I have innatentive ADD.I was taking vyvanse on and off since november 1st (did not take it on weekends). I was on 30 mg and apart from the side effects it was great I guess. however about a month later, the 30 mg just stopped working, i increased my dosage to about 45 or 50 mg. well i took that until around December 19 because of winter break. I feel damaged from my Vyvanse. It has like permanently messed up my moods or something. First off, i am feeling derealization/depersonalization... those are dissociative disorders, look the symptoms up online. I basically feel wasted and drunk all the time. (again, look up derealization and depersonalization symptoms online) i just feel disconnected from the world. I have been off the medication for a while, and even if i am not feeling "apart" from the world, i still feel as if something is not quite right but i have not been able to put a finger on it. i am a 15 years old and have no idea who i have become since Vyvanse (on or off it). ps. vyvanse is a great drug do not get me wrong, but the side effects for a girl like me were hard to handle, for example, i went from 125 pounds to 108 pounds in 4 days. i am strictly muscle so it was so hard for me to lose that much weight considering i am already slender. I would love to get in contact with any other vyvanse users.

Hi,

That's a lot of weight loss, for sure.. can't be good. I haven't tried Vyanase, so couldn't really help with that specifically, but weren't you on Adderall at some point?

Just lay off it for a while. You've probably temporarily depleted your brain's catecholamine stores. You'll probably be fine after a few weeks.

I thought derealization was the result of excess catecholamines. Sargon, can you direct me to more info on how it could be a symptom of deficiency? That would change everything. That would mean I can use it occasionally. I was about to give up on Vyvanse, though it's by far the best stimulant.

I basically feel wasted and drunk all the time. (again, look up derealization and depersonalization symptoms online) i just feel disconnected from the world.Feeling wasted and drunk is not the same as experiencing derealization and depersonalization.


http://www.panicsupport4u.com/understanding.htm


What is derealization?
A change in an individual's experience of the environment, where the world around him/her feels unreal and unfamiliar. Terms commonly used to describe derealization include: spaciness, like looking through a grey veil, a sensory fog, spaced-out, being trapped in a glass bell jar, in a goldfish bowl, behind glass, in a Disney-world dream state, withdrawn, feeling cut off or distant from the immediate surroundings, like being a spectator at some strange and meaningless game, objects appear diminished in size, flat, dream-like, cartoon-like, artificial; objects appear to be unsolid, to breathe, or to shimmer; 'as if my head were inside a Coke bottle and I'm viewing the world through the thick glass at the bottom'.



What is depersonalization?

Depersonalization is a change in an individuals self-awareness such that they feel detached from their own experience, with the self, the body and mind seeming alien. Terms commonly used to describe depersonalization include: unreal, disembodied, divorced from oneself, apart from everything, unattached, alone, strange, weird, foreign, unfamiliar, dead, puppet-like, robot-like, acting a part, like a lifeless, two dimensional, 'cardboard' figure', made of cotton-wool, having mechanical actions, remote, automated, a spectator, witnessing ones own actions as if in a film or on a TV program, not doing ones own thinking, observing the flow of ideas in the mind as independent.


First off, i am feeling derealization/depersonalization... those are dissociative disorders



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).


Notice that depersonalization and derealization are listed as a POSSIBLE symptom of Dissociative Disorders. While there is a Dissociative Disorder called Depersonalization Disorder, episodes of depersonalization do not automatically mean a person qualifies for that diagnosis. People with Anxiety Disorders may manifest these symptoms too. Derealization and depersonalization may occur with Dissociative Disorders simply because where you have dissociation, you quite often have severe anxiety. Without an underlying anxiety issue, these two symptoms can not be experienced, and anxiety can certainly exist without them occurring. Furthermore, when anxiety levels are reduced, these symptoms disappear.


Dissociative Disorders have been linked to overwhelming stress, which may be the result of traumatic events—such as abuse, accidents or disasters—that the person has experienced or witnessed. Some substances may cause a person to experience a dissociative episode (hallucinogenics, for example) and stimulants have been known to provoke anxiety, which might result in depersonalization and derealization, but a full-blown Dissociative Disorder is not going to be the result of these situations.


Depersonalization and derealization have also been linked to physical causes such as temporal lobe epilepsy and thyroid malfunctions. A person experiencing chronic, unrelenting depersonalization or derealization needs to have all the possible causes thoroughly investigated by a qualified medical professional.

To amplify what CrazyFeet has said, the original poster is feeling something she has identified as derealization or depersonalization, but some of her stated symptoms are inconsistent with those diagnoses. I'm a big believer in the brain's ability to return to "normal" after stimulant usage. Even people who smoke crystal meth have been known to recover after a sufficient passage of time. Regarding more information, I'm developing a theory that I will post on here in coming weeks. I'm neither a doctor nor a scientist, but my work involves significant research, and I've made a couple important discoveries by experimenting on my own brain. It is my hope that these discoveries may prove important to others, as well.

This really scares me...I have a 10y/o that's getting ready to begin using Vyvanse(30mg). She only weights 67pds now and has never been a big eater. After reading quite a few of these blurbs, I now understand when my daughter says,"they make alot of noise". So, with these meds( Adderall,concerta, Vyvanse) sounds can be amplified. I wasn't aware of this. I hope and pray this doesn't become a dependence thing in the future. I hope and pray, she doesn't feel alone or separated. I hope and pray, she knows I don't want her to feel like a failure. She can do anything she put her mind to. Just have to find what will work for her.....

This really scares me...I have a 10y/o that's getting ready to begin using Vyvanse(30mg). She only weights 67pds now and has never been a big eater. After reading quite a few of these blurbs, I now understand when my daughter says,"they make alot of noise". So, with these meds( Adderall,concerta, Vyvanse) sounds can be amplified. I wasn't aware of this. I hope and pray this doesn't become a dependence thing in the future. I hope and pray, she doesn't feel alone or separated. I hope and pray, she knows I don't want her to feel like a failure. She can do anything she put her mind to. Just have to find what will work for her.....

Take what you read here with a grain of salt. Some people will be very quick to blame their problems on medication, whether it's true or not.

This really scares me...I have a 10y/o that's getting ready to begin using Vyvanse(30mg). She only weights 67pds now and has never been a big eater. After reading quite a few of these blurbs, I now understand when my daughter says,"they make alot of noise". So, with these meds( Adderall,concerta, Vyvanse) sounds can be amplified. I wasn't aware of this. I hope and pray this doesn't become a dependence thing in the future. I hope and pray, she doesn't feel alone or separated. I hope and pray, she knows I don't want her to feel like a failure. She can do anything she put her mind to. Just have to find what will work for her.....


Don't let some other people's negative experiences scare you. As mentioned above, take it all with a grain of salt (the really bad experiences, the really good experiences, whatever) and focus on how the med affects your child in particular and whether or not they improve her ADD symptoms.
Weight loss/ nutritional problems don't have to be an issue as long as you focus on making sure she gets what her body needs. Many people on stims find that smaller more frequent "meals" work better than trying to get a whole lot down at once. Many work around it with a hearty breakfast before the meds and a healthy dinner once they wear off, with a few small snacks during the day to keep blood sugar from dropping.

Just pay close attention to how it helps her and make sure you keep the communication open about how she feels in general and you'll be fine. :)

As to the original post...
Relax as much as possible and give it a little time. It is seriously unlikely that relatively briefly taking this med "permenantly ruined" you.
Many psych meds have an adjust ment period when starting them and an adjusment period when stopping them.

You also have mentioned significant mood problem that already existed prior to your taking any stimulants. Really sounds like there could be some deeper issues here.

Also, have you been asessed for depression symptoms? Perhaps even a cycling disorder? In a lot of posts, you express many indications of depression and some rather significant mood swings.

I don't quite understand why many of the specifics you give seem to change from post to post (from weight, to age, to length of time) or why, if you had such a terrible life-altering experience with Vyvanse, you have continued to recommend it to others as the "best" stim at the same time as you're claiming you're forever ruined by it. I'm not accusing you of anything... I'm just confused.

It's very unlikely anyone will be permenantly affected by the stimulant use you've described. I really think you'll be ok and might want to focus more on trying to improve your mood problems and general outlook rather than being so quick to blame everything on the meds and villianize them.

After being vastly improved by Strattera, I had it discontinued for the summer. I felt that my ADD symptoms became worse, but it is likely that I simply noticed them more after my experience with Strattera. Same thing with glasses happens to me; after wearing them for a bit, I become acutely aware of how blurry my normal vision is. After some time these effects pass as your body and mind gets used to the new condition.

I'm posting again because I thought of something else:

I can relate to your symptoms as I am also inattentive ADD. Upon discontinuing Strattera I often felt like I was beind a wall of fog. For example, someone would say something to me and I would hear the words but they would not register with meaning for a little while. I feel that I was simply more aware of my inattentive ADD upon discontinuing Strattera, simply because it helped me out so much and now I saw the contrast. Unfortunately, Strattera did not ultimately continue working, but it was helpful for a while (particularly before I discontinued it for that summer).

I think that's a good point adn possibility. The glasses example is definitely a good one.
It takes a little time to readjust. It's not actually worse, you're just not used to it anymore after things being more sharp and clear for a while.

My guess is that most of the weight you lost is water weight. Drink more water, maybe that could help.

I was on Adderall for a long time and it was working great. I stopped it over the summer and now take it again. My mind feels like it has an air bubble in it. My guess is that we build up tolerances to these drugs and when we begin taking them again, it is obviously a different experience.

I want to try vyvanse but I might as well give Adderall a few more weeks and see what happens.

Sorry, but 4 days of not eating will not cause that kind of weight loss.

Losing over 10 lbs in a mere 96 hours sounds a bit more like Fluid Loss.

Do you know about Dehydration Delirium? (It can make people look and feel pretty "crazy". Emergency Rooms see people with it all the time! Esp the elderly & kids b/c their systems can't self regulate fluids and electrolytes as well as adult folks.)

You even mention dream-like sensations/feelings.

Here is an article on Delirium:

http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/common/standard/transform.jsp?requestURI=/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/delirium.jsp

http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec06/ch083/ch083b.html


Talk to your Doctor?

merrielynn, sorry if my stats have seemed a bit weird to you. i understand it may seem that one minute i say i hate vyvanse, but the next i reccomend it. i have come to realize that my body is very sensitive and im already naturally thin and i am a healthy girl. i have never been on antibiotics in my entire life, been sick maybe three times since i have been born. im not used to have chemicals in my body, let alone chemicals from medications considered strong. however, i tell everyone the POSITIVE outcomes i have from the medication (there definitely are many) because i doubt anybody here has the same body as me and i doubt anyone will feel as miserable as i did on it. in addition my post clearly states at the end of it that i think vyvanse is a great drug, i was looking for any answers from vyvanse users as to why it was making me feel that way, before going to see my doctor who doesn't give a tats ***** about me. that is why i made the question. sorry if you got confused i will try to make my posts clearer from now on.. best of luck to everything, thanks for all your advice on my other posts, you give the best of it and it actually helps. !!

I feel damaged from my Vyvanse. It has like permanently messed up my moods or something. First off, i am feeling derealization/depersonalization... I basically feel wasted and drunk all the time. ... i just feel disconnected from the world. I have been off the medication for a while, and even if i am not feeling "apart" from the world, i still feel as if something is not quite right but i have not been able to put a finger on it. i am a 15 years old and have no idea who i have become since Vyvanse (on or off it). ps. vyvanse is a great drug do not get me wrong, but the side effects for a girl like me were hard to handle, for example, i went from 125 pounds to 108 pounds in 4 days. i am strictly muscle so it was so hard for me to lose that much weight considering i am already slender. I would love to get in contact with any other vyvanse users.[/quote]

I joined this community just to reply to your post. My son is 14, and took Vyvanse for about four weeks. He went from 152 to 140 in that time. He also suffered intense, continual abdominal pain. He also suffered from tiredness, sleeping 20 hours out of one 24 hour period.

I surfed the net for 'vyvanse' and immediately hit this:

Currently we only have the Vyvanse prescribing information to go on as a guide to its effects but one things is very noticeable. In trials 10% of users stopped taking the drug due to adverse effects (i.e. side effects). This is much higher than Adderall where only 2.4% of participants were effected. In the Adderall trials more people stopped using the placebo than the real drug but for Vyvanse only 1% of placebo users dropped out. The new drug has a side effect rate 10 times higher than the base line and four times high than Adderall.

Oh, yeah and this:

Shire PLC are introducing this new drug as a replacement for Adderall XR whose patent is running out. They hope to capture 50% of the market share with the drug and as the market is worth $3 billion, a 50% share will generate a lot of money. Expect to see a lot of advertising aimed at parents, not doctors, when Vyvanse is launched in July.

http://www.myomancy.com/2007/05/vyvanse_what_yo

It makes me mad because no one figured out that his symptoms were a side effect of Vyvanse. He's had two ultrasounds and a pipida scan, and he still has an apointment for an upper gi consult. It scares me that if the surgeon had not been conservative, my son would've had his gall bladder taken out for no reason.

I found that I would have a bad come-down from Dexedrine. I have seen a hypothesis on these forums that about becoming depleted of neurochemicals. Anyway, there is an amino acid supplement called phenylalanine which is known to be an ingredient for the body to make dopamine. Aside from the mumbo jumbo, I've found that taking it helped me with moods and a number of negative side effects of dexedrine wearing off. Now, you may know that dexedrine is similar to Vyvanse. Perhaps this is worth a try. You should probably run this by a doctor that you trust, as amino acids can have a significant effect on your mind and your body. I started a more detailed thread about this on the Dexedrine board. Again, it is highly advisable to run this by a medical professional.

I went to Focalin, had enough of the amphetamines after a good 16 year run on dexedrine.

Funny, Matt S; I went to amphetamines because I'd had enough of methylphenidate. I'd never go back.

Anyway, amphetamines wear off completely after about 24 to 48 hours (with most noticeable effects gone after 12 hours max). Amphetamine does not permanently stay in your system, nor does it cause neurodegeneration.

Methamphetamine, on the other hand, does cause neurodegeneration.

The confusion you are feeling isn't not due to amphetamines. Let me tell you a story:

I took Ritalin since I was in year 2 or 3. I stopped taking it in year 7 or 8 because the side-effects were too great; zombification, isolation, appetite loss, etc. I then switched to dextroamphetamine (basically what Vyvanse is). This drug worked a lot better. The side effects were fewer, but they still seemed to be there. By the end of year 9, and during year 10, I had become severely nihilistic and apathetic. I began to study philosophy and became very contemplative. In hindsight, I would say I was also mildly depressed. At the time, I blamed the medications (and in fairness, they mightn't have been helping), so by the end of year 10 I'd flat out refused to take them ever again. In my mind, this was a logical choice, and seemingly it worked out for the best; I was able to get through school on my own merit (more natural intelligence than study or paying attention in class, which I found practically impossible off meds), whilst I was starting to interact better with my peers at school; I thought my social skills were improving, which helped increase my self-esteem and confidence.

Perhaps they were a bit. But the truth of the matters is more complex: my social skills might have been improving a bit, but what's more important is that the people around me were maturing. No longer was it as infinitely fun and entertaining to tease somebody about not being able to catch a ball, or because they they don't watch the same TV shows as everybody else, or because their name happens to sound weird.

My point is, don't be so quick to judge your ADHD medications. Truth be told, 15 is one of the most emotionally unstable periods of your life. You'll do a lot of personal growth, over the next few years. Right now, you brain is probably going through one of its cleaning sweeps. This is a time when the brain sheds old, unused neurons and connections, and if stimulated through use and learning, grows twice as many new ones. So basically, you might find that over the next year or two, things are very intense emotionally and intellectually.

I'm 20 (in 1 month) and for the most part, my brain has finished maturing and changing. For me, things are so much less emotionally and socially complex now; much of it is now subconscious to me; I do it autonomously and without thinking second-guessing myself. I no longer have feelings of not being "part of the world" (well, there's the odd one, but I'm sure everybody gets that from time to time), etc.

Er from the perspective of a guy. I'm sure it's all similar for girls, but your brains mature earlier and you have slightly different brain chemistry, so your mileage may vary. Though I believe your brains finish maturing at about 19 rather than 21.

I'm back on medication now (stopped for 5 years, started a week ago) and they feel very differently to how they used to. I don't think they'll cause apathy or isolationism as they used to (if it was them to begin with). Still, I don't really plan to use them all my life. I flunked uni, though, so I'd like a second shot at that.

Did you know 50% of people with ADHD experience depression and about 30% experience anxeity? It's the nature of our disorder and how it interacts with both and peers and society in general, I'm afraid.

Tangent: People with ADHD have been shown to have enlarged amygdalas. Basically, our brains grow the amygdala a bit larger to try and compensate for our social, spatial, temporal, memory, and stimulus processing deficits.

However, the amygdala is also the seat of our emotions. It is responsible for the processing and storage of memories and events which are emotional and/or passionate. A recent study showed that in boys with abnormally large amygdalas, they were often more verbally argumentative over issues like homework, and small things than their peers. However, once they grew older (the rest of the brain caught up a bit or fully), things calmed down and they 'mellowed' out. This may well be the same situation for people with ADHD; in our teens, our amygdala is asynchronously matured compared to the rest of our brain, causing both relief of ADHD symptoms but exacerbating difficulty in social situations.

So I guess what I am saying is: a) it's probably not the meds, but if you can afford to, take a break from them, b) as you grow older, you'll start to feel more like you fit into the world.

When people take these meds and go without eating for days and hardly drink water and barely sleep and come here and complain about them not working when they may need a lower dose or higher dose or just to eat, it ceases to amaze me.

Member note: Completely Off Topic, yet may be a possibility in some cases of people who would check the thread.