Adderall (20mg 2x’s/day) worked wonderfully for years.  Then, I began experiencing the ‘blues’ and severe headaches.  I went back to Ritalin because it worked for me in the past…not this time. 
Tried Focalin and wow it did not work for me.  Talk about a long road….
So, I am back on Adderall XR 10mg.  So far so good.  It seems Adderall is the med for me.
I am also a teacher, btw.  Keep us updated on the Vyvanse please.

Adderall is a brand name it has been around a long time so generics are usually dispensed.

You can ask the doctor for the name brand.

You also should be taking the XR to cover more of the day. It is much easier on you. They claim 8-12 hours depending on dosage.

Vyvance is new so no generic yet. It will be more $$$.
Also 8-12 hours

If the effectiveness is wearing off for you on Adderall you might try a one week trial ox 30 mg Adderall XR before you change altogether.

Discuss with your doctor. All the drugs are harder to get but name brands (I think they can get more $$$) are more available.

Has anything else happened in the past few months? Change of schedule, diet, move, breakup? Sometimes these thing can mess with your brain chemistry.

Eat a high protein breakfast and maybe Omega-3.

You are going through a normal drug cycle, don’t sweat it. We are here to help.

Good Luck
Augie
FREE Drug Discount Card
http://addsherpa.com/drug-discount-card/

I used to take the short-acting generic Adderall 30mg 2x/day.  Because I tended to be prone to headaches with it, my doctor wanted to try me on Vyvanse.  I’m still on it til next month’s appointment when I can hopefully switch back.  I think the shortage is a bit better now than it was, too.  Vyvanse at 70mg doesn’t work as well for me so it doesn’t even compare to Adderall.  My focus is okay, but not as good,  motivation is low, and I have a hard time falling asleep at night.  I’ve taken to skipping days lately!  I can’t take anything in the Ritalin family…. so it’s Adderall for me.  The XR gives me more headaches, so I’ll stick to the short one and cross my fingers it stays in stock!  Keep us posted and good luck!!

My experience was that the Adderall caused many negative side effects for me. Vyvance which is not in the Ritalin family but is dextroamphetamine after it is metabolized in the bloodstream. That results in a much smoother uptake and drop off that lasts for 8 to 12 hours. If you have trouble sleeping you should take it earlier in the morning and learn about melatonin. All amphetamines have a tendency to increase anxiety so you must continue to deal with that through therapy and possibly medication. The simple fact is that each medication and each delivery system has a different effect on each individual. My experience was that my doctor moved up my dosage too quickly but I soon realized it and moved back down to get maximum effect and minimum side effects. Consider that you needn’t worry about changing your medication all through life if you have a doctor who actively listens to you. Along with getting the medication correct, having a coach has been the most important thing in my life in terms of being the person I want to be.
Give me a call if you want to discuss it more fully. Bob Hathcock 828-331-8014.

There’s no right answer here. You need to try it and see if it works for you. I was on Wellbutrin for years; then added Vyvanse for a few years. Then switched to Adderall and now I use Adderall XR. So it all depends on you and how your body reacts and changes over time.

At night I take a tiny dosage of Xanax (0.5 mg) and Melatonin and sleep quite nicely.

I find that Vyvanse does have fewer peaks and valleys than Adderall (I take 40mg, have been for 4 years). I have a little surge of nervous energy when it kicks in in the morning, but then the effect evens out and remains consistent most of the day. The strength and duration seems to depend heavily on when and how much I eat. If you feel it is too strong or you have side-effects (shifty jaw, clenched jaw, sweating), you may want to take it after breakfast. If it’s too slow to kick in, take it before. And make sure you eat consistently—skipping meals (which is easy to do with the appetite suppressant) may make the headaches and jaw stuff worse.

And some days I still feel like the my inattentiveness is raging regardless of medication. I just assume those are the days the ADD is winning…

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I had been on 20mg Adderall XR for a few months, however, Due to expense and I can’t take Generic I switched to Vyvanse 30 1x a day. I agee with what Katewala about taking it. I get a little surge in the Morning, then it evens out through the day. Sometimes, I wonder IF its working during the day because there is a Change from when I take it the through the day it is pretty even. Adderall XR, gave me highs and lows all during the day. I hope this works. It seems to be better than those Ups and Downs.

I would add a word of caution about Vyvanse.  I know meds affect different people in different ways, but my teen daughter had terrible troubles with Vyvanse.  Her mood swings were frightening; the medication caused her to be agitated to a borderline violent state.  We tried Vyvanse on 2 separate trials and determined it was the medication causing the problems.  Of course, others have had success with it, so just monitor your reactions.

In my experience medication works the best if you take a conservative dose whilst sleeping well, eating right and doing 30+ minutes of cardio a day as well as keeping your stress to a minimum.
Cheers,

Justin

We sound very much alike, I’m 25 and have been trying to figure out over the last 7 months whats been going on with me as it’s nearly impossible for me to get my animation career going. I’m not sure yet if this is the ultimate solution as I haven’t gotten into treatment yet but just from the relief I’ve gotten from doing a few exercises I think it may be the answer:

http://www.pathwaystobettervision.com/

(this is the website with the exercises)
http://www.eyecanlearn.com/

Thank you all SO MUCH for your help!

@anniewriter64 : I would be interested to talk to you further about your daughter’s mood swings. I have been on the Vyvanse for almost a month now, and I have been feeling very lonely and a little depressed lately. I DO have some things going on with myself in my life (ex: thinking about moving and changing jobs), but really it is nothing that i haven’t handled before in my life. For the first time EVER I have been feeling very isolated, crying a lot, and overreacting about certain situations. I can’t say if it is for SURE due to the vyvanse, but I’m going to talk to my doctor about it.

The other thing I have noticed so far is that my concentration is much better, but at the same time on the Adderall my energy level was much higher. There are days that I come home and have headaches and feel very drained.

I will keep you all posted after my next appointment. I do have a coach, and I exercise regulary as I am a dancer also…. I am not someone who wants the medication to run my life, just want it to help a little to regulate my attention.