Switching from Adderall ir to Vyvanse?

[lookingforanswers]

Hi everyone! 

Thanks so much for reading – I’m hoping someone who has experience with this might be able to help steer me in the right direction. 

– First of all, I’m female, 23 years old, 5’3, about 135lbs – 

I have been prescribed Adderall ir for Adult ADD and treatment resistant depression for about 3 years now. In the beginning, we started with just 5mg – and it did wonders for me! It was like a switch had been turned on, and I could see clearly again. Work improved vastly, and socially… I was finally able to feel.. “myself”! I could get out of bed, take care of all my responsibilities, enjoy forming relationships/friendships… It was a lifesaver. Anyway, as it sometimes goes, with the doctor’s supervision, the dose slowly crept upwards as time went on in order for the medication to maintain it’s effectiveness – 5mg to 10mg to 15mg, etc… 

Cut to about 3 months ago, I filled my (new) normal script for 30mg ir – With my Doctors guidance, I’d normally cut them in half, and take about 45mg over the course of the day. And… Nothing. I laid around all day. After a very depressing month of this, the Doc and I tried Nuvigil for a month, but I did not like it at all (bad headaches, “awake” but totally foggy, extreme difficulty sleeping… etc). 

After a lot of research and thought, I went back to the Doctor and discussed switching to the Brand Name Adderall – thinking that perhaps the generic was just not as effective for me anymore. After going about my normal routine of 15mg x3 to no avail, I stopped splitting them in half, and instead would take at the full, normal dose – 30mg, 3 times a day. 

But there’s still been no change, and these last 3 months have been pretty horrible. I’m incredibly lethargic, unmotivated, distracted, moody, occasional headaches… you guys know the drill. I work freelance, and i LOVE my job – normally happily moving from project to project, working year-round! These past 3 months… I’ve managed to finish only one project… I dont know if I’ll be able to pay rent at this rate! I guess I could up my dosage, but I feel like maybe its time for a change… 

This brings me to my question! At my last visit, the doc mentioned switching meds. In particular, I’ve heard a lot about peoples positive experiences with Vyvanse. I know that everyone is different, and different meds work for different people, but seeing as Vyvanse is still in the same “family” of stimulants, I’m worried to get too hopeful. I.e have I already ruined my chances with Vyvanse due to my adderall use? 

Has anyone who responded positively to Adderall initially, and then experienced a large decrease in effectiveness, had luck with switching to Vyvanse? I have an appointment with my Doctor tomorrow afternoon, and I’d like to go to him with a clear, educated opinion/decision on our next step. 

If Vyvanse is a good option for me, I’ll be thrilled! Would be so nice to have some hope for my health! 

Sub-questions: 

– If not Vyvanse, do you have any other/better suggestions that I can discuss with my Dr tomorrow? 

– If you think Vyvanse would be a suitable alternative, what dose do you think I should be trying? (My body is now used to 30mg of Adderall ir, 3 times a day = 90mg total) 

– Does anyone have any experience with (female) sex drive in relation to these meds? For the most part, with the adderall, my sex drive is definitely on the lower end of the scale… Im curious if maybe Vyvanse could improve this, or at least not “decrease” my sex drive as much!! I’d love to be as excited about sex as a normal 23 year old is! 

Sorry for the long post! Thank you for reading – I’m looking forward to hopefully getting some words of wisdom from you guys!

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[caitlin1007]

I have not been on Adderall before but I can tell you about my experience with Vyvanse.

A year ago i was diagnosed with ADHD and was prescribed Vyvanse to help me focus on my school work. When i’m on it i notice a huge difference in not only my focus but my appetite and weight as well. After starting Vyvanse i was able to focus on getting my mathwork done, something i had never been able to do before! I managed to keep an A in math the WHOLE year and was even offered the opportunity to bump up to a higher class. All of this came as an extreme shock to me because all throughout elementary and my first two years of middle school math had always been my worst subject. In my last year of middle school i received extremely good PSAT scores, a junior scholars award and i finished off the year with all A’s.

However, i also noticed that i had a decrease in appetite. I’ve always been one of those people that ate when they were bored but luckily it never really affected my weight. This being said, as soon as i started the Vyvanse i stopped snacking when i was bored and found out that i had lost at least 16 pounds since i had been weighed last. Although it had been almost a year since i had been weighed last. Anyways, once summer rolled around it became difficult to continue taking my meds on schedule and so i stopped taking them. Summer is coming to an end for me now and about two weeks ago i weighed myself first thing in the morning after going to the bathroom so that the results would be more accurate and discovered that i had gained 10 pounds since i stopped taking the Vyvanse. This left me at 130 pounds and a little disappointed. After that discovery i realized that my appetite had been larger all summer, resulting in my weight gain. With school starting soon i realized that i needed to start taking my medications again so that my body can get used to them by the time school starts, so i started taking my meds again two days ago. I got up this morning, went to the bathroom and then weighed myself and i’ve lost 2 pounds in two days. This isn’t very accurate seeing as how it’s that time of the month and bloating currently factors into my weight but its still a difference.

I’m currently taking one 70MG capsule every morning. I haven’t had to up my dosage of Vyvanse in the years time that I’ve been taking it so far.

Hope this helps,

Caitlin.

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