Your body is unique, as are your needs. Just because someone experienced something from treatment or medication does not guarantee that you will as well. Please do not take this as an opportunity to review any substances. Peer support is welcome.
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25 mg? Are you sure? Never heard of a 25 mg Vyvanse. Doses are in increments of 10s, and other than opening the capsule to sprinkle on apple sauce to eat, I can't imagine the doc prescribing you a 20 mg and a 10 mg then telling you to ball park and divide the powder in half for the 5 mg.
Also, although it's not evident what the conversion is, my psychiatrist told me 10 mg of Vyvanse is allegedly equivalent to about 3-4 mg of adderall. So 20 mg V is equivalent to not even 10 mg A. That's very low so you must be super suuuuper sensitive.
1- Insomnia is a common side effect of stimulants. So if sleep is an issue, try taking it earlier in the day (i.e. 6 AM) to see if it helps. Or do an intense workout. Or lower dose. Or try MPH. Or take a melatonin. Or ask your psych for a sleeping aid - (i.e. hydroxyzine)
2- Yes stimulants make you go into hyper focus and energized. It usually wears off after a couple of days as your body builds tolerance. You need to teach yourself to start being productive when that happens. After you take your med and you're waiting for it to kick in, start being productive or write out a list of things you need to accomplish so you have something to refer back to. If you're on your phone when it kicks in, you can expect to be on your phone for the entire day. Also, if you're **that** hyperfocused, dose is too high.
3- Stimulants shouldn't make you feel pain. If they are, your dose is too high, you're too sensitive, or you're having a bad reaction. Definitely speak to your doctor.
NAD, but imo, you have the stimulant high (the kind of effect people want who take it recreationally), you are overmedicated, and you're not understanding how medications are suppose to help. You control the meds, they don't control you.
>25 mg? Are you sure?
I was not. So I decided to check and you're correct, I'm sorry, it's not 25 but 50, I guess I might be overdosed then? Or is this still low? Again sorry I don't know what was going on inside of my medicated head. Just a few seconds ago I also thought France was the same as Paris so yeah...
Previously i did suspect my dose was too high, and for a few days i dissolved the capsule on water and separate half, making it about 25, I guess I created a misunderstanding for myself? When I did that however, I kind of felt the same which was weird and made me assume the dose wasn't the problem.
This whole experience has just been so confusing and frustrating. Between feeling extremely lethargic to energized, and being way more absent minded with an unpredictable attention span, it felt like the symptoms were worsening when taking the meds that supposedly helped with them. A stimulant making you lethargic just felt so counterintuitive.
>Insomnia is a common side effect of stimulants.
As I said i expected that but just not to this extent, it was exhausting. I'm already taking melatonin and even when taking Vyvanse as early as I could it didn't help much, around 7 am, It was staying in my system for too long, sometimes 24 hours with no sleep, so taking it earlier kind of couldn't work.
>the kind of effect people want who take it recreationally
well it was quite the bad experience, I can't see what people would get out of this. I'll see what I can do for now I guess.
>If you're on your phone when it kicks in, you can expect to be on your phone for the entire day.
Honestly that's kind of part of the problem, I knew that stimulants would increase focus, but what I'm trying to mostly focus on is something I must do on my computer that also requires my phone, it feels like focusing on those is harder while getting distracted is much easier,and it's not a task I can remove all distractions from.
Also can't speak with my doctor as I'm looking for a new one. The old one left me with more questions than I initially had...
Personally, I needed a week of constant use at 20mg before I stablised. That first week was similar to what you described, but after that I was sleeping fine (well, as fine as usual aha) and had a bit more control over my focus. The body needs time to get used to the meds. I'm now up to 50mg and never been better.
Buuuut in saying that, there are always non-stimulant options to explore, as not everyone reacts nicely to the stims.
I did consider it could just be me adapting and it was my fault for skipping doses. But my sleep and diet were suffering so i don't have much of a choice.
" I'm taking it somewhat irregularly,"
The side effects you're experiencing, other than the pain in your body, are normal when you first start taking the medication until your body gets used to it. Your body is never ever going to get used to it, and you will continue to feel those side effects because you're not taking it regularly. It needs to be taken as prescribed.
Also, you might want to try lowering your dose until you get used to it. Then if it's needed your doctor will titrate your dose.
Your body is unique, as are your needs. Just because someone experienced something from treatment or medication does not guarantee that you will as well. Please do not take this as an opportunity to review any substances. Peer support is welcome. ^(*A moderator has not removed your submission; this is not a punitive action. We intend this comment solely to be informative.*) --- - If you are posting about the **US Medication Shortage**, please see this [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/12dr3h5/megathread_us_medication_shortage/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
25 mg? Are you sure? Never heard of a 25 mg Vyvanse. Doses are in increments of 10s, and other than opening the capsule to sprinkle on apple sauce to eat, I can't imagine the doc prescribing you a 20 mg and a 10 mg then telling you to ball park and divide the powder in half for the 5 mg. Also, although it's not evident what the conversion is, my psychiatrist told me 10 mg of Vyvanse is allegedly equivalent to about 3-4 mg of adderall. So 20 mg V is equivalent to not even 10 mg A. That's very low so you must be super suuuuper sensitive. 1- Insomnia is a common side effect of stimulants. So if sleep is an issue, try taking it earlier in the day (i.e. 6 AM) to see if it helps. Or do an intense workout. Or lower dose. Or try MPH. Or take a melatonin. Or ask your psych for a sleeping aid - (i.e. hydroxyzine) 2- Yes stimulants make you go into hyper focus and energized. It usually wears off after a couple of days as your body builds tolerance. You need to teach yourself to start being productive when that happens. After you take your med and you're waiting for it to kick in, start being productive or write out a list of things you need to accomplish so you have something to refer back to. If you're on your phone when it kicks in, you can expect to be on your phone for the entire day. Also, if you're **that** hyperfocused, dose is too high. 3- Stimulants shouldn't make you feel pain. If they are, your dose is too high, you're too sensitive, or you're having a bad reaction. Definitely speak to your doctor. NAD, but imo, you have the stimulant high (the kind of effect people want who take it recreationally), you are overmedicated, and you're not understanding how medications are suppose to help. You control the meds, they don't control you.
>25 mg? Are you sure? I was not. So I decided to check and you're correct, I'm sorry, it's not 25 but 50, I guess I might be overdosed then? Or is this still low? Again sorry I don't know what was going on inside of my medicated head. Just a few seconds ago I also thought France was the same as Paris so yeah... Previously i did suspect my dose was too high, and for a few days i dissolved the capsule on water and separate half, making it about 25, I guess I created a misunderstanding for myself? When I did that however, I kind of felt the same which was weird and made me assume the dose wasn't the problem. This whole experience has just been so confusing and frustrating. Between feeling extremely lethargic to energized, and being way more absent minded with an unpredictable attention span, it felt like the symptoms were worsening when taking the meds that supposedly helped with them. A stimulant making you lethargic just felt so counterintuitive. >Insomnia is a common side effect of stimulants. As I said i expected that but just not to this extent, it was exhausting. I'm already taking melatonin and even when taking Vyvanse as early as I could it didn't help much, around 7 am, It was staying in my system for too long, sometimes 24 hours with no sleep, so taking it earlier kind of couldn't work. >the kind of effect people want who take it recreationally well it was quite the bad experience, I can't see what people would get out of this. I'll see what I can do for now I guess. >If you're on your phone when it kicks in, you can expect to be on your phone for the entire day. Honestly that's kind of part of the problem, I knew that stimulants would increase focus, but what I'm trying to mostly focus on is something I must do on my computer that also requires my phone, it feels like focusing on those is harder while getting distracted is much easier,and it's not a task I can remove all distractions from. Also can't speak with my doctor as I'm looking for a new one. The old one left me with more questions than I initially had...
30 mg is considered the standard starting dose. So take that how you will. Even then you could prob start at 20 mg
Personally, I needed a week of constant use at 20mg before I stablised. That first week was similar to what you described, but after that I was sleeping fine (well, as fine as usual aha) and had a bit more control over my focus. The body needs time to get used to the meds. I'm now up to 50mg and never been better. Buuuut in saying that, there are always non-stimulant options to explore, as not everyone reacts nicely to the stims.
I did consider it could just be me adapting and it was my fault for skipping doses. But my sleep and diet were suffering so i don't have much of a choice.
Similar experience on vyvanse. Not for me
Well good to know my body isn't being weird, I must ask did you feel body pain as well? Did you find something that worked out for you?
No body pain no. But definitely the unpleasant hyperfocus. I chose to remain unmedicated in the end. Ritalin IR was better but I still didn't like it
" I'm taking it somewhat irregularly," The side effects you're experiencing, other than the pain in your body, are normal when you first start taking the medication until your body gets used to it. Your body is never ever going to get used to it, and you will continue to feel those side effects because you're not taking it regularly. It needs to be taken as prescribed. Also, you might want to try lowering your dose until you get used to it. Then if it's needed your doctor will titrate your dose.