Why is Vyvanse So Popular?

[@modemarose4497]

Vyvanse was a bit of a Wet Blanket for me, a slow creeper of not much really.. Interestingly I responded very well to the Daytrana patches but the supply issues became unworkable. Focalin popped me through the roof, it felt like I would imagine CRaCK feeling like 🥴 Alas the most consistently effective adhd medication for me is the Old School Vyvanse aka Dextro & it's been nearly a decade without changing dose. It saved my life, literally.. Love Yr Work Doc 👌🖤👯‍♀️

[@kenhaze5230]

I appreciate your poise and grace in saying prescription kickbacks are not standard practice. It's very gentle vs. "kickbacks are blatantly federally illegal and feds do actually try to crush those who participate in them." As they should!

[@successblueprintinstitute]

Vyvanse worked great for me. life changing in fact. I was really struggling to do very basic things in life to living the greatest life I possibly could in less than a year. when I dont take it now its very apparent how bad I was pre medication.

[@erfanghasemipour880]

Took it for 2 years and quitted it, and then I saw how my short term memory was destoryed, how aggressive I had got, and how I needed to repractice common daily conversation speech even though I was once a theater speech trainer; haven't fully recovered yet after two years.

[@DrJohnKruse]

I appreciate your willingness to share your lousy experience with Vyvanse.

[@beesmongeese2978]

I don't understand. Vyvanse ruined it, or stopping Vyvanse did?

[@erfanghasemipour880]

@@beesmongeese2978 Vyvanse did.

[@teppet4119]

I tried it myself for my adhd with comorbid depression, it definitely energizes and increases focus sadly it did nothing for mental clarity and I quickly developed a tolerance. Now I only take small amounts of less than 15mg if I need it to do some tasks until my comorbid depression is dealt with. definitely helps when youre down to survival level performance and handle the medication well. sadly its no long term solution for me, not for adhd or depression.

[@munkiechatchat]

What’s your take on Elvanse?

[@DrJohnKruse]

Elvanse is the name used in Britain and parts of Europe for the exact same product as Vyvanse.

[@munkiechatchat]

@ yes, I live in The Netherlands.

[@ivanrevkov843]

Thank you for video on Vyvanse. I have a question. I've tried metithenidate and dexamphetamine. I noticed that the first one improve my memory (much easier to recall things) whereas the latter doesn't affect the memory. Do you have any information on memory improvement with dexamphetamine???

[@DrJohnKruse]

I'm not aware of research indicating significant differences between ADHD medications and the impact on memory, but certainly have worked with patients who experienced very different effects with different ADHD medications.

[@BrianSmith-lo3mj]

Thank you Dr. Kruse for putting out such great videos on all these medications. 👍👍 It's quite clear at this point that you have a vast knowledge of psychotropic medications. I first learned about you when a nurse practitioner put me on 40 mgs of Strattera (Atomoxetine) and it gave me that same nauseous feeling that Wellbutrin did. I'm just wondering if I started at a lower dose of 18 mg a day if my stomach would be able to tolerate it more. Pardon me for asking, but you wouldn't happen to have a video on Clonazepam do you? The reason I ask is because once I let the nurse know that I take .5 mg 2X a day then she started treating me like some horrible drug addict (junkie) and was telling me how I need to ween myself off of it and then told be that it was a DEA requirement for me to get a tox screen every 3 months and then informed me that they do random drug screening as well ... yada yada yada. The place I went to before that only said I had to be drug tested once a year and I was actually 2 months late on that one. I just basically want to know if I should really ween myself off of it because it is a dangerous medication like she claims it to be. Thanks in advance. 🤷‍♂

[@DrJohnKruse]

Clonazepam/klonopin is a benzodiazepine, and a long acting one -it's half life in most people seems to be close to a day, so if you're taking it every day some of it is always aboard, and probably contributing somewhat to sedation/decreased alertness/slower reaction time. Most people develop tolerance to the beneficial effects of benzodiazepines, so long term use is usually not recommended. Many people on shorter acting benzodiazepines are switched over to klonopin prior to tapering off; its long half life makes it one of the easier benzos to taper off of. Also, it doesn't enter the body as quickly as other long-acting benzos like valium, so it is less intrinsically rewarding, which also makes it less prone to addiction. In general, taking "downers" with "uppers" (benzos with ADHD medications) is generally discouraged because to a large extent they are working at cross purposes. But in rare situations the combination helps more than anything else we currently have to offer on a medication front. CBT and other psychotherapies appear to be more effective in the long run for anxiety than do benzos, and tend to have many fewer side effects.

[@BrianSmith-lo3mj]

@@DrJohnKruse Thank you for answering my questions Dr. Kruse. I really appreciate that.

[@richard-u8k9r]

Thank you!!

[@SirAustin]

I asked my doctor about Vyvanse and my insurance declined pre authorization because I hadn’t tried any Methylphenidate or non stimulant options first. They would only prescribe Vyvanse if I had already tried everything else or had binge eating disorder. 😑

[@DrJohnKruse]

It reflects how bizarre our system is, and how FDA approval can determine who gets access to what medications. Binge eating is an FDA approved use of Vyvanse, but whether it has long term, sustained benefits for that condition is inadequately studied.

[@beesmongeese2978]

Just throwing this out there, I tried two different methylphenidates for half a year (foquest and concerta). Then, I switched to atomoxetine and stopped after my first week on it. Currently off anything. Not content. I'm very pessimistic about either dex or lisdex.

[@DrJohnKruse]

Pessimistic because you are concerned about side effects, or about lack of benefit? Substantial numbers of people who get inadequate responses to methylphenidate have considerably more robust improvement in ADHD symptoms with amphetamine based products - but there are risks.

[@beesmongeese2978]

@@DrJohnKruse I can't see my own reply for some reason, I hope it got posted still

[@DrJohnKruse]

@@beesmongeese2978 I can see your response about not seeing your reply, but not an answer regarding whether the pessimism was about side effects or lack of benefit.

[@beesmongeese2978]

@DrJohnKruse I think it autodeletes because it's too long. Here's a summary: I didn't try methylphenidate for two months, I did for half a year. It was just like a very strong coffee for me, making me even more hyper and just as scattered, with worse fluctuating energy levels and a total loss of any creativity or desire to socialize. I just became a dumb, obnoxious, egotistical pleasure junkie. Strattera made me a zombie right away and it kept getting worse every day.

[@lumpkin2143]

I have tried ....Ritalin, Strattera, Modafinil,Adderall, Guanfacine, and now Vivance and my severe ADHD is as debilitating as it ever was, they all failed . At 68 I will have to accept the fact I will never know what a ''Clear head'' is. So I give up. Thanks anyway.

[@beesmongeese2978]

@@lumpkin2143 Reading this at 21 is scary as hell.

[@DrJohnKruse]

@@beesmongeese2978 - which is one reason that knowing what the research indicates, rather than relying solely on anecdotal information, is so important.

[@digxx]

It really baffles me how some people appear to be obsessed with the "addictive" properties of stimulants as if there is nothing else... Besides: Are you sure that lysine-dexamphetamine doesn't have any effect at all? Specifically in combination with bupropion and/or methylphenidate I definitely get some sort of effect within the first 30min after intake. But at the same time within that time there shouldn't have been any conversion to dexamphetamine. Oh, and it's not a real stimulant like effect (like a couple hours later), but more of euphoric type...

[@DrJohnKruse]

Small amounts are processed right away, so you might just be more sensitive to that than others. Some people do become addicted to stimulants, and these addictions can be lethal, and terribly destructive even without causing death. But from a public health perspective, it is important to know that these disastrous outcomes can be both infrequent (only a small percentage of people) and yet common (because total numbers are large). Anecdotal information tends to be more powerful in shaping perceptions than are statistics about how likely an event is.

[@digxx]

@@DrJohnKruse Just curious if you may want to add on to it: What do you mean by destructive (if not lethal, which is equivalent to just overdose I guess?). Like what are these people actually doing which is destructive? Do they not abide to their therapeutic dose once or twice, but keep on redosing with escalating doses? How high have you seen that? And the destructive outcomes are mainly of cardiovascular type?

[@DrJohnKruse]

@@digxx My comment was in reference to stimulant abuse/addiction in general, not specific to Vyvanse or any particular prescription stimulant. The addiction process itself can lead people to ignore their own health, social connections, and job or school commitments. It can lead to a number of antisocial activities. I have another video on differences between misuse/abuse/addiction. Misuse of stimulants among those with ADHD is probably close to the norm - because all it means is that you did not take every dose of the medication as prescribed. So missed doses, doubled doses, not refilling on time all get classed as "misuse". Only a fraction of those who misuse stimulants go on to abuse them.