As you know, I started taking Vyvanse a few days ago instead of my usual Adderall (generic) prescription for ADD/ADHD.
As an adult with ADD, I like to know exactly what I am putting in my body and not just taking the recommendation of a doctor or therapist who may, or may not, have the same beliefs and concerns as I do regarding things like medication and their affects on my body. Therefore, I have been reading up on Vyvanse, including all of the government sanctioned warnings, and the company’s legal disclaimers and comments.
Fortunately, complex analysis and reading detailed technical documents is what I do for a living, so I am able to wade through all of this mumbo-jumbo. Unfortunately, not everyone is able or willing to do this. To help out parents of kids with ADD and adults who have ADHD themselves, I have put together a non-scientific, non-technical jargon filled, summary of what the various parts of medical information sheets and side effect warnings typically mean.
Understanding Prescription Information and Medical Jargon
See your Medication Guide or talk to your doctor or pharmacist about any warnings or drug interaction precautions.
Vyvanse Side Effect Summary – Understandable Version
The information presented here is NOT medical advice.
This summary is intended to be used in conjunction with a doctor’s advice. Discuss all information with your doctor prior to making any changes in your medications or care.
Vyvanse is derived from some of the same components as Adderall. As such, many of Vyvanse’s side-effects are similar to those of Adderall.
The most common side effects are dry mouth, trouble sleeping, decreased appetite and nausea.
For some people Vyvanse causes weight loss, although like Adderall weight loss, Vyvanse weight loss isn’t really caused by Vyvanse, it is caused by the decreased appetite side effect.
Vyvanse can make it so you don’t feel hungry, and therefore do not eat as often, or as much as you would normally. Not eating so much is what makes you lose weight, not taking Vyvanse. In other words, if you eat just as much as you normally would while taking Vyvanse, chances are you will not lose weight.
The other common side effects listed on the medical information sheet are dizziness, irritability, and upper belly pain. These side effects are probably actually telling you something else, rather than being straight side effects.
Belly pain is probably a symptom that your stomach doesn’t handle medication well. Chances are you are also one of the unlucky people who’s stomachs are upset by aspirin or Tylenol as well. If that is the case, your only choice is to put up with it, or try something else.
For many people, the upset stomach comes from too much acid. You can try taking your medication with more water than usual, or perhaps with some milk, or with food, unless your doctor or pharmacist says otherwise.
Don’t take your ADD-ADHD meds with orange juice. OJ speeds up the absorption of some medications including Vyvanse and Adderall.
Maybe You Don’t Have ADD ADHD
As always, consult with your doctor or other practitioner before making any decisions.
If your Vyvanse (or Adderall, or Ritalin) prescription makes you dizzy, lightheaded, buzzy, jumpy, agitated, or skittish, then perhaps your dosage is too high. Talk with your doctor, psychiatrist, or therapist about trying a lower dose.
If you are already taking a very lose dose, or even the minimum possible dose, there is another possibility you should consider. Maybe you don’t have ADD after all. Here is how to tell if you don’t have ADD ADHD.
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Tags: Medication, Prescription Drugs, Side Effects, Vyvanse
I would like to comment on your previous post:
How To Tell If You Have ADD ADHD
You have written that you can guage if you may not have ADHD by the effects of the medication. An example of such effects you posted were:
“…they say that the ADD drugs made them feel like their head was buzzing or racing, or it made them lightheaded, or it felt like their heart was racing.”
You went on to say such effects indicate that the person could very well not have ADHD, or have a very mild case.
It must be pointed out that stimulants have essentially the same effects on people with ADHD as they do on those with, with regards to non-executive control functions.
Rapid heart beat (racing heart) is always an effect of a stimulant at high enough doses. Dopagenic effects increase blood pressure. Changes in dopamine will induce light head effects.
This is why use of stimulants are contraindicated in people with ADHD if they have a history of high blood pressure or cardiovascular disease.
Having ADHD does not make one immune to the basic effects of stimulants.
The “paradoxical” calming effect seen in ADHD patients using stimulants are based on dopamine re-uptake and usage helping certain parts of the brain function more normally, but does not negate the normal effects of stimulants on other parts of the brain.
As with any condition, one should confer with the experts on if the medication is helping or not.
All that said, the effects of medications such as stimulants on ADHD patients are better used as a confirmation/verification tool rather than as a way to see if you do not have ADHD.
The effects are striking wrt attention and calming etc. but having a racing heart and feeling dizzy or light headed is not an indication of a person not having ADHD.
You did say in general that people have different responses to medications, but the message I took away was that certain effects (that are common to all stimulant users) may be a strong indication of not having ADHD.
I just wanted to clarify that this is generally not the case.
Regards,
Mike
Mike,
Thanks for your comment.
You are correct that there are certain biological effects of stimulants that are common to anyone who takes them including increased heart rate and in some cases higher blood pressure (Although if there is TOO big of a difference, definitely tell your doctor. This really freaks them out.) We can term these things the “non-brain” thing, to put it bluntly.
When it comes to things like a fast heart rate, there is the reality of number of beats per second versus the perception of a faster beating heart which when properly counted ends up being all in your head. Often, people will “feel” their heart racing when it is in fact their mind racing either from over-stimulation in the environment, or in this case, from the medication. It was this to which I was referring.
However, your point is well taken that an increased pulse is NOT a point of comparison to look at.
In the end, it seems like you and I are on the same page. If none of the ADD meds do what they are supposed to for people with ADD, then there is the POSSIBILITY that you do not have ADD in the first place.
Just trying to figure out the best “drug” with the least amount of side effects for my 15 year old son (adhd). He has been on concerta which worked well for about 2 years, then he started having horrible insomnia. Switched to adderal (no appetite, very fatigued feeling). Now trying Vyvanse…almost too scared to try this because of all the negative side effects.Looking at “alternatives” like Flavay? Have you heard of this…and what do you think about Vyvanse???
Concerta is often considered the “lightest” of the official ADD medications because it technically is not a stimulant, however, that doesn’t necessarily make it lower impact.WRONG!Here is the real story about Concerta, which is a continuous release preparation of methylphenidate, the drug in Ritalin. (The “non-stimulant” one is Straterra.)
I am not a big fan of Vyvanse. My primary concern is that it seems to strongly interfer with my sleep, while ironically, not making me any more alert. In other words, I’m tired, and I can’t sleep. Blah!
Regarding Flavay, I will write up a post about it today or tomorrow. The short version is that the best claim either Flavay or Flavay Plus can make is that they have an ingredient or two that has been the result of inconclusive studies. You can always try it out and see if it works, but if it is really expensive, give a day to write up the post and you can probably get the same potential effects in a cheaper way.
this post is relieving because i was on vyvanse for a while and I lost a lot of weight like 25 pounds in 2 weeks. I’ve been off of it but haven’t been able to concentrate as well with other medications.
My son has just started to take the Vyvanse 3 days ago. He was on the Conserta. He seems to want to sleep a couple hours after taking this new med, but he also seems to be able to focus better and has not had the angry out busts he was having on the conserta. Has any one else seemed really tired on this. Will give it a few more days and see how it works while he is at School. I also worry hearing about the weight loss, He has lost alot of weight, never being a big eater anyway and very picky has not been good. he is 8 years old and only is 47lbs. But the Doctors seem to think he is fine. Still very concerned for him being on these meds but the improvement at school has been so good.
As a school nurse administering some of these medications to about 6 students every morning, I only just recently heard about the possible “negative” implications of taking them with OJ. I have been using an orange flavored beverage for my students, giving them less than 2-3 ounces to take their pill. I called the Concerta toll free number and a local pharmacist and neither stated that OJ interferes with or speeds up absorption of the medication. So where can I find this information? I have seen anecdotal comments on forums like this from individuals, but it would seem that if this is the case, there should be some kind of investigation/research somewhere, and that it would be beneficial to pass this on to pharmacists who dispense the medication to the patients. I plan to change what I use in my clinic, but I know my students are going straight down to the cafeteria and drinking OJ for breakfast. I would like to be able to back up the teaching I feel like I need to give them. Any factual information would be welcome. Thanks!
Our 11 year old has taken ADHD medication since first grade prescribed to increase his focus and attention to detail in school. He was taking Concerta, but when we changed doctors she changed him to Vyvanse because she hoped he would have a better appetite. We used to take him off Concerta in the summer so he could sleep better and eat more. She does not seem to agree with med vacations. Our son has been taking Vyvanse for 6 months now and the good news is that he is gaining weight and doing well in class socially. However, he has already had a couple of dosage increases because he seems to build up a tolerance and it loses its effectiveness. He has trouble sleeping too and we try Melatonin to help with that. It is very scary to give children meds and I hate it. I wonder why our doctor has Vyvanse pads of paper and pens and signs all around her office and just hope she is objectively treating our son and not just pushing some pharmaceutical company’s profits.
Colleen,
You’ll find it mentioned in FDA dosage guides under “Interactions” of “Acidifying Agents”. Generally it will not mention orange juice by name, but rather ascorbic acid, or sometimes, fruit juices. Also, on the information sheets that accompany the prescriptions when they are filled, it is alluded to. For example, my d-amphetamine salt combo sheet from the pharmacy says:
“Certain foods and drugs can affect the amount of acid in your stomach and increase or decrease absorption of this medicine. Tell your doctor if you take any of thse products: fruit juices, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C)…”
Apparently, antacids can also cause some of the ADHD drugs to be absorbed faster or slower (faster for Adderall, I believe).
Recently, I have heard that this is over-cautious drug labeling at the affect is minimal, but for THAT I do not have any documentation that I can point to.
Hope that helps.