Question about Vyvanse

[Dimples]

Haven't been on these boards FOREVER!! I have personally been given a dx of Type 2 diabetes so have been over on THOSE boards since July and since DS has been doing so well in school didn't even come over here. I am back though to ask trusted friends a question. DS was doing quite well on the Daytrana Patch but it needed to be strengthened. DS is overweight and wanted to go back on oral meds to help with weight loss (something I did not agree with but his doc said okay). Doc wanted to try Vyvanse over our old medication Adderall XR. We agreed to a 2 week trial period. I didn't like what I saw in those 2 weeks and neither did DS....moodiness, irritableness, personality change. It did help him focus though. He was what I would call ridiculously focused. Really. Anyway we're back on 30 mg of Adderall XR and today was the first day. Any others have that experience with Vyvanse? Oh and the dosage he was on was 50 mg. Thanks!

[Mayleng]

A few have tried vyvanse with similar effects as your son. By the way how is he doing with Dr. Katz's program. Were there any improvements?

[Dimples]

I figured there might be more kids out there with similar effects of the Vyvanse. He's on 30 mg. now of Addrall XR and already after one day he thinks he's going to need a stronger dosage. He's 230 lbs. and 5' 10 so I'm wondering if that's not true. He is doing well with Dr. Katz's program. We had a setback this August as his only speech teacher was dxd with ovarian cancer and was out until January. A real disappointment for us and I blame the coop we get our services from at school. They didn't hire a replacement for her. We lost all those months. Finally in about November they had a speech aide do the program with him. Now that the speech path is back she tells me they see real strides in his memory. I have a meeting coming up with the speech team in a couple weeks so will find out then if they've heard back from Dr. Katz regarding a reeval possibly needing to be done. Thanks for asking.

[Mayleng]

Pls update us on the program, I am glad to hear things are back on track.

[healthy11]

I'm forgetting how old your son is, but given his height/weight, he must be past the start of puberty, and that is a time when many med dosages seem to need adjustment. Of course, you know medication dosages are very individualized, but if it gives you any reference, my son is 6 ft. tall and only weighs about 140 lbs, and he uses 30 mg. Adderall XR

[crescentcitygal]

Dimples...YES. My son had a similar reaction as yours to Vyvanse when he tried it over a year ago. On the positive side, it was the best med we've tried as far as helping him with focus in school. His teachers noted no problems whatsoever while he was on Vyvanse. But home was a different story. Once the med started wearing off, he became a completely different child. He would become angry, moody, weepy, and very anxious to the point of terror over small things. This would last into the next morning, until he had his next dose. Occasionally, he would wake up in the middle of the night screaming and crying about something that had upset him earlier in the day.

After taking him off Vyvanse and switching to Daytrana, it took about 2 weeks for him to get back to himself. It was a horrible time in our lives, and I spent many hours posting about it on this forum. Thank God for the support I received here. I am so glad that you got him off Vyvanse so quickly (it took us a while to figure out what was going on since the mood changes didn't take place until after the med wore off). I'm surprised that so many doctors seem to like Vyvanse. I have heard so many stories similar to ours...many more negative than positive, in fact.

[Dimples]

I will keep you all posted on the Dr. Katz program. I would really like to have him reevaluated to see if Dr. Katz sees the improvement the speech path sees. His schoolwork is very good....his main problem once again (or still?) is focus. On that subject I am glad too that we switched from the Vyvanse back to Adderall XR and as I told our doctor we may be back in two weeks for the Daytrana patch again. I think too that he needs a stronger dosage of the Adderall but I know most docs want to start out with the least amount of dosage and work up. I get that but I just think given his size he needs more. This is the same dosage he was on in 8th grade. He's now 16 (since Oct) and 230 lbs. He's a big boy! The Vyvanse was WONDERFUL for focus and was just basically unbelievable but then so was his personality change. I wanted my boy back! He was only on it for maybe 2 weeks. He could tell that he was not himself at night. He noticed the irritability right away. The teachers never saw this as it didn't happen until after 4:00.

[Mayleng]

It does sound like vyvanse has very bad rebounds for some kids.

When you do get ds reevaluted by Dr. Katz, definitely let us know if he sees improvements.

[sleepy]

My child was taking Concerta and the doseage stopped working so switched to Vyvanse. That wasn't working so they upped the dose (prior to the present gradiation). She ripped her fingernails off. So we tried Concerta at a higher dose but the same thing occurred. So, I can't say it was the vyvanse itself, but it did nothing to help her. I'm thinking my DD has underlying anxiety which was exacerbated by the increased doseage of meds. She is doing well without them, so we are keeping our fingers crossed.


My friend's son switchted to Vyvanse and it made him irritable, angry, and downright mean. Needless to say, that lasted about a week before switching back.

I'm sure for some kids it is great, but with all meds, not for all.

[Dimples]

My DS is very, VERY laid back. I saw the personality change almost instantly. I'd say within maybe 2 days. He noticed it too and did not like it. He wasn't mean but he was very sullen acting and wouldn't talk to his dad or me. Very strange behavior for him. We haven't had that problem with Adderall XR in the past and hope we don't see that now. I have mentioned this on the boards before but our pediatrician seems to only stick with one drug. I hear of kids being on Concerta, Metadate CD, etc. but our doctor never even brings up any other drugs to try. He told me the other day when we went in that he was here for the Ritilan era, the Adderall era and now the Vyvanse era. It's like he doesn't even know there's other drugs out there, which I realize he does but he sure doesn't ever bring them up to us. It was a real stretch for him to put DS on the patch a couple years ago. The only reason he did was b/c my son's stomach was so affected by the Adderall at that time and our option was to either go off all drugs and suffer the consequences of that or try the patch since it didn't go through the gastrointestinal system.

[healthy11]

Dimples, that's why a lot of people prefer to see a psychiatrist for medication management, because "staying up to date" about mental health issues is their specialty, and unlike a pediatrician, they don't have to deal with everything else from the common cold to broken bones, etc.
There's a current discussion started by majorv, about her 17-yr-old no longer wanting to see the pediatrician, and I encourage you to read it, as it may affect you in the near future, too...

[majorv]

Our pediatrician was actually pretty open to allowing my son to try something different if he didn't like the side effects or if the teachers reported that it wasn't working well. He even mentioned attending seminars to stay up to date on the new ADHD meds and what other docs' experiences were with different meds.

Our experience with Vyvanse wasn't all that great. The teachers said it worked well in the classroom, but my son didn't like how it made him feel while on it. The rebound was noticeable, too. To see my then 16 y.o. go hyperactive on me each evening was something I hadn't seen since he was young. He also had some sleep issues on it. My son finally refused to take it because he didn't feel like himself on it...something very important to him.

[jw]

Hi! One thing I have noticed about Vyvanse is that when you first start it, it is better to start with a low dose and slowly increase, rather than start right away at the ideal or expected dose. My ds has actually done really well on Vyvanse (he was irritable and angry on AdderallXR, and withdrawn and antisocial on Metadate CD, and we never could get the dose right on Strattera!). His case is a little unique because his anxiety is just as big an issue as his ADHD, so his response may be a little different!

jw

[kluv2jazztoo]

Logan was the same on the Vyvanse. It was wonderful for focus. The teacher's loved it. But come about 5 pm it was horrible. Fists pounding on the table, crying, horrible. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Loved the focus though. Wish it didn't have that rebound. Logan has horrible anxiety too, so maybe that is why it was so extreme. *shrug

[liz]

My son is 6 and weighs 44 pounds and takes a 50 mg dose of Vyvanse. According to the schoolpsychologist, he is the 2nd most hyperactive kid she has come across in 30 years of working with ADHD kids and she used to work in a hospital setting. I hate that he takes so much but he went up 14 levels in reading in a matter of months and sits still for the 1st time. We went from 20 to 30 to 40 to 50 in the course of a year. He has finally leveled out at 50. We are not sure about his tantrums as he has always been anxious and a big tantrumer. When he is on the med, we can get through to him so much better than when he is not on it. He becomes a different child, agreeable and less oppositional.

[healthy11]

liz, I just wanted to say, "welcome to Millermom's."

[dwolen]

I am sure that all the experienced parents will agree that it is not the dosage amount that matters, it is the person's response. If this dosage is good for your son, then the dosage is not too high. Its just a number. It would not be safer or better or more admirable to have him on a lower dose if he could not learn.
Its wonderful that he is doing so well in such a short period of time. You must be thrilled, too.

In the next 5-10 years, there will probably be genetic tests that predict which class of medication, amphetamine or methylphenidate, will be best for a particular person. And, there may be better ways to predict the best dose as more scientific studies are done. For now, upping the dose to the optimal response is the "state of the art." Some people need lower doses, some higher, for the same response. It may have to do with how fast or slow the liver metabolizes a particular medication in a particular person.

[Mayleng]

Welcome Liz.

[Dimples]

LOL. I must be losing it. Replied to the wrong thread. I've moved it to the right one. Interesting to read the different responses to my original question about Vyvanse. We, too, found the focus to be wonderful but the side effects weren't worth it. Now we're on 30 mg of Adderall XR and it's working great. No side effects at all. No stomach problems and he has normal focus...not the hyperfocus like he had on Vyvanse.

[Mayleng]

That's great Dimples. I wonder why the doctor started your son on vyvanse before trying Adderall XR (which has a longer track record).

[Dimples]

Yes I'm very happy with the Adderall XR. I wasn't sure it was working but with our mornings (crazy usually trying to get out the door) and trying to remember to give him his meds with food, etc., there have been days that he didn't get the meds. His lead teacher said she can tell when he's had the Adderall and when he hasn't. I was so glad to hear that it is working. It seems to be just the right dosage (for now anyway..we all know that can change). Hey Mayleng, I've posted something new about Dr. Katz and ADP on this board a few moments ago.

[kc4braves]

My son had similar horrible problems with Vyvanse. He seems to be a high metabolizer and had maxed out on concerta. He is 70 pounds and was taking 72 mgs a day or so. We took the Vyvanse for a few weeks last winter and it ended with a total meltdown of major proportions. We will probably never try Adderal after seeing how he did earlier on dexedrine spansules and now with Vyvanse. He switched to Daytrana and did well up until recently. Again maxed out taking 20 mg booster in am plus two patches. Not sure what we will try next but never Vyvanse again.

I was wondering why your son felt oral stims would cause weight loss as opposed to Daytrana. Or maybe I misunderstood all together. My son has same appetite supression from Daytrana as he did with Concerta or the others....even without the boosters in the am.

I hope the Adderall works for him!

Kathy

[Dimples]

The Adderall XR completely suppressed his appetite. He lost 15 lbs. in about 3 months on it. He stopped taking it b/c it just upset his stomach so much. Nothing helped as far as taking it on a full stomach or anything. His pediatrician finally took him off of it because of the weight loss (he didn't need to drop any pounds at that time). The pediatrician told us that Daytrana was different b/c it it doesn't get delivered through the gastrointestinal system. It never did upset his stomach. Strangely enough, the Adderall is not causing stomach upset now. He always takes it with food but has not had a problem with it like he did when he was younger.

[Mayleng]

The body changes as it grows, and many have been successful on meds that they have tried when younger that had adverse effects. So just because it did not work once a long time ago, is not reason to not try it again.