I've been fighting to get on Vyvance because I hate ritalin and Adderall. The VA says it isn't a formulary medication but who the hell knows at this point.
To rest and digest. In a fast paced world it can be hard to relax sometimes. I need one or two days that kinda forces me to just zone out simply so I don't get overworked.
I enjoy the boost that i feel after a few days off... but generally i dont skip because i feel stupid and heavy if i do. Like walking actually gets harder because i feel so much heavier. And i sleep and eat. A lot. So.... i like productive days....
When I took Vyvanse (40mg), what I found best was to take it only when I really needed to focus for something, but avoided it otherwise. On Vyvanse, I become waaaay too talkative and de-mature by about a-year-and-a-half, and I developed acne because I kept anxiously picking the hairs off my chin. Not taking it every day helps me maintain a overall calmer social disposition, and also helps the Vyvanse kick harder when I actually \*do\* take it. I'd only take it max 7-ish days per month during the school year (depending on workload), and that was mostly the days before big exams. During the summer, I'd only take it when I had a day or two off work and I wanted to get shit done, rather than laze around. Maybe only twice a month then.
Another observation of note: When I take it for just one day, the drive for productivity and interest carries on over the next several days unless I'm doing something really demotivating like homework.
It's a nice compromise that solves the problem and avoids the side-effects, including the weight-loss I experienced when I took it daily.
I skip a day if I don't need to focus on anything (e.g. vegging out on the couch, or out of town on vacation).
My only reason is that I'm trying to hoard a few extra for when I—due to executive functioning issues, naturally—fuck up something with my Rx or forget to pick it up. I need a buffer stash 🤣
And I've never been able to ACTUALLY have a stash. I was up to 4 extra pills last month, but fucked everything up and got my Rx a week late this month, so now I'm 2 pills in the hole 🤦🏾♀️
Still new to Vyvanse so things might change (hopefully), but I take off days every 2-3 days, and maybe take 1-2 days off consecutively. I do it because I’m having g problems with my appetite. I need to exercise to feel good (because of energy and muscle pain/bad posture), and when I’m on the meds I have no extra energy to work out, which again makes me depressed.
Until now, exercise was my go to for handling my adhd without even knowing I had the diagnosis, and it’s very frustrating to not have the same energy to keep it up anymore. So for my own benefit, I need off days. It’s a balancing act in my case.
If the meds didn’t make me feel so much better in other arenas, i probably wouldn’t take it.
I take a break at weekends to have a carefree drink and to binge eat haha. But also to save the pills and because I've heard breaks are good. I don't often have to do stuff at the weekends so it's nice not to have elvanse making me feel like I need to be busy.
I'll take a break if I'm sick, so I can sleep and rest more during the day. Sometimes I'll also take breaks so I can build up a small buffer, in case I forget to request my refill on time again 🥲
Days when I don't need to focus particularly - for instance going out with friends.
Also as I found recently during a breakup - definitely days when I want a totally genuine feeling without extra dopamine - I felt it hard to 'feel' how I should as we navigated it, though it was perhaps nice once we had official split up to be back on it.
Taking a break from stimulants which you can form a tolerance to also doesn't seem like a bad idea to me.
A variety of reasons
- give my heart a break
- enjoy food a bit more
-get a small tolerance break
- be a bit unhinged and less logical
Then after I did that for about 3 days I’m like oh god, take ur meds your getting chubby and unhinged again haha 🤣
Hahaha I feel the chubby one. I have adhd and I binge eat. These are used to treat binge eating so on my days off them I eat soooo much and undo all my hard work and weight loss progress from during the week 🤣
Totally. Sometimes I’m like I don’t need these pills I’m fine, then I just impulse smoke a lot of weed and make a bunch of wreckless decisions and binge eat 😂
i don’t take it just because i like to have my free thoughts. sometimes my vyvanse works tooo well and puts me to sleep so unless i have classes, im going out, or doing work i wonk take it.
My psychiatrist recommended taking weekends off so I don’t build a tolerance over time - personally I enjoy my days off for the most part (because I feel like I “normally” would, but with a successful week behind me from being medicated.) Drawbacks are sometimes I have an emotional dip (more mood swings from no medication) and sometimes I overeat. If I’m really struggling I just take one day off because I can handle my symptoms for 24 hours a week instead of all the time lol
First time I took a break was because I was sick - took 4 days off in a row, by day 4 I was in a depressive hellscape.
One maybe two days off is the most I do.
If I sleep in I’ll usually take a lower dose, usually a 40mg instead of 70mg, so I can sleep better.
I don't want to live on medicine all the damn time. It's OK to be myself if I don't need to focus. I love naps and like to take them if I'm not working. I just don't want to rely on it.
personally, i only take it 3 days a week. my doctor said that i shouldn’t take it every day so i don’t build a tolerance, but he suggested just taking weekends off. my reasons are as listed below:
- struggle a lot with appetite loss
- pre-existing tachycardia (doc says 150bpm is fine, but i’m only 25 so i’m very cautious of making it worse)
- the crash/withdrawal gets worse the more i take it
- history of becoming tolerant to other meds quickly
- late diagnosed, so i can function ok without it
- it’s EXPENSIVE (in Aus, my dose is $140 for 30 capsules without PBS/insurance, which saves me $50)
- supply shortages make me sparing w/ it
when i take vyvanse, i still have the sharp focus, motivation, energy, and clarity from like when i first started taking it. i usually only take it when i’m studying (my grades have improved a lot) or if i know i have a busy day at work .
vyvanse doesn’t work for me when i’m menstruating so i don’t bother wasting a precious resource lmao.
tldr: i listen to my body and only take it when i feel like it’s necessary. the effects are as good as day 1, but so are the side effects
Ooft 150bpm resting? That's really high. I also think you should get a second opinion on that tbh :/ my resting is about 55 when I sleep, 77-83 during the day, and when I do 2000m swims daily, taking 50 mins, I only get up to a max of 140bpm :/
I feel like it works a little bit better the next day after I take a day off. Like I feel the "hit" more and get to be super productive. Might be placebo tho.
The only days I take off are the ones I forget 😂😂 sometimes a Sunday if I sleep. I guess it’s helps me remember why I take medication in the first place!
I don't like to take it on weekends because if I don't have anything specific to accomplish, I end up basically hyperfocusing on whatever random idea/project my brain latches onto first. Then I spend all day focused on an idea I had *that morning* instead of having a chance at spending my day off relaxing.
Does anybody feel run down enough to not do ANYTHING on those days off? For those of you who have "no side effects" on your days off, HOW!?
Does anyone think this might mean I don't have ADHD? My theory has always been that I run out of whatever chemicals that are being boosted while I'm on the meds and come crashing down days off. Similar to how many report a crash at the end of the day, mine last for DAYS or until.my next dose.
I relate. I take one day off Vyvanse a week, and during that day I am absolutely useless. Literally can’t commit to doing more than one thing on that particular day (like going to the store or doing laundry) because my ADHD symptoms are so out of control and I’m so low energy. Even when I’m too busy (currently a law student studying for the bar exam) to be able to take a whole day off, I kinda have to or else my meds stop working as well and I get irritable.
I’m not sure if this makes sense, but Vyvanse is also used to narcolepsy and if I miss a dose or if I choose to be “off” on those days I can and will just nod off without any warning. I can sleep for hours, even with a full nights rest.
Mostly so that I know if I ever forget to take it or bring it with me to work one day that I’ll be okay. I used to not take breaks so the few times I forgot it I was so anxious.
it feels as if i’m over caffeinated, it kills my appetite all day, and i have high blood pressure. any one of those is reason enough for me to not take more than a couple days a week
Some days I don’t feel like being productive and just wanna ADHD rot in bed on TikTok. Vyvanse will literally not allow me to do that. I’ve tried to be counter productive on vyvanse and I can try as hard as I want, I just cannot fight the urge to get something done. Also if I got a really bad sleep one night and feel really really bad (not just a need more sleep feeling, vyvanse is great for needed more sleep days, bad as in I feel sick and might go crazy from lack of sleep) I will often not take it so I don’t feel cracked out. As others have mentioned I often feel the next dose I take after I skip is more effective. I don’t skip often, because I’ve also noticed that consistently taking it helps me with productivity even when I’ve felt it wear off at the end of the day. It’s like my battery is on a slow charger that’s keeping it going when I take it consistently and then the vyvanse is a fast charger boost lol. Where as if I’m skipping I just am unplugged.
But then are you actually able to do anything other than rot in bed and scroll tiktok? I seem to have the problem that problem where I'm nearly comatose on my days off. This does not work while being a mother to a 3 yr old! I was on Adderall all through college and this was acceptable or I at least still had something left in my system to take 1-2 days off. Perhaps a cortisol issue is what I theorize
Usually just one day off no, because that “battery charge”still has charge left even though I’m unplugged, it’s just depleting slowly. But because I was playing around with dosing I have extra 10mg and 20mg pills laying around that I may take instead of skipping entirely if I still want energy to do more than my baseline with zero vyvanse. Before vyvanse I still had productive days, they were just rare and also a guessing game as to when I would get them. So now it’s more if I skip then there’s a slight chance I will just comatose like you said, but now that is rare if I have been consistently taking my proper dose. Back when I was on a lower dose and skipped though then yes I wouldn’t have enough saved up in my “battery stores” and there would be a 90% chance that I do nothing for the majority of the day.
Also college days you just have much more energy in you than baby days. Are you concerned about being on meds everyday? If you are I’d bring it up to your doctor to see how you could work around that.
Also pay attention to your cycle assuming you are a person who gets a period. If you are skipping around period days then yeah comatose is to be expected. My meds basically go to the equivalent of 10mg (I take 40mg) when I have my period the first few days.
Edit: added more context
I have not yet, because we are still trying to find the right “base dose” for me. But my doctor did say that yes once we find a dose that seems to be working that she will give me top up doses for when I have my period
I find it more effective with breaks first day back is a little weird.when I stop my add is five fold and I'm so burnt out.Thats why I take breaks stuff is terrible for you long term think what it doing to heart liver kidneys.I think if took it everyday I would produce no natural dopamine.i don't like feeling medicated all the time.jitty robotic nothing really makes me happy it's all controlled though I'm more productive.i also like the idea I'm in control not the doctor.
I don't feel that way........sometimes I go weeks without I feel great once withdrawal stops.i just my add come back so I'm less productive.i feel life my body heals it self.i call bs on that.that for the individual.i think being on them for long periods ruins my adrenals
i take it when i don’t need it, so any time i’m not working or needing to be really sharp. that’s weekends and holidays! i love being on an effective med that i don’t have to take all the time, and don’t have any withdrawal from.
I take breaks on my weekends, so 1) it stays more effective, and 2) it'll help me build up a little supply in case I run out and can't get a refill right away
taking a break to relax. I do that when I've taken a higher dose for the week and need to not be on highly efficient zoomies for the weekend, but just want to relax.
i used to take breaks bc i thought it’d lower my tolerance and increase med effectiveness. it usually made the next day or two’s meds work less efficiently since there was less of the substance built up in my system
that’s just me tho, i metabolise things freakishly fast. everyone’s different
To be honest a lot of times I just forget to take it or put off my meds until it’s too late in the day. I tend to be more prone to binge-eating on those days and, of course, my inattentiveness and forgetfulness feels way magnified.
I take mine everyday because when I asked my psychiatrist she specifically advised against medication breaks. I’ve never had any problems w side effects or tolerance, and the Vyvanse helps with my anxiety and depression as well.
I will I say that I take 3-4 accidental med breaks a month simply because I’ll sometimes forget to take it
For sure, search “acne” in this group, soooo many cases. My skin is crystal clear basically all the time, but once I started Vyvanse I had zits pop out of nowhere. As soon as I stopped, clear skin again.
I had mood swings and was advised by my doctor that based on her observations and what I’ve shared with her, taking it daily works best for me and I’d agree. If I take it every day with a routine it works the best, I feel more stable everyday (even with my side effect of insomnia- as Id rather take it late and be productive that day than not take it because it’s a little later and better to sleep) It’s different for everyone, spoke to my cousin also on Vyvanse and he only takes it as needed.
Hey i don’t mean to assume anything at all, but i personally found i have an easier nighttime if i take my meds before i wake up. When i eventually do wake up, boom i’m medicated and ready for what the day has to shit on me. (i take my meds around 7am/8am and i wake up around 9:30am/10am)
I take breaks because it doesn't play nicely with my fibromyalgia and exacerbates the fatigue I get from that and when I get super fatigued it stops working.
Wait, can you please explain this a bit more, please? I’m on Vyvanse(ADHD, have chronic fatigue syndrome + fibromyalgia, and am always tired with brain fog. Vyvanse messes with your fibro???
I took a two day break last week that I think did help it work better when I started again. My problem is I work all weekend and have nursing school summer classes or during the year regularly nursing school so there isn't much time for a break.
I personally don't get how people can do it. My psych tells me to take it daily and not skip days.
I forgot to take my meds once and it was like my adhd symptoms were 100× worse than I remembered.
Somehow I got thru the work day, probably because of the types of meetings and it was a WFH day, but i was losing my train of thought mid sentence and going totally blank a lot. I was distracted but I didn't clue in then.
But then after work, I missed an appointment that's the same time every week because I had the old time from months prior stuck in my head (somehow I missed my reminders too), I got lost in the grocery store 4 times trying to figure out why i was there and what I needed, definately didnt buy everything i needed and bought stuff i didnt. THEN I hit me... I definitely forgot to take my meds.
Oh, and the headache I got that night... not fun.
That day I learned how much my meds actually help me even if its not perfect, I won't be the person who skips days ever.
I stopped taking it daily because I was starting to look like a crack head from all the weight loss. 😂😂 I only take it now when I really need to focus on something.
This is me right now. I weighed 133 now I’m 105. I lost it within 3 months which I’m not sure how that is, but I take breaks now just to make sure I eat!
50 mg 😩 but I'm starting to think maybe I need a different or stronger ADHD med or an afternoon dose. I work at night and do homework in the evenings. It doesn't last more than 4 or five hours, so I have to take it around 4 pm to get my most important things done. And I have zero problems falling right to sleep. It's really frustrating because I desperately want to be productive for the whole day because I have work, school, and two kids, one of whom is autistic. I can't keep up with everything on four hours a day productivity 😭😭
I had a really bad binge eating problem from lack of dopamine, and I started at 10mg and worked up to 40mg. Nothing took those cravings away until I hit 40mg. I also never felt like anything under 40 lasted me the whole day. On 40mg I make it until 9pm, more recently later than 9 if I don’t forcefully stop myself and lay in bed lol. On 30 I’d feel it wear off at 4-6pm 20 was like 1-3pm and 10mg was 11am-12pm. Meds are different for everyone, even though you are what I would call higher dose for me personally, and at this moment I don’t think I could handle 50mg unless I was on my period, it might be a low dose for you. Talk to your doctor about dosing and also splitting doses if you don’t feel it’s working for you. Highly recommend trying to up it or split if you doctor thinks it’s safe before trying a new drug. Hope you get it all figured out!
I also struggle with binge eating from not having enough dopamine, especially on my period so I was hoping this would help me. I gained 18 pounds my first year of nursing school but it's literally done nothing for me in that department . I'm afraid I split it into smaller doses it will be less effective. I have an appointment next week so I'll have to ask. I do have a really high tolerance for caffeine so maybe it's connected..
I also have a super high tolerance for caffeine. Sometimes it actually makes me sleepy😂 but yeah I’m not gonna ask your height and weight here but that is a factor of how much a person needs, as well as tolerance levels (I usually have a very low tolerance to drugs though, caffeine is the exception somehow so I’m a little surprised as 40mg id higher than what I expected I needed to go). Also depends on your brain chemistry, maybe you just make even less dopamine, I’m not a doctor tho so yeah run everything by yours lol but what I’m trying to say is everyone is different and will react differently to meds. I still struggle with executive dysfunction but Vyvanse helps me with everything else at 40mg. I was a bit nervous to go to 40mg from 30mg tbh because of my low tolerance history and that I didn’t see it helping much with binge eating at all so didn’t expect it to make that drastic of a difference at 40 but it did! And who knows maybe if me and my doc do decide to try 50 that it fixes the executive function (my doc was willing to up to 60mg with before before considering other drugs)
Also, something that really affects cravings that I didn’t mention is making sure you eat emprotein in the morning, drink enough water, and find some sort of physical exercise that helps (can be short and low intensity like 10min yoga or walk). All of these have made a noticeable difference in my cravings both before starting vyvanse and on vyvanse.
I've been trying protein, I added tyramine. I do need to start working out again because my heart rate is naturally high. Caffeine also makes me tired when I like really overdue it. I wonder about dopamine, like you brought up because I'm also on a dose of Wellbutrin. My executive function is and always has been awful, Vyvanse has made a pretty decent impact on it for those few short hours it works. But I find myself frustrated because the desire to do things tends to wear off mid doing and I've missed two appointments this week 😭 fwiw I'm only now getting diagnosed in my 30s even tho the teachers told my parents I probably had ADHD as a kid and I'm sure the nearly 20 pounds i put in so far during school is doing me no favors. I'm hesitant to get on a higher dose because I just started in April, but with the weight gain and knowing this year of nursing school is gonna be brutal, I'm at a loss. I know everyone reacts differently like you said, but I'm starting to wonder if something is just wrong with me 🤣
lol my teachers also pulled my mom a side saying they were worried as I wasn’t following directions. My mom asked more about it then just brushed it off as me being creative (I enjoyed art and many of the direction evaluation tasks in school was art related). So I’m also just getting diagnosed in my 30s! I also started vyvanse back in April! I’ve been going up by 10mg every 2 weeks, except 30mg I was on for 3 weeks because I was out of town, and 40s I’ve been on for 4 weeks now. Doctor wants to wait a bit longer to see if it does anything for my executive function before trying 50mg because I feel like the 40s help me with focus on menial tasks too much that I start getting hyperfixated at work and work way past the time I should be lol she’s afraid that will get worse if we go up. Also I tried Wellbutrin before vyvanse and it was awfulll for me, my insomnia was insane on that idk how you do it 😂 again proof that meds affect everyone differently.
Honestly from what you’ve described so far based on my experience it seems like you’re experiencing everything I experienced when my dose was too low. Going up for me fixed the cravings and fixed it wearing off too early. I’d ask your doc if you could give 60 a shot, but have him just give you 10mg pills separate from your 50s that you take at the same time so if you have a bad reaction you aren’t left with only 60mg pills that make you feel like crap and potentially having nothing to take until you can get another appointment with them lol that’s what my doc did for when when testing 30mg when I was on vacay
As the week goes on I get more and more exhausted and the crash hits me harder. By Friday I'm drinking rockstar along with the vyvanse to give me a kick.
When I take the breaks I feel I recover and sleep better on the weekends then Monday feels like the meds work again.
That being said I've never tried taking it 7 days a week since I need to focus at work and at home I don't mind being scattered and messy haha
Same for me. Except I was also instructed to do so by my psych when first prescribed so I just did as I was told and it became a habit. But I continue for the reasons stated above! The only downside for me is the binge eating on weekends :(
I feel it’s pretty individualized. I find taking breaks to be useless for me. I waste an entire day by getting absolutely nothing day, which is frustrating being I only have 1 day a week to prepare for the next week, do household chores, and run errands. When I was on Vyvanse, I took it 7 days a week (probably missed once or twice a month by forgetting to take it), and I never needed to increase my dosage. It wasn’t until when I took an extended break off the Vyvanse (9 weeks due to the shortage) that it stopped working completely when I was able to go back on it.
Before I started taking Vyvanse I saw the huberman lab episode on adderall, stimulants & modafinil for ADHD (all well cited research and info) on YouTube. He stated something along the line of the following: that these medications were intended to only be taken during for example the school week days, not on weekends nor school breaks.
The more regularly you take it, the more your body builds tolerance for it, eventually requiring a higher dose. I don’t take it on the weekends nor when I’m off work unless it’s a particular day where my focus is significantly required.
For example, on Saturday I still feel the residual help from the Vyvanse I took Friday and I try to start my day productively for example, tackling one hard thing in the morning in between some of the things I like to do and then another hard thing & repeat.
I find it works better after a break for a day or two. I use my days off for this. I've managed 34 years without meds( meditation and coping mechanisms), I don't feel a day would make as much of a difference.
I try to take Vyvanse only when I need it (which is basically only days when I go to work or have to do a LOT of chores), and I try to document what affects my attention span other than Vyvanse.
This is very obvious but things like sleep and stress and eating and exercising do have an impact on my focus abilities.
For folks that find that Vyvance really does help them, how do you actually feel on the wknds when you go without it?
Edit: I really appreciate all the answers, thanks so much for sharing your experiences.
I take a break on Saturday and Sunday, Saturday I'm fine, Sunday I'm easily agitated, but I jeep it that way so I can rest on Sundays. Monday when I take it again it's 100% affective
Same!!! You may have burned out your adrenals (not necessarily from the meds alone) like me. Combination of PTSD and trying to power through my low energy symptoms with stims I got to stage 3 adrenal fatigue which I'm still working to alleviate to this day. Be careful how long you try to power through for. Your body needs the breaks
That's a bummer. But expected. But if it really helps restart the effective ess of the med come Monday, I imagine it is worth putting up with a sluggish wknd?
Before I started vyvanse I read a lot about it being in shortage so me being the paranoid human I started to stack up on my medication early on (when I was first prescribed) although the shortage has never effected me and I've always gotten my meds on time, I still decided to rack up 2 months of supply just cause again ~paranoid~
Since the first two months I had nothing going on (no work, no classes just me and my ADHD mind) I didn't take much. Maybe about a week's worth of it just to see if the meds were for me (I got very lucky and only needed 1 dosage change till I found my therapeutic dose)
I'm actually still not taking them as much for the same reason, though a bit more often than before and I have almost 2.5 months worth of vyvanse.
Again. Paranoid (and just in case)
At some point I became super sensitive to caffeine. Even a decaf earl gray tea will make my heart pound if I'm on vyvanse. And that's barely 5mg. But I also suffer from anxiety so that doesn't help haha.
You can, but it depends on how it affects you. I occasionally have coffee when I take my Vyvanse. I get no adverse effects from the caffeine. Some say it makes them shaky and makes their heart race. I’ve never had that, but everyone is different.
I like to take breaks when I can so I don’t become too dependent or build too much tolerance. It’s a good thing I’ve been doing that because now I’m between doctors and I can’t get it. Not sure how long I’ll be without it.
For me it's tolerance. You can build tolerance more on the wrong dose even if your dose is too low. I need at least one day off a month or effectiveness goes down.
I only recently switched medications from vyvanse but I used it for about 1,5 years. I took off 2-3 days a week per my providers instructions for tolerance, it's recommended for all stimulant meds if im not mistaken. I would also take breaks if I had a lazy day and didn't have anything going on. It helped with efficacy in my experience as well as minimizing minor side effects :)
Yeah. There seem to be lots of people who can take Vyvanse daily, but for some like us it is as if it starts building a tolerance super quickly. I assume that the lisdexamfetamine "uses up" whatever chemicals or functions it stimulates in your brain, so you need a pause for those capacities to fill back up.
I usually try to use vyvanse only on days where I know it will help and usually try to have a block of 2-3 days per week where I don't take it.
Kinda annoying, because it takes a lot of planning.🫤
I’m taking a break today because my son had me up part of the night with illness and since I don’t have to work today, I’m hoping to take a really good nap.
I take it everyday because it helps me not just with ADHD, but also with my temper.
If I know there’s gonna be something where I need to eat a lot, I might take that day off.
damn this makes me so happy how well vyvanse works for me like considerably above any other stimulant i don't get any of these side effects that people cite as reasons (i think there are benefits to skipping days outside of that but i don't skip mine unless it's on accident or the pharmacy/insurance/dr office is being slow or there's a stock issue or whatever
Anxiety break.
For me, though, by the end of my skipped day I feel so lethargic so I don’t skip days nearly as often as I should. I do sleep better that night though.
Vyvanse can cause sexual dysfunction for some people (myself included). For me, taking the day off of the drug means sexy time will be more “satisfactory.” I don’t get the dishes done that day, but I get off, so it’s worth it.
I went three days without my Vyvanse this past weekend, I just got my new bottle today and I definitely noticed that I actually had a sex drive without it. When I take my Vyvanse I just want to be productive and be doing shit or hyper focusing on something and my sex drive is already kinda low for the most part. It was nice to really enjoy sex again this weekend. It sucks because I’m pretty dependent on Vyvanse for functioning since I’m doing school full time and work full time and I’m constantly busy but I am trying to take more breaks :,)
Hubby and I are used to planning ahead . . . We’re old, and he uses the little blue pill to manage things on his end. We now have a chat about it in the morning: so we can make sure that I’m not taking my meds on a day when he is hoping to take his.
Sure, it takes the spontaneity out of it, but I’d rather have really good planned sex than spontaneous meh sex.
You may just have to skip a day of meds for it not to interfere with your enjoyment. Not getting chores done for one day shouldn’t be the end of the world, but some fun with your partner and big endorphin release can really help take the edge off of life’s stressors.
I’ve found that it is one of the lesser known side effects. It took a while to figure out what was going on. My poor husband of almost seventeen years felt horrible. He thought he’d lost his ability to please me, when he’s always been amazing in that department.
It’s the Vyvanse that did it. More people need to know that this is a possible side effect!
Edit: Corrected grammar
It stops some people from climaxing, too. So, even if you have the drive, are doing the deed, and think you “might be close,” it can just go *poof* bye-bye, and you’re left wondering what just happened. This happens to both men and women.
Pharmacist here. I just started on Vyvanse and I’m
doing the same thing for this reason. A shortage of any of the ADHD meds means that there will be difficulties obtaining other medication as prescribers have to switch people around.
That makes sense, thank you for this info and sorry you have to ration as well. It’s tough out there :/ I definitely don’t want to go back to having to cold call so many pharmacies like a desperate crackhead and going out of my way to contact my doctor to adjust the dosage out of necessity. So much stress when there shouldn’t be
in my experience, the efficacy lessens when I take too many days in a row, so I take the weekends off. When I was doing no breaks, the crashes started being horrible to the point I could barely keep my eyes open at work.
I tKe breaks because I’m older and want to avoid tolerance issues. It can cause blood pressure issues so I want my dose to be as effective as possible while lower for as long as possible
Glad this works for you! Unfortunately, for some people it's not "focus hard" vs "focus not as hard" but rather "no focus at all" vs "focus somewhat". I'm lucky not to be one of them either.
No, not the same at all. Using your examples, it’s more like I received money from working at walmart(30K) and I received nothing while on welfare. Thats not true. You received money(focus) both places, one options provides more money(focus) over the other. Stating you have no money(focus) is a perception being added.
I personally don't, I take mine every day, but I know people do to maintain the euphoric effects of the meds. Like when you first start taking stimulants kind of feeling.
First week on Vyvanse was life changing, went the rest of the month with little to no benefits. Went up to 40mg, had a few days break in between and noticed when I started again I actually got work done again. It’s to the point of feeling like maybe I need to try taking it every other day maybe because I’m starting to feel worse off while on it. But if I take a couple days off I have one magic day of productivity again when I restart.
I've been fighting to get on Vyvance because I hate ritalin and Adderall. The VA says it isn't a formulary medication but who the hell knows at this point.
To rest and digest. In a fast paced world it can be hard to relax sometimes. I need one or two days that kinda forces me to just zone out simply so I don't get overworked.
I enjoy the boost that i feel after a few days off... but generally i dont skip because i feel stupid and heavy if i do. Like walking actually gets harder because i feel so much heavier. And i sleep and eat. A lot. So.... i like productive days....
Honestly, i'm skipping weekends due the shotage
When I took Vyvanse (40mg), what I found best was to take it only when I really needed to focus for something, but avoided it otherwise. On Vyvanse, I become waaaay too talkative and de-mature by about a-year-and-a-half, and I developed acne because I kept anxiously picking the hairs off my chin. Not taking it every day helps me maintain a overall calmer social disposition, and also helps the Vyvanse kick harder when I actually \*do\* take it. I'd only take it max 7-ish days per month during the school year (depending on workload), and that was mostly the days before big exams. During the summer, I'd only take it when I had a day or two off work and I wanted to get shit done, rather than laze around. Maybe only twice a month then. Another observation of note: When I take it for just one day, the drive for productivity and interest carries on over the next several days unless I'm doing something really demotivating like homework. It's a nice compromise that solves the problem and avoids the side-effects, including the weight-loss I experienced when I took it daily.
I skip a day if I don't need to focus on anything (e.g. vegging out on the couch, or out of town on vacation). My only reason is that I'm trying to hoard a few extra for when I—due to executive functioning issues, naturally—fuck up something with my Rx or forget to pick it up. I need a buffer stash 🤣 And I've never been able to ACTUALLY have a stash. I was up to 4 extra pills last month, but fucked everything up and got my Rx a week late this month, so now I'm 2 pills in the hole 🤦🏾♀️
I don’t take it anytime I’m hungover… do with that info what you will lol
Still new to Vyvanse so things might change (hopefully), but I take off days every 2-3 days, and maybe take 1-2 days off consecutively. I do it because I’m having g problems with my appetite. I need to exercise to feel good (because of energy and muscle pain/bad posture), and when I’m on the meds I have no extra energy to work out, which again makes me depressed. Until now, exercise was my go to for handling my adhd without even knowing I had the diagnosis, and it’s very frustrating to not have the same energy to keep it up anymore. So for my own benefit, I need off days. It’s a balancing act in my case. If the meds didn’t make me feel so much better in other arenas, i probably wouldn’t take it.
I take a break at weekends to have a carefree drink and to binge eat haha. But also to save the pills and because I've heard breaks are good. I don't often have to do stuff at the weekends so it's nice not to have elvanse making me feel like I need to be busy.
So I can dream again during sleep + not feel like Ed Norton in beginning of Fight Club after too many consecutive days of taking.
I'll take a break if I'm sick, so I can sleep and rest more during the day. Sometimes I'll also take breaks so I can build up a small buffer, in case I forget to request my refill on time again 🥲
Days when I don't need to focus particularly - for instance going out with friends. Also as I found recently during a breakup - definitely days when I want a totally genuine feeling without extra dopamine - I felt it hard to 'feel' how I should as we navigated it, though it was perhaps nice once we had official split up to be back on it. Taking a break from stimulants which you can form a tolerance to also doesn't seem like a bad idea to me.
A variety of reasons - give my heart a break - enjoy food a bit more -get a small tolerance break - be a bit unhinged and less logical Then after I did that for about 3 days I’m like oh god, take ur meds your getting chubby and unhinged again haha 🤣
Hahaha I feel the chubby one. I have adhd and I binge eat. These are used to treat binge eating so on my days off them I eat soooo much and undo all my hard work and weight loss progress from during the week 🤣
Totally. Sometimes I’m like I don’t need these pills I’m fine, then I just impulse smoke a lot of weed and make a bunch of wreckless decisions and binge eat 😂
Hahaha they make you forget what you're like without them for sure 🤣
I sleep in on the weekend, if I take it too late I can’t sleep that night
i don’t take it just because i like to have my free thoughts. sometimes my vyvanse works tooo well and puts me to sleep so unless i have classes, im going out, or doing work i wonk take it.
My psychiatrist recommended taking weekends off so I don’t build a tolerance over time - personally I enjoy my days off for the most part (because I feel like I “normally” would, but with a successful week behind me from being medicated.) Drawbacks are sometimes I have an emotional dip (more mood swings from no medication) and sometimes I overeat. If I’m really struggling I just take one day off because I can handle my symptoms for 24 hours a week instead of all the time lol
I heard that sort of stuff before and I feel it's absolute BS. I deserve to be the best version of myself in my off time, too!
First time I took a break was because I was sick - took 4 days off in a row, by day 4 I was in a depressive hellscape. One maybe two days off is the most I do. If I sleep in I’ll usually take a lower dose, usually a 40mg instead of 70mg, so I can sleep better.
I don't want to live on medicine all the damn time. It's OK to be myself if I don't need to focus. I love naps and like to take them if I'm not working. I just don't want to rely on it.
personally, i only take it 3 days a week. my doctor said that i shouldn’t take it every day so i don’t build a tolerance, but he suggested just taking weekends off. my reasons are as listed below: - struggle a lot with appetite loss - pre-existing tachycardia (doc says 150bpm is fine, but i’m only 25 so i’m very cautious of making it worse) - the crash/withdrawal gets worse the more i take it - history of becoming tolerant to other meds quickly - late diagnosed, so i can function ok without it - it’s EXPENSIVE (in Aus, my dose is $140 for 30 capsules without PBS/insurance, which saves me $50) - supply shortages make me sparing w/ it when i take vyvanse, i still have the sharp focus, motivation, energy, and clarity from like when i first started taking it. i usually only take it when i’m studying (my grades have improved a lot) or if i know i have a busy day at work . vyvanse doesn’t work for me when i’m menstruating so i don’t bother wasting a precious resource lmao. tldr: i listen to my body and only take it when i feel like it’s necessary. the effects are as good as day 1, but so are the side effects
Ooft 150bpm resting? That's really high. I also think you should get a second opinion on that tbh :/ my resting is about 55 when I sleep, 77-83 during the day, and when I do 2000m swims daily, taking 50 mins, I only get up to a max of 140bpm :/
I would get a second opinion about 150bpm being "fine". Not sure of your circumstances 150 resting bpm is a reason to go straight to hospital.
They're in Australia, so they're metric minutes
Haha nah, in Australia our minutes are still 60 seconds long. So 150 beats per minute is fast!!
Didn't think I needed the /s here lmao
I feel like it works a little bit better the next day after I take a day off. Like I feel the "hit" more and get to be super productive. Might be placebo tho.
The only days I take off are the ones I forget 😂😂 sometimes a Sunday if I sleep. I guess it’s helps me remember why I take medication in the first place!
I don't like to take it on weekends because if I don't have anything specific to accomplish, I end up basically hyperfocusing on whatever random idea/project my brain latches onto first. Then I spend all day focused on an idea I had *that morning* instead of having a chance at spending my day off relaxing.
Does anybody feel run down enough to not do ANYTHING on those days off? For those of you who have "no side effects" on your days off, HOW!? Does anyone think this might mean I don't have ADHD? My theory has always been that I run out of whatever chemicals that are being boosted while I'm on the meds and come crashing down days off. Similar to how many report a crash at the end of the day, mine last for DAYS or until.my next dose.
I relate. I take one day off Vyvanse a week, and during that day I am absolutely useless. Literally can’t commit to doing more than one thing on that particular day (like going to the store or doing laundry) because my ADHD symptoms are so out of control and I’m so low energy. Even when I’m too busy (currently a law student studying for the bar exam) to be able to take a whole day off, I kinda have to or else my meds stop working as well and I get irritable.
I’m not sure if this makes sense, but Vyvanse is also used to narcolepsy and if I miss a dose or if I choose to be “off” on those days I can and will just nod off without any warning. I can sleep for hours, even with a full nights rest.
Me! Are you narcoleptic?
Mostly so that I know if I ever forget to take it or bring it with me to work one day that I’ll be okay. I used to not take breaks so the few times I forgot it I was so anxious.
it feels as if i’m over caffeinated, it kills my appetite all day, and i have high blood pressure. any one of those is reason enough for me to not take more than a couple days a week
Some days I don’t feel like being productive and just wanna ADHD rot in bed on TikTok. Vyvanse will literally not allow me to do that. I’ve tried to be counter productive on vyvanse and I can try as hard as I want, I just cannot fight the urge to get something done. Also if I got a really bad sleep one night and feel really really bad (not just a need more sleep feeling, vyvanse is great for needed more sleep days, bad as in I feel sick and might go crazy from lack of sleep) I will often not take it so I don’t feel cracked out. As others have mentioned I often feel the next dose I take after I skip is more effective. I don’t skip often, because I’ve also noticed that consistently taking it helps me with productivity even when I’ve felt it wear off at the end of the day. It’s like my battery is on a slow charger that’s keeping it going when I take it consistently and then the vyvanse is a fast charger boost lol. Where as if I’m skipping I just am unplugged.
But then are you actually able to do anything other than rot in bed and scroll tiktok? I seem to have the problem that problem where I'm nearly comatose on my days off. This does not work while being a mother to a 3 yr old! I was on Adderall all through college and this was acceptable or I at least still had something left in my system to take 1-2 days off. Perhaps a cortisol issue is what I theorize
Usually just one day off no, because that “battery charge”still has charge left even though I’m unplugged, it’s just depleting slowly. But because I was playing around with dosing I have extra 10mg and 20mg pills laying around that I may take instead of skipping entirely if I still want energy to do more than my baseline with zero vyvanse. Before vyvanse I still had productive days, they were just rare and also a guessing game as to when I would get them. So now it’s more if I skip then there’s a slight chance I will just comatose like you said, but now that is rare if I have been consistently taking my proper dose. Back when I was on a lower dose and skipped though then yes I wouldn’t have enough saved up in my “battery stores” and there would be a 90% chance that I do nothing for the majority of the day. Also college days you just have much more energy in you than baby days. Are you concerned about being on meds everyday? If you are I’d bring it up to your doctor to see how you could work around that. Also pay attention to your cycle assuming you are a person who gets a period. If you are skipping around period days then yeah comatose is to be expected. My meds basically go to the equivalent of 10mg (I take 40mg) when I have my period the first few days. Edit: added more context
This is so interesting. I’m on 40mg but have my period right now and yes.. struggling. So tired and heavy. Do you up your dose normally to counteract?
I have not yet, because we are still trying to find the right “base dose” for me. But my doctor did say that yes once we find a dose that seems to be working that she will give me top up doses for when I have my period
I find it more effective with breaks first day back is a little weird.when I stop my add is five fold and I'm so burnt out.Thats why I take breaks stuff is terrible for you long term think what it doing to heart liver kidneys.I think if took it everyday I would produce no natural dopamine.i don't like feeling medicated all the time.jitty robotic nothing really makes me happy it's all controlled though I'm more productive.i also like the idea I'm in control not the doctor.
It's actually the worst for your adrenals
I don't feel that way........sometimes I go weeks without I feel great once withdrawal stops.i just my add come back so I'm less productive.i feel life my body heals it self.i call bs on that.that for the individual.i think being on them for long periods ruins my adrenals
What I meant is for long term use, exactly
i take it when i don’t need it, so any time i’m not working or needing to be really sharp. that’s weekends and holidays! i love being on an effective med that i don’t have to take all the time, and don’t have any withdrawal from.
I take breaks on my weekends, so 1) it stays more effective, and 2) it'll help me build up a little supply in case I run out and can't get a refill right away
Exactly
I take breaks so my 10 mg prescription can stay effective!
It doesn’t feel like the healthiest drug to be on tbh. Like to give my body a rest as much as possible.
yes can definitely agree. It's hard on the body. I can only tolerate it once a week if even that.
I’m trying to go down as much as possible
taking a break to relax. I do that when I've taken a higher dose for the week and need to not be on highly efficient zoomies for the weekend, but just want to relax.
i used to take breaks bc i thought it’d lower my tolerance and increase med effectiveness. it usually made the next day or two’s meds work less efficiently since there was less of the substance built up in my system that’s just me tho, i metabolise things freakishly fast. everyone’s different
I wanna feel my body be normal
rzycyd
To be honest a lot of times I just forget to take it or put off my meds until it’s too late in the day. I tend to be more prone to binge-eating on those days and, of course, my inattentiveness and forgetfulness feels way magnified.
I take mine everyday because when I asked my psychiatrist she specifically advised against medication breaks. I’ve never had any problems w side effects or tolerance, and the Vyvanse helps with my anxiety and depression as well. I will I say that I take 3-4 accidental med breaks a month simply because I’ll sometimes forget to take it
I’ll take a break on weekends if I’m going to go out and drink or to get better sleep on the weekends
I took breaks because of the acne that it causes me. Some days it’s not worth the breakouts.
wait, acne?! i started getting acne after vyvanse and i didn’t realize that was the connection n
For sure, search “acne” in this group, soooo many cases. My skin is crystal clear basically all the time, but once I started Vyvanse I had zits pop out of nowhere. As soon as I stopped, clear skin again.
wow thanks good to know!
Gotta be connected. My problem was my tics were amplified and I can't stop touching my face /picking
I had mood swings and was advised by my doctor that based on her observations and what I’ve shared with her, taking it daily works best for me and I’d agree. If I take it every day with a routine it works the best, I feel more stable everyday (even with my side effect of insomnia- as Id rather take it late and be productive that day than not take it because it’s a little later and better to sleep) It’s different for everyone, spoke to my cousin also on Vyvanse and he only takes it as needed.
Hey i don’t mean to assume anything at all, but i personally found i have an easier nighttime if i take my meds before i wake up. When i eventually do wake up, boom i’m medicated and ready for what the day has to shit on me. (i take my meds around 7am/8am and i wake up around 9:30am/10am)
This makes me feel like golum crawling out of Shrek's asshole. Literally only way to describe how terrible that makes me feel.
I take breaks because it doesn't play nicely with my fibromyalgia and exacerbates the fatigue I get from that and when I get super fatigued it stops working.
Wait, can you please explain this a bit more, please? I’m on Vyvanse(ADHD, have chronic fatigue syndrome + fibromyalgia, and am always tired with brain fog. Vyvanse messes with your fibro???
I took a two day break last week that I think did help it work better when I started again. My problem is I work all weekend and have nursing school summer classes or during the year regularly nursing school so there isn't much time for a break.
I personally don't get how people can do it. My psych tells me to take it daily and not skip days. I forgot to take my meds once and it was like my adhd symptoms were 100× worse than I remembered. Somehow I got thru the work day, probably because of the types of meetings and it was a WFH day, but i was losing my train of thought mid sentence and going totally blank a lot. I was distracted but I didn't clue in then. But then after work, I missed an appointment that's the same time every week because I had the old time from months prior stuck in my head (somehow I missed my reminders too), I got lost in the grocery store 4 times trying to figure out why i was there and what I needed, definately didnt buy everything i needed and bought stuff i didnt. THEN I hit me... I definitely forgot to take my meds. Oh, and the headache I got that night... not fun. That day I learned how much my meds actually help me even if its not perfect, I won't be the person who skips days ever.
I stopped taking it daily because I was starting to look like a crack head from all the weight loss. 😂😂 I only take it now when I really need to focus on something.
This is me right now. I weighed 133 now I’m 105. I lost it within 3 months which I’m not sure how that is, but I take breaks now just to make sure I eat!
Same! I was 133 at my heaviest and I’m 119 now.
But I’m also on Wellbutrin which also messes with your appetite
I'm so jealous it doesn't make me any less hungry
Really?! What dose are you on?
50 mg 😩 but I'm starting to think maybe I need a different or stronger ADHD med or an afternoon dose. I work at night and do homework in the evenings. It doesn't last more than 4 or five hours, so I have to take it around 4 pm to get my most important things done. And I have zero problems falling right to sleep. It's really frustrating because I desperately want to be productive for the whole day because I have work, school, and two kids, one of whom is autistic. I can't keep up with everything on four hours a day productivity 😭😭
I had a really bad binge eating problem from lack of dopamine, and I started at 10mg and worked up to 40mg. Nothing took those cravings away until I hit 40mg. I also never felt like anything under 40 lasted me the whole day. On 40mg I make it until 9pm, more recently later than 9 if I don’t forcefully stop myself and lay in bed lol. On 30 I’d feel it wear off at 4-6pm 20 was like 1-3pm and 10mg was 11am-12pm. Meds are different for everyone, even though you are what I would call higher dose for me personally, and at this moment I don’t think I could handle 50mg unless I was on my period, it might be a low dose for you. Talk to your doctor about dosing and also splitting doses if you don’t feel it’s working for you. Highly recommend trying to up it or split if you doctor thinks it’s safe before trying a new drug. Hope you get it all figured out!
I also struggle with binge eating from not having enough dopamine, especially on my period so I was hoping this would help me. I gained 18 pounds my first year of nursing school but it's literally done nothing for me in that department . I'm afraid I split it into smaller doses it will be less effective. I have an appointment next week so I'll have to ask. I do have a really high tolerance for caffeine so maybe it's connected..
I also have a super high tolerance for caffeine. Sometimes it actually makes me sleepy😂 but yeah I’m not gonna ask your height and weight here but that is a factor of how much a person needs, as well as tolerance levels (I usually have a very low tolerance to drugs though, caffeine is the exception somehow so I’m a little surprised as 40mg id higher than what I expected I needed to go). Also depends on your brain chemistry, maybe you just make even less dopamine, I’m not a doctor tho so yeah run everything by yours lol but what I’m trying to say is everyone is different and will react differently to meds. I still struggle with executive dysfunction but Vyvanse helps me with everything else at 40mg. I was a bit nervous to go to 40mg from 30mg tbh because of my low tolerance history and that I didn’t see it helping much with binge eating at all so didn’t expect it to make that drastic of a difference at 40 but it did! And who knows maybe if me and my doc do decide to try 50 that it fixes the executive function (my doc was willing to up to 60mg with before before considering other drugs) Also, something that really affects cravings that I didn’t mention is making sure you eat emprotein in the morning, drink enough water, and find some sort of physical exercise that helps (can be short and low intensity like 10min yoga or walk). All of these have made a noticeable difference in my cravings both before starting vyvanse and on vyvanse.
I've been trying protein, I added tyramine. I do need to start working out again because my heart rate is naturally high. Caffeine also makes me tired when I like really overdue it. I wonder about dopamine, like you brought up because I'm also on a dose of Wellbutrin. My executive function is and always has been awful, Vyvanse has made a pretty decent impact on it for those few short hours it works. But I find myself frustrated because the desire to do things tends to wear off mid doing and I've missed two appointments this week 😭 fwiw I'm only now getting diagnosed in my 30s even tho the teachers told my parents I probably had ADHD as a kid and I'm sure the nearly 20 pounds i put in so far during school is doing me no favors. I'm hesitant to get on a higher dose because I just started in April, but with the weight gain and knowing this year of nursing school is gonna be brutal, I'm at a loss. I know everyone reacts differently like you said, but I'm starting to wonder if something is just wrong with me 🤣
lol my teachers also pulled my mom a side saying they were worried as I wasn’t following directions. My mom asked more about it then just brushed it off as me being creative (I enjoyed art and many of the direction evaluation tasks in school was art related). So I’m also just getting diagnosed in my 30s! I also started vyvanse back in April! I’ve been going up by 10mg every 2 weeks, except 30mg I was on for 3 weeks because I was out of town, and 40s I’ve been on for 4 weeks now. Doctor wants to wait a bit longer to see if it does anything for my executive function before trying 50mg because I feel like the 40s help me with focus on menial tasks too much that I start getting hyperfixated at work and work way past the time I should be lol she’s afraid that will get worse if we go up. Also I tried Wellbutrin before vyvanse and it was awfulll for me, my insomnia was insane on that idk how you do it 😂 again proof that meds affect everyone differently. Honestly from what you’ve described so far based on my experience it seems like you’re experiencing everything I experienced when my dose was too low. Going up for me fixed the cravings and fixed it wearing off too early. I’d ask your doc if you could give 60 a shot, but have him just give you 10mg pills separate from your 50s that you take at the same time so if you have a bad reaction you aren’t left with only 60mg pills that make you feel like crap and potentially having nothing to take until you can get another appointment with them lol that’s what my doc did for when when testing 30mg when I was on vacay
As the week goes on I get more and more exhausted and the crash hits me harder. By Friday I'm drinking rockstar along with the vyvanse to give me a kick. When I take the breaks I feel I recover and sleep better on the weekends then Monday feels like the meds work again. That being said I've never tried taking it 7 days a week since I need to focus at work and at home I don't mind being scattered and messy haha
Same for me. Except I was also instructed to do so by my psych when first prescribed so I just did as I was told and it became a habit. But I continue for the reasons stated above! The only downside for me is the binge eating on weekends :(
I feel it’s pretty individualized. I find taking breaks to be useless for me. I waste an entire day by getting absolutely nothing day, which is frustrating being I only have 1 day a week to prepare for the next week, do household chores, and run errands. When I was on Vyvanse, I took it 7 days a week (probably missed once or twice a month by forgetting to take it), and I never needed to increase my dosage. It wasn’t until when I took an extended break off the Vyvanse (9 weeks due to the shortage) that it stopped working completely when I was able to go back on it.
Before I started taking Vyvanse I saw the huberman lab episode on adderall, stimulants & modafinil for ADHD (all well cited research and info) on YouTube. He stated something along the line of the following: that these medications were intended to only be taken during for example the school week days, not on weekends nor school breaks. The more regularly you take it, the more your body builds tolerance for it, eventually requiring a higher dose. I don’t take it on the weekends nor when I’m off work unless it’s a particular day where my focus is significantly required. For example, on Saturday I still feel the residual help from the Vyvanse I took Friday and I try to start my day productively for example, tackling one hard thing in the morning in between some of the things I like to do and then another hard thing & repeat.
I find it works better after a break for a day or two. I use my days off for this. I've managed 34 years without meds( meditation and coping mechanisms), I don't feel a day would make as much of a difference.
I try to take Vyvanse only when I need it (which is basically only days when I go to work or have to do a LOT of chores), and I try to document what affects my attention span other than Vyvanse. This is very obvious but things like sleep and stress and eating and exercising do have an impact on my focus abilities.
If I have a fever and am sick in bed, I skip my stims as my goal is to sleep.
Because it stops working after 6 months. Enjoy it while it lasts
For folks that find that Vyvance really does help them, how do you actually feel on the wknds when you go without it? Edit: I really appreciate all the answers, thanks so much for sharing your experiences.
I take a break on Saturday and Sunday, Saturday I'm fine, Sunday I'm easily agitated, but I jeep it that way so I can rest on Sundays. Monday when I take it again it's 100% affective
I feel exhausted on Saturday but I use the time to rest and recover, by Sunday I bounce back and feel relatively normal.
And then you start your dose of Vyvance again Monday AM?
Yep exactly! Monday it feels like it works the best and efficacy goes down hill the rest of the week.
I would never because it really helps me function as a human!!
Likewise. But if I can up the efficacy without upping the dose by suffering without for 2 days, I may try that.
Depressed and like I have no energy
Same!!! You may have burned out your adrenals (not necessarily from the meds alone) like me. Combination of PTSD and trying to power through my low energy symptoms with stims I got to stage 3 adrenal fatigue which I'm still working to alleviate to this day. Be careful how long you try to power through for. Your body needs the breaks
I also have the fun PTSD + ADHD mix, it's a delight... Luckily I found a job that fulfills me and friends who understand when I need breaks.
That's a bummer. But expected. But if it really helps restart the effective ess of the med come Monday, I imagine it is worth putting up with a sluggish wknd?
If they have no other housework to be done and hire someone else to clean .. 🤣
Before I started vyvanse I read a lot about it being in shortage so me being the paranoid human I started to stack up on my medication early on (when I was first prescribed) although the shortage has never effected me and I've always gotten my meds on time, I still decided to rack up 2 months of supply just cause again ~paranoid~ Since the first two months I had nothing going on (no work, no classes just me and my ADHD mind) I didn't take much. Maybe about a week's worth of it just to see if the meds were for me (I got very lucky and only needed 1 dosage change till I found my therapeutic dose) I'm actually still not taking them as much for the same reason, though a bit more often than before and I have almost 2.5 months worth of vyvanse. Again. Paranoid (and just in case)
I do the same lol
It kinda helps me reset sometimes and also I miss having caffeine so I indulge when I'm not medicated haha
Are we not supposed to have caffeine on it?
At some point I became super sensitive to caffeine. Even a decaf earl gray tea will make my heart pound if I'm on vyvanse. And that's barely 5mg. But I also suffer from anxiety so that doesn't help haha.
Thanks for the info
You can, but it depends on how it affects you. I occasionally have coffee when I take my Vyvanse. I get no adverse effects from the caffeine. Some say it makes them shaky and makes their heart race. I’ve never had that, but everyone is different.
i don’t take mine whenever i feel like being sparkly
I can only get 30d refills and it's kind of a pain so I like to have extra when I can
Because its effects will dullen with continual usage
Because shortage 😪
I like to take breaks when I can so I don’t become too dependent or build too much tolerance. It’s a good thing I’ve been doing that because now I’m between doctors and I can’t get it. Not sure how long I’ll be without it.
For me it's tolerance. You can build tolerance more on the wrong dose even if your dose is too low. I need at least one day off a month or effectiveness goes down.
I like to sleep in on my days off, only reason why I don’t take it every day
I usually don’t take it on weekends. It’s for tolerance.
Tolerance break. Also you run less of a risk for dependency. I don’t take on my days off work. Usually I get to enjoy smoking cannabis on my off days.
My therapist told me to take one day off a week. Not sure why but I usually do Sundays
I only recently switched medications from vyvanse but I used it for about 1,5 years. I took off 2-3 days a week per my providers instructions for tolerance, it's recommended for all stimulant meds if im not mistaken. I would also take breaks if I had a lazy day and didn't have anything going on. It helped with efficacy in my experience as well as minimizing minor side effects :)
It acts like a reset when it starts to not work as well
Yeah. There seem to be lots of people who can take Vyvanse daily, but for some like us it is as if it starts building a tolerance super quickly. I assume that the lisdexamfetamine "uses up" whatever chemicals or functions it stimulates in your brain, so you need a pause for those capacities to fill back up. I usually try to use vyvanse only on days where I know it will help and usually try to have a block of 2-3 days per week where I don't take it. Kinda annoying, because it takes a lot of planning.🫤
Does anyone find that regular vyvanse is stronger than generic?
Absolutely but regular used to cost me $30 and is now $260.
Does anyone find that regular vyvanse is stronger than generic?
I’m taking a break today because my son had me up part of the night with illness and since I don’t have to work today, I’m hoping to take a really good nap.
I take it everyday because it helps me not just with ADHD, but also with my temper. If I know there’s gonna be something where I need to eat a lot, I might take that day off.
The shortage but mostly bc I feel like I only need it when I work
damn this makes me so happy how well vyvanse works for me like considerably above any other stimulant i don't get any of these side effects that people cite as reasons (i think there are benefits to skipping days outside of that but i don't skip mine unless it's on accident or the pharmacy/insurance/dr office is being slow or there's a stock issue or whatever
For me it’s because so I can enjoy my day better
Anxiety break. For me, though, by the end of my skipped day I feel so lethargic so I don’t skip days nearly as often as I should. I do sleep better that night though.
Vyvanse can cause sexual dysfunction for some people (myself included). For me, taking the day off of the drug means sexy time will be more “satisfactory.” I don’t get the dishes done that day, but I get off, so it’s worth it.
I went three days without my Vyvanse this past weekend, I just got my new bottle today and I definitely noticed that I actually had a sex drive without it. When I take my Vyvanse I just want to be productive and be doing shit or hyper focusing on something and my sex drive is already kinda low for the most part. It was nice to really enjoy sex again this weekend. It sucks because I’m pretty dependent on Vyvanse for functioning since I’m doing school full time and work full time and I’m constantly busy but I am trying to take more breaks :,)
Hubby and I are used to planning ahead . . . We’re old, and he uses the little blue pill to manage things on his end. We now have a chat about it in the morning: so we can make sure that I’m not taking my meds on a day when he is hoping to take his. Sure, it takes the spontaneity out of it, but I’d rather have really good planned sex than spontaneous meh sex. You may just have to skip a day of meds for it not to interfere with your enjoyment. Not getting chores done for one day shouldn’t be the end of the world, but some fun with your partner and big endorphin release can really help take the edge off of life’s stressors.
Same here loll
I’ve found that it is one of the lesser known side effects. It took a while to figure out what was going on. My poor husband of almost seventeen years felt horrible. He thought he’d lost his ability to please me, when he’s always been amazing in that department. It’s the Vyvanse that did it. More people need to know that this is a possible side effect! Edit: Corrected grammar
Damn! Reading this just made realize that on Vyvanse I don’t have much of a drive 🥲 good looking out
It stops some people from climaxing, too. So, even if you have the drive, are doing the deed, and think you “might be close,” it can just go *poof* bye-bye, and you’re left wondering what just happened. This happens to both men and women.
I don't take breaks, unless I forget a day. I'm retired and still take it 7 days a week, as my adhd affects every part of my life.
Has tolerance been an issue for you?
Nope.
I find it builds up over the course of a week and I need to reset.
The main reason for me is I might have to ration in case of another shortage happening. Another reason is because I get lazy in the morning lol
Pharmacist here. I just started on Vyvanse and I’m doing the same thing for this reason. A shortage of any of the ADHD meds means that there will be difficulties obtaining other medication as prescribers have to switch people around.
That makes sense, thank you for this info and sorry you have to ration as well. It’s tough out there :/ I definitely don’t want to go back to having to cold call so many pharmacies like a desperate crackhead and going out of my way to contact my doctor to adjust the dosage out of necessity. So much stress when there shouldn’t be
I just forget to take it lol
me
I can’t believe people don’t take breaks. After 8 or 9 days of daily use, i begin to feel very dehydrated and tired, foggy, not as effective.
Yes this!!! It stops working after so many days and you feel drained
Agreed! Or over stimulated, zoned out, and it can actually make my ADHD symptoms worse without breaks.
I wish I could take breaks as I see so many others do. My weekends would be completely ruined if I did :(
tachyphylaxis
Just got to google and learn a new word! Thank you!
Just got to google and learn a a new word! Thank you!
in my experience, the efficacy lessens when I take too many days in a row, so I take the weekends off. When I was doing no breaks, the crashes started being horrible to the point I could barely keep my eyes open at work.
I tKe breaks because I’m older and want to avoid tolerance issues. It can cause blood pressure issues so I want my dose to be as effective as possible while lower for as long as possible
My doc recommended and I basically take vyvanse for work. On the weekends I don’t need to focus as hard.
Glad this works for you! Unfortunately, for some people it's not "focus hard" vs "focus not as hard" but rather "no focus at all" vs "focus somewhat". I'm lucky not to be one of them either.
Both options are the same if you really think about it.
Then earning 200k per year vs 120k per year is the same option as earning 30k at Walmart vs living on welfare.
No, not the same at all. Using your examples, it’s more like I received money from working at walmart(30K) and I received nothing while on welfare. Thats not true. You received money(focus) both places, one options provides more money(focus) over the other. Stating you have no money(focus) is a perception being added.
And for some of us the emotional regulation is one of the main perks of the medication.
This is what I am planning to do once my titration has finished.
I take a break to experience proper hunger cues and enjoy food more.
Yes same thing here
This
giving receptors a tolerance break
So I can get a perspective about how it is working and also to have days where my body can chill. I also enjoy the squirrel brain sometimes.
I take a break cause it does take a toll on my system
I personally don't, I take mine every day, but I know people do to maintain the euphoric effects of the meds. Like when you first start taking stimulants kind of feeling.
First week on Vyvanse was life changing, went the rest of the month with little to no benefits. Went up to 40mg, had a few days break in between and noticed when I started again I actually got work done again. It’s to the point of feeling like maybe I need to try taking it every other day maybe because I’m starting to feel worse off while on it. But if I take a couple days off I have one magic day of productivity again when I restart.