ADD Medication — 16 comments
20
Aug 09

Vyvanse Side Effects in Plain English

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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ADD Medication — 3 comments
18
Aug 09

New ADHD Drug Vyvanse Review

I’ve only been taking it for one day, so this is just a first impression.

So far, no side effects, but I’m one of the lucky ones whose bodies tolerate medication pretty well.  The only Adderall side effect I ever had was dry mouth.  I drink so much coffee that constipation never had a chance :)

The one thing I have noticed about Vyvanse is that it doesn’t have the waking power of Adderall.  When I wake up tired and groggy, Adderall is a pretty quick boost of energy and wake-up power.  Vyvanse seems to be missing this.

I was pretty tired yesterday, and it was my day to go 100 MPH with my 3 year-old daughter, so no word yet on its impact on my usual ADD-ADHD symptoms

I’ll check in again about how Vyvanse is working after I’ve been taking it for a few days.

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Technorati Tags: ,,,ADD/ADHD,,

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ADD Medication — 1 comment
17
Aug 09

Vyvanse Prescription ADD-ADHD Drug

add-prescription-graphic Since they stopped giving me antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications and realized that I had ADD-ADHD and not depression and anxiety, I have been taking Adderall generic AKA amphetamine salts.  Today, I start taking Vyvanse at the recommendation of my doc who says that some patients report a "smoother delivery."  Also, I only have to take one pill a day instead of pills 3 times a day.

The generic name of Vyvanse is lisdexamfetamine dimesylate.  I’m no chemist (but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night) but I’m guessing that dexamfetamine part means that this drug bears a lot of resemblance to the old Dexatrim weight-loss pills that worked before they were forced to change their ingredients.

I am typically very suspicious of a doctor who tries to move a patient from an effective generic medication to a brand-name one that is for treating the same thing.  However, in this case, my doc said that I "could" try it if I wanted to because I often report "crashing" late in the evening, especially if I forget my afternoon dose of amphetamine salts.

According to the pharmacist, Vyvanse works by providing just the "most effective" of the amphetamine salts that are present in Adderall.  That salt is bound to another chemical which makes it absorb more slowly into the body.  Theoretically, this also makes Vyvanse harder to "abuse" because of the slow absorption.

Considering the only people who "abuse" Adderall and Ritalin in the first place are either students trying to study better or people trying to lose weight with Adderall, I’m not really sure that it matters how fast it absorbs so long as it still helps you concentrate (isn’t that the point).  And since one of the "common side effects" listed on my drug information sheet says weight loss, I’m guessing the people looking to drop a few pounds the easy way won’t mind either.

Ironically, Vyvanse might actually be cheaper for me even though it is still a brand name ADD drug under patent while my Adderall is a generic ADHD drug.

My insurance plan doesn’t cover Adderall or its generic for adults (anyone over 26 years old).  Apparently, some doctors will prescribe Adderall for their patients to lose weight, so instead of doing its job and monitoring abuse, the HMO just decided to not cover Adderall for anyone, including adults with ADD-ADHD who actually need it.

Vyvanse hasn’t hit the banned for fat reduction list, yet, so it is covered under the brand name co-pay, which ends up making it a bit cheaper.

Just for comparison purposes, my receipt from the Target Pharmacy lists the "Retail Value" of thirty 40 mg Vyvanse pills as $150.99.  It doesn’t show up on the Costco Prescription Price Checker, so I don’t know what it runs there.

Does Vyvanse work?

Is Vyvanse better than Adderall?

I guess I’ll find out soon enough.

I’ll keep you posted.

News — 1 comment
12
Aug 09

New Look – Does This Theme Make My Butt Look Fat?

MCj04348590000[1] Unless you haven’t been here for a while, you might have noticed the new WordPress theme.  It’s still black and white — I don’t want there to be too many distractions :) – but the layout is clearer and a little bit better spaced.

The big thing, and I mean that literally, is the font size.  Holy, cow!

On the preview and test system, I thought it was OK, but reading through the site to verify that everything looks right, I can’t help but wonder if it isn’t a bit too big, distracting even.

Let me know what you think.  As always, comments are encouraged, but if you prefer private communications, that’s find too; drop me a line.

New WordPress Theme

If you know anything about blogs, you probably are already aware that ADDessories is run on WordPress.  The new theme that is being used is called Cleanr.  No, that is not a typo, there is no "e" in the theme name.  I guess that is for branding purposes.

The theme promises clean and clear, and it delivers.  It also mentions BIG.  I just can’t decide if I agree that bigger, as implemented in the theme, is more readable or not.  The good news is that it didn’t break anything.

I have also taken this opportunity to sneak in a couple of unobtrusive (I hope) Google Ads.  My goal for this site is to disseminate real world tips that are usable for adults with ADD / ADHD as well as for teens with ADD / ADHD.  It seems to me that this is the area that is woefully lacking in all of the ADD books and publications out there.

Once you understand what ADD is and how ADHD affects adults and kids then you need to be able to do something about it.  Do something that takes that new found understanding and gives you the power to do what you have always wanted to do.

Hopefully, I’ve started doing that already.

What is coming (sorry about the delays, there are more details to making something than I thought) are custom designed accessories for people with ADHD-ADD.  These accessories are little things really, that just make it a little bit easier to come out where you want to with regards to some of those little things that seem to bite us in the butt each day.

My goal is to make money by selling these accessories, and maybe some eBooks or regular books that help fill in the niche.  Advertising isn’t a main goal, but, I figure it doesn’t hurt, and since I’m not some jerk who is going to program surprise pop-up windows in your face or anything, I thought it would be OK.

Just one thing, though.  I don’t control these ads.  They come from Google and I have no idea what will or will not show up on the site.  They might be the greatest thing since sliced bread, or they might be total scumbag scams.  (I’ll try and get rid of those if I can.)

The point is, I do not endorse any of the websites or products that appear in the ads.  Use your judgment and common sense and read the articles on this site to make the best decisions for you and your family.

– ADDer

ADD Organization Tips — No comments
02
Aug 09

Beware the 'Special Place' Organization Temptation

For people with ADD, organization is a constant challenge.  Nowhere is that more true than with something that they KNOW will be needed later.  Unfortunately, for most people with ADHD, the importance of an item has no bearing on its ability to be stored and retrieved again later.  That leads to special place organization.

Special place organization is when someone, whether and adult with ADD/ADHD, a teenager with ADD or ADHD, or a child with ADD-ADHD, deliberately put something important in a special place.  Inevitably, the special place is chosen for being both safe, someplace unlikely to suffer an accidental throw away, and for being different than the standard location important and semi-important items are put.

When the day comes that the item is needed, it cannot be found.  Sometimes, the person with ADHD won’t even remember that they put it someplace special.  Even more often, the person with ADD will remember that they put it someplace special, but they won’t remember where the special place was!

What follows is a frantic top to bottom search of the house or bedroom, including all of the "usual" places objects are kept.  If the ADDer is lucky, they will stumble upon the item’s special location (and THEN remember that they put it there.)  If not, the object becomes yet another lost item which cannot be found when needed.

The best bet it to avoid the "special" place all together.  Instead, find a way to protect the item and then put it in one of the "usual" spots.  For example, put an important document inside of a page protector, or a receipt inside of a cardboard mailer.  This will make sure that nothing bad happens to the important piece of paper, but when the time comes to find it, it will be easy because it will be right where you always look.

ADHD — 2 comments
25
Jul 09

ADD Planner Update

Our custom add-plannerADD planner is nearly ready.  We’ve ironed out those pesky bugs and soon you’ll be able to preview the planner that was specially designed for people with ADHD/ADD by people with ADD/ADHD.

Check back soon.  (Next week!)

ADD Organization Tips — 2 comments
09
Jul 09

ADHD ADD Planner Take 2

It’s not uncommon for everyone, whether they have ADHD or not to start the new year with a resolution to be more organized.  At the heart of that endeavor is often a new planner or organizer.  For people with ADD-ADHD planners have a special meaning often characterized by a love / hate relationship.

By mid-year, it has probably become very clear whether or not the planner you have is the right planner for ADD-ADHD symptoms of yours.  If not, this time of year is like New Years all over again for buying organizers, planners, and calendars.

Calendar and planner makers can’t live by selling their organizers just once a year.  So, they use a variety of strategies to boost sales.  There are 18-month planners that run from July to December of the following year.  That’s July 2009 to December 2010 this year.  Then there are Academic planners, back to school planners, teacher’s planners and all other types of calendars and organizers filling the shelves at your local Target, Office Depot, Staples, Wal-mart, or other favorite store.

So, if your planner can’t handle your ADD-ADHD needs, head out and take another look at planners now.  Keep in mind what ways your current planner has not worked out for you.

Do you need more room for notes?  Do you need longer days?  Do you need a Daily ADD Planner instead of a Weekly ADD planner?  Do you need better visibility for weekend days instead of them being tucked away in a corner?

Or, stop trying to make something not made specifically for those with ADHD and ADD and keep your eyes peeled to ADDessories for our upcoming customized ADD Planners and ADHD Organizers which should be ready soon!

ADD Organization Tips / ADHD-ADD Tips — 1 comment
02
Jul 09

ADHD ADD Organization Tip

Some tips and techniques to help adults with ADHD-ADD or kids with ADHD-ADD are complicated.  Others are little tricks that are so easy that they might seem like they couldn’t possibly help, but they do.

One trick that many people with ADHD-ADD find helpful is to add color to standard organization tools.

Customizing ADHD-ADD Planners

If you have a planner you use as your ADD planner, try adding some color to it and see how the planner’s organizational effectiveness increases.

There are some requirements.

First, the colors must be mutable, that is they must change from page to page, weekly, monthly, or whatever.  Having a colored block or area pre-printed on your planner won’t help, because your mind will eventually block it out.

Essentially, the ADHD-ADD mind begins to ignore things it perceives as common, boring, or rote.  The first time it encounters a colorful page in your planner, it will gleefully pay attention to all of the colors (perhaps at the same time). 

But, as each page goes on, the brain becomes more used to the colors and perceives them not as new and novel, but as the same old thing.  As such, the ADHD mind will not divert its attention from whatever else is occupying it to make anything other than a cursory note of those colors.

Instead of getting pre-colored pages or sheets, use highlighters or markers to add your own dynamic colors.

For example, highlight your most critical task in the to-do list in yellow.  Highlight that critical can’t miss meeting in orange.  Highlight your spouse’s birthday in blue.  Write that important website to check out in purple ink.

Be sure to not overdo the color.  Too many colors becomes just so much noise to any brain, especially the ADHD-ADD brain.  Try and have just four or five colors (not including your usual black or blue ink) and use them sparingly.

Lastly, do not highlight the same things the same way each time.  Again, the key is to make the page look new and different, not to always have a 9:00am staff meeting highlighted in orange.

Change the color used to highlight your critical to-do item with the color you used to highlight your critical meeting.  Also, experiment with thick highlighting, think highlighting, highlighting a whole line and highlighting just a few key words.

You’ll find that there are two major benefits.

One benefit is that you have to actually go through that list you only half-read anymore in order to find the items that you want to highlight which means you will get more exposure to your whole list.

The second benefit is that your mind’s eye will constantly pop to each colored item because they are constantly in different locations and different colors which means you might actually not ignore that super-critical-top-of-the-list item that somehow normally just seems to blend in with things so instead you end up focusing on something like setting the Tivo to record So You Think You Can Dance.

ADHD Traits — No comments
08
Jun 09

How Do I Tell If I Have ADHD or ADD?

adhd-questions How to tell if you have ADHD is second only to what is it like to have ADHD among the questions that rattle around the brain of those with ADHD.  Unfortunately, the most common answers are either to check with a doctor or mental health professional because only they can make an actual diagnosis of ADHD, or to take a simplified, overly general, test.  The test questions are often so broad and inane that they simply perpetuate the myth that the symptoms of ADHD are the same as things that happen to everyone.  Ironically, both answers show a fundamental misunderstanding of the ADD/ADHD mentality.

Do I Have ADD or ADHD? Just Answer the Question!

People with ADHD, particularly adults with ADHD, are not prone to react well to either of the common answers to the query of whether or not they have ADD.  Typically, a person with ADHD does not reach the conclusion that they do potentially have ADD after sitting in quiet reflection about their daily life.  Rather, they are likely to have the thought pop into their head in the middle of doing something else. 

One of the most common times to wonder if you have ADHD/ADD is when beating yourself up for a recent failure or shortcoming.  “Maybe I have ADD,” is the kind of thought that many ADDers have right after thinking something like, “Why can’t you just get it together long enough to…” or maybe, “Why can’t you stay organized?”

For most adults with ADHD, the next stop is Google and a search for ADD.  Ironically, such a search will likely be futile since ADD and the word ‘add’ are the same thing when typed into a search box.  A search for ‘attention deficit disorder’ likely follows, and then perhaps after noticing another acronym, a search for ADHD which will yield better results.

Regardless, while the ADDer will read a dozen sites in a row – and indeed may enjoy doing so – to get the answer to their questions, they are not likely to stop and take a boring test, and are even less likely to call and schedule an appointment with a doctor or therapist.  Thus, the most helpful scenario for someone with ADHD is to provide a real answer, and not a bunch of legally approved boilerplate language about getting an answer from someone else.

Unfortunately, I can’t tell if you have ADD/ADHD since I am sitting behind a keyboard, and quite possibly am nowhere near it while you are reading this, not that it matters because even if I were sitting at my computer, it’s not like I can see you through the Internet or anything.

If that sentence sounds like something you say, or something you write, or have to stop yourself from writing, then signs point to yes.  If you read that sentence and started considering the possibility of video phones or video conferencing or some sort of online video conference, like Skype, then signs point even more so to yes.  If you didn’t get to this paragraph despite it being in italics before opening a new window or tab in your browser to lookup something about video conferencing or other tool or method, then the signs really point to yes.

Test To Find Out If You Have ADHD / ADD

The official tests used to determine if you have ADD or ADHD aren’t much better than the ones that you find online.  For the most part, they ask you to rank from 1 to 5 (Never through Always) if certain things happen to you.

As you take the test you’ll find yourself saying, “maybe” or “sort of” a lot.  In those cases, I would encourage you to choose 4 or 5.

That aside, I’ve developed some of my own ADHD quizzes to help determine if someone has ADHD.  These ADHD tests are not generic, are not boring, and are not official.  They won’t give you anything more than a real answer to your question.  THEN you can schedule an appointment with a professional or family doctor.

And that, is how the ADHD mind works.

Next Step —> ADHD Tests  (In my next post coming as soon as I get it formatted.)

ADD Organization Tips — No comments
28
May 09

Improve Your ADD/ADHD Organizational System With Expiration Dates

add-filing-sytem-picture One of the most interesting things about ADD is the defense mechanisms that develop in the people who have it.  Add to the fact that there are many different types of ADD/ADHD and differing levels of severity to the different experiences everyone has depending on friends, family, environment, socio-economic standing, and so on, and you get a million different ways to handle the little inconveniences that crop up due to ADD.

However, despite the unique nature of how people cope with the curve balls life throws at them, there are some themes that emerge as common actions or reactions for certain groups of people.  One of those common defenses is keeping everything just in case something is important.

Packrat Defense Syndrome

Having been burned one time too many by not having the right piece of paperwork or having accidentally thrown away something that was actually important, many ADDers respond by keeping virtually EVERYTHING, just in case.  I like to call this Packrat Defense Syndrome.  (I like to name my own things :)

Packrat Defense Syndrome, or PDS, works because IF the need ever arises, then the person will undoubtedly still have whatever scrap of paper, receipt, contract, box, packaging material, or whatever.  There is usually a question of just where the necessary item resides, but for a big enough issue, it is worth digging through a very big pile.  The trouble is, that PDS leads, by necessity to either very complicated organization or conversely, disorganization.

The average household generates an amazing amount of records that either can be important, or seem important each and every month.  From form-letter type notices sent by companies, to cancelled checks, to bills, to insurance statements, bank statements, brokerage statements, and all manner of receipts, it all quickly adds up to a large amount of stuff.  So much, that it can quickly overwhelm a filing cabinet and numerous file boxes.  The only solution is to start organizing the organization. 

Boxes with serial numbers consisting of month-day-year and then a 01, 02, 03, etc. to designate months with more than one box, all stacked vertically in storage by year, is just one example I’ve seen.  Some resort to electronic systems, scanning nearly every piece of paper to cross their desk.  Again, complicated spreadsheets or databases or tagging systems are necessary to keep track of it all.

In other cases, closets stuffed to the ceiling with piles and boxes of papers and other records virtually define pack rat.  Finding something in there requires time and effort to dig it out.  Generally, the amount of time and effort required must correspond favorably to the nature of the need, or the ADDer decides it isn’t worth it and just takes the hit like they didn’t have whatever is needed instead.

The Expiration Solution

One solution that has worked wonders for those with PDS is to stage your organization with expiration dates.

Whether very organized or not organized at all, a large amount of any paperwork or records lose their potential to be important over time.  For example, receipts and packaging kept just in case it was necessary to return something lose their value after the window to return it expires.  Leases, rental agreements, and even contracts stop being valuable after their termination date. 

Unfortunately, with PDS, there is no purging of records and thus, even though the system has become overwhelmed, it must continuously expand rapidly.

Expiration dates can make a huge difference.  Try taking a single filing box and marking it with a date 90 days from when it gets filled and you put the lid on it.  For non-organized types, any box with or without a lid will do.  Just throw something on top of the box so nothing else gets added once you write the date on the box. 

When that date arrives, pull the box out and go through it piece by piece.  As you do, you will come across things that you no longer need.  In fact, you might even wonder why you saved it to begin with.  Things like ATM receipts, directions to a party that you’ve already been to, and so on can all be shredded or recycled.  Other things will still need to be kept.  Just make 3 piles, Keep It, Shred It, Recycle/Toss It. 

When you are finished, put the Keep It pile back in the box and cross out the date.  Write in the date 180 days from the current date.  After another six months, even more of that pile will have lost all purpose and you can further winnow the stock.  Repeat the process.  Anything remains after this second sorting can enter your permanent organization system, whether it’s the closet or the numbered filing cabinets.  Either way, you’ll find that your system grows at a much slower rate and your organization will be that much better.

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