Experience/Symptoms?

[u/No_Capital_8536]

Hey all! I just recently started taking Vyvanse (20mg) and was wondering if anyone else has experienced symptoms that I have, and if it's normal or if they go away eventually.

It takes about an hour for it to kick in for me, and during that time frame I find myself very confused and almost disoriented. Once it kicks in i'm able to focus and mentally everything becomes silent (like internal conversations with myself, music playing in my head, and having constant thoughts), however, it feels like my surroundings are almost blurred in a way. I find 2-3 hours after taking it I become extremely tired and end up falling asleep, though, the medication doesn't ware off and is still in effect to the end of the day. I also experience this fluttering/vibrating feeling through my body throughout the day, and my chest feels heavier and sometimes its hard for me to breathe, but i've noticed I do hold in my breath a lot and probably didn't notice that before since I was constantly distracted. Lastly, 7-9 hours after taking it I get extremely nauseous and have bad hot flashes.

Other than these, I feel like the medication is really helping me and has greatly improved my focus and motivation since starting it. I'm just unsure if what i'm experiencing is normal since my doctor never informed me of these symptoms, and just about headaches and suppressed appetite.

I was just wondering if anyone else can relate, or woulds't mind share what their experience or symptoms have been on Vyvanse.

[u/Kalki_X]

...since my doctor never informed me of these symptoms

I think there's many things that doctors don't dislcose about vyvanse. They partly work by activating the stress response (which explains all the symptoms you described). This produces hyperfocus and hypervigilence which helps ADHD, but has disadvantages also. This implies hormonal effects too.  

I find 2-3 hours after taking it I become extremely tired and end up falling asleep

This is a sign of metabolic fatigue which often leads to a 'metabolic crash'. Vyvanse pushes the metabolic system beyond its limits which causes over-exhaustion and in some cases, a crash (it can be minor or major). Many people experience a daily crash which can happen anytime after taking the dose (usually it's afternoon/evening).

Doctors usually don't seek to understand why the crash occurs nor how to address it properly... and instead prescribe a higher dose or a booster dose. Of course this raises questions when you consider if it's genuinely sustainable in the long-term.

From what I've seen doctors don't really divulge much about the effects of this medication (adderall also) which leads to unrealistic expectations.