70mg a day. I used to take 30mg adderall XR in the morning and 25mg of XR in the pm. Vyvanse is way more consistent. It works 100% of the time and gives me about 8-10 hours of coverage. Adderall XR never lasted long for me and wasn't as consistent.
The delivery system of Vyvanse is what sets it apart from the other meds like Adderall XR. Amazing how I'm taking about 1/2 the amphetamine that I used to get with my Adderall XR and it works better and lasts longer.

J

Its nice to see that I am not the only one having a positive result from Vyvanse. My kids especially my son have done a 180 on the new med and I am extremely happy with it. They are eating more again with the Vyvanse and I am having les trouble at bed time. As for it working longer you are right by the end of school my kids were going wild again and now we can get homework finished YEAH! and the Adderrall got to where it would not seem to work some days.

I have read a number of your posts concerning Adderall XR vs. Vyvanse. I am the director of an ADHD clinic and have a lot of experience prescribing ADHD medications. We are familiar with all of the medications alone and in combination therapy when there are comorbid conditions.
Shire's clinical studies have clearly shown Vyvnase to be a superior molecule to their own Adderall XR (Ref: Forced-titration study and Naturalistic Study). We are getting a 13+ hour day in the majority of our patients. In addition, we are seeing fewer side effects in most with little rebound at the end of the day. Folks who are stimulant-naive may experience more side effects initially but we have seen that those side effects tend to minimize over the first four weeks of treatment. We have seen less irritability compared to Adderall XR and adults report that they don't feel the 'kick' when the medication starts working like has been described with Adderall XR. It is definitely a 'smoother' medication and has a lot to do with the rate limiting hydrolysis...in other words, it is cleaved chemically rather than mechanically activated like other psychostimulants.

Folks on Focalin XR have notoriously reported around an average of an 8 hour day.

Our adults by and large have been extremely happy with Vyvanse to date.

I hope that this helps.

"it was shown that Vyvanse has greater effectiveness with increasing dose (based on the ADHD-RS scale which is an adult ADHD rating scale). The duration of action should improve as well up to around 13+ hours."


On another thread, i saw this interesting comments about dosage and duration. I am curious whether your clinical experience has shown that some patients do better with a second dose of Vyvanse later in the day, rather than a higher dose in the morning.

For example, lets say 70mg lasts the 12-14 hours but seems to be "too much" at its peak hours during the day (hyperfocusing). But, the 60mg really peters out by 6pm, leaving energy and cognitive powers at a real low - when hours of activity and work are still ahead.

My doctor is open to the idea of adding a second, smaller dose (20 or 30mg?) around mid-afternoon, but has not actually had much experience with this med and does not know how likely this is to be successful.

Can you shed some light?

Dr. Dickson,

Do you know how to figure out the actual amphetamine content for any given dosage of Vyvanse? I've seen numbers/figures scattered around but it appears to be not an easy question to determine. For example I've seen that a 70mg Vyvanse actually contains 22.5mg of amphetamine. Is this accurate?

thanks
Jeff

I just have to add my 2 cents worth. I HATED Vyvanse. It did nothing for me and I was at 75 mg. After three weeks of feeling unfocused and a mind full of static, I told my doctor to put me back on Adderall XR. Life is good again.

Dr. Dickson,

Do you know how to figure out the actual amphetamine content for any given dosage of Vyvanse? I've seen numbers/figures scattered around but it appears to be not an easy question to determine. For example I've seen that a 70mg Vyvanse actually contains 22.5mg of amphetamine. Is this accurate?

thanks
Jeff
The approximate amphetamine content in a 70 mg capsule of Vyvanse is equivalent to a 30 mg capsule of Adderall XR. A 50mg Vyvanse approx equivalent to 20mg of Adderall XR and a 30mg Vyvanse approx equivalent to 10mg Adderall XR.

Hope that helps!

wowwww... bitter much

Xmg of Vyvance (or lisdextroamphetamine) may be converted to Xmg of dextro. in vitro but in practice the amount will very by person because each person has differant rates of liver metabolism. lisdexamphetamine itself may go unused no mater how much you take. This will make it difficult to dose even with liver enzyme tests.... which won't be done often anyway. The "up side" is that one can't go on a speed bender with vyvance.... but few misusers are taking these amounts anyway. None this less the marketing droids will push this fact and doctors will "feel good" about writing for it.

I would ask Dr. Dickson to compare the efficacy of Vyvance to that of Dexedrine rather than Adderall... assuming many are still on it. Of course it has less side effects due to the absence of levoamphetamine.

I don't think the delivery method is EFFECTIVLY much differant then adderall, indeed they are metabolized differantly but the end result of the delivery is simaler. Now remember that dextro. is the primary reason for adderalls effectiveness and adderall is only about HALF dextro. This could explain the dose disparity. It would be more fair to compare it to Dexedrine spanuals..... but then adderall XR has a much better time release matrix than Dex spanuals. Comparisons do have problems but they can certainly be made. I also agree that Shire is planning to cash in with Vyvance. This doesn't discount the fact that it does have a place in the market..... but I think it's legitimatly much smaller than they will end up making it as the marketing machine keeps moving along.

April 2009 is the dooms day Shire is hoping to avoid with Vyvance. The plan is to switch everyone over to vyvance before they can switch over to the cheap generic XR. Otherwise known as standard practice for big phama.

Continued...

THERE IS NO "EQUIVALENT" TO ADDERALL... for a number or reasons.

Levoamphetamine has never shown the level efficacy which detrotroamphetamine has anyway. Levo may help you lose more weight but that is beside the point. Remember Obitrol? It's Adderals old name before shire remarketed the diet drug as it's blockbuster ADD treatment... same formula. Andy Worhol LOVED them.

I am disapointed (or impressed?) by the displacement of Dexedrine/generics as a well regarded treatment largely by Shire... not that dex and its (mis)users didn't help to stigmatize the drug.

(Whats with the edit limit on posts now?)

I just have to add my 2 cents worth. I HATED Vyvanse. It did nothing for me and I was at 75 mg. After three weeks of feeling unfocused and a mind full of static, I told my doctor to put me back on Adderall XR. Life is good again.

I'm glad to finally find someone else that vyvanse does nothing for! I was beginning to think I was all alone in that thinking!