Hi all,

I’ve been on 30mg Vyvanse for approx. 3 years now. I’d say it’s been a resounding improvement, though there have been some minor downsides.

Unfortunately I have some trauma in my past, and when I’m particularly in the peak of the drug it can kick in my fight or flight a bit under certain circumstances, becoming hyper vigilant and all that good stuff. It is a stimulant, it’s only fair. Oddly enough though this seems to only happen after long periods of taking the drug. I’ve tried 20mg for a period, and it wasn’t really effective, so going down a dose isn’t a practical option.

I am wondering if maybe I should be taking small drug holidays when the paranoia etc starts to kick in. I feel like it steadily gets stronger the more days I take Vyvanse in a row. I’ve done some searching that says it shouldn’t get stronger, which is why I’m wondering if anyone else has had the same experience, and if anything worked for you?

  • cmbabul@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    2 hours ago

    Vyvanse was awesome for me for like 2 weeks, after that it very much reminds me of taking Ritalin when I was a kid. Even keel to an absurd level, like all my emotions are muted and blunted. So I have the opposite problem as you, I couldn’t take it so it was back to adderall for me.

  • aStonedSanta@lemm.eeEnglish
    5·
    15 hours ago

    It sounds like you should talk to your therapist about the dreaded. Anxiety. It sounds like the stimulants are bleeding you over into anxious territory.

    • Baggie@lemmy.zipOPEnglish
      4·
      14 hours ago

      That’s pretty much it yeah, the anxiety and the mechanics behind it for me are pretty well understood at least. Right now it’s more just exploring the weird response the medication is causing, seeing if this is something anyone has encountered themselves.

  • eleitl@lemm.eeEnglish
    3·
    15 hours ago

    I stopped taking it due to adverse side effects after a few years. Try taking a break for a few weeks. 30 mg isn’t a significant dose.

    • Baggie@lemmy.zipOPEnglish
      1·
      14 hours ago

      Sorry to hear that, I know they can be rough.

      I spent a few months on 20mg when the shortage happened last year. It did indeed stop the anxiety but I was completely useless for most of that time unfortunately. I’m thinking maybe a day off a week or something might be enough to see some improvement.

        • LoKout@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          1 minute ago

          This is what my prescriber recommends with stimulants. They are very helpful for adhd, but hopefully not required for all functionality. From what I understand, if that seems to be the case, a stimulant will be paired with and anti-anxiety or anti-depressant for daily use to, hopefully, decrease the need for stimulants.

          For myself, taking a day or two off seems to help the efficacy of the stimulants. I’m not able to take vyvanse, as it ended up giving me terrible anxiety, but that will happen for some. I’m doing well on concerta instead, but the same principle applies.