I was diagnosed a month or so ago with Adult ADD at the age of 40. I'm not real familiar with all the meds for treatment. My Dr. put me on 30mg of vyvanse. Today is day 10. The first 2 days were fine, I felt a little more energy and focus. Ever since then horrible headaches and fuzzy brain, tension etc. How long do I put up with these side effects before I give up and ask Dr. to try something else? him wanted to to try it for a month then see him again. I'm not sure how much longer I can take the headaches. Please help. Thank you.

Are you eating well on the medication? - not eating well (ie; at least three times a day) can cause anyone to develop a headache.


are you keeping yourself hydrated? - those who are on stimulants MUST drink as much water as they can..then drink some more. (no less than 8-8oz glasses of water per day) Stimulants can cause dehydration in nearly everyone who consumes them. thus causing headaches.

Are you consuming any type of caffine in addition to the medication? (ie coffee, energy drinks, vitamins with energy ingredients or a large quantity of B12) Since you are currently on a stimulant, taking other stimulants simoltaneously can cause you to have too much stimulant in your system. causing a speed type headache.

It's possible your dose is entirely too high. I'm assuming that this is your first time on the medication (or medication entirely) and that it might be too high of a starting dose. disscussing this with your doctor if you're not having a problem with the above issues of food/water/caffine intake, then you might try lowering it.

Thank you for responding. I drink tons of water and eat healthy and I exercise. I tried coffee and no coffee. Tried taking med with and w/o food. None helped. The headaches start around 4pm and last for 4-5 hours and NOTHING gets rid of them. I have three young children to chase around so I can't afford headaches and crankyness (if that is a word). Not that anyone needs a headache but the whole point of taking the med was to be a better mother. Now I'm just in a bad mood.

I'm inclined to think that because your headaches begin in the late afternoon (as you said 4pm) then that is when the medication is waring off, and causing the headaches. I'm assuming you take the med in the morning upon waking yes? The headache could mean you began on too high of a dose. I would speak to your doc about this and suggest if perhaps a smaller dose in the morning could benefit, and then a small dose of immediate release adderall to take in the early afternoon. this perhaps will last you thru your afternoons and early evenings so that you can be in a better frame of mind when caring for your children. A headache might become present in the late evening however, but hopefully a proper dosage adjustment and sleep will sort that out. Just keep track of your sleeping habits as well, as you don't need to be sleep deprived on top of everything else you have to accomplish in the course of your day.

good luck

I have had the same experience with headaches developing about 3pm or so. I take it in the morning, and it is WONDERFUL compared to Concerta and Adderal (IMO); it has a very smooth effect. I am motivated now, I seek out items I want to improve (and I actually finish them!).

My pDoc started me on 50mg, which I think is just too high for me. I know it is not a withdrawal headache, because it's still is very effective otherwise, but I get a miserable headache every day. I see my pDoc tomorrow and will address this. I am happy to see its availability in lower doses.

When I was tried on Concerta it was titrated 18mg, 36mg, then 54mg. This was not a good drug for me, but the concept was a good one. I was able to evaluate the helpful effects and determine with my pDoc which was best. The 54mg made me completely irritable and gave me BAD headaches. This is why my gut says your dose is too high.

Best wishes.

my dexedrine gives me headaches.

nothng too terrible, but i NEVER EVER EVER get headaches.


this is the only thing in the world that gives me a headache... but i tolerate it because it's really not that bad, also i'll get lower body aches especially if i've been exerting myself physically.

welcome to life on dextroamphetamine... it's far from perfect but one of the best ADD meds out there.

and vyvanse is just a fancy form of dextroamphetamine, it has a lysine ester attached to it that is slowly cleaved off by the liver, so that it is introduced into your bloodstream gradually. it's kind of bs i think b/c you can just take dex spansules, or tey could make a better technology for time release a la adderall XR.

It might wear off. I often get headaches with brain altering chemicals. I had headaches when I started Concerta, Ritalin, Prozac, Effexor, Reboxetine etc. It appears to be my thing, I get headaches generally anyway. The medication induced headaches go away after a while, for me.
I imagine you ve talked to your doc already.

just one of the nagging side effects of dextroamphetamine.


while pure dextroamphetamine products (a la dexedrine and vyvanse) are generally more tolerable especially at onset and for most of the duration, they seem to be much worse as far as side effects as the medication wears off.

every med has trade offs, and yes dextroamphetamine (active ingredient in vyvanse) has some big ones. i currently take dextroamp 10mg ir 2x a day and am thinking about switching back to adderall.

at first i liked the dextroamp by itself better, felt more subtle, in a way more clear-headed. but now i notice in a way i'm more foggy at times (my performance isn't affected, it's just a subjective "feeling" which can be quite annoying, i felt sharper and crisper on adderall, possibly to a fault)

you probably don't have the same "crash" dexedrine users have due to vyvanse's unique pharmacology, but yes later in the day headaches are an issue for me as well. I too never get headaches, not even after a night of heavy drinking.

two aspirin usually fixes the issue for me however.

i hate to be cynical, but i doubt a dosage change will resolve the issue, but maybe it's worth a try.

Please see my post here (http://www.addforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=793177&postcount=12) about Magnesium Glycinate supplementation and Vyvanse headaches.