My 18 year old son has been taking Vyvanse for a couple years after years on Concerta and Adderall and Strattera.  He is ADHD however.  He also seems to depressed on vyvanse and feels hollow inside.  He is much easier to be around, is able to focus more, is less oppositional and angry on Vyvanse, and is more like a regular human being but it is not perfect.  During the med eval, the doctor said that Vyvanse can be a depressant when it is used alone.  She is trying out Saphris on him to help with his anxiety depression and sleep problems.  We may end up using that in combination with Vyvanse.

After 8 years of working with ADHD meds with my son, I can see that it is a real art form coming up with the right meds combination for each person, especially if there are other psychological issues.

First and foremost, you have to advocate for yourself. Your Dr. may not necessarily be up to date on treatments, or he may have his own prejudices. I was diagnosed earlier this year at age 48. Initially, I was put on Adderall, which was great initially, but made me really edgy after a couple of months. I switched to Ritalin which has been much smoother. Also look at dietary supplements, such as zinc, magnesium, fish oil. etc. Read, read, read.

First of all I have to agree whole heartedly that finding the right drug is a matter or trial and error.  I have been on drugs for years and then they suddenly quit working.  I wouldn’t worry too too much about the insurance not paying for a drug they covered before but more and more these days ins. co. publish which drugs you have to jump through more hoops for and how much it might cost you.  I have been treated for depression for over 20 years now and just recently started taking methelphenedate to supplement the budaproprion and lexipro I take and it has improved my productivity immensely and I do not sleep all day long and drag around.  With just the budoproprion and lexipro I still had days of feeling depressed but kept the really dark days away.  Now I feel like I get more accomplished and that makes me feel better about myself and with recent accomplishments to remind myself that I am not a total loser I get along much better.  MY biggest most important piece of advice is find a psychiatrist and or psychopharmacologist is best to prescribe your meds.  That is their area of expertise so use it.  Best of luck to you.

After taking Vyvanse for a few months I found I was getting depressed, also.  My psychiatrist had me add 5HTP, and I’m not sure if that’s what made the difference, but the depression has lifted (I’m having marital problems, too, so it’s hard to tell if the depression is attributed to that, or the meds.  Anyway, I take 100 mg 5HTP in the morning and another 100 mg in the evening.  It should be taken on an empty stomach.

I’m also on Intuniv, which has helped with my impulsivity (I call it the no-filter-between-my-brain-and-my-mouth thing—- saying whatever pops into my head, and also over-reacting to things.  The thing I notice with the Intuniv is that when someone says something that would normally get my adrenalin going (in anger), I can now stay restrained, because I don’t feel the physical stuff happening (the adrenalin). 

My psychiatrist has also had me take L-Dopa when the Vyvanse is “not enough”.  I haven’t taken that enough to know if it helps in that case, since the Vyvanse gives me as much stimulant effect as I need. 

For me, the difference between Adderall, Ritalin, and Concerta verses Vyvanse is that I don’t get the super-intense feeling with the Vyvanse, as I did with the others.  I may get a bit too buzzed, but it doesn’t have that intensity.  Altho, when I took too much Vyvnase it definitely kept me hyper-focused and intense!  Very small dosages work for me - I only take 10 mg in the morning and again in the afternoon (I break a 30 mg capsule and stir it into water, and it gives me 3 doses).

Also, your insurance co (and doctor!) should know that it’s common for one med to work at one time, and then change.  But.. I think it’s still hard to find docs who are really up on ADHD/ADD.  We’re still in the dark ages with them, I think..

Hope this helps in some way!

Hello,

My experience with Vyvanse is that your mood is effected by protein.  If I don’t get B vitamins, enough healthy fat or protein (because its easy to forget to eat while you focus focus focus)... I can become cranky.  As soon as I feel cranky, I just go buy a muscle milk or a Trader Joes protein shake with 35mg of protein.  Voila! 

My son was taking it, but I couldn’t control his diet and he got headaches, very bad ones.  He got headaches before his ADD diagnosis though and Vyvanse intensified them.  BUT the doctor said that he cannot eat nitrates, sugar, or skip protein with Vyvanse.  He will get a migraine if he eats poorly then takes vyvanse.

So diet is huge with any medication, I’m sure, but I really notice it with this one.

@Jenstew Have you tweaked your meds enough now that you know which is better for you?—the stimulant or non-stimulant?  I have ADHD combined form.  Vyvanse had been a godsend—I have a safety-sensitive job that requires me to be alert and awake.  It’s also helped my sociability.  But the past few months, it’s also effected my memory (in a bad way!), and I’m having so much trouble getting anything accomplished.  I sleep in too late, and I can’t make myself get into bed before about noon.  Also having problems making myself do things—Very frustrating.