Amphetamine XR vs Vyvanse for staying awake and PED sports performance

[Runallnight]

Serious question for my fellow athletes out there - I am an ultra distance athlete and I participate in multi-day adventure races (2 - 7 day races). I have been using Amphetamine XR 20mg (Adderall XR) for years during races with very high rates of success. it has excellent ability to keep me awake and highly alert and it is superior to Provigil (Modafinil) becasue it gives a physical boost that is palpable. I can literally see my split times drop considerably about 45 minutes after dropping the hammer. BUT......Amphetamine is getting much more difficult to find. I had two sources for legal amphetamine and both have dried up so I need to find a reliable alternative.....am thinking about Vyvanse??? I live part time in Mexico and home is Puerto Rico. Even in Mexico, the Amphetamine pills are gone from the shelves and have been replaced with Vyvanse. Vyvanse is easy to get and low cost everywhere in Mexican pharmacies. Im curious to know if anyone has experimented with Vvyanse as a PED and what the effects of it are on performance as well as on staying awake for a couple days? is there a XR version? any help with dosing or combinations is much appreciated.

 

[Serotonin101]

If memory serves right, Vyvanse is already an extended release. Never used it as a PED but every time I've used it before, it was a long lasting drug that felt relatively smooth. It does get converted to regular amphetamine in the body via digestion so it should be relatively similar.

 

[dragonix]

Holy buzzards I cannot believe that. That is tremendously challenging on the system and I guess there is no drug testing for those races then?

I am concerned for your health not drug testing bad joke.

Would a sports doctor even advise doing that?

 

[Snafu in the Void]

Serious question for my fellow athletes out there - I am an ultra distance athlete and I participate in multi-day adventure races (2 - 7 day races). I have been using Amphetamine XR 20mg (Adderall XR) for years during races with very high rates of success. it has excellent ability to keep me awake and highly alert and it is superior to Provigil (Modafinil) becasue it gives a physical boost that is palpable. I can literally see my split times drop considerably about 45 minutes after dropping the hammer. BUT......Amphetamine is getting much more difficult to find. I had two sources for legal amphetamine and both have dried up so I need to find a reliable alternative.....am thinking about Vyvanse??? I live part time in Mexico and home is Puerto Rico. Even in Mexico, the Amphetamine pills are gone from the shelves and have been replaced with Vyvanse. Vyvanse is easy to get and low cost everywhere in Mexican pharmacies. Im curious to know if anyone has experimented with Vvyanse as a PED and what the effects of it are on performance as well as on staying awake for a couple days? is there a XR version? any help with dosing or combinations is much appreciated.

I have to say I bid you be careful here.

I had a friend who also loved adderall who also happened to be a physical trainer. He had a sudden massive heart attack during a 10k he was running. He was in great shape, it was very unexpected.... he was only 29 years old. I don't know if amphetamines played a part, but I suspect they did.

To answer your question vyvanse is essentially just a prodrug for amphetamine and should produce a similar effect, it just takes longer for your body to metabolize it.

I run about 15 miles/week, the only things I use to help me run are kratom and caffeine which are both less hard on your heart than amphetamines. My heart rate naturally goes above 190 on normal jogs (6'0" 32 male), I wouldn't want to run on amphetamines.

Stay safe and keep running my friend. I would nudge you towards kratom to help you run instead of stims. Kratom is amazing for runs!

 

[dragonix]

I should note I should have held my tongue while I am no athlete I am a runner by nature and fan of ultra athlete Rich Roll from what I have learned of ultrarunning through his media I don't think they are taking drugs

 

[deficiT]

There is a loooooong history of various athletes using amphetamines as a performance enhancer. Not that it's the greatest thing for your health, but it's definitely not unheard of and was actually fairly common for a while, especially in baseball.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

There is a loooooong history of various athletes using amphetamines as a performance enhancer. Not that it's the greatest thing for your health, but it's definitely not unheard of and was actually fairly common for a while, especially in baseball.

Really? I assumed it wouldn't help much for things like basketball or baseball

I've used amphetamines in chess tournaments, it's also used in that scene, but I can see why it helps with chess as it requires intense focus for long periods of time (sitting down and playing 1 game for 5 hours takes a lot of constant focus)

 

[deficiT]

Really? I assumed it wouldn't help much for things like basketball or baseball

I've used amphetamines in chess tournaments, it's also used in that scene, but I can see why it helps with chess as it requires intense focus for long periods of time (sitting down and playing 1 game for 5 hours takes a lot of constant focus)

Football too was a big one. There's a lot of athletes with ADHD.

 

[acklac7]

I can't imagine taking amphetamines and then immediately exercising. Then again my heart has some mileage on it, but still, sounds like a perfect recipe for a heart attack and/or premature congestive heart failure.

That said, I routinely exercise (aggressively) on amphetamines 4+ hours after I take them. But taking them and then immediately exercising? That just screams congestive heart failure...

 

[Serotonin101]

I can't imagine taking amphetamines and then immediately exercising. Then again my heart has some mileage on it, but still, sounds like a perfect recipe for a heart attack and/or premature congestive heart failure.

That said, I routinely exercise (aggressively) on amphetamines 4+ hours after I take them. But taking them and then immediately exercising? That just screams congestive heart failure...

I do it fairly often with ephedrine (substituted phenylethylamine so close enough) and push my heart rate into the 200s on occasion.
The whole 220 minus your age for max heart rates is an estimation and there's no really no concern IF there are no underlying health conditions (I consulted one of my professors about it who has his PhD in exercise physiology and he routinely pushes his HR into the 180s-190s cycling while in his 50s). Granted I'm not saying it's healthy and I'm not endorsing it, but that high exercising heart rate isn't a great metric for measuring cardiac risk. I wouldn't recommend it for prolonged bouts though as it increases risk of dysfunction in rhythm as exposure to the drug is prolonged.

 

[acklac7]

I do it fairly often with ephedrine (substituted phenylethylamine so close enough) and push my heart rate into the 200s on occasion.
The whole 220 minus your age for max heart rates is an estimation and there's no really no concern IF there are no underlying health conditions (I consulted one of my professors about it who has his PhD in exercise physiology and he routinely pushes his HR into the 180s-190s cycling while in his 50s). Granted I'm not saying it's healthy and I'm not endorsing it, but that high exercising heart rate isn't a great metric for measuring cardiac risk. I wouldn't recommend it for prolonged bouts though as it increases risk of dysfunction in rhythm as exposure to the drug is prolonged.

Ephedrine is still a lot weaker than amphetamine, at least in my experience.

I’d be concerned about Cardiomyopathy if I was the OP. (I said congestive heart failure earlier, I meant Cardiomyopathy)

A good read for the OP: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6179786/

 

[acklac7]

Really? I assumed it wouldn't help much for things like basketball or baseball

I can see it helping a batter laser-focus on a pitch.

 

[Fiori di Bella]

I just saw this post, and it reminded me to take my Vyvanse. Thank you!

 

[Serotonin101]

Ephedrine is still a lot weaker than amphetamine, at least in my experience.

I’d be concerned about Cardiomyopathy if I was the OP. (I said congestive heart failure earlier, I meant Cardiomyopathy)

A good read for the OP: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6179786/

OH for sure cardiac remodeling is a real thing (we see it in bodybuilders due to aas causing remodeling of the left ventricle).
Generally these are issues we see in chronic exposure to the stimuli, not acute applications. Which is why I cautioned against repeated bouts as chronic intense use of any stimulus (exercise, drugs etc) constitutes abuse which is where we typically see the detriment.
I definitely caution against the use at all, but I don't want to fearmonger in a sense if it's a one off thing on occasion.

 

[thegreenhand]

20 mg XR adderall seems perfectly safe to me. Provided you aren’t using it chronicallt that is. For races and the occasional training it’s no biggie (as I’m sure you have discovered)

i would recommend ephedrine like @Serotonin101 mentioned. It has a solid peripheral effect that might help you breathe better in addition to the general stimulation.

i suppose a low dose of methamphetamine could work, like 10 mg no more. But I wouldn’t do this unless I had a legal pharmaceutical supply of it

 

[Methyl Mike]

Vyvanse is time released Ritalin. I took it for a month at a low dose (I started with 1 tab a day after 3 days I dropped to .5 tab a day) all I can say is that I hated it. For your purpose yes it should work. It's like meth without the party.

#####HOWEVER#####

I STRONGLY urge you to reconsider. Amphetamines and stimulants universally vasoconstrict. Meaning your blood vessels get smaller. This raises blood pressure and in turn your heart is likely going to get bigger (it is a muscle) and a bigger heart pumps less efficiently. You run a high probability of developing congestive heart failure.

There is nothing on this earth worth risking CHF. I personally lost one of my best friends to CHF. Took him 3 years to slowly die. I went through he'll just watching. Please consider alternatives. If you absolutely must at least mitigate risk immediately. Pair up with a solid cardiologist and very regularly monitor your heart. You want 3d scans and monitor your blood work. If your cardiologist gives you a green light proceed if you wish.

I'm going to say this again-please consider alternatives.

 

[Serotonin101]

Vyvanse is time released Ritalin. I took it for a month at a low dose (I started with 1 tab a day after 3 days I dropped to .5 tab a day) all I can say is that I hated it. For your purpose yes it should work. It's like meth without the party.

#####HOWEVER#####

I STRONGLY urge you to reconsider. Amphetamines and stimulants universally vasoconstrict. Meaning your blood vessels get smaller. This raises blood pressure and in turn your heart is likely going to get bigger (it is a muscle) and a bigger heart pumps less efficiently. You run a high probability of developing congestive heart failure.

There is nothing on this earth worth risking CHF. I personally lost one of my best friends to CHF. Took him 3 years to slowly die. I went through he'll just watching. Please consider alternatives. If you absolutely must at least mitigate risk immediately. Pair up with a solid cardiologist and very regularly monitor your heart. You want 3d scans and monitor your blood work. If your cardiologist gives you a green light proceed if you wish.

I'm going to say this again-please consider alternatives.

In the aspect of harm reduction (I hate being nitpicky), Concerta is extended release Ritalin (methylphenidate) and vivanse is amphetamine with an amino acid group that gets cleaved by stomach acid making it bioavailable.
I do highly recommend what you mentioned for mitigating risk and assessing via 12 lead ecg and/or echos if possible.

 

[CFC]

cleaved by stomach acid

Lesser known fact: it's actually taken up from the small intestines through a high-capacity amino acid route (thanks to the attached lysine) and entirely cleaved by red blood cells with great efficiency. It's fully resistant to gastric acid (and even low concentrations of NaOH) which is why, alone among the various forms of amphetamine, it's almost 100% bioavailable.

 

[Serotonin101]

Lesser known fact: it's actually taken up from the small intestines through a high-capacity amino acid route (thanks to the attached lysine) and entirely cleaved by red blood cells with great efficiency. It's fully resistant to gastric acid (and even low concentrations of NaOH) which is why, alone among the various forms of amphetamine, it's almost 100% bioavailable.

And no fun to abuse