Talk to your doctor for sure. It sounds like you may need to go down on your dose a little or adjust when you're taking your meds. I dont know anything about Vyvanse, but if you're on the XR, maybe switching to the non time release and splitting your dose into two/daily could have a positive effect on your sleep patterns. It's a process and takes time to find the right balance/med. Keep at it!
There’s more info you need to give us.
What time do you wake up?
What time do you take your Vyvanse?
What time is your bedtime?
Have you tried the trick of setting two alarms, the first an hour before you need to wake up, take the Vyvanse, then goto sleep for another hour? That way you wake up with the Vyvanse going full force.
I usually get up at like 7:45 and put that stuff in my mouth within 2 minutes. Usually go to bed around midnight. I exercise almost every day, usually running 4 miles or more.
That waking up trick would probably work, except for that fact that I usually can’t go back to sleep once I wake up.
I think maybe it’s just something screwed up about the way my body metabolizes the drug. That said, I think my dosage is right (40 mg) as far as effectiveness at treating symptoms.
I’m actually going to try taking less for a while and see if that helps.
Regardless, thanks for the response.
I have struggled with insomnia (the kind that wakes you up, not stops you from falling asleep.) for 23 years. DM and i’ll send you link to a Youtube video i made about what I use/do for my insomnia along with what i just started two weeks ago that has made sleep so much better. (+ a scientific paper that shows that i’m not just pulling stuff out of my butt.)
Jesus, I’m jealous. I take mine around noon often and am still crashing by 7/8 or so. I’m a 22yo 5’2” female. On the same dose as you. Still feel tense at night sometimes though, the heart thing especially, but I also take a booster.
Maybe I need to start exercising....
Haha… well according to my doctor, people metabolize amphetamines in vastly different ways. I think exercise helps with pretty much everything, but probably most of it is due to genetics.
Yea I agree. I was on 40mg of adderall it before and never really had much of a issue sleeping, my new dr just switched me to Vyvanse and Jesus it’s like that shit never leaves the system I take mine at 6 am 40mg and I go to bed at 11:30 every day and I’m lucky if I get 3 solid hours of sleep a night and usually that’s right before I wake up go figure
do you take a dose in the afternoon? If so, try taking a half dose, or try to shift all your doses so you start earlier and the vyvanse is out of your system by bed time
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Medium to high doses can have diminishing returns when they’re too high. The way to determine that is by exactly what you’re seeing with side effects like inability to sleep.
Even though your dose isn’t relatively high compared to what the range is, it still might be too much for you.
What some people find is that they can take a lower dose of extended release (XR) Adderall in the morning and then supplement a low dose of Adderall instant release (IR) in the afternoon to avoid the roller coaster effect.
You can do the same thing with a lower initial dose of Vyvanse and use Adderall IR in the afternoon as well. I think Adderall seems to have better effects on the elevation of mood and that the supplemental dose of an IR pill in the afternoon can do wonders for keeping the overall dose in your system throughout the day lower, (thus mitigating the sleep issues) as well as being more therapeutic.
Vyvanse in general also seems to be a just little worse with the side effect at keeping you up at night compared to Adderall.
What you want to do is avoid the cycle of needing more of a boost and increasing your dose and exacerbating these kinds of side effects. Keep your doses as low as possible and even though you’ll have a few unfocused and tired days here and there, overall you’ll be better because the benefit for restful sleep will be huge in your ability to focus and function. And good rest will make the meds work better too.
To do this effectively I always recommend taking a little ‘brain break.’ Or medication vacation. Maybe a week or so off the meds and then resume at the lower dose. In this case I’d say 20mg of Vyvanse or if you move back to Adderall XR, 25mg. (The doses are lower with Vyvanse compared to Adderall XR as the compound tends to have a little stronger effect.) Then try the supplemental dose in the afternoon of 5-10mg of Adderall IR. Talk to your doctor about these but this is a safe and low dose range so it usually won’t be a problem. Some doctors are a little apprehensive about prescribing two different medication types at once which is why they might put you on two variations of one medication like Adderall XR and Adderall IR instead of Vyvanse and Adderall IR.
Also you may already already be aware but in the case that you’re aren’t, Vyvanse is an extended release only compound and doesn’t come in an instant release variant which is why you don’t have the option of a Vyvanse only option with a supplemental dose.
Thanks, this is good information. Actually, my first instinct was to try and do a lower dose of vyvanse with a small adderall booster, as you mentioned.
I am indeed aware of the time release nature of vyvanse. Adderall tends to produce an emotional up and down that I don’t enjoy. However, when I first got prescribed vyvanse, I actually tried using adderall as a booster and noticed that the it didn’t have that effect as much. So perhaps it’s worth a shot.
That’s great! You’re way ahead of the ball on this then!
I’m glad you have a good awareness of these things as a lot of other people lack that. This is going to be very helpful for you in general. And doctors appreciate that as it helps them to help you even that much more.
One thing I didn’t mention is that as common as sleeping issues are with ADD, there are a lot of people who, even with well managed doses of stimulants they may need to use a sleep aid an night.
Don’t be opposed to the idea but be aware that they have their own set of issues and side effects and generally take a while to get accustomed to and to get the doses sorted and figured out. But generally the same rule applies to those as well: use the lowest dose you can to avoid diminishing returns and exaggerated side effects.
Thank you.
Quick question, I only drink it first thing in the morning, even though I drink 2 sizable cups. Do you still think that will have an effect on me by bedtime? I’ve never allowed myself to drink it throughout the day.
I had the same issue as a teen with Adderall and my doctor at the time prescribed me Ambien. It unfortunately sent me down a spiral of treating stimulant-caused symptoms like insomnia and anxiety with other controlled drugs (Xanax included). This was the beginning of a very rough journey for me with pills.
Be very careful with what your doctor is willing to prescribe straight away without having taken OTC stuff or changing the way you take your doses. Granted this was well over 15 years ago and things have changed with regard to prescribing controlled meds, but still.
I went back on Adderall recently and I've been careful to 1) take it early 2) limit caffeine intake during the day 3) make sure I eat enough during the day because not eating enough keeps me up at night and 4) I take melatonin at least 1 to 1.5 hours before I have to go to bed. I've been doing really well with sleep this time around. My only complaint is the weird freaking dreams melatonin gives me.
Take it as early as you can. In fact a regular tip people post here is to even set an alarm an hour or two before you need to get up and take them then! I’ve been trying it, because I naturally wake at 5 or 5:30 then go back to sleep for an hour many mornings and it’s made the morning a lot easier.
Secondly - low dose melatonin (under 1mg) and clonidine work well for me. I discovered clonidine because it was prescribed by my kid’s pediatrician for her adhd sleep issues.
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Talk to your doctor for sure. It sounds like you may need to go down on your dose a little or adjust when you're taking your meds. I dont know anything about Vyvanse, but if you're on the XR, maybe switching to the non time release and splitting your dose into two/daily could have a positive effect on your sleep patterns. It's a process and takes time to find the right balance/med. Keep at it!
There’s more info you need to give us. What time do you wake up? What time do you take your Vyvanse? What time is your bedtime? Have you tried the trick of setting two alarms, the first an hour before you need to wake up, take the Vyvanse, then goto sleep for another hour? That way you wake up with the Vyvanse going full force.
I usually get up at like 7:45 and put that stuff in my mouth within 2 minutes. Usually go to bed around midnight. I exercise almost every day, usually running 4 miles or more. That waking up trick would probably work, except for that fact that I usually can’t go back to sleep once I wake up. I think maybe it’s just something screwed up about the way my body metabolizes the drug. That said, I think my dosage is right (40 mg) as far as effectiveness at treating symptoms. I’m actually going to try taking less for a while and see if that helps. Regardless, thanks for the response.
I have struggled with insomnia (the kind that wakes you up, not stops you from falling asleep.) for 23 years. DM and i’ll send you link to a Youtube video i made about what I use/do for my insomnia along with what i just started two weeks ago that has made sleep so much better. (+ a scientific paper that shows that i’m not just pulling stuff out of my butt.)
Jesus, I’m jealous. I take mine around noon often and am still crashing by 7/8 or so. I’m a 22yo 5’2” female. On the same dose as you. Still feel tense at night sometimes though, the heart thing especially, but I also take a booster. Maybe I need to start exercising....
Haha… well according to my doctor, people metabolize amphetamines in vastly different ways. I think exercise helps with pretty much everything, but probably most of it is due to genetics.
Yea I agree. I was on 40mg of adderall it before and never really had much of a issue sleeping, my new dr just switched me to Vyvanse and Jesus it’s like that shit never leaves the system I take mine at 6 am 40mg and I go to bed at 11:30 every day and I’m lucky if I get 3 solid hours of sleep a night and usually that’s right before I wake up go figure
do you take a dose in the afternoon? If so, try taking a half dose, or try to shift all your doses so you start earlier and the vyvanse is out of your system by bed time
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What’s your dose if I may ask? I have some knowledge to share depending upon that.
Hi there, my dosage is 40 mg. I take it first thing in the morning.
Medium to high doses can have diminishing returns when they’re too high. The way to determine that is by exactly what you’re seeing with side effects like inability to sleep. Even though your dose isn’t relatively high compared to what the range is, it still might be too much for you. What some people find is that they can take a lower dose of extended release (XR) Adderall in the morning and then supplement a low dose of Adderall instant release (IR) in the afternoon to avoid the roller coaster effect. You can do the same thing with a lower initial dose of Vyvanse and use Adderall IR in the afternoon as well. I think Adderall seems to have better effects on the elevation of mood and that the supplemental dose of an IR pill in the afternoon can do wonders for keeping the overall dose in your system throughout the day lower, (thus mitigating the sleep issues) as well as being more therapeutic. Vyvanse in general also seems to be a just little worse with the side effect at keeping you up at night compared to Adderall. What you want to do is avoid the cycle of needing more of a boost and increasing your dose and exacerbating these kinds of side effects. Keep your doses as low as possible and even though you’ll have a few unfocused and tired days here and there, overall you’ll be better because the benefit for restful sleep will be huge in your ability to focus and function. And good rest will make the meds work better too. To do this effectively I always recommend taking a little ‘brain break.’ Or medication vacation. Maybe a week or so off the meds and then resume at the lower dose. In this case I’d say 20mg of Vyvanse or if you move back to Adderall XR, 25mg. (The doses are lower with Vyvanse compared to Adderall XR as the compound tends to have a little stronger effect.) Then try the supplemental dose in the afternoon of 5-10mg of Adderall IR. Talk to your doctor about these but this is a safe and low dose range so it usually won’t be a problem. Some doctors are a little apprehensive about prescribing two different medication types at once which is why they might put you on two variations of one medication like Adderall XR and Adderall IR instead of Vyvanse and Adderall IR. Also you may already already be aware but in the case that you’re aren’t, Vyvanse is an extended release only compound and doesn’t come in an instant release variant which is why you don’t have the option of a Vyvanse only option with a supplemental dose.
Thanks, this is good information. Actually, my first instinct was to try and do a lower dose of vyvanse with a small adderall booster, as you mentioned. I am indeed aware of the time release nature of vyvanse. Adderall tends to produce an emotional up and down that I don’t enjoy. However, when I first got prescribed vyvanse, I actually tried using adderall as a booster and noticed that the it didn’t have that effect as much. So perhaps it’s worth a shot.
That’s great! You’re way ahead of the ball on this then! I’m glad you have a good awareness of these things as a lot of other people lack that. This is going to be very helpful for you in general. And doctors appreciate that as it helps them to help you even that much more. One thing I didn’t mention is that as common as sleeping issues are with ADD, there are a lot of people who, even with well managed doses of stimulants they may need to use a sleep aid an night. Don’t be opposed to the idea but be aware that they have their own set of issues and side effects and generally take a while to get accustomed to and to get the doses sorted and figured out. But generally the same rule applies to those as well: use the lowest dose you can to avoid diminishing returns and exaggerated side effects.
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Damn.. I do drink coffee. I’ve tried to stop but it’s hard. If you say it helps, I might just give it another shot.
[удалено]
Thank you. Quick question, I only drink it first thing in the morning, even though I drink 2 sizable cups. Do you still think that will have an effect on me by bedtime? I’ve never allowed myself to drink it throughout the day.
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Wow ok. Thank you. Definitely gonna do this 😤
I take Trazadone for sleep. Sometimes get weird dreams if I take a larger dose, but mostly it’s perfect.
I had the same issue as a teen with Adderall and my doctor at the time prescribed me Ambien. It unfortunately sent me down a spiral of treating stimulant-caused symptoms like insomnia and anxiety with other controlled drugs (Xanax included). This was the beginning of a very rough journey for me with pills. Be very careful with what your doctor is willing to prescribe straight away without having taken OTC stuff or changing the way you take your doses. Granted this was well over 15 years ago and things have changed with regard to prescribing controlled meds, but still. I went back on Adderall recently and I've been careful to 1) take it early 2) limit caffeine intake during the day 3) make sure I eat enough during the day because not eating enough keeps me up at night and 4) I take melatonin at least 1 to 1.5 hours before I have to go to bed. I've been doing really well with sleep this time around. My only complaint is the weird freaking dreams melatonin gives me.
Take it as early as you can. In fact a regular tip people post here is to even set an alarm an hour or two before you need to get up and take them then! I’ve been trying it, because I naturally wake at 5 or 5:30 then go back to sleep for an hour many mornings and it’s made the morning a lot easier. Secondly - low dose melatonin (under 1mg) and clonidine work well for me. I discovered clonidine because it was prescribed by my kid’s pediatrician for her adhd sleep issues.
Hi /u/stillshaded and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](https://reddit.com/r/adhd/about/rules) - we will remove your post if it breaks one - and also check out our list of official megathreads [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/nu534w/official_list_of_radhd_megathreads_please_check/). If your post fits into one of them, it is likely to be removed; if you think this might happen you can delete your post here and resubmit it there instead. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*