Any anecdotal stories about the dosage, effectiveness, and side effects of this medication? Nephew is 14 and starting 30 mg tomorrow.

Why would you want anecdotes about the med? Side effect profile on Medscape lists anorexia and insomnia at 26%, headache and abdominal pain at 12%. That's Yuge. Xerostomia also at 26%, but that isn't such a big deal. I'm not saying these meds can't really help people who need them, but they certainly aren't without risks.

It works for some. It doesn't work for others...

All adhd meds are extremely individual. Additionally, individual reactions can change over time, so what works now could change. The whole use of speed to calm makes no logical sense. But it does work. We are on our forth or fifth different medication, but fairly happy with where we are at.

Vyvanse was the first med my daughter tried. It worked extremely well for her. Unfortunately it had some behavior side effects that forced us to switch.

Hopefully it will work well for him. But keep an eye on things and be ready to talk with his doctor and make changes if needed. Finding the right med and dosage can be a trial and error process.

My son has severe AD/HD and anxiety. He's night and day on Vyvanse. The afternoon crash is pretty severe, lots of woe-is-me moping when he comes off it. But by dinner he's usually right as rain. Biggest problem is he won't eat during the day when he's on it. No appetite whatsoever.

But he went from unteachable in the classroom setting as a kindergardener to on track or slightly above grade level in all subjects as a third grader.

I always thought AD/HD was bull**** and was for kids that didn't get beaten sufficiently until I had one.

Took one at 8 am on a game day in college. Worked a 15.5 hour double shift at Wing n More, then drank 18 beers before passing out at almost 4 in the morning. I do not have ADHD, and will never again take one of those pills.

It may work or it may not. The main reason I have had to change off of vyvanse is the afternoon crankiness which can be severe.

If it doesn't work consider Genesight testing. This has changed my ADHD practice radically in the last 5 months.

https://genesight.com/?ads_cmpid=735880026&ads_adid=42088656367&ads_matchtype=b&ads_network=g&ads_creative=275859309109&utm_term=%2Bgene%20%2Bsight&ads_targetid=kwd-106567055046&utm_campaign=&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&ttv=2&gclid=CjwKCAjw8uLcBRACEiwAaL6MSX5m_JAT9lrKYRc1W_JCMD-ZYvy3fX2pjEVp8dBlj06LRH4akLJGKBoC_vsQAvD_BwE

Crankiness is an understatement for what we had. But that was our reason for changing as well.

my history:
Started ritalin in 3rd grade
switched off to wellbutrin then adderall during puberty as hormones were messing with everything all together and causing some suicidal ideation, or other emotional outbursts that previously weren't there.

The advice I can give you from my experience is that ADHD is a gift, that has it's own problems, but when properly guided can result in an excessively curious, non-risk averse, INDIVIDUAL that is capable of overcoming most obstacles. it's my opinion that we also suffer some debilitating emotional traumas that constantly cycle in our mental background.

Talk to your nephew often, make sure you talk about events AND feelings/emotions surrounding those events.


I stopped taking adhd medications because i found them to no longer improve my symptoms, or I didn't enjoy the side-effects (getting frustrated when focus is interrupted on meds vs enjoying distractions when focus is interrupted when normal).

Much of adhd is surrounding the regulation of dopamine (the chemical that our brain produces to reward behavior). If you're curious, learning about dopamine and the dopaminergic response will lead you down a HUGE rabbit hole that I highly encourage.

Good luck to your family!

Report is he sensed SOME additional focus, felt more motivated, slightly elevated energy but no big changes and no jitters or negatives. On it only 2 days so far. His doc said after a month it might be increased from 30 mg. I guess no noticeable negatives with a slight improvement is better than nothing.

What's the typical adult dosage? He's 5'11" and 175 at age 14.

DrHeadShrink said:

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Report is he sensed SOME additional focus, felt more motivated, slightly elevated energy but no big changes and no jitters or negatives. On it only 2 days so far. His doc said after a month it might be increased from 30 mg. I guess no noticeable negatives with a slight improvement is better than nothing.

What's the typical adult dosage? He's 5'11" and 175 at age 14.

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There is no typical dose. Increase weekly until either desired effect or side effects. I have plenty of teens on 20mg and 6 year olds on 60mg it is very individualized.

Thanks! Variation was expected but the spread and individualization factor is higher than anticipated. I appreciate the information - the official websites are purposefully bland.

On day 2 he said it didn't seem very powerful. He did comment that he skipped breakfast and lunch as he wasn't hungry. Loss of appetite seems like the most common side effect.

30 MG is typically what they start most people out on. For people with severe ADHD, I've seen them prescribed as high as 80 MG.

Do any adults on here take this? I was diagnosed when I was a child and never took meds. In my adult life I feel it has become a real issue and am curious if I should finally bite the bullet and do something about it.

If you've never been prescribed medication, I would try it out. You will probably noticed an INSTANT change.

If you have a career that requires creativity, however, it's not the best option, imo, as it kinda turns you into a machine.

I was talking to a coworker about his daughter and she's taking different doses, with different time releases based on the tasks at hand or her schedule.

It's trial and error until you figure out where the sweet spots are.

administrative errors said:

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If you've never been prescribed medication, I would try it out. You will probably noticed an INSTANT change.

If you have a career that requires creativity, however, it's not the best option, imo, as it kinda turns you into a machine.

I was talking to a coworker about his daughter and she's taking different doses, with different time releases based on the tasks at hand or her schedule.

It's trial and error until you figure out where the sweet spots are.

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Trial & error is the way I was trained and practised for the last 17 years. Genesight helps at least reduce the error part of the equation. It still requires some trial but at least you can not give medication that is likely to cause side effects before benefit.

KidDoc said:

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administrative errors said:

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If you've never been prescribed medication, I would try it out. You will probably noticed an INSTANT change.

If you have a career that requires creativity, however, it's not the best option, imo, as it kinda turns you into a machine.

I was talking to a coworker about his daughter and she's taking different doses, with different time releases based on the tasks at hand or her schedule.

It's trial and error until you figure out where the sweet spots are.

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Trial & error is the way I was trained and practised for the last 17 years. Genesight helps at least reduce the error part of the equation. It still requires some trial but at least you can not give medication that is likely to cause side effects before benefit.

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never heard of genesight... interesting.

i'm still of the mindset that giving away your genetic profile is the pathway to gattaca or some twisted eugenics engineering. (for better or worse)..... but this is kinda cool..