15mg of Dexedrine XR is making the morning 60mg of Vyvanse less effective

Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do about this?

My psychiatrist mentioned adding Wellbutrin or Effexor to help with motivation. I'm just worried that mixing these would be bad for my heart.

I just feel so tired in the morning as if the Vyvanse is wasted. The focus only lasts for the first 5 hours after I take it.

Sorry, Des, I don't have too much "expertise" with stimulants, can't really help you out...

I have heard Wellburtin is good for motivation, but it can raise the seizure threshold.


Personally, I take Effexor XR and it works magic for my depression. That plus mirtazapine and it's basically all good for me. And Abilify too. But I digress.

What is the lowest dose of Effexor? 25mg-37.5mg? Do you think a low dose or even 50mg could ease my symptoms of dysphoria/depression or motivation?

It's possible. 37.5 mg is the lowest dose possible.

I could replace the Dexedrine with Wellbutrin

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Originally Posted by Desoxyn I could replace the Dexedrine with Wellbutrin

JMO after having medicated adhd and researched the hell out of it for 17 years... Are you familiar with how vyvanse works best?
And what the active ingredient of vyvanse is that basically gets the job done? I dont want to bore you if you have heard it all before. One thing is, vyvanse requires digestive action to get going in order for the lixamphetamine to be converted and released via the gut into the bloodstream. So eating something high in protein like an egg when taking it helps that process. How far apart are you spacing these meds? What is your dosing schedule?

On days that I work, I take 2x 30mg Vyvanse at ~7-8am and then make it to work by 9am. On days that I don't work, I still set my alarm for ~10-10:30am and get out of bed by 11am. But lately I've been getting out of bed past noon.

I take the 15mg of Dexedrine at 1:30-2pm and it lasts for an extra ~5 hours.

In fairness, my ADHD has been treated the best it's ever been - I just feel so much dysphoria and depression about life - Because I wasn't treated for ADHD early enough. I bet, if I was treated, I wouldn't have developed depression + severe mental illness and self destruction etc.

I started off with mild autism and severe ADHD as a child. In Ireland (Where I was raised), they didn't believe that ADHD exists and that everything could be solved through discipline. I became self defeated and depressed after never listening or paying attention - But I was extremely good at math that I always passed classes.

I developed psychosis and was given antipsychotics at age 16 from abuse by my moms ex, neglect from my parents, and isolation in my own head - Then at age 17, I was given Concerta. The Concerta only lasted 7-8 hours so at the end of the day, I'd get frustrated and write psychotic rants and delete them and knock myself out with risperidone on purpose. I then stopped taking the Concerta for 100 or so days, then abused them.

SSRI too - A bunch of stuff + Abilify later, I became manic, impulsive, reckless.. I abused alcohol so my mom told the liquor store to stop serving me (I lived in the middle of no where). I was incredibly lonely and lost hope.

I bought phenidate/amphetamine analogues. All I wanted was to focus and do my own things and be my individual self - But I always was forced to do things for other people. I quit both trades jobs (That I just did for money) and threatened suicide.

I then overdosed on a psychedelic and came to my senses - (More cautious and aware and integration of identity and much deeper intuitive thoughts + Hope). I've been thriving ever since in terms of attention and cognition.

Now, I just find it hard to get out of bed in the morning because I've built tolerance to ~75mg of dextroamphetamine split daily instead of the full 60mg in the morning.

It's not bad. I shouldn't complain. Avoiding drugs and taking the stimulant as prescribed has improved my life greatly.

I think Vyvanse is metabolized by red blood cells if I'm wrong? I used to have a chart that explained it's conversion to dextroamphetamine but mainly, I think that 50% of the lidexamfetamine gets metabolized in the first hour (Half life of lisdexamfetamine = 1 hour and half life of dextroamphetamine = 10 hours).

There is still 1-2mg of dextroamphetamine in the blood while sleeping with Vyvanse. The peak of Vyvanse is at 3-5 hours after taking it. I'm only OK with 15-20mg IR dextroamphetamine (60-70mg of Vyvanse) in my system. 10mg is ok.. But not enough. It took a while to adjust, increasing the dosage of the stimulant but now it's sort of like coffee but I'm able to focus much better.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Desoxyn On days that I work, I take 2x 30mg Vyvanse at ~7-8am and then make it to work by 9am. On days that I don't work, I still set my alarm for ~10-10:30am and get out of bed by 11am. But lately I've been getting out of bed past noon. I take the 15mg of Dexedrine at 1:30-2pm and it lasts for an extra ~5 hours.

How long does just the vyvanse work for you?

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In fairness, my ADHD has been treated the best it's ever been - I just feel so much dysphoria and depression about life - Because I wasn't treated for ADHD early enough. I bet, if I was treated, I wouldn't have developed depression + severe mental illness and self destruction etc.

I hear you. I am 46 (yes an old lady!) but I was evaluated for lack of focus and talking etc in school and was given "attention difficulties" as my label and that was that. This was about 1981 and even then if anyone were to be treated for adhd it was only the boys, the really really hyper ones. In fact girls are so underdiagnosed you wouldnt believe it!
Adult ADHD and comorbid disorders: clinical implications of a dimensional approach
This is wordy but really enlightening. Sure if you had been treated earlier things might have been different but at the same time perhaps you would still have had some of your other disorders anyway due to the similar pathways it is believed that adhd and other mental issues take.

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I started off with mild autism and severe ADHD as a child. In Ireland (Where I was raised), they didn't believe that ADHD exists and that everything could be solved through discipline. I became self defeated and depressed after never listening or paying attention - But I was extremely good at math that I always passed classes.

Dont get me started on the NHS and its poorly designed adhd treatment plans. I have a friend who ended up having to go private to get hers treated properly.

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SSRI too - A bunch of stuff + Abilify later, I became manic, impulsive, reckless.. I abused alcohol so my mom told the liquor store to stop serving me (I lived in the middle of no where). I was incredibly lonely and lost hope.

Substance abuse is a huge issue with untreated and even treated adhd. I am sober now for 9 years but cant seem to give up the smoking.

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Now, I just find it hard to get out of bed in the morning because I've built tolerance to ~75mg of dextroamphetamine split daily instead of the full 60mg in the morning.

I thought above you said you took 2 30mg of vyvanse in the am and the 15 dex later? Did I get that wrong? Are you saying you would: rather take all of it at once, only some in the am, all of the vyvanse in the am? I am just making sure I understand you correctly. Tolerance sucks, and its sort of a long term medicated adhd patients' cross to bear... life changing drugs that you have to micromanage because you have to be careful enough to be adequately medicated without going beyond and slamming into the tolerance wall. Not to mention the comments from medical staff or in some pharmacies.."wow thats a high dose!" "You are on some heavy stuff"
"youre taking legal speed" etc.

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I think Vyvanse is metabolized by red blood cells if I'm wrong? I used to have a chart that explained it's conversion to dextroamphetamine but mainly, I think that 50% of the lidexamfetamine gets metabolized in the first hour (Half life of lisdexamfetamine = 1 hour and half life of dextroamphetamine = 10 hours).

https://corerevitalizingcenter.com/v...on-in-8-steps/
Im sure you have more info about vyvanses' mechanism of action than me but this little article and chart was more of what I was getting at. Mostly its info I have had other people share with me(just their personal experiences) and I started researching it. The thing is you have to dig past the usual articles and sort of weed through the usual horse and pony shows to get beyond the basic info. I was fascinated by how many friends reported a quicker onset of action when they had an egg or some pb toast. Or if they made sure to have a half of a tuna sandwich midday many said they felt like it "reinvigorated" their medication. I have been on adderall at the max allowable dosage for about 15 years. I started on dex spansules years ago and they helped but I was missing the "get up and move" factor and all I felt like doing was hanging out and talking and being social. My life is very social but so much more goes on it actually became not helpful.

I take Wellbutrin and find it very helpful. Also, it doesn't have the sexual side effects that most anti-depressants have.

The Vyvanse lasts for ~7-8 hours (Without the Dexedrine) + residual stimulation that I don't really care for but with the Dexedrine, it just seems to last longer (Because the Dexedrine adds a little bit of dextroamphetamine to the residual stimulation in the late afternoon to be more effective and last longer).

So the dextroamphetamine peak seems to last longer but the morning 60mg of Vyvanse is less effective (Due to the extra dopamine that the Dexedrine squeezes out of my brain).

My brain only has so much dopamine that it can SQUEEZE out daily!

Dextroamphetamine IR (Instant release) lasts 2-3 hours for me (I've only taken IR with Vyvanse). It could last longer if I had a 15mg IR Dexedrine 3-4 times a day but here in Canada, there's only 5mg IR tablets - So I'd have to take 9-12 or more a day... lol...

I would take 20mg of Ritalin IR 3-4 times a day but it's less safe for the heart long term.

What I'm going to do about this is to just struggle a little every morning, make a coffee and wake up a little tired (Not nearly as tired as without a stim would be) + Ask my psychiatrist to lower the Invega Trinza from 525mg to 350mg - That should help.

But thanks!

My motivation seems to be better now that I haven't drank alcohol in 2 weeks.

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Originally Posted by Desoxyn My motivation seems to be better now that I haven't drank alcohol in 2 weeks.

I just celebrated 9 years on 12/13. I promise you that you will keep feeling good one Day at a time.

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I don't have any suggestions, but I hear you on the tolerance. I felt uncomfortable with how dependent I was on my dose of 60mg and weaned myself down to 40mg. Made the mistake of telling my psychiatrist that so now I only have access to 40mg.

But, at least you're still getting some benefits. I don't feel any improvement in my symptoms these days, but can't face the alternative of horrible withdrawal.

I take the 60mg of Vyvanse in the morning, drink a coffee.. Then 15mg of Dexedrine XR at 2pm. Still the same.

The Dexedrine just sort of prolongs the peak of the Vyvanse as it wears off. Even though I don't notice much stimulation or anything, In general, my quality of life has been greatly improved - Taking it as prescribed and such.

I'm able to focus on what I WANT to focus on - Which is a loooot of ****.. But every day, I'm doing better..

I tried Wellbutrin for 3 months and it gave me sui thoughts and made me a little paranoid. But my mood has been good lately since I stopped taking it.

I think this is as good of a dose/med regimen that I care to keep the same. I feel almost hypomanic but not quite - Just normal basically.

Thanks for the insights =]

It sucks that my first stimulant (Concerta) didn't last long enough and I wasn't listened to/given an IR at the end of the day (Because I'd get irritable as hell). I stopped taking the Concerta for 2 months and then everything turned completely dysfunctional. I didn't deserve that nonsense.

But it's OK now..