Benefits of Vyvanse
As mentioned earlier, individuals with ADHD taking Vyvanse can experience improved focus and attention. One difference between Vyvanse and Adderall is that Vyvanse is a long-acting medication. That being said, patients feel the effects for 8-10 hours when taking Vyvanse relative to the 4-5 hours of Adderall. Furthermore, Vyvanse has been described as having a “smoother” side effect profile relative to other stimulants in the same class. Vyvanse also has the added benefit of being prescribed once per day. As a result, Vyvanse is considered an excellent choice for the treatment of ADHD. As a result, Vyvanse should be used in place of Adderall when the desired effect is to have a longer acting drug. With roughly twice the duration of action, it should be understood that dosing frequency needs to be spread out for longer periods of time to avoid overuse.
Side Effects of Vyvanse and When to Take It
Vyvanse has similar side effects to other stimulants used for the treatment of ADHD. These side effects include nausea, trouble sleeping, dry mouth, anxiety, and decreased or loss of appetite. As stated earlier, Vyvanse must be cleaved by enzymes in the GI system in order to become pharmacologically active. That being said, it must be administered orally and swallowed with either liquid or yogurt. It takes around 1.5-2 hours following administration to become significantly effective. As a result, it should be taken in the morning. Furthermore, one of the major side effects is insomnia. Because of this, Vyvanse should only be taken once per day and should not be taken in the afternoon or before bed. If Vyvanse is taken with food, this may delay the peak levels of the drug by an hour. Therefore, taking Vyvanse on an empty stomach or an hour before necessary is advised. However, due to the nature of Vyvanse, difficulty eating may be a result if taken before the consumption of a meal.
Should I Take Vyvanse For ADHD?
Individuals with untreated or mismanaged ADHD can struggle with everyday life activities ranging from household chores to maintaining focus at work. Individuals who have been diagnosed with ADHD since childhood may find that their medication has become less effective over time. Furthermore, they may find that their medication has come with unbearable side effects including insomnia, anxiety, and loss of appetite. If this becomes applicable to you, you may want to ask your doctor about either adjusting or switching mediations. There are two main classes of stimulants for ADHD, methylphenidate-based and amphetamine-based drugs. Methylphenidate-based drugs include Concerta and Ritalin and Amphetamine based drugs include Adderall and Vyvanse. Studies have shown that methylphenidate is less effective in adults. Therefore, Adderall and Vyvanse would be more effective options in the treatment of ADHD. Vyvanse comes in two forms, a capsule, and a chewable tablet. The capsule dosage ranges from 10-70mg. while the chewable tablets range from 10-60mg. As stated earlier, Vyvanse has less potential for abuse due to its necessity to be activated by GI enzymes to be pharmacologically active and cannot be snorted or injected. Vyvanse has also been anecdotally described as having gentler side effects relative to other stimulants. As a reminder, it is important to tell your doctor about other medical conditions. Vyvanse and other stimulants are not a safe choice for those with cardiac disease. Furthermore, other conditions such as kidney disease or medications such as antacids may interfere with the metabolism of Vyvanse. Nonetheless, Vyvanse may be a great, if not the best, option for treating your ADHD.
Testing for Vyvanse
There are a variety of tests that can be conducted to test for the presence of Vyvanse in a person’s system. The four major methods of testing are urine, blood, hair, and saliva. The most common is a urine test, as it is the most cost-effective, but not the most accurate. The results are immediate and can be detected for up to 5 days after the last oral use. Blood testing is extremely accurate, but it is more invasive and costlier than a urine test. Another downside with blood testing for Vyvanse is that the detectable window of time is between 3 and 6 hours, so it would have needed to be recently ingested. Hair testing is also expensive, but because the presence of Vyvanse use can be detected for up to three months, it is often used in the most extreme cases. Finally, a saliva test can be used, but it is unclear how long it can be detected in the saliva and is thus rarely used for Vyvanse.
Since most 12-panel drug tests include the detection of amphetamines, the use of Vyvanse will signal a positive result since it is within the amphetamine class. However, these tests do not differentiate between racemic compounds like Dextroamphetamine and Vyvanse. Thus, these tests should not be used to determine the specific compound that has been ingested into a person’s body, but more so just for the detection of amphetamines in general.
Excreting Vyvanse
Methods for excreting Vyvanse from one’s system are often sought out for toxicity purposes as well as to avoid detection during testing. Drinking higher volumes of water allow a person to urinate at a higher frequency and release the metabolites. Doing exercise can also increase the excretion through the sweat glands and allow the metabolites to be released. The greater amount of fiber in the diet will also promote the excretion of Vyvanse through feces. A combination of these techniques would further improve the speed at which Vyvanse is released from the system.
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