[thunderbear]

My 6 year old was just diagnosed with adhd. He almost failed kindergarten and was failing 1st grade when I decided to talk to his dr. about it. She put him on vyvanse about a month ago and it has worked wonders for him in school and at home. I just worry about addiction because i was once an addict and my husband side (not my husband specifically) has a history of alcholisim. I told his doctor about it but she did'nt seem too worried. But I have been reading how Ritilin and Adderal has been causing addiction in teens. And now I'm worried. My very good friend was on
Ritilin throughout elementry middle and high school and he is addicted to benzos (i don't know what those are, but I know it's pills) and pot and he is an alcholic. My friend says it is because of prolonged use of Ritilin. I am worried about my son becoming addicted to this med. Is it possible?

[sunrise]

I think those are really good questions for your doctor--about addiction potential of Vyvanse. In particular, ask your doc how Vyvanse differs from Ritalin and Adderall.

I take Vyvanse. It is not supposed to be as susceptible to abuse as the Adderall and Ritalin because it is metabolized quite slowly and doesn't give that jolt and buzz that people who abuse stimulants like. Vyvanse comes on slowly and steadily because of the way it is metabolized. It is present as a pre-drug that must make its way to the gut, where it is metabolized to the active drug that is a stimulant. This makes it unappealing for resale as a street drug.

So even though it is not appealing for abuse, I'm not sure if you can get addicted or not.

I have taken it for about 6 months now and seen tremendous benefit. I am not addicted. I recently took about 2-3 weeks off of Vyvanse during vacation and noticed no withdrawal effects that would be common if I were addicted (such as cravings, headaches, etc.). Furthermore, I have not needed an increasing dose over the 6 months to achieve the same effect. This is called "tolerance" and can develop as part of addiction.

So my experience has been good--no addiction. But I'm an adult and just one data point. And I have no addiction history with other substances. Please ask your doc about Vyvanse in particular, not just all stimulant drugs. Every drug is different.

I take 30 mg Vyvanse a day (lasts all day!). One concern I would have with a 6 year old boy would be is there a low enough dose available for his body weight? I think the lowest dose of Vyvanse available is 20 mg.

I would also ask if Vyvanse is commonly used in pediatric patients of your son's age.

Good luck. I am glad your son is having such good results.

[Josie55]

I am 26 and have been taking concerta since I was 18, with the exception of the time that I stopped to try Vyvanse [it didn't work out so well for me]. I continue to take it because it works ok, [though it is starting to lose it's effectiveness afte so many years] But there are days that I don't take it with no withdrawal effects and I don't feel that I need to take it.

I haven't heard of many true cases of addiction with these meds. A few cases of abuse, yes, but not of addiction.

[thunderbear]

Thanks you all. To answer sunrise's question, his doc put him on that or the time release thing so it would stay with him throughout the school day. It is supposed to last for 12 hours. He is on a 10mg dose. The doc said if that did'nt help then she go higher to 20mgs. He missed 2 days because the doc was'nt in to write him a new script for the month and he did'nt act as if it bothered him.