Am I right in thinking dexamfetamine lasts about 4-6 hours? I have a tolerance to meds as I’m prescribed elvanse 60mg and also these dex. I am pretty sleep deprived at the min (new baby and young kids) I have to do the school run on hardly any sleep) and I actually want to be able to have a nap in the day at some point. I have to take something in order for me to get up and about and do what I need to do. So I’ve taken 15mg dex but hoping I may be able to get a sleep later. I am thinking of staying off the elvanse until I’m sleeping better at night. Thanks in advance
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BDD Moderators: Keif’ Richards | negrogesic
Dexamfetamine
- Thread starter Poppy2000
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That is correct but it is dose dependent to a fair degree. A single dose of say 50mg of dextroamphetamine will last far longer than a 10mg dose.
Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
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It usually takes about 30 minutes to kick in and lasts 4-6 hours (in moderating ADHD symptoms) but some people find it difficult to sleep beyond that. Elvanse lasts 10-12 hours and reportedly disturbs or prevents sleep more than dex does for many people. 60mg Elvanse is pretty close to max recommended dose for adults. It seems unusual to also be prescribed dex on top of that and 15mg is not an insignificant dose.
It sounds like you might benefit from taking maybe 2/3 of the dex first thing in the morning to power through all your responsibilities. Then take an early afternoon power nap followed by the remaining 1/3 of the dex when you wake up. I take 30 mg of dex a day and still usually have a lie down about 1 PM for an hour or so. Even if I can’t sleep I can usually relax and clear my mind and get up feeling much restored.
It sounds like you might benefit from taking maybe 2/3 of the dex first thing in the morning to power through all your responsibilities. Then take an early afternoon power nap followed by the remaining 1/3 of the dex when you wake up. I take 30 mg of dex a day and still usually have a lie down about 1 PM for an hour or so. Even if I can’t sleep I can usually relax and clear my mind and get up feeling much restored.
Yeah I am prescribed the dex but at the time we did say I don’t need it everyday. The elvanse I would take everyday but the dex I would only take on days I needed it if I felt I wasn’t doing as well as usual. And only 10mg. I hardly ever took it so i thought I’d try it now instead of the elvanse. Elvanse works amazing for me when I sleep at night and have work in the day but everything has changed at the min due to my family life
Thankyou, I see what you mean! Hopefully the 15mg is enough to help but not too much that I can’t relax later
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You should be ok if you are used to it.
I had pretty noticeable insomnia after starting instant release dextroamphetamine but now not so much. When i first got my dexedrine script I consumed six 10mg tablets all at once at around 10mg. I didn't sleep at all that night. Now I wouldn't have an issue sleeping.
If you are concerned you might consider taking 1000mg-1500mg of vitamin C a few hours before bed (which speeds up the rate at which dextroamphetamine is eliminated from the body).
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I switched from Elvanse/Vyvanse to IR Dex because of this. I take 10mg doses 2-3x a day instead of my previous 60mg Vyvanse or subsequent 25mg Adderall XR. Vyvanse and Adderall last 8-12 hours, Vyvanse usually on the low side of that for me. IR is 3-5 hours for me, most people say 4 to 6 so I may have a fast metabolism. You can shorten the duration with Vitamin C pills or orange juice and extend it (this one is somewhat unsafe and I don't recommend it) with a teaspoon of baking soda or a dose of antacids.
I find the IR to be more effective, have far less physiological side effects (the extended release pills all fucked up my sleep schedule and appetite and had some sexual side effects, IR doesn't do any of that as severely or often), and allow me to control the multi-dosing schedule for different situations. If I want to do some homework in the morning but in the afternoon I want to take a nap, instead of having to choose between the two I just delay/don't take the second dose. If I want to eat a big meal, I start eating once my appetite comes back and wait until I'm almost finished eating to take the second dose. With Vyvanse or Adderall, I'd get hungry and start cooking then lose my appetite the second the food was ready and take hours to eat a meal.
So yeah. Dexedrine IR is the way to go if you want to skip/delay a dose to take a nap and don't mind having to take a couple doses a day. Taking the Vyvanse/Elvanse after 9am is probably a bad idea, especially since you're sleep deprived. I believe it can last up to 13 hours for some people, and the insomnia can persist for up to a few hours after that. I'd suggest just doing what I did and switching fully to Dexedrine IR if you find its effectiveness to be similar to/more than Elvanse for managing your symptoms.