Stimulants Stimulants & somnolence?

[midnight11]

For the past few years I've been on Vyvanse as an adjunct therapy to SSRI's to help my depression and anxiety, which typically of course would usually increase anxiety. For whatever reason, I find stimulants calming at moderate dosages, and feel more "in control" and less overwhelmed which therefore has reduced my anxiety levels.

I have noticed, however, that I get much more tired after taking a stimulant than beforehand. I also experience insomnia, and for an example, there have been nights when I wake up at 3 AM and can't fall back asleep so I get out of bed for the sake of sleep hygiene. I've noticed that on these types of nights, if I take my vyvanse around 4 or 5 AM, I'll start feeling tired as it kicks in, and can actually fall asleep with them in my system.

I understand others have posted threads regarding somewhat similar situations as mine, but was wondering if anybody knows why this is occurring? Is it an increase in dopamine that could be allowing me to feel less stressed and troubled that may be regulated with the stimulant? Something else? Even caffeine will help, so it's not just the L-amphetamine in vyvanse that affects me the same way.

It'd be great if anybody with similar reactions to stimulants could post about what they believe causes this for their particular context. Thanks!

 

[Corazon]

hopefully someone can tell you the mechanism of action, but:

For whatever reason, I find stimulants calming at moderate dosages, and feel more "in control" and less overwhelmed which therefore has reduced my anxiety levels.

That's the part where they feel good.

I've noticed that on these types of nights, if I take my vyvanse around 4 or 5 AM, I'll start feeling tired as it kicks in, and can actually fall asleep with them in my system.

That's a combination of being exhausted, and addressing your dependency on the substance. Part of this could be that your body hasn't "refueled" from sleep, to be able to have all the stimulating effects. Part of this is your body having mild withdrawals and the dosing providing your fix. Part of this could be that mentally once it gets to 3:30am and you are wide-awake laying in bed thinking about Vyvanse (it doesn't have to be "holding out for your drug", but in some cases people have been known to stay awake waiting for their drug whether it's conscious or not), when you finally do dose it is also a solution to your thought process.

 

[AlphaMethylPhenyl]

I'll add what I know...

Here's the short answer: amphetamine is calming you, mostly through a dopaminergic mechanism

I take vyvanse, and have taken it then fallen asleep for a couple hours thirty minutes later.

Vyvanse has no l-amphetamine in it, making it less energy-provoking due to essentially less ne transmission. That is one reason.

Mental disorders can be challenged through several neurochemical means, or rather, each individual one can. For instance, the idea that 'less serotonin leads to depression' isn't just reductionist (but I'm getting off track here), its just the most statistically valid hypothesis right now. Its not true for everyone. I find stimulants to alleviate my anxiety, whereas the institution states that it worsens it merely because this is true for most people. Some people get depressed from SSRIs. Perhaps most notable, and this explanation of mine is exemplified most when it comes to compounds with hallucinogenic properties, some get depressed/paranoid/anxious on weed while others get high as a kite without a worry in the world.

One thing to remember: there is infinite variety when it comes to the human brain.

One relevant study comes to mind. Dextroamphetamine, which gets absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract after taking vyvanse, decreases cortisol levels in depressed patients.

Anything else?

 

[midnight11]

I definitely agree I think it's just the way that my neurotransmitters can get sometimes. In regards to waking up "needing" vyvanse, I'd definitely disagree considering I've discontinued it without any affect on my sleep cycle. I think due to the number of psych meds I'm on it can be related to general stress and changes in brain activity that makes me sometimes feel more "sped up" by the vyvanse or else more "relaxed" by it.

I take ambien for sleep and am used to waking up in the middle of the night after dealing with insomnia for 10 years or so, but it can be really bizarre when I take the vyvanse a couple hours after not being able to fall back asleep just to fall asleep shortly after haha. Also, my fault for saying L-amphetamine - I always end up saying L instead of D due to the spelling of lisdexamfetamine. Off topic, but it's also kind of hysterical that shire chose to use an F instead of PH in the spelling. Makes me feel like I'm misspelling it whenever I type it out...