Reset vyvanse tolerance

[mishuhamchu]

So I was taking 2 40mg vyvanse a day sometime in 2022 for 4 months. I resumed stims about 1.5 years later. Anyways, I had this problem where stims would only work for a few days at most. This dose is not enough to control my adhd symptoms and I don't know what to do. Should I just stay off stims for a while and resume it later? I'm pretty desperate.

 

[Keif' Richards]

We aren't doctors obviously. You have to take everything we say with a grain of salt.

80mg Lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse) is a high dose. My understanding is that 70mg is the limit in normal circumstances. If it's not working, you definitely don't want to go up in the dose.

Do you ever take days off from the drug? Weekends, vacations stuff like that?

Sometimes people are on a higher dose than they should be on. Too much stimulant can actually exacerbate symptoms. When someone feels they are not on high enough a dose, a common reaction is to feel like they need more.

I'm pretty sure it is a natural consequence of stimulants that we believe more will be better. It can be difficult to see the reality.

I'm not saying this is you. I've know people in similar situations and this was there issue. There clearly was a time in which the medication worked for you, as you are chasing this feeling. This leads me to believe that the issue is of tolerance as opposed to the medication just not being right for you.

I'm not sure what the answer is. If I were you, I would take at least 2 weeks off from stimulants. When you restart, do so at a lower dose, say 40mg. Take 2 days off every week. Doing something like this could give you the benefit of the medication without tolerance ruining it.

 

[mishuhamchu]

We aren't doctors obviously. You have to take everything we say with a grain of salt.

80mg Lisdexamfetamine (Vyvanse) is a high dose. My understanding is that 70mg is the limit in normal circumstances. If it's not working, you definitely don't want to go up in the dose.

Do you ever take days off from the drug? Weekends, vacations stuff like that?

Sometimes people are on a higher dose than they should be on. Too much stimulant can actually exacerbate symptoms. When someone feels they are not on high enough a dose, a common reaction is to feel like they need more.

I'm pretty sure it is a natural consequence of stimulants that we believe more will be better. It can be difficult to see the reality.

I'm not saying this is you. I've know people in similar situations and this was there issue. There clearly was a time in which the medication worked for you, as you are chasing this feeling. This leads me to believe that the issue is of tolerance as opposed to the medication just not being right for you.

I'm not sure what the answer is. If I were you, I would take at least 2 weeks off from stimulants. When you restart, do so at a lower dose, say 40mg. Take 2 days off every week. Doing something like this could give you the benefit of the medication without tolerance ruining it.

Yeah the 80mg doses were a mistake, and I regret it. I'm on 40mg right now and I barely feel it. Have been on this dose for months. I definitely have a tolerance and am worried I ruined my future with this. The period of my abuse was in 2022. Also, I had a horrible psychosis in 2021, so I'm wondering if that influences tolerance in any way. In fact I had a blank mind for like 2 years. When I resumed the stimulant I returned to baseline adhd.

I have no plans to resume my abuse patterns, and just want adhd treatment.
Thanks again for reading this.

 

[shreddedlettuce]

I would take at least 2 weeks off from stimulants. When you restart, do so at a lower dose, say 40mg. Take 2 days off every week. Doing something like this could give you the benefit of the medication without tolerance ruining it.

Agree with KR above.


Vyvanse works at the prescribed dose once a day.
When I interfere with this, I know I am going to be short until next refill. This causes unnecessary angst that in the long run we know is silly, we can stick to our dose (which we know works when we started taking it), and just put more effort into ignoring the "extras" ad hoc,

It is worth it, trust me.

So to answer your question "Reset vyvanse tolerance" Go with Keif' Richards quote above, if you want to reset it then go for it.

SL

​

 

[chippermonk]

Also, maybe ask yourself if it is still doing some good for your ADHD, versus how you would be doing if you quit. And also ask yourself if you perhaps have some other issues going on besides the ADHD. Maybe you have different non-adhd issues going on simultaneously that can be addressed by different means ( therapy, other meds, life changes).
I'm partly saying this because you said you had psychosis awhile back. It's easy to feel some short-term relief of depression and other negative mental conditions when you take stims. We all like to self medicated for these things, I'll raise my hand to that. But it isn't maybe viable long term to do so. I'm not at all questioning your ADHD, just saying there could be another issue as well.
Good luck

 

[bingey]

Nmda antagonists like magnesium work but they exacerbate side effects like sweating and jaw clenching ime

 

[mishuhamchu]

Also, maybe ask yourself if it is still doing some good for your ADHD, versus how you would be doing if you quit. And also ask yourself if you perhaps have some other issues going on besides the ADHD. Maybe you have different non-adhd issues going on simultaneously that can be addressed by different means ( therapy, other meds, life changes).
I'm partly saying this because you said you had psychosis awhile back. It's easy to feel some short-term relief of depression and other negative mental conditions when you take stims. We all like to self medicated for these things, I'll raise my hand to that. But it isn't maybe viable long term to do so. I'm not at all questioning your ADHD, just saying there could be another issue as well.
Good luck

Yeah I do have adhd and have had it for years trust me you could tell if you talked to me. However it is true that I'm depressed as fuck right now.

 

[mishuhamchu]

Yeah I do have adhd and have had it for years trust me you could tell if you talked to me. However it is true that I'm depressed as fuck right now.

Meant to clarify for life. However I'm not sure what to do if the stims aren't working. It feels impossible to treat my depression because I've really just had a hard life and don't see much hope in treating it. I have zero support structure as well so substances seem to be the only efficacious thing.

 

[chippermonk]

I'm sorry to hear that. I've never had ADHD but I have depression issues. It's a struggle sometimes.
In general Bluelight can be a helpful place to talk about these sorts of issues and connect with people going through it all. In general, I would say that connecting and talking to other people is a really good thing. Therapists and doctors, too, can help. I do think it's possible to make one's depression better and getting professional help, if you can, is a good idea. But I get why you might want to self medicated. Good luck!

 

[mishuhamchu]

I'm sorry to hear that. I've never had ADHD but I have depression issues. It's a struggle sometimes.
In general Bluelight can be a helpful place to talk about these sorts of issues and connect with people going through it all. In general, I would say that connecting and talking to other people is a really good thing. Therapists and doctors, too, can help. I do think it's possible to make one's depression better and getting professional help, if you can, is a good idea. But I get why you might want to self medicated. Good luck!

Thanks for your input but I'm considered "treatment-resistant". I went down the traditional route since like 16 but idk it's just not getting better. I'm currently on auvelity pristiq and mirtazipine and none of it's been too helpful. Again thanks for your advice.

 

[chippermonk]

I'm sorry to hear that. My knowledge level is not really helpful but I wouldn't be surprised if someone else here has a similar experience as you. If you ever want to discuss your depression and your meds with someone, you can probably word a post in a way to connect with them. And welcome to bluelight.

 

[mishuhamchu]

I'm sorry to hear that. My knowledge level is not really helpful but I wouldn't be surprised if someone else here has a similar experience as you. If you ever want to discuss your depression and your meds with someone, you can probably word a post in a way to connect with them. And welcome to bluelight.

Could depression cause adhd meds yo not work as well?

 

[chippermonk]

Could depression cause adhd meds yo not work as well?

I don't know the answer to that but I know that depression makes other conditions worse, like pain seems worse to me when I'm depressed.. It could also be that there is some interaction between your ADHD drugs and your depression drugs, or with any recreational drugs you might be taking.
It can be helpful to focus on other factors, too, like getting good sleep, eating well, exercising, social connections

 

[Shinji Ikari]

It sounds like your dose is too low. I was started on 30mg which stopped working after a few days but by the time I had titrated up to 50mg I was able to go months without tolerance breaks without seeing any diminishing returns.

 

[deficiT]

Just to clarify, are you taking 40mg and its not working or 80mg?

Auvelty has bupropion in it right? I've taken bupropion alongside Vyvanse before and it made my adhd meds less effective and overall just made me jittery and anxious.

The best way to reset tolerance though is to make sure you're taking extended breaks, like try not to dose on the weekends if youre not busy, stuff like that. Yeah magnesium can help as posted above.

It could also just be that the Vyvanse dose you're taking just isnt strong enough or doing the trick for you anymore. They don't prescribe Vyvanse in amounts higher than 70mg, but you can possibly get another med prescribed alongside, like regular dextroamphetamine, if your current vyvanse dose isn't covering you, I would just be honest with your doctor that its not effective anymore. If you are only taking 40mg then you likely just need a higher dose. I take 60mg personally and have found that dose to be effective with no other added stimulant.

 

[mishuhamchu]

Just to clarify, are you taking 40mg and its not working or 80mg?

Auvelty has bupropion in it right? I've taken bupropion alongside Vyvanse before and it made my adhd meds less effective and overall just made me jittery and anxious.

The best way to reset tolerance though is to make sure you're taking extended breaks, like try not to dose on the weekends if youre not busy, stuff like that. Yeah magnesium can help as posted above.

It could also just be that the Vyvanse dose you're taking just isnt strong enough or doing the trick for you anymore. They don't prescribe Vyvanse in amounts higher than 70mg, but you can possibly get another med prescribed alongside, like regular dextroamphetamine, if your current vyvanse dose isn't covering you, I would just be honest with your doctor that its not effective anymore. If you are only taking 40mg then you likely just need a higher dose. I take 60mg personally and have found that dose to be effective with no other added stimulant.

I also have severe depression so stimulants by themselves aren't effective. Basically I require the auvelity. I was on 50mg vyvanse for a bit and the same problem occurred, so I'm starting to think my dopamergenic system is dysregulated.

 

[Shinji Ikari]

50mg vyvanse for a bit and the same problem occurred, so I'm starting to think my dopamergenic system is dysregulated.

Maybe you just need to be on 60mg, or 70mg.

I don't think 80mg a day over a year ago would be causing you any tolerance issues today. I certainly wouldn't assume that anyway before having your clinician titrate you up to the maximum prescribed dose first.

 

[Methamphetanonymous]

Bupropion reduces the affects of amphetamine for me. I've had success using dextromethorphan to reduce my amphetamine tolerance however the Bupropion content of Auvulity would diminish the effectiveness of DXM in that regard

I agree with what others have said. The best tolerance reset is simply a break; amphetamine tolerance is incredible in how quickly it builds and reduces