Vyvanse – feeling calm with new med

[nellie]

Hi wondering if anyone else has noticed this effect. I’m on my 2nd day after switching from Ritalin and the day seems to pass so slowly and i’m feeling really zenish. WIth the Ritalin I was alert but slightly edgy, Yesterday I got all sorts of stuff done and kept being surprised that it was so much earlier than it seemed. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing at the moment. Hope it doesn’t lead me to being too laid back and start procrastinating even more without realizing it.

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[Anonymous]

oh me too!!! Today was my second day on Vyvnance. I had been taking Methyln ER twice a day (only 3 times a week because PCP didn’t take into mind that I work 10-12hour days). I felt like my mind was more organized with the Methyln (really just ritalin which lasts a few hours longer), but I had some body jitters. I was taking propanolol (blood pressure med) for it (because I already had a stash for social anxiety issues).

I saw my actual psych doc and told her that I wanted Vyvance because I work such long days and really really want a med without any peaks and valleys. I’m looking for as close to seamless as I can get. that start and stop of the mind was really irritating..then deciding when to dose again.

I was initially a little hesitant at the thought of pure amphetamine, but popped it during my day off just in case I could sit and twitch in the safety of my own home. Since it is so long-acting and messed up my sleep schedule, I had to set my alarm clock to take it yesterday morning as I didn’t want insomnia trying to bed before an early workday. It was a good sign that I popped it and slept for another hour and woke up relaxed. Also no jitters!!!!!!

I felt oddly peaceful yesterday too! I usually beat myself up for getting distracted and wasting time. Yesterday, I made a decision that I wanted to spend the day relaxing and did it without the mind noise. ok.. ok..the point of this drug is for me to get more done, but ah well.. it was nice to feel relaxed without the mind noise. I had my first day of work on it today. I didn’t manage to save much time >_< (but then again..ive been using the methyln ER exclusively for work. i suppose this will take practice and changing bad habits. However, I did feel like I was thinking more clearly. I was more decisive. I was able to pinpoint what I really wanted to accomplish and do it without the constant mind noise of scenario variations + random unrelated crap. I was better able to communicate thoughts and ideas to people without starting in the middle first and then jumping around. I even explained an entire concept to a co-worker without taking space-out breaks and restarting.. or mixing up the order.

so far I feel pretty good about this med. but yeah. i do see your point about feeling peaceful about doing nothing >_<. Maybe that will pass?

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[nellie]

Sugargremlin,

Wow that’s pretty well what I’m experiencing. Yesterday I kind of spent the morning slowly doing this and that because I had no real structured plan for the day. I was more bothered that I wasn’t bothered by that than not doing anything of significance! I figured I could still make the day count so I picked this project I needed to get cracking on and managed to get a good chunk done. Today I felt a lot more energetic as opposed to wired with the Ritalin. I’m still calm yet focused, I think I can get used to this. It’s just such a contrast to my normal state of mind where I want to do everything at lightning speed. THe only thing I noticed I was getting kind of crabby as it started to wear off late in the day. I think I’m sleeping better although last night was up till 1:30 watching a movie so was tired this morning. However, thanks to my barking dog I did get up around 8 to take the med. Kind of a motivator not to sleep in!

The only concern I have is that I hope it’s not like Concerta, which I thought was working really well until two weeks later I realized I was getting less organized than before!

So let’s keep up this dialogue, it’s interesting to compare.

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[Carrie]

I found that on Dexedrine (Vyvanse – short acting) that I got that quiet/slow, calm, clear, focus. Ritalin just gave me focus and made me VERY moody on the down. Im now on Adderall, but not the same calm, quiet effect that the Dexedrine has, so I hope to switch to Vyvanse soon! Adderall makes me feel icky, and anxiety is still there. Im only on 20mg… Maybe thats why, but Dex worked so well and with next to no side effects!

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[nellie]

I had the anxiety thing with Aderall as well. Actually it was one of your earlier posts about dexadrine Carrie that got me researching Vyvanse.

I’m only taking 20mg as well. Hope that’s enough. I upped my Ritalin dose before switching and suddenly I had the alertness I wanted but felt way to wiry. This way I feel almost “normal” whatever that is !

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[Anonymous]

Day 4 . Still feeling pretty mellow and not needing any propanolol. I am a little concerned that I feel too mellow. I do not want to lose my personality! Silliness and non-sequitor is part of who I am. Maybe I am having a little trouble adjusting to my more quiet mind? However, the generalized anxiety brain noise which just gave me stress and solved nothing can leave lol. I am just reflecting today. I am also working hard on overhauling my organization. I have thought about things and done certain things a certain way for years now. I am also reflecting on adulthood. I am 27 with a very professional career, but I live and function as I did as an undergraduate… feeling very reflective… Part of being medicated like this is letting go.

I am taking 50mg. I was a bit confused on why she gave me 50 at the start, specially considering that my only previous stimulant experience was 10mg Methyln ER twice a day.. 3 days a week for a month. She told me that the dosing on Vyvance was really odd. I did not have time to ask her what she meant about that, but I am probably going to do some research about this.

I am interested in continuing this thread as well

(me attempting to understand the neuropharmacology differences of stimulants. I take no responsibility for its accuracy!!!)

I have been doing some research on the difference mechanisms between the methlyphenidates, pure amphetamine (dex), and mixed ampethatamines (adderal). For me, I think part of the difference is the norepinephrine/dopamine ratio. I never ever thought I could have ADD due to my horrible reactions to other stimulants such as caffeine and decongestants. Caffeine and decongestants are more norephinephrine focused. In addition, it requires much more of these substances for the dopamine enhancement. I am an anxious person who probably has more norepinephrine than I need outside of my frontal lob (ADD dysfunction). It gets complicated as norepinephrine can turn on dopamine in the frontal lobe. (this is why Strattera works and it not addictive). Dextroamphetamine still has norephinephrine actions, but perhaps less so than other stimulants? Dopamine is in itself still a nervous system stimulant. So I just confuse myself, but I still think there is something significant about the norep/dop ratio combined with our unique brain chemisty. Some people may need the extra norephinephrine due to different chemistry.

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[nellie]

Day 4 as well.

Still have the quiet mind & getting used to it. The key is going to be how much I get done this week. I only got a 10 day supply to see how it works out before giving up on the Ritalin. So far much better.

I’m a bit confused on the brain chemistry rundown you gave but will have to reread it when I have more time since I have to get ready to go somewhere. MMM, me monitoring my time – that’s a switch

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[Anonymous]

the brain chemistry stuff is seriously more just me babbling to myself. It gets even more complicated when taking in mind the actions both dopamine and norep have outside of the frontal lobe (how it works for ADHD). I feel like I am on the edge of getting it, but not there yet. (I am medical professional, but I don’t have a good enough grasp on the topic to break it down). I apologize for the confusing mental vomit of thoughts lol.

I need to get to my organizing project, but I just want to sit around and read my neuropharmacology textbook until I master this. I cannot be sure whether this is me in yet more hyperfocus, or just trying to problem solve in a way which is useful both to me personally and professionally.

enjoy your day! Time for me to sign off of this lovely site and begin my day too

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[Carrie]

@nellie – in response to your “The key is going to be how much I get done this week” I found on Dexedrine for once I actually got things done. I had lunch made for my husband when he got home, the laundry going, the kids and myself dressed and everything clean. hahaha Ritalin didnt change that for me, nor does this Adderall! I cant wait to be back on Dex!

@sugargremlin – I too was wondering about those things as well! Keep us posted with your findings! I will do some research as well!

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[nellie]

Sugargremlin, I’ll wait for you to get it so you can explain it to me Or at least point me in the right direction.

Carrie, sounds promising, thanks for the update. Should be an interesting week!

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[Anonymous]

Nellie, I hope you don’t mind me hijacking this post a bit to add on my own daily experience. I could go and create my own! It is just helpful to note these things or I may not know whether it is working or not. It is all a little confusing because this is my first real trial of a stimulant and am not quite sure what to expect from it.

The biggest changes I have noticed so far are thought organization and thought endurance. There has been a significant decrease in the number of times I have thought derailments. I have now been able to talk without taking frequent pauses and breaks due to forgetting what I was going to say or just “blanking out”. This has always been very frustrating for me as it sometimes makes me look like I don’t understand what I am talking about. I also will often repeat the same words twice because I can’t remember whether I have already said them which is annoying to others. Yesterday I went to a BBQ. I noticed that I could talk to my friend while there were other conversations in the background. Usually I cannot talk when there are others talking near me because I lose my train of thought. It is extremely frustrating to be trying to talk and have to start my thought over and over and over again each time someone talks near me, even if it is to someone else and not interrupting me.

When I write, I am having an easier time of organizing my thoughts and it is taking me less time to write posts and answer emails. My information is coming out of my head in thought clusters versus unrelated or loosely related thoughts.

unsure what to think about this one: Maybe it was the mix of people, but I felt less social than I usually am at this BBQ. I usually feel some social anxiety and hyperactivity which compels me to try and talk to everyone even strangers, no matter if I have anything to say which makes sense in the conversation. Yesterday, I just felt content talking to my one friend and a few others when convenient. I felt less socially anxious and pressured, but it was weird how little I cared about interacting with the strangers.

some disappointments: I am still hyperfocusing. I still have very little motivation to do chores such as shopping or cleaning. I have not really gotten more stuff done. I am still doing little forgetful things. such as yesterday, I did my eye makeup and forgot to put on mascara and left the house without it. I cracked my car window even though I knew it was supposed to rain. I lost my water bottle three times.

It has been less than a week, so it may take more time to experience full therapeutic effect. Also, I have many many bad habits to work on which I am already beginning to tackle with help from this site.

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I do have a bit too much time on my hands which will be temporary as I start classes again in the fall. and it is too hot out here to make me want to go outside!

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(not medical advice. may not even be correct. just ramblings and curiosities. i found most of this from wikipedia, but I have done other cross-referencing from research studies and educational sites)

Still not complete with the research but:

The problem is with understanding the differences between the medications is a lot of the information is theoretical versus what is actually observed. My drive for the research is a bit of a personal one. I have never in my life considered that I could have ADD because I have always had terrible reactions to common stimulants such as caffeine and decongestants (ie. sudafed with the pseudoephedrine). 50mg of caffeine (which really is just a bit more than a mountain dew) would be enough to give me tremors and get my heart racing. I really only used it to make drives longer than an hour because I tend to nod off and just can’t maintain focus that long. I once ignorantly had a double expresso to take a long drive, not paying attention that it was stronger than the usual coffee. It has since been dubbed a panic attack in a can. Pseudoephedrine would do something similar, but also make me very irritable and angry (unfortunately the only thing which could ever clear my sinuses). I was afraid to try the Methylin because I feared that it would be like caffeine x 100 and I would have a day filled with panic attacks. I took the leap only because I was desperate about my job. I was doing 6 hours of work in 11 hours and needed to ramp that up to 8 hours.

My reaction to methyln ER was actually about equal to about 50mg of caffeine, similar heart racing and tremors, but with better mental results. One would think that the Methyln would have a much greater agitating effect, right? I did some research and learned that caffeine and decongestants stimulate mostly via norepinephrine in the brain (which does indirectly stimulate dopamine and have its own unique attention benefits). Norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and epinephrine (adrenalin) [which are related] are the catacholamines of the fight or flight type of anxiety. What is very confusing is that dopamine and norepinephrine have a very intertwining relationship. In addition, norepinephrine is made from dopamine. Thus, both will stimulate both the central and sympathetic nervous system.

The only sense I can make of it is that norepinephrine more directly (but perhaps not of usual clinical significance) influences the sympathetic nervous system and that I am very sensitive to it. However, it does not mean that I do not have ADD. I am sure that an extended release medication is helpful to avoid ‘rushes’. Also, perhaps even just a little difference in the noreph/dop ratio is noticeable to me.

Adderall is a mixed ampthetamine with the D and L chain. The L chain is mostly norepinephrine related. Everyone’s brain chemistry is so unique that many people probably do really well with that extra function.

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[nellie]

No problem Sugargrmlin, its interesting to compare experiences!

Day 5, the calm feeling was gone and I couldn’t decide if things were woking anymore. Is it the meds or my own focus because I know what has to be done? I managed to re-focus myself and bring myself back when distracted. Still working on a big project and am managing not to panic that its not done yet.

Went to bed around midnight at which point the med had worn off. It’s the first time in ages my mind was all over the place – racing from one thought to another. Almost considered getting up and taking a Ritalin just so I can sleep! Not sure what that was all about. it wasn’t this bad with other meds.

Day 6 – I had to go to the hairdresser and was out longer than expected. I was antsy but far more calm than I normally would have been. Had other errands that needed to be done afterwards. Because of the time screw up I normally would have blown them off but instead managed to take a deep breath, re-group my thoughts and get done exactly what I had to too in record time. Went out to a movie with friends in the evening. My conversational focus was better than it normally would have been, could focus on the thought and say what I wanted to without pausing. Between from when I got home from the errands and going to the movie I had about 2 hours – I did a full mornings worth of housework – very targeted. So I think this is working. Only complaint so far is the super alertness I felt with RItalin is not there.

Day 7 – Need to work on a project today that will require my entire focus and due on Friday as well some prep work for a meeting tonight I am running as part of a community group. Now I need to direct myself so that the volunteer thing doesn’t corrupt my time. So off I go, will try not to get distracted and spend my time on this site instead

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[Anonymous]

lol good plan.

from what you write, you gave many examples of your progress. accomplishing a lot. not stressing as much.

I’m still confused about what type of progress I am supposed to feel and how long it takes. I’m definitely not feeling super alert either which I think is for the best. I hate anxiety. I feel less wired on this stuff which is nice. Most people around us are not super alert either! they are just normal alert! unless they drink pots of coffee.

I’m having much fewer conversation pauses as well and can hold thoughts and numbers inside my head. However, I’m not really sure that I am accomplishing more. I guess it is hard to measure when I started this med during a totally unstructured 5 days of holiday in which I had zero responsibilities? I have always been pretty useless at these times. I’m not sure whether I was less useless than usual. lol.

I am coming upon my original work goal of 8 hour shifts when I sought out treatment. However, I can’t be quite sure whether it is me figuring out things or the meds so that is frustrating. and I had been taking methyln ER on my work days for the last month.

I am still doing some forgetful absent minded things.. but I suppose everyone does. I’m just not sure what normal is.

*sigh* I have tomorrow off.. I hope I do something useful lol.

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[nellie]

I guess we have to remember to not to expect the “Limitless” effect”

You know, the movie where the guy takes the pill and all of a sudden he’s an uber-over-acheiver?

The meds allow us to re-shift our thought processes and patterns and improve our attentiveness but they won’t provide new skills. Our organizational methods are not going to improve without a plan, new skill etc. I know if I don’t have a plan for the day I won’t do anything productive and not even think about starting something that should have been done ages ago Even dumber is that on the week-ends if I don’t have something productive planned I still feel bad and have to keep telling myself that every damn second doesn’t have to scripted. I still don’t believe that inner voice but I’m working on it!

I can see how you would feel that way if you started meds on vacation! I suppose someone with a “normal” mindset would be pretty undirected too only that’s why they went on vacation on the first place LOL. Seems to me very ADD to obsess over nothing – or shall I say doing nothing?

Do you mean that you are achieving to work the 8 hour shift or are you coming up to the goal date you set for it? If you are managing to work the hours that’s awesome! Could it be that at work you have to be more directed so it is easier to measure, whereas in your home life the presumably greater freedom is just perfect to help the procrastination?

My psychologist suggested working from home was not in my best interest because of the freedom but frankly I’m not keen on giving it up though!

Today – Day 7 – things went quite well and I got done what I set out to. I believe I was more methodical and therefor efficient. It seems the meds wear off so gradually I’m not sure when they actually do wear off. By the time my meeting rolled around I was about 10-11 hours into the day. But come to think about it, I felt more at ease than normal so I guess they were still working

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[Anonymous]

I am in this weird time period right now, working part time and have a semester off from school. I am horrible with unstructured time. I could be doing sooo many amazing productive things, but I get overwhelmed and sit at the computer all day unless I plan something different in advance.

I didn’t take my pill yesterday because I woke up too late. and well.. verdict is that I was totally more useless than the useless I was with the pill. a friend was going to be about 2 hours late and I needed to go to the store and buy a few things. I went into my room to put on shoes. grabbed the socks from the dresser and put them on my bed…then sat in the bed.. then felt comfy and laid in the bed.. then laid there for awhile, realizing I forgot my phone and I needed to hear from my friend..then i forgot the socks..and got on the computer. so I got zero done until my friend came by at about 5pm.

good to know that you aren’t finding the pill magical either

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[Author]

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