Vyvanse for ADHD
Vyvanse, an FDA-approved treatment for children with ADHD, has been available for about a year now. Many parents report good results on this long lasting stimulant, with many anecdotal reports of fewer side effects than Adderall XR and some other ADHD stimulants.
The main complaint about Vyvanse is that it had originally only been available in three dosage strengths - 30mg, 50mg, and 70mg. That limited how much you could adjust a child's dose of medicine and meant that if the a starting dosage of 30mg was too much, than the child likely couldn't take Vyvanse.
Three new dosage strengths are now available and should help pediatricians and parents fine tune a child's dose. These include 20mg, 40mg, and 60mg, which means that you can also start a child at a smaller dosage if you wanted to. This is especially helpful if you are switching a younger child who is only taking 10mg of Adderall XR or Focalin XR 10mg to Vyvanse.
Related:
ADHD Medications
ADHD
ADHD Symptoms
Concerta
Comments
my son is almost 12 and he has been on vyvanse for about a year, he is now an honor student and is in the junior beta club, i would appreciate hearinf from other parents about their pros and cons on vyvanse..my son has thanked me over and over for the med
Gloria,
See the reviews here:
http://www.drugs.com/comments/lisdexamfetamine/vyvanse-for-attention-deficit-disorder.html
I’m 17 years old. I’ve been on Adhd medicine for over a year now. I’ve switched types several times, because it seems all of them make me extremly irritable and always in a bad mood. Ive been on Vyvanse for almost a full year. At first i thought it was better than the previous choices. Now I would do anything to stop taking it. It seems like im a completly different person when I’m on it. I’m extremly irritable. I feel ocd. It makes me think so much that i get really stressed out. because i just think and have anxiety about everything at once. Its like I can never relax. But i’m not sure what to do. I try to stop taking it and i seem to have what i think is withdrawals. I feel like i can’t funtion without it. I can sleep nonstop when i don’t take it. I’m extremely irritable, i cry over nothing. and i get overwelmed. It’s to the point where i won’t even come out of my room until i take it because i feel like i can’t deal with life without it. I’m not really sure what to do, so if anyone has any advice?
Amy, If you are luck enough to live in one of the few states that have medical psychologists, seek an appointment with one. If not go to a psychiatrist. If the psychiatrist prescribed it and isn’t willing to tritate you off the medicine with another medication to help, then go to a different psychiatrist.
Amy, please seek out a psychologist. You may need intervention beyond ADHD medication. If you already see a psychologist, please make sure you mention the issues this drug is causing you.
My son recently started taking Vyvanse. We have noticed a marked decrease in his appetite and he also becomes sick to his stomach frequently. Has anyone else had these issues? How did your doctor help? Vyvanse seems to be helping Michael, and I do not want to stop his medication, but we are concerned.
i’ve been jumping from med to med since i was in the 5th grade i’m now in the 10th grade and on vyvanse and as with all the other meds, vyvanse isnt working. it’s truly a shame b/c b4 they put me on the meds i was passing-sure i got into a lot of trouble but i still passed. and now that i’ve been on the meds ive had summer school every year and my report card just came in… guess what i’m failing, 2 F’s, 2 D’s, a C-, and a B+ and B- in the easy classes.
This is a wonder drug. My daughter, 14, has struggled in school since the 4th or 5th grade. we have had her tested, been to tutors and most recently have spent thousands of dollars at Huntington Learning Centers. Her grades have always hovered at C’s, D’s and the occasional B. Since taking Vyvanse (last couple of months) she has had straight A’s. She reports that she can just focus and listen better in class, which then helps her do her work successfully.
my grandson has been taking vyvanse for two months and is doing well. His grades have gone up one full grade level. He is now able to listen and follow directions and is much improved in his attitude about school. We do have some concerns about the side effects. He has lost weight and at times is irritable and a little depressed in the evening. Its a toss up!
my daughter was prescribed vyvanse today..she is 8 …we are doing this as a last resort because she is soooo out of control…any ohters out there with younger ones taking this!
My daughter who is 11, was taken off of focalin xr because of weight loss. she gained 20 pounds over the summer and now will be starting vyvanse this weekend. any opinions about this drug, good or bad, would be greatly appreciated! Her moods and actions were horrible this summer. will vyvanse help this?
thanks!
Mel,
I’m maggie..and my daughter will be starting vyvanse this weekend. she is out mof control as well. Her temper is awful. Lets hope this medication works for our kids! Good luck!!!
My son who is 11 will start Focalin xr tomorrow. He has been on Concerta since he was 6. He can’t sleep at all on Concerta so we want to try a new med. Has anyone had any bad side effects with Focalin?
This may be a bit long – but here is our story…..
My son started first grade last year and after the first month or so, was really having challenges in the classroom setting. He has always had a lot of energy (positive), but now he was crying every afternoon, saying he wanted to be dead, was a bad person and would hide in either a cabinet or closet. It was terrible as a parent to watch your beautiful child fall into this abyss.
My husband’s cousin visited and after 5 days of witnessing what was happening suggested therapy. She had a positive result with her daughter so I checked with the local children’s hospital and contacted a psychologist. We really like him and were going once a week. Unfortunately, after almost two months, we weren’t doing any better, he was getting worse. We took “tests” questionnaires for both my husband and I as well as my son’s teacher. We were all on the same page – all saw the same issues, which isn’t always the case. He was diagnosed with ADHD.
We determined that he needed to see a neurologist to determine whether there was anything else other than the ADHD since there were a number of issues going on. Of course, it was over a month before we could see the Dr., in the meantime, he was suspended from school twice and received detention. After the second detention, we were so upset with the school and concerned for his mental health, we contacted the neurologist and asked to move up the appointment and we took him out of school. We home schooled our son for 11 days until all of his tests were completed – the neurologist recommended full blood work (which we completed the same day), and EEG awake and asleep and an MRI of his brain, followed by a meeting w/a psychiatrist. We were blessed to be at a wonderful children’s hospital with the top “brain” Dr. With their help, we were able to schedule all of the appointments for the following week. My husband and I took turns from work to home-school him – we worked with his teacher to obtain all of her class assignments and were even able to administer his tests. It was the best thing that we did – thankfully, all of his tests came back negative and we only dealing with the ADHD.
Through the psychiatrist, we started him on 30 mg of Vyvanse. At first it was great – we had him on the med for three days before sending him back to school. All was going well for the first two months – after which all of the side effects became apparent. He was very irritable, anxious, had low self-esteem (again), trouble interacting socially with other children. He had all of the fears all of a sudden. It was terrible. He was losing weight and is very thin to begin with, he couldn’t sleep. Each meeting with the psychiatrist, I would go through the list and he would assure me that it was “normal” and they would subside – other times, he would recommend other medications, feeling he was also ocd or odd. That was not the direction we wanted to go in.
We determined that when school ended, we would take him off the med in the hopes that he would gain some weight and sleep well. His Dr. didn’t agree – the psychiatrist provided a lot of support and suggestions on how we could do this. Unfortunately, after one week, it was evident that it wouldn’t work – no one was happy, least of all my son. After a family vacation, I went back to the psychiatrist and took my son’s appointment to let it all out and demand a new medication.
In mid-June, we started on Foclin RX 10 mg. What a difference – all of the anxiety is gone – he actually wants to eat – has gained a few pounds, but is much happier. We don’t have the same issues with his social interactions – he is resolving conflict on his own without lashing out or hiding. We are going to increase the dosage to 15 mg for school, however, since he really needs a bit more to focus that intensely.
It is a challenge and every child is different to its hard to say what will work for who. Just remember, you are your child’s advocate and know your child best – it is up to you to research everything that it given to your child in advance. Talk to other parents. That really helped me – to sit down with a small group of women and be completely open and honest about what is going on inside our homes with our families. Its very therapeutic and you’ll know you are not alone – you might just find out that your family life is a lot simpler than someone else’s. God bless and good luck!
My daughter who is now 8 has been on Vyvanse for about 9 months. Her Dr started her on the 30mg which worked great at first , she took it between 6 and 7 am then went off to school but after a while it seemed as tho the meds quit working for her by the time she got in from school about 2:30 she was hyper, forgetful didnt want to do her homework etc .. Her Dr decided to try her on 50 mg which also worked well for a few months and now she is up most of the night, she doesnt eat much through the day and only gets hungry in the late evenings / night hrs. She is very emotional and will literally cry and overreact at the smallest things. She is so irritable i cant handle being around her most days. The first few hrs after her meds kick in she seems fine even tho she talks alot but she does seem to concentrate more and she isnt hyper, she is polite and just generally a sweet kid but by the late afternoon early evening she can be impossible to deal with. She doesnt want to do her homework , she is tearing up toys , cutting up clothes and is mean to her two yr old brother. She back talks and will literally scream at me over a simple suggestion. It gets so bad some days that i actually fear for my two years saftey and i have a baby on the way.
My husband has adult ADHD and has been on Adderall for several yrs which works great for him so im considering talking to my daughters Dr about switching to Adderall. Has anyone ever experienced these side effects w/ Vyvanse and their children. Can i just quit giving her the meds cold turkey or should i wait until i talk to her Dr ?
Yes. While our 12 yr- old son was on Vyvanse, we tried 30 mg initially and then 20 mg because he would not eat and could not sleep. He overreacted over the smallest things, told us he hated us, threatened us, and scared us to death. We wondered, “Is this our son?” He still needed something to help him focus at school, but after struggling with the medication issue for 6 years and trying 6 different drugs, we decided we would like to have our son back, so he hasn’t taken any medicine since January of this year. His disposition has improved greatly and he has stopped threatening us, though we’re still not out of the woods yet. His sweet, funny personality has started shining through again. We don’t know if he will ever go back on ADHD drugs and we pray for him to be able to succeed in life without them. He has shown increased ability to pay attention but still is hard to motivate, is forgetful, and does not follow through on tasks. We stay after him but it makes him mad. I would say that if you have much trouble with any ADHD medication to switch to another one or lower the dosage. Too much medicine can make them act aggressive. Good luck!
Thank You, I think i may try the Adderall to see how she works with it and if i get the same results im just going to stop giving her meds period. I debated for over a year about putting her on ADHD medication to begin with but then she struggled in school to the point she nearly failed the First grade and then did super in the Second grade. I dont want her to fail but i literally cannot handle this hateful attiude anymore.
Hi, my 10-year-old niece is on Vyvanse and is not doing well. She has no appitite and is losing weight, she has no concentration, talks back, screams, threatens to hurt herself and others on occasion. Just reading all your comments are uplifting. At least we know we are not alone. Thanks for all the comments. please keep them coming.