i have been taking vyvanse on and off since november first (i don't take it on the weekends and i am on winter break now). but i feel as if i permanetly have like depersonalization/derealization since i have been on it. (check symptoms online if you need to) also. i was on 30 mg then about a few weeks ago i had to increase my dosage because it like just stopped working, but then 50 was too much i went from 125 lbs to 108 and i am 15 yrs old!

i hate knowing that i am basically the guinea pig for this medication since its new. im worried that in like 2 years it will be like "VYVANSE CAUSES CANCER". this medicine is brand new and we do not know the long term effects of it, that worries me. also, this medicine def. does NOT last 12 hours. it did at first, but i take it around 8:15 and then at 4:00 it has worn off and i crash and i can't even do my homework when i get home. i dont know bout this medication, i loved it at first, but the effects of not even sleeping or eating really take over the benefits. but please answer my question about derealization/depersonalization. has any one else experieced this.

I'm on 70mg a day; I never really had a name for what I feel, but looking at the definions it seems to fit my mood most days. *shrugs* I can swear I used to feel like that before the medication, although it's kinda funny now that I try to think about it.

The weigh loss should slow down...at least it has in my experience. The first month I was on it I lost 23 pounds; I can't say it was all the medication either because I also had my wisdom teeth extracted 4 days before the medication. Three months after starting it's a total of 41 pounds, but the most of it was in the beginning.

It tends to last long enough for me, although I don't have homework. All I need to do is be able to function at work, clean the house and pay my bills.

i went from 125 lbs to 108 and i am 15 yrs old!Well, I haven't really had any depersonalization/derealization effects from Vyvanse (I'm on 50mg), however when it begins to wear off, sometimes I feel like I'm looking at the world through a movie screen, if that makes any sense. I just feel really weird and... Blah... *shrugs* When it's peaked in my bloodstream though, I am very clear headed and "there", so to speak. Weird stuff only happens usually when I haven't eaten or drank enough and the med is wearing off.

For the first week, my appetite was horrible, but I found that if I eat a protein bar (My favourite and most easily available is the PowerBar peanut butter bar w/ 23g protein), I can get through the day and fight off most weird side effects. I find that even though I'm not hungry, I am still able to eat, although food tastes really strange and it might take quite a few chews to swallow it/always need to wash down with some water/electrolyte drink. Try some protein shakes, protein bars, and definitely eat a good breakfast either before you take your Vyvanse or immediately after you take it (Which is what I usually do, gives the meds a bit of head start I guess.)

My 2 rubles.

Information magpie strikes again. Both derealization and depersonalization are connected to dissociative disorders (I have recovered from one, and I knew that already) so I looked up a few things for you.

WHAT IS DISSOCIATION?

Dissociation is a word that is used to describe the disconnection or lack of connection between things usually associated with each other. Dissociated experiences are not integrated into the usual sense of self, resulting in discontinuities in conscious awareness. In severe forms of dissociation, disconnection occurs in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception.


There are five main ways in which the dissociation of psychological processes changes the way a person experiences living: depersonalization, derealization, amnesia, identity confusion, and identity alteration.



WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF A DISSOCIATIVE DISORDER?

People with Dissociative Disorders may experience any of the following: depression, mood swings, suicidal tendencies, anxiety disorders, sleep disorders (insomnia, night terrors, and sleep walking), panic attacks and phobias (flashbacks, reactions to stimuli or "triggers"), alcohol and drug abuse, compulsions and rituals, psychotic-like symptoms (including auditory and visual hallucinations), and eating disorders. In addition, individuals with Dissociative Disorders can experience headaches, amnesias, time loss, trances, and "out of body experiences." Some people with Dissociative Disorders have a tendency toward self-persecution, self-sabotage, and even violence (both self-inflicted and outwardly directed).

Hmm, managing symptoms/side effects belongs partially in the doctor's realm - at least in theory. I can't quite tell from your posts, Soccer, whether you're deciding on dosage changes and med changes all of your own impetus or whether it's your doctor that's reccommending them. Either way, dramatic weight changes, terrible moods - a half-awake psychiatrist should be taking note.

I've been reading your posts and I wish I had any real advice for you - for what it's worth, you definitely have my empathy. It's a rough time.

As for the dissociation/derealization/depersonalization, all I can say is HOLY COW. It's all a big mystery to me, especially what it would be like to have a proper dissociation disorder - very interesting to hear any personal accounts. But as a side effect of sorts, I can say it's one thing to read about it, and quite another to experience it. It was the weirderst, most unsettling, awful experience for me - definitely unacceptable in my book, and would be a reason to immediately change that course of treatment. I can't describe it really, but it's completely awful. I hope you're telling your psych about it, I can't imagine putting up with it for a length of time.

I've had derealization/depersonalization the whole time I was on Vyvanse. So I just decided to quit. No cognitive benefit from taking it. But all the other stimulants cause anxiety in me. I think the derealization in my case is caused by dopamine overstimulation. L-tyrosine does the same thing. Daniel Amen mentions in one of his books that some people taking stimulants go into a glassy-eyed zombie-like state and that he doesn't know why. So you're not alone. Though I don't know the solution. I gave stimulants enough time (3 months). No luck so far.

i hate knowing that i am basically the guinea pig for this medication since its new. im worried that in like 2 years it will be like "VYVANSE CAUSES CANCER". this medicine is brand new and we do not know the long term effects of it, that worries me.

Don't worry too much about that - Vyvanse is *basically* dexedrine with lysine tacked on (lysine is an amino acid - it basically makes the drug so you have to take it orally for it to work (it won't work if you break the pill open and snort the amphetamines:p;))). Shire designed it that way so they could get a patent (the Adderall patent runs out soon - it will become a generic = Shire won't make any more money from Adderall, so they need a 'new' ADHD drug) and because if it is less abusable then it could *hopefully* get get it's Drug Scheduling knocked down a class or two (highly doubtful though since it's amphetamine still).