Here we go

[jojosephine]

Well saw my psychiatrist this morning and I have my medication in hand. I will start meds for the first time ever tomorrow (Vyvance). I am pretty scared. I will be alone with my children. What if I have an allergic reaction. or something. arg..i hope I can sleep tonight.

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[blackdog]

@jojosephine– Try to relax. I know it’s a little scary when you have your little ones to worry about. But serious allergic reactions are very rare.  And they don’t usually come on really suddenly, in my experience.

Make sure you read all the information over so that you know what to expect. And don’t panic if you have some side effects. That is normal. If it is an allergic reaction you will know.

If it makes you feel better, have an emergency plan in place. Keep a cordless phone or cell phone with you at all times, have your husband or a friend call and check on you a few times if possible, or have someone come over and stay with you for the day.

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[jojosephine]

Thanks blackdog. I have already asked my husband to checkup during the day. And I am doing a lot of reading.

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[blackdog]

Of course you did. I feel silly for even suggesting it. I’m sure you know exactly what to do.

I just wanted to reassure you. 🙂

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[dithl]

Good luck, @jojosephine! If good luck is even the right term. Hope you get a little shuteye.

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[sdwa]

Takes getting used to

or sometimes a change of drug

I’m sure you’ll be fine

 

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[jojosephine]

@kc5jck

Hi I thought I would post this back in this thread in case anyone was searching for an experience on Vyvanse. and thanks for asking.

Well the first day. I think I kind of got a high from it during “the peak” (starting at 20mg). I felt more relaxed, more comfortable in a social situation and my mood was stablized. I took it at 10am because I had an event in the evening and I didn’t want to “crash” during it. I found that I peaked around 1pm ish and gradually came down throughout the afternoon. I was working on my graphic design stuff and doing housework. I got my dishes done in a half an hour (rather than the 3 hrs it usually takes me) but like around 4pm I was doing all the “dumb stuff” again. Forgetting why I went upstairs and bashing my head on open cupboard door etc..and the side effect was headache in the afternoon. my appetite was a little suppressed. but I just found I wanted to eat at different times.

The second day I took it earlier because I didn’t have any obligations in the evening. so it was all the same and everything was just shifted according to the time. so I started at 7:30 so I “peaked” at around 10:30 and started becoming useless at like 2pm. I didn’t get the high that I got on the first day. but had a clarity for a few hours that petered out during the afternoon (in waves of clarity and fog). I was asleep by 8:30pm and I would like to fall asleep at like 10:30 or 11pm.

Now this really concerns me because all I have read says that Vyvanse is suppose to be effective for like 12 hours. and even if it was effective for that time it still isn’t enough for my life right now.

I think the times that are toughest for me are the morning from 6:30 to 8:30 (morning routine, catching bus. etc) and 5:30-7:30 (Evening routine-dinner and bedtime routine). Not to mention that i need to be extremely productive during the day (work, kids, errands and housework) and I may have to do extra work in the evening or even finally be able to work on my hobbies. So what the hell am I going to do? I hope it is a dose thing. that maybe it will have a better duration of effectiveness when I find my right dose. I am suppose to go up to 30mg in a few days. Then 7 days after that to 40mg. I was prescribed 2 tablet of 20mg for that. I was trying to see if I could stagger those in the morning like say take one at 6:30 and one at like 11:30. I was trying to find out if anyone has done this or if this is safe. I have an appointment to see my Psychiatrist in a week and a half. but I remember mentioning to him that 12 hrs just isn’t enough for my life right now. And i really dont think he believes in “a booster” in the afternoon.

I can’t have coffee or caffeine it makes my heart race. Does anyone know if Decaf coffee is okay? I loooove the taste of coffee and really not a fan of tea of any kind. I know decaf still has caffeine in it.

When I fell asleep it has been the most peaceful sleep I have had in a long time.

 

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[blackdog]

@jojosephine– You certainly have a hectic schedule. I don’t know how you manage to do it all.

I know that with any medication it takes time for it to really start working. You may find that those peaks and lows go away after a couple of weeks and that it will start to last longer and keep you more balanced.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Vyvanse is one of the medications I have been considering trying so it is very helpful to hear how it has worked for others and what I might expect to happen with it.

And thanks for sharing that it normally takes you 3 hours to do the dishes. It makes me feel so much better to know I’m not the only one. 🙂

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[jojosephine]

@blackdog

lol Oh I don’t do it. That is what I am suppose to do…that is what I am hoping my treatment will help me do.

ya it is ridiculous. and I get so angry when my husband comes in and has the kitchen clean in 15 minutes. The other day, he came home from work. I said ‘I cleaned the kitchen and then we went outside to play’. he indicated at the kitchen and said “you did?? [clean the kitchen]” It’s true. when I looked over at the kitchen it was messy.  WTF I did clean. for a long time and it looked the same lol.

Anyways so it is now 2:50pm on the 3rd day by 1pm I had all my symptoms of ADD back (and worse), I am tired, and extremely irritable. I had to get home immediately. Everything/everyone was making me angry. and the road rage. I can’t do anything productive. I really think this might be an under dosage thing.

I really can’t go another day like this. I would rather not be on medication at all. I am considering going to the 30mg 2 days earlier.

I have read a lot in forums of people being on a lot higher dosages and having an afternoon IR booster. Also, a lot of people are claiming that Vyvanse does not last for the 12 hr period that it claims to (more like 6-8hrs). I think it is a selling tactic. This is aggravating because ignorant doctors won’t prescribe the right dosage or administration.

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[Patte Rosebank]

@Jojosephine, your “self-dirtying” kitchen sounds a lot like mine!  I wonder if it’s a conspiracy by neuro-typicals who are jealous of our incredible creativity and instincts…

Keep on keeping a “medication journal” like this, so you and your doctor can assess how well the med & dose are working for you, on a day-to-day basis between appointments. It’s the only way you’ll ever remember those details!

Are you getting some protein, about every 3-4 hours? That’s essential, not only to help our ADHD brains to function, but to ward off any jitters and such from the meds. (Who knew?)

Those afternoon symptoms you describe sound like the usual “crash and burn” that happens as the medication wears off. Keep track of them in your journal, too. That way, you can see if they’re improving or not, and if they’re happening sooner (or later) as your body adjusts to being on the medication.

Finding the right “Duration of Effectiveness” window takes trial and error, and if you don’t know how to tell when you’ve found that window, how will you KNOW you’ve found it?

Dr. Charles Parker has some great YouTube videos about this, and he’s written a new book about “The New Rules for ADHD Medications”.  They explain the concepts so well, and in such a groundbreaking, ADHD-friendly way, that even *I* can understand them!

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[blackdog]

@jojosephine– Don’t sell yourself short. Just being a parent of young children is enough to make anyone a little crazy. Doing it with ADHD is 10 times harder. I know you are not getting things done the way you want to but make sure you give yourself credit for what you do get done.

And if your husband can clean the kitchen in 15 minutes then let him do it. 😉

@Larynxa, My whole house is self dirtying. But the kitchen is the worst. It manages to get dirty again within minutes. The other rooms take a day or two, sometimes as long as a week.

I have been on my new SSRI medication for three weeks now and I nearly gave up on it many times. I had to stop taking it twice. First because it made me sick and then because it was making me so tired I couldn’t get anything done. But I’m doing okay with it now. I still don’t feel like it’s really working and I get tired around 5:00 pm every day, but it’s much better than it was. So I might give it  a little longer depending on what my doctor thinks when I see him next week.

I have trouble really assessing how a medication is affecting me, so I have been trying to keep a journal. But I forgot this past week because do had some important things that I had to force myself to focus on.

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[dithl]

@jojosephine, thanks for posting the update, good to know how you are doing. And agreed with @blackdog, to-do lists can be killer, especially when you don’t get a break from them because the evidence of your to-didn’ts are all around you in your living space.

I’m having the same problem with Adderall XR…supposed to be 8 to 10 hours, but I am coming off of it after 5 hours. It happened when we were out this afternoon…and made me decide that groceries were *not* going to happen today. Arg. I don’t know if Vyvanse and Adderall have similar effects, but coming off it became easier for me after time. Less bear-like, at least *most* of the time. Now it’s just usually more like, “meh, I don’t feel like doing this now…bleh, why do I feel so lazy? Ohhh right, meds worn off. Let’s go do nothing.”

@Larynxa, I came home to read up more on Dr. Charles Parker’s DOE info…I have trouble with it because it’s too much to take in – information overwhelm, plus something about the way he writes gets my inner skeptic going…hard to discern how much is salesmanship. Not meaning to be inflammatory, can’t think of a better way to write. Thank you for your input, I keep wondering if I really am coming off the meds that fast, or it’s just a normal dip…but your “crash and burn” describes it well. And — yep, protein is so important.

@jojosephine, if you don’t mind, can you keep us updated as you go? I’m really curious about how your psych will deal with the shorter duration…Charles Parker’s book talked about going to “off-label” doses (high) for people who metabolize fast…but for myself, I don’t know if I would want to feel the effects of more Adderall. My doc finally did prescribe an afternoon “booster” and it’s made a world of difference. But I guess I still wonder if I’m not taking too many meds.

Isn’t it cool to get a really good sleep? And so counter-intuitive that stimulants can do that.

Decaf coffee — caffeine content is pretty low. I kind of forgot about coffee and stimulants…will have one or two cups some days. I keep track of my heart rate when I think it’s a little high, but it hasn’t been high enough to warrant going off meds, thank goodness.

I’m trying not to make this post all “me, me, me.” Not sure if I’m succeeding, so I’ll say I’m still excited for you and glad to hear you have had some success, even if you’re not where you want to be yet.

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[blackdog]

@dithl LOL I think I am going to call it my “to-didn’t” list from now on.

I was just thinking about the metabolism thing when I read a little further down and saw that you already mentioned it. Differences in metabolism could explain why the meds seem to wear off before they are supposed to.

And I do the “me me me” thing all the time. But I apologized to one of my friends for doing it one time and she told me she does the same thing, that it’s just her way of processing things. It doesn’t mean you’re being selfish it’s just how you communicate. I don’t know how to express myself without using my own experiences to say what I want to say. You know what I’m saying?

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[jojosephine]

@ditlh

I express myself the same way (from a “me, me, me” stand point). It’s because I can only speak from experience and self education since I was never successful at formal education. It’s not that I think I am better and more important. It’s more of a way of letting you know of where I get my knowledge from. So I never feel that it is all about you, you, you. I completely understand that form of communication. So no worries here.

And about Charles Parker: He, also, speaks about a “Therapeutic Window” (the right dosage for you). He says that if your dose is too low, you fall out the bottom. The duration is shorter. Start zoning out not as much concentration. And if you come out the top of the window it can look the same as falling out the bottom. Actually, I have watched his videos several times and he does contradict himself. In some videos he says that too much dose extends the DOE past the expected time and in another he says that it can shorten the time.

So I do agree with him that there is a therapeutic window. but I don’t know if I am falling out the bottom or going out the top. I started at 20mg. and I am only up to 30mg. I always thought my metabolism was slow. because I was always cold and always struggle with my weight. and I always had low energy and not very active. He states that some people’s metabolisms are so slow they have to have smaller doses they have to make a water titration. As of right now, 30mg isn’t working. The DOE is not as long as it should be and in the early afternoon I am zoning out, tired and unmotivated to do anything (I too was suppossed to grocery shop yesterday afternoon lol..i am going this morning) so I have to adjust the dosage. I don’t know whether to go down to 25mg or even below 20mg (because 20 mg didn’t work either) or do I go up to 40mg??  I have 3 more days on 30mg. I guess I will follow my docs orders (to go up to 40mg for 2 weeks after the 1 week on 30mg).

He does not say that you should need boosters on long acting ones.  I am so confused because a lot of people are getting boosters. Are they “over medicated” and think it is right?

I really have a feeling my doctor has no clue about this because he said that I will not go past 60mg. Which kind of confuses me. Because of all the research says that finding the right dosage is personal, individual and done by trail. So I have a feeling that my doc is not going to work with me on this (finding what works for me-medication and dose). Everyone says that you may need to educate your doctor. How the hell do you do that. How do you basically tell a doctor they don’t know enough about this stuff and why the hell should they listen to me. I don’t have a PhD.

I will keep you posted. I did send some messages to some members who posted a couple of years ago with concerns like ours, to find out what if they found out what works for them. but they haven’t gotten back to me. (maybe they have and they are finally busy living their life).

You keep me posted too.

 

 

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[blackdog]

@jojosephine– Do you see the psychiatrist again? Or can you call him/her to ask questions? Psychiatrists typically know more about these types of medications. Also, check with your pharmacist. Most pharmacists are more knowledgable about drugs than doctors.

I would recommend following the doctor’s orders for now, unless things get so bad that you can’t. The only way to really find what works is through trial and error. Like you said, everyone is different. So no matter what a book or a video says, you still have to figure out what works for you.

As for how to educate your doctor….I’ll let you know when I figure out how to educate mine. 😉

One trick I use when I want him to send me for a test or something is looking up the symptoms of whatever it is I want to get tested for and then answering all of his questions the right way to make him come to the conclusion I want him to.

Speaking of tests, I know doctors sometimes order blood tests to check for the concentration of the drug you’re taking in your blood. This can help determine if it is too high or too low. So you could ask about that.

The key is ask, don’t tell. Doctors don’t like it when their patients are smarter than they are. It bruises their fragile egos. 😉

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