Stimulants Twice weekly use of Vyvanse

[sunday morning]

Hello everyone,

About a month ago I was given a preliminary dosage of ADHD and was told that if the symptoms were not alleviated in a month, they would confirm the diagnosis and prescribe a stimulant. Two days ago they prescribed Vyvanse 30 mg and today was my first time taking it. In the past, before being diagnosed, I took Concerta and Adderall for both recreational and studying purposes.

I don't want to take the Vyvanse daily, for two reasons. First, I'm concerned about the potential for addiction; I enjoy stimulants very much and don't want to set myself up for trouble. Secondly, I enjoy the euphoria (maybe too strong a term- Vyvanse, compared to Concerta, just gave me a moderate happy buzzing feeling) that I got from occasional use with other stimulants in the past.

What are your recommendations for taking Vyvanse 1-2 times a week? I plan to take 2 pills each time (total of 60 mg). Is this often enough to develop a tolerance, and how quickly will that tolerance develop? Would you expect the tolerance to eliminate only the positive mood effects, or could it damage the increased focus as well? Assuming that tolerance develops after a certain amount of time, how long do I have to take a break in order for it reduce? Does 5-HTP help with tolerance, or if not, are there other OTC vitamins/medications that can assist? I will be taking the Vyvanse with 3-4 days between each usage.

If body size/fat percentage has anything to do with becoming too acclimated to the drug, I have a BMI of 28 so I usually have a slower path to tolerance for other drugs such as cannabis.

Thanks in advance for your help! I really appreciate it.

 

[snazzy_sn]

Takeit every day and count your blessings

 

[sunday morning]

I should also ask- if I were to take it every day as prescribed, how will the effects change in the short term, and how rapidly?

The results I enjoy are having a lifted mood and being more talkative/outgoing, plus of course the superb ability to focus. Will the sociable, perky feeling wear off pretty quickly?

Thanks again.

 

[MrSexypancake]

After using adderall regularly, I stopped getting the lifted mood and just felt awake and focused. I doubt if vyvanse would cause big problems with everyday or every other day use.

 

[sunday morning]

After using adderall regularly, I stopped getting the lifted mood and just felt awake and focused. I doubt if vyvanse would cause big problems with everyday or every other day use.

Yeah, I am prescribed it for a legitimate reason so I don't think it would hurt me to take it every day, it's just that I enjoy it so much I think I'd be tempted to start taking more than one pill a day and it'd just snowball.

Oh, and did you ever happen to stop taking it for a while and start up again? Did you get any feel for how quickly the tolerance decreases?

Thank you very much for your advice!

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

I take vyvanse daily.

If you take it twice a week tolerance will develop very slowly indeed, you will retain the "good" feeling for a very long time, several months at least. I take breaks every seventh day and I still get that "good" feeling on the next three or so days. Don't get me wrong, though, I can definitely feel a positive mood lift on the other days, its just not as pronounced.

If you can't take your medication responsibly, then you should be put on something that isn't abusable (i.e. strattera). I have never abused my medicine. If you take more than you're prescribed then eventually you will need that amount just to focus; if you take as prescribed then the tolerance to the focusing effects will either not develop or will develop very slowly (after about a two-week hyper-focus period).

5-HTP is serotonergic; it may accentuate the effects of the medicine slightly but it won't help with tolerance. 5-HTP has some negative effects in relation to the heart (and probably brain) if you take it several months in a row too. If you think you need an anti-depressant then talk to your doctor. I wouldn't take the 5-HTP. Look into chelated magnesium for tolerance "prevention".

Amphetamine tolerance takes a very very long time to diminish or doesn't diminish at all.

The best way to avoid addiction while still taking your drug is to be productive when on it; do something which it makes you better at. In this case, its not hard to find activities. But don't just do these things on amphetamine, or else you really won't know what to do without it.

 

[sunday morning]

If you can't take your medication responsibly, then you should be put on something that isn't abusable (i.e. strattera). I have never abused my medicine. If you take more than you're prescribed then eventually you will need that amount just to focus; if you take as prescribed then the tolerance to the focusing effects will either not develop or will develop very slowly (after about a two-week hyper-focus period).

To some extent I actually wish to restrict it to 2 days in order to avoid the risk of abusing severely. I have no history of drug abuse and have not used many drugs, but addiction does run in my family and I'd like to be cautious. But maybe that's not a viable plan. I know very little about amphetamines honestly, hence all these posts. Do you think it would also be a bad idea to take it twice a week, but at the recommended dose only, not double?

5-HTP is serotonergic; it may accentuate the effects of the medicine slightly but it won't help with tolerance. 5-HTP has some negative effects in relation to the heart (and probably brain) if you take it several months in a row too. If you think you need an anti-depressant then talk to your doctor. I wouldn't take the 5-HTP. Look into chelated magnesium for tolerance "prevention".

Good to know. I am on an anti-depressant actually. I'll check out the chelated magnesium.

The best way to avoid addiction while still taking your drug is to be productive when on it; do something which it makes you better at. In this case, its not hard to find activities. But don't just do these things on amphetamine, or else you really won't know what to do without it.

I use it almost exclusively for schoolwork and pleasure reading, since difficulty reading/writing is what causes me to suffer most in terms of ADD. But I do these things daily, so my experiences while on the Vyvanse are not a world apart from my daily life otherwise.

Thank you so much for your advice! It's really helpful.

 

[Youngling]

My advice: Really, really, and I repeat, REALLY stick to the 2 day a week rule you have produced. I started taking Adderall (and sometimes Focalin, as it was free) recreationally but also at school on test days to focus better. Man did I (and still do) love the euphoria. I too only planned on taking it a couple times a week to maintain the euphoric effects, and I did for a time, until I went through about a 2 week period of everyday use. During that time the euphoric effects decreased severely, and I now have to take a much higher dose to achieve them although I have gone back to the 'couple times a week' approach.

So basically yes, to maintain the euphoria, stick to what you have planned.

Also: Magnesium either reduces or prevents tolerance, I've heard both being said. I take 400 mg of it on days that I do not take Adderall, and I would recommend the same to you. Just make sure you have the right kind (do not buy oxide because of its low bio-availability). I take chelated, but I have heard citrate works well.

 

[sunday morning]

I too only planned on taking it a couple times a week to maintain the euphoric effects, and I did for a time, until I went through about a 2 week period of everyday use. During that time the euphoric effects decreased severely, and I now have to take a much higher dose to achieve them although I have gone back to the 'couple times a week' approach.

So basically yes, to maintain the euphoria, stick to what you have planned.

This is definitely what I don't want to happen, so I will stick to my guns as much as I can.

Also: Magnesium either reduces or prevents tolerance, I've heard both being said. I take 400 mg of it on days that I do not take Adderall, and I would recommend the same to you. Just make sure you have the right kind (do not buy oxide because of its low bio-availability). I take chelated, but I have heard citrate works well.

Cool, I will definitely try this out.

Thanks for your advice! It helped a lot.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

Taking your medicine at the recommended dose is what its there for. I wouldn't caution you even if you took it six days a week.

 

[sunday morning]

Taking your medicine at the recommended dose is what its there for. I wouldn't caution you even if you took it six days a week.

Ok. Thank you.