Has Vyvance(for my adult ADD) caused increased cigerette and alcohal usage in ANYONE besides me??

[Katie928]

I have been on Vyvance for about 2 months (50 mg) and I was on adderal one month prior to this.  Granted, I was a smoker b/f I started on my ADD medication(perscribed by a psychiatrist)....but now, ALL I want to do is smoke.  I also crave alcohal more.  I used to just drink about twice a month....now, I wish I had a beer in my hand every evening!!
Why am I looking to these substances to "relax me," if you will.  Could this be a sign that I am not actually ADD OR am I perscribed too much you think?
Can ANYONE relate to these side effects?  Please let me know.  I can't get back to the doctor for another 3 weeks and I certainly don't want to drink and smoke more!!

[Ali420]

Yes, I noticed i drink more alcohol and smoke weed at least 4 times a week to relax me after a long day of doing continuous work, otherwise I feel like I can't come down.

Serious Side Effects and Serious Concerns, but still on Vyvance

I am a 24 year old girl who has tried a number of ADD medicines, including ritalin, adderall, and concerta. Vyvance has been the only ADD medicine I have taken on a regular basis, so I can't accurately desribe the side effects of the others or compare them.

I weigh 118 pounds and was started on 60mg. The first day I took Vyvance I could have sworn I just blew a gram of cocaine (and I would know). The feeling was EXACTLY the same, it was scary. I did notice that it says all over the packaging that people with a former drug addiction should not take the drug, and now I know it's because it feels uncannily similar to the feeling of being on a lot of cocaine. The coming off effects were not as dramatic though.

I was taking the medicine at 9AM and wasn't able to sleep until 3 or 4 so I asked my doctor for a lower dose. BTW when speaking with my doctor, I discovered that Vyvance is made by the same people who make adderall. I am very familiar with pharmaceutical companies and know that when a drug starts to lose its patent, it will play with the doses and molecules to basically create the same drug but file a different patent to protect its rights. Since Vyvance is twice the dose of adderall, I think it is just half as strong which is why you would take twice as much.

SIDE EFFECTS:
Heart: I am scared to death that I am going to over exert myself so I have cut physical activity out of my life while taking Vyvance. I am worried that if I increase my heart rate, I might have a heart attack or something.

Vision: I have noticed blurry vision if I stay awake after 12AM.

Mood: I am incredibly anti-social, intensely focused, moody, irratible, snap at people easily, but even weirder I have had the first suicidal thought of my life on Vyvance. I can honestly say I am a very happy person and never actually considered suicide, the first week I took Vyvance, I noticed myself conjuring these thoughts of my death and memorializing myself and what people would say at my funeral. THIS REALLY FREAKED ME OUT. I am constantly in a bad mood, but I am taking Vyvance so I can get my work done, which it is accomplishing amazingly.

Appetite: After switching to 30mgs which I currently take (and am on right now), I was happy to find the appetite suppressing qualities remained, which any 24 year old girl can appreciate. However, I found myself becoming aneorexic, (which really is defined as less than X calories per day), as I was probably consuming between 500-800. for example, I have not eaten lunch for the past 3 weeks and am finding that I don't enjoy food as much and am eating because i know I need the nutrition.

Based on the experience I have had, I am very concerned that children are prescribed this medicine. It does allow me to focus on my work, which it great, but the negative personality effects are dramatic and out of character. I went from being a happy cheery person to insanely focused on my work and unable to tear myself away from it, and being grumpy and unpleasant to be around. I notice that i don't want to talk to anyone.

IF YOU NOTICE IRRATIBILITY, ANGER, OUT-OF-CHARACTER BEHAVIOR PLEASE BE WARNED. I felt the same symptoms and if there are more similiarities with your child and my experience, I don't think children are capable of handling it. I think its good for adults though that can differentiate normal behavior and irration thoughts.

[Airbubble]

Hi,
I started on Vyvanse almost six months ago. I take 100mg every morning. Im 19 years old. I have noticed since I started taking the new medication that I have had more tendencies to want to drink alcohol more and even smoke (I hate smoking or the thought of it). Ive just been getting such strong cravings for the alcohol.

Ive also noticed that instead of being more social I have become less social and find it hard to even want to do the easiest things. I am very snappy at people... and I get angry quick. I find that the only time I seem to be happy and loving life is when Im at work, I feel like I never want to stop working.

Though Im still not focused enough in college since i have to be around people. I really can not tolerate people.. anything they do can set me off. This all started with the Vyvanse.

And of course the eating problems. Its so hard to remember to eat, and then when you do remember your already full with just a bite or two. Im starting to think I have a eating disorder because of how little I eat, or the only time I do really eat it after 10 pm when the meds start to wear off and I start to crave things... also found that ive been sleep eating..

[seriously12345]

whoah.. i just switch from adderall xr 20mg to vyvanse 50mg.. i like the vyvanse so far, less anxiety with it, but anyways i had the same problem with the adderall.. i would drink so much alcohol, which is something you should not do if you take any type of psychiatric medications.  things you need to do on these stimulants is: wake up very Early every single day so you're tired by night fall so you can actually go to sleep, make sure you do Not eat 1-2 hours before or after taking the medications, drink plenty of Water throughout the whole day, rememeber to "Chill" when you feel too tense at times.. take a break by Sitting down or take a Walk, go to the Tanning bed.. anyways, if you smoke, the nicotine and caffiene can tend to overstimulate you if mixed with your meds, especially if you havent been sleeping well at night.. just some tips, ive been on stimulant meds since i was 15 y/o.. ill be 20 y/o in a month.

[ADD1973]

I was put on Lexapro 4 years ago for anxiety.  While it helped with Anxiety, I gained nearly 70 pounds in one year.  I had always been fit and a healthy weight. Skyrocketing to a huge 210 was unbearable so I quite cold turkey.  I didn't experience and adverse effects from coming off Lexapro, but I've heard some do. I've since lost 30 of the 70 gained.  I'm 35 now and have just been diagnosed with ADD.  The doc has prescribed 30 Mg of Vyvance for the first week, will bring me up to 50mg the second week and if needed 70mg.  for those of you who have used Vyvance, do you think it will help me drop the remaining 40 pounds I gained with Lexapro?  Did you experience weight loss and how much?

[Jane1022]

Katie928,

I can relate. But you may want to go back in and consult your psychiatrist. The reason I say this is b/c I too have ADHD but I also have Bipolar Disorder.

I was first diagnosed w/BPD in 2006, a yr later my mind kept racing and I knew something wasn't right. Went back in to my doc. What often happens, and this is proven thru research, is that someone w/a chemical inbalance disorder has a 60% higher chance at having another disorder. That being said, the symptoms of ADHD are very very very similiar to the manic symptoms of Bipolar Disorder. Thus, it being easy to miss one or the other when diagnosing someone. It's really nearly impossible for a doc to diagnos ADHD and BPD at the same time for the reason that the symptoms of the mania of BPD and ADHD are similiar. It's just something that we really just figure out with time, when we experience diff symptoms that we hadn't experienced, or hadn't noticed we experienced b/c the two disorders mask each other, b/f.

Once I was diagnosed w/ADHD, the med's did help. I started out on a 30day trial of Vyvanse but at that time last yr, Vyvanse hadn't been approved in my state for adults so I was only ab le to get the 30day trial. It has since been approved for adult use.

So then I started on Adderall XR and was fine for awhile. Although I do like Vyvanse better and next month will be switching back to it. But the thing of it is, we all know med's that treat ADHD are stimulants. They differ slightly depending on the brand, but all in all they are usually stimulants. These stimulants, which ever they may be, are used to treat ADHD for the purpose that someone who has ADHD has imbalanced dopamine levels. Stimulants aid in the extracellular activity of dopamine in the brain. They balance dopamine levels.

When someone is on a stimulant and they have BPD, the stimulant can affect the moods, habits, etc. The primary reason when this happens is if someone who has ADHD and Bipolar goes through a manic episode (they are episodes b/c they are not constant--they can last for a day, a week, a year...it varies). A manic episode puts that person into a "high"...brain activity is higher than normal, rapid speaking, mind racing, excessive spending, sexually promiscuous, excessive consumption of things like cigarettes and alcohol. Especially alcohol...why alcohol...? Alcohol is a depressant and if someone is in a "high" state the brain subconsciously works to bring it back to balance. i.e. your brain/you subconsciously associates alcohol with bringing you down to a level state.

Trust me this is sooo true. I say this b/c I was at the exact same place b/f I was diagnosed w/Biploar. This is alot of info I know...but I am hoping it helps you. I was previously misdiagnosed 5 years ago w/sever depression when I in fact had Bipolar disorder. I was prescribed an antidepressant which alleviated the depression but excellerated the mania...i.e. the "high". At that point, on the antidepressants I drank excessively...way beyond my normal drinking habits. I too, as you say, CRAVED alcohol. Again, the brain's way of leveling out. Crazy how the brain works, right?

Once I was properly diagnosed in 2006, things changed. But the thing w/Bipolar Disorder is that although medication helps...it isn't a cure. Medication simply prolongs the time in b/w episodes. In other words, there will still be episodes...but they aren't so close together.

I am a smoker too and within the past 3 months I have been smoking WAY above what I normally had smoked. On avg I would go through a pack every two days. Now, I am going thru a pack sometimes more, per day. I was having other symptoms such as inability to concentrate and I thought...what they heck...what's going on. I attributed it to my ADHD and though