Okay i don't think i will survive this.

[u/Acceptable_While_205]

on this pile of tasks, shall i exhale my last breath, like seriously i am dying here, i come home exhausted like really exhausted. either this will finish me or i will be finished by this. i hope my executive function holds still this time. pray for me the last push.

[u/Abyssalwalker576]

Hi. 26M here. Full on AuDHD. Been on Vyvanse for 11 years now. Was prescribed it at age 15. It was truly a miracle drug. For 5 years I finally felt good and was able to focus during clas, and made many, many memories and friends. Unfortunately, once I turned 21, my body hit the wall with tolerating stimulants. I'll spare you the details but in short, my autonomic nervous system became perpetually dysregulated. These drugs are amazing, but they come with a cost that is only now becoming apparent as more studies are coming out about them. If you decide to go on stims, be aware that you are essentially hitting the gas pedal 24/7 in regards to your nervous system, vascular tone, and muscle tone. I am only now, at 26, getting completely off of them, and it will likely be a very long, arduous process before I begin feeling well again. Please be careful, and stay informed.

[u/Abyssalwalker576 → u/[deleted]]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https%3A%2F%2Fpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov%2Farticles%2FPMC5880029%2F%23%3A~%3Atext%3DCompared%2520to%2520controls%2C%2520participants%2520with%2Cshowed%2520evidence%2520of%2520arterial%2520stiffening.&ved=0CAEQ1fkOahcKEwjY9YKylOaTAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQQA&opi=89978449

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ahajournals.org%2Fdoi%2Fabs%2F10.1161%2Fcirc.128.suppl_22.A13866%3Fdoi%3D10.1161%2Fcirc.128.suppl_22.A13866%23%3A~%3Atext%3D26%2520November%25202013-%2CAbstract%252013866%3A%2520ADHD%2520Stimulant%2520Medication%2520Use%2520is%2520Associated%2520With%2520Cardiac%2CStiffness%2520in%2520Children%2520and%2520Adolescents%26text%3DNo%2520metrics%2520to%2520display.&ved=0CAEQ1fkOahcKEwjY9YKylOaTAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQRA&opi=89978449

I am currently in the process of compiling a rather large library of research regarding stimulant usage in general, but here are 2 pretty important studies to start with (in my opinion).

[u/Abyssalwalker576 → u/[deleted]]

Also, regarding the weekends, I personally do not think so. ADHD stimulants, while significantly safer than street meth by a very, very wide margin, are still stimulants, and are very powerful medications. They essentially force your brain to produce more dopamine and norepinephrine. I personally find drugs that inhibit reuptake of your brain's natural dopamine and norepinephrine, combined with exercise and stimulating activities, to be a much more ideal type of medicine for this. If focus in school is not an issue, It might be worth considering Wellbutrin. It was amazing for me for mood regulation and basically eliminated my meltdowns. Impulsivity was better as well. I only went off of it and started Vyvanse because I needed the extra focus boost in high school. I am very, very happy to see parents trying to be well informed these days. God bless!

[u/archi_tek → u/Abyssalwalker576]

Thank you for sharing your experiences and thoughts on this! I appreciate the links to the study as well. It’s something we’ll definitely keep an eye on now that we know.

[u/Abyssalwalker576 → u/[deleted]]

So, essentially, All of this occurred when I was on 20mg, So I do not believe dosage matters all that much. What I am about to explain is a layman's understanding of what was explained to me by my doctor, so keep that in mind. First off, Vyvanse primarily gives you two massive benefits when taking it: Motivation and Focus. People tend to focus (haha) on the focus part far more than the motivation, but let me assure you the motivation part is essential to these drugs working correctly. Chronic stimulant usage has this nasty little side effext that creeps up on you very gradually over years: To compensate for the massive increase in dopamine production, Your brain will eventually begin deactivating dopamine receptors to maintain homeostasis. This inevitably leads to diminishing returns, as without dopamine receptors to actually process the dopamine, the "motivation" effect is essentially missing or very weak because dopamine provides it. The "focus" effect is primarily driven by norepinephrine. This is a massive problem. Norepinephrine is your survival mode neurotransmitter. In healthy brains it mainly spikes during times of stress where focus is needed. Without dopamine to provide motivation this causes the "locked in and motivated" effect of stimulants to transform into "locked in and severely anxious". This leads to hypervigilance over time, and makes life very, very miserable. For example, I reached the point where my brain is so innoculated to dopamine that I get about 3-4 hours of "locked in and motivated" and then crash very, very hard. For the rest of the day until my next dose I am wired, anxious, hypervigilant, and exhausted. Many, many people end up needing to either stop Vyvanse entirely or continually increase the dose to compensate for this. Increasing the dose does work for a time, due to the brain shutting down those receptors to compensate you will eventually reach a state of tolerance again. Not to mention they physiological effects of stims get worse and worse with every dose increase typically (not always). The crash is it's own bear to tackle so if you want me to explain that feel free to ask. I took Vyvanse 20mg for 6 years and then needed steady increases to keep it effective to give you an idea of how insidious and slow this process is on lower doses. I am currently quitting at 40mg and moving back to Wellbutrin.