Has your life improved on Vyvanse?

[OmartianO]

Often we see and hear stories of Adderall or some other drugs people discuss about and how it has made their life better. Now I know that Vyvanse isn't as widely popular as Adderall is but it has been out in the market for quiet awhile.


I would like to hear some stories from all of you whom have taken or taking Vyvanse now, and how it has improved or changed your life.

The first time I took Vyvanse was back in January of this year but it wasn't for long until I switched back to Adderall.

Just recently I have started taking Vyvanse again, but this time it's 50mg instead of 30.

So far I have noticed that my social anxiety has lessened and I'm very calm. It's giving me the courage to start a conversation or to pick up a phone and call someone without getting the jitters. Since it hasn't been even a month that I'm on the pill, I am starting to see some positive effects.

I encourage you to share some positive stories with all of us
It doesn't matter how big or small they are,
Let's spread some positivity around.

[OmartianO]

Doesn't anyone have a success story to share?
Come one guys

[artymom]

I do, and I also have some thoughts about experience. Indulge me, please...

I think Vyvanse is great. I've only been on it for a couple of months, but I can tell you that I have been able to turn so many things around since starting this medication I can't even believe it. I am happy every day that my doctor introduced this to my life.

Now, my thoughts after reading through lots of the posts on Vyvanse in this and some other forums (of which, this is the best forum out there IMO)... Vyvanse seems to be more well liked by people who haven't had an amphetamine before. I suspect it is because with Vyvanse you don't ever feel a kick during the upswing. I've never felt that, so I don't know what it feels like. People who have had Adderall, or even Ritalin, before often mention that they don't "feel" like it's working. One of the things I like most about the Vyvanse is that I can't feel it. It works way off in the background. I can tell it's working, because my thought process is different and I'm much more calm - and I can tell that because it's still a fairly new experience for me. I'm sure I'll get to the point where that all feels normal, and I will wonder if the Vyvanse is still working. Maybe not, since I've never felt the amphetamine kick after you take it. It seems that people feel like their amphetamine medication is no longer working (or they have built up a tolerance) when they can't "feel" it anymore.

Also, from what I've read, people who've taken Adderall have experienced that it gives them a feeling of motivation that is lacking in the Vyvanse. This may also be why some people feel that the Vyvanse doesn't work.

I don't have any medical or pharma educational background, so I have no basis for my opinions except what I've put together from reading about peoples' reactions to the medications. You've been on both, OmartianO, am I way off base? I'm interested in this, because I'm still in awe that a medication can make such a big difference. I, too, would like to know more.

[artymom]

Oh, but wait - did I actually give you what you asked?? LOL. Sorry, I have some ADHD I'm trying to work though.

I have had a very good experience with Vyvanse. At first I thought it was horrible. Hated it, cried. For two weeks I hated it. I started on 20mg for a week, and a week later took 40mg (two 20mg capsules) just to see if there was a difference. Yes. It was like a different medication, I kid you not. (Yes, I told my pdoc what I was doing.) I didn't love it still, but by the end of that week - when the side effects started to clear - I could tell there was something wonderful happening. I was no longer function simply in "reactive" mode. Like if my kids started fighting or misbehaving? Before Vyvanse I would be angry about that and punish them by immediately sending them to their room. In effect, removing the problem from my area by simply reacting to it in a rigid way. Once the Vyvanse was on board, I was way more calm about it. I could actually see what the problem was between them, and react in a much more appropriate way. Anger wasn't alway what should be happening, and the punishments or consequences were much more appropriate. I was parenting better with much less internal frustration.

Things are beginning to make a lot more sense to me, little everyday things that normals take for granted. It all adds up and it all makes a difference. Socializing is much easier for me now, I don't think and worry for days before, and then ruminate for days afterwards hoping I didn't embarass myself or others. (The only other thing that helped with my social anxiety before was Klonopin, and while a great medication for anxiety, it doesn't help clear the thought processes that I needed cleared.) And the CBT techniques that my therapist and I have been working on for TWO YEARS? Are now starting to actually work for me. Can you believe it? Now that I can actually follow through with techniques to help with my ADHD symptoms they actually work?? Amazing!

I hope this medication works for me forever. I do, however, wish it gave me a motivational kick in the behind! That would be ever so nice.

[adddustin]

I have only been on vyvanse since friday and i have noticied a few imorovments especially mon tue and today.. I was on adderal for a few years and was starting to see more side effects..I love vyvanse. I miss the feeling of the adderal kicking in but i know im beter off with out that, that is the reason i sometimes double dosed. i have been in a much better mood and have found i love being around my wife again,haha it didnt matter what she did or said i felt smothered and annoyed and im lucky she loves me as much as she does. i was starting to wonder if i loved her anymore now i see the sweet kind loving woman i use to see and would do anything for.. I also have been kidding around and smilling at work alot more.. Adderal has changed my life in ways that i couldnt imagain but i have to say it feels good to be off the robot pills..

[TheChemicals]

Vyvanse improved my life. I'm more playful and sociable and have been more goal oriented. I don't take things personal anymore and try to be my best self more often. The only downside is that procrastination is still hard to fight sometimes.

[BustedTs206]

The first time I encountered Vyvanse... well I probably shouldn't share this story but I will anyways.

My friend had mad ADHD, and the lil guy still does. He was tellin me and a few others how he has medication for it but he doesn't really take it. He doesn't like the feeling of it. So my other friend, SWIM, asked him about it and my friend was willing to give SWIM 2 70's for free. SWIM tried one and was like holy sh** dude this is amazing you feel so good. And I stayed away from it for a while, I didn't wanna try it. But SWIM has always been a person with an addictive personality.

So anyways one night I was real depressed after a football game with my friends and SWIM at their house. I was ******* apathetic embarrassed to be my own self, as the current best friends I was with had just betrayed me and made me feel like ****, they were mocking me for a straight 10 minutes laughing at me cold stares too simultaneously. (I would think about this night with anger and sadness almost every day for 2 years.) So I talked to my "friend" with ADHD and asked to buy like 3 pills from him. I popped all those suckers and SWIM did too. 210mg, after an hour we felt beyond euphoric, like tingles on our hair. So 6 hrs later, we decide to take 2 more pills. 350mg. I shake my head even as I read this over again... I remember coming home later that night and having a talk with my mom about my eyes being dilated. I mean **** this is when I realized this stuff is like meth. Like seriously, it's like meth.

And as of today, I'm on 50mg. I don't take it every day but every other day. And sometimes not even that.

However, sorry another reminisce-story-time, I used to take 70mg every day for 4 months. But the last 2 months I began to feel minorly depressed and had some apathy with no recognition of fun. In conversations I would space off and think about something stupid I did earlier that day. Or somethin like that. So i stopped taking it completely. For like 3 weeks... Then I did it 2-3 times a week and now here I am, as stated, 50mg every other day.

I've had a long history with amphetamine's... Really wish I haven't.

Bipolar II (mania-depression), SAD, minor PTSD, and GAD. I'm sure these events have contributed to my now-in-day diseases. So to answer the topic, no, it hasn't improved my life. For the most part.

[gizmo1]

I take 50 mg of vyvanse, and I tried IR adderall first. Sure, I loved that whoosh of energy I felt when it rapidly kicked in, but it gave me extreme migraines every single day I took it so I had to stop. I next tried Ritalin, which basically turned me into a slug. So I went on vyvanse a few months ago.

Sure, I hate that it takes 90 minutes to kick in. This is a big deal, because I take meds at night that make it hard for me to get up in the morning. But vyvanse keeps me awake throughout the day, keeps me focused in the tasks I decide to focus on, and allows a much better absorption of information in my brain in a easier manner than when I'm not medicated with a stimulant.

It gives me zero side effects, and in the end, that was much more important to me than the extra kick if energy and motivation that adderall gave me. Not worth being motivated if you feel like crap, you know.

[Desolater]

I had struggled with massive amounts of anxiety, and depression throughout my life, and it got to the point where I was having to struggle to even make it through the day.

On top of this, I realized I had all of the Inattentive symptoms of ADD, lack of focus, poor memory, trouble paying attention, difficulty completing tasks, lack of motivation, etc.

Went to a Psych a few days ago after having horrible side effects from the anti-depressant Paxil, and Wellbutrin also didn't seem to be of any help.

He suggested a new anti-depressent, and also asked, "have you ever considered if I may have ADD?" I never really thought about it before because my parents have always just thought that being lazy, forgetful, withdrawn, were normal, and thought I just needed a better attitude about life. The more I thought about it, the more it became a reality that I really may have ADD. Especially when I thought about gradeschool. Couldn't pay attention, had trouble reading, could not study (would forget everything the next day), etc. The only way I made it by was memorizing as much information as possible literally right before a test or quiz (like 10mins before), and using logic to complete the parts I did not know. Made straight A's throughout highschool, by doing this so it was like "how is it even possible?"

Anyway! I was prescribed Vyvanse 40mg as well as a sleep medication.
First day: TONS of ENERGY, active, clear mind, was never tired, motivated to do things I normally would not do, completed tasks quickly, no depression or anxiety, HUGE memory improvement, and I literally had to jog around the neighborhood just to burn off some of the extra energy i had.

Second day: Same effects as the first day except my body was very sore, and I felt a bit tired. (which I can understand)

Third day: Did not take it. - My old self returned, I finally realized how horrible my mind actually is, and how dreadful life becomes when you don't feel like doing anything, have no energy, and the day goes by in an instant with no good memories.

Fourth day: I was much more mellowed out compared to the first day, but all the effects were still there. I actively engaged, and completed things I normally would not. I helped my mom, and my dad with some chores around the house, walked around the block, socialized, etc. Most importantly, my anxieties were gone, and I felt good.

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Important:
I'm 19, and I believe I should have been diagnosed as a child, but my parents really do not believe in mental disorders.

-Best effect from Vyvanse: Able to enjoy life, and remember enjoying life. This is the first time that I can ever remember having a good day.

Side Effects/Concerns:
- It takes 30-60minutes to kick in, and I feel like it becomes stronger in the late afternoon.
- It only lasts 9-14hours. You MUST be on a schedule which means having a specific bedtime, or it will throw you completely off.
- I've noticed that I become more irritable/angry at small annoying things.
- Less Hunger, I can eat, I just don't feel the need to.
- Lack of Labido (sexual drive) I'm not saying that I can't, but I don't feel as interested, and it does seem to return when the drug wears off.
- Insomnia (if you take it in the afternoon it will keep you up at night)
- When it wears off every morning/night I feel dreadful. My mind slows down, is filled with negative thoughts, and anxiety. Going from Happy to Depressed each day is something that's going to be hard to adjust to.
- Dependent Drug - For me, this drug is going to be a lifeline from here on out, and from someone who has never taken medication in his life, I can say that it's a very uneasy feeling to depend on something to "control" how you feel. Sometimes I'll feel like I don't need it, or don't want to take it, but in reality if I don't then it's like throwing the entire day away.


Will it last? I don't know. Am I happy while on it? Yes.

[Plognark]

Vyvanse completely turned my life around.

Don't get me wrong, I've still got issues, but without finally getting diagnosed I probably would have lost my job (again), my house, and my marriage may have eventually failed.

I also started on Adderal XR. Vyvanse is better for me. The ups and downs on Adderal and trying to time the doses just right were too much for my anxiety issues.

Still a lot of trial and error, and I still work with my shrink to tweak my dose here and there, but it seriously improved almost every aspect of my life.

I actually skipped my dose this past sunday for the first time in many months, I guess to sort of confirm to myself that I actually need it. There's a weird kind of uncertainty about mental conditions where they don't always seem legitimate, but that's probably just ingrained in our culture.

Well, Sunday proved that I definitely need the stuff. Knowing what to expect and monitoring my mood and distractability helped, but it was like going back into foggy brain mode. The scattered, irritable impulsivity came right back without missing a beat.

I'm not crazy about the idea of being on a drug 'for life', but what the hell, my life is a lot better with the stuff.

[SonicHedgehog]

Originally Posted by TheChemicals

Vyvanse improved my life. I'm more playful and sociable and have been more goal oriented. I don't take things personal anymore and try to be my best self more often. The only downside is that procrastination is still hard to fight sometimes.

Out of curiosity, why would Vyvanse change how you take things personal or not?

[SonicHedgehog]

I have taken it for a day. I actually read things and didn't speak out of turn. I am quiet in meetings and listen to the other people. I am calmer, which I have no idea why....but I like it.

[spacytabs]

I start on 30 mg tomorrow and am so excited and hopeful after reading these posts. Thanks for sharing your experiences!!

[Plognark]

Originally Posted by SonicHedgehog

Out of curiosity, why would Vyvanse change how you take things personal or not?

I get this too, actually.

I have a hypothesis that some of the genes that may contribute to ADHD may also contribute to more sensitive personality types. Not in all cases, because there appear to be a lot of different genes and gene combinations involved, but more than average.

That sensitivity can make social interactions stressful. Combine low working memory, intense emotional experiences, and a poor ability to filter out distractions, and it's easy to get overwhelmed when talking to other people, especially in groups. It's easy to focus on small things that are actually irrelevant and blow them out of proportion.

It also doesn't help that a lot of people with ADHD have been treated poorly for their lack of focus over the years, so that can contribute to some social anxiety.

I find that while on the meds I'm able to track group conversations and am much less likely to become overwhelmed or lose my place in the flow of a discussion.

It could be as simple as just being less anxious now that I feel like I have better control over my own brain, but I don't know, I think there are a lot of possible contributing factors.

Before I got diagnosed I also was intensely frustrated. I actually got to a point where the careless mistakes I was making seemed so preposterous that I started suspecting my manager was purposefully sabotaging me. Fortunately I've got just enough self awareness to know when I'm thinking crazy, paranoid things, so that was when I started seeing a shrink again and stumbled onto the ADHD diagnosis.

[TracyM]

My 7 year old son started 20 mg last week. It's helped him be able to do his school work and he's a lot more calm. But since taking the meds, he's a lot more sensitive and starts to cry easily. I'm seeing another doctor next week and will take this up with him. With what I've read, a lot of adults who are taking Vyvanse are adults and are on 20 or 30 mg. I'm wondering if it's too strong for my 47 pound son?