Hello - I am new to this forum and am glad to have found it.
I am an adult female with ADD. I was diagnosed as an adult and have tried most of the popular ADD/ADHD medications that have been on the market for the past 10 -12 years. I am currently on generic Ritalin (Methylphenidate) with limited success. My Dr has suggested I consider trying Focalin or Vyvanse. I do not have a prescription plan so I pay for these out of pocket and I understand they are very expensive $150- $200 per month. I currently pay about $60 for generic Ritalin.
I would like to know what peoples experiences have been with the Focalin and Vyvanse. Is it worth the expense? I would like to try Provigil as I have heard good things, but I just got quoted $300 out of pocket, so that one is out.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Added: I would also like to add that my life is basically in shambles at this point. My relationship is on the brink of falling apart, I haven't worked outside the home in over a decade and I am getting desperate. I see a therapist (one more in a string of dozens) with little results. I really need to find out why I am not getting results...what am I doing wrong?
Medication
Submitted by Ev on
I researched Vyvanse and asked my husband to talk to his psychiatrist about it. He got a prescription for it. It is not on our insurance list, so we do pay a little more than we would normally, but it is not that bad. My husband has been on Vyvanse for about a year. I saw a complete change when he changed to it. He was not hyper on his days off and did a great job at work. He listened to what I would talk to him about and seemed to retain the information. When he was on Adderall, he seemed to be hyper most of the time. My problem (with all his medications he has taken) is when my husband gets home, there is no medication left in him. So he acts with the family the way he always did when he was not on medication. When my husband was on Adderall, I told him about one of our friends who took a pill before he went home, so he could function at home. He said he would not do that because he would not be able to sleep. I do not know if that is true, because he does not want to take medicine at all. I loved talking to him when he was at work because he could stay focused on what I was telling him. I think the Vyvanse is wonderful. It has made a big change in his production at work, plus he seems to be happier with his job also.
Thank you. That was very
Submitted by Miss Understood on
Thank you. That was very helpful. Anyone else want to share their experiences?
Sleep and medication
Submitted by Connie D on
Your husband may be telling you the truth about not being able to sleep if he takes his medication too late. I am on Strattera and Concerta. I am told Strattera makes most people drowsy so they take it at night - for me it is impossible to sleep if I take it any later than lunch. When I go to bed I start to dose off and then come back to an awake state over and over again. Concerta - if I take it past about 10AM I am wide awake way past midnight (like now).
That being said I don't think my medications wears off by the time work ends. I wonder if it is also the different environments that affect your husband differently. I find home much more difficult because it isn't as clearly structured - there are a million things competing for my attention that I have trouble sorting out....
Good luck
RE: Adderall sleeplessness
Submitted by Raymond on
I currently take Adderall and it can make me jumpy. I've had to cut out most of the caffeine in my life (especially the coffee). I take the extended release tablets during the day and a 10mg tab at 5 for the evening. It takes a good 4 or 5 hours to get out my system so if I miss the 5pm window, I generally skip the evening pill, otherwise I have a tough time sleeping at night.
I generally prefer the extended release tabs because they better space out the medication over time. The regular tabs tend to hit me harder in the first couple hours and if I haven't eaten in a while or have had some caffeine, it can make me jittery. I tried to stick with the regular pills for a while since they were the only version being offered as a generic at the time, but I didn't like the jitter rush.
Thankfully, Adderall XR is finally available in a generic form so the prices have dropped considerably.
The reason I decided to take Adderall over other meds is that it is supposed to have less of a psychological effect and it was important to me to not have that sort of side effect. There might be newer meds on the market that have similar results but I haven't tried them.
Can anyone share their
Submitted by Miss Understood on
Can anyone share their experiences with Focalin? I understand it just became available in a generic form. Is there a significant difference between the name brand and the generics?
Sleeping with Adderall
Submitted by YYZ on
I take generic standard Adderall, as stated above, and sleep can still be an issue for me too... If I get my walks in, it helps sometimes. My coffee consumption has gone down, really... I am surprised by this, but I just don't drink as much. In the evenings I try to just drink water with fake crystal lite, because plain water sucks :-)
I may ask my doc about the XR Adderall, but I do like the way I can plan the day around my 2 - 3 doses. What do you do in the case of odd days where you need extra focus later in the day?
Thanks...
YYZ
RE: Managing the Bad-Focus Days
Submitted by Raymond on
The Adderall covers me pretty well. I am feeling particularly unfocused, I try to figure out the source. Often I have too many things on my plate or I'm putting myself into a position where there are too many distractions. I try to use the medication to give me a little breathing room so I can see the things in my life that are exacerbating the problem and work on them.
For the more challenging days, I've found that regular meditation and exercise helps. Sometimes it's as simple as turning off the radio on my drive to/from work or not turning on the television when I'm at home. The more avenues I give for my brain to run, the faster it goes.
Medication
Submitted by Tkreth on
Re;Vyvanse
Submitted by waynebloss on
I take Vyvanse and I will say that it does stay with me for most of the day. I started off taking 30mg but noticed that the medication was dying around 5ish and I wanted to it last at least til 9pm. I started taking it later in the day but then the morning was being impacted. I asked my PCP and we increased the med to 60mg and I take it around 7ish in the morning and I can say that I feel the effect dying off around 8ish now which is perfect for me.
I have not been or tried other medications since this one has done the trick for me.
Wayne
Adderall for me...
Submitted by YYZ on
I think Vyvanse is like an extended release Adderall if I remember correctly. I have a prescription for 2X 20mg in the morning and 1x 20 mg around lunch. What I like is the ability to space the dosages out based on the day ahead of me. I tried the Vyvanse for a couple of days in the beginning, which was probably not a fair trial, but I liked the faster kick-in of the generic Adderall and it was a lot cheaper :-) Of course I was still amazed at what it felt like to not feel so ADD in the beginning as well...
Normal workdays I take one as soon as I get up (5am) and one between 10-11am and a 1/2 dose around 3pm which seems to stay with me until 8:00 or so. If I need to work late, I might take a full 3rd dose at 4pm to help me stay focused on finishing the job and minimizing my late hours at work. If the Adderall is trailing off, I'll end up working later as I slowly go back into the ADD Fog.
I definitely do A LOT better when I get my morning walk in (1 - 2 miles depending on Time) compared to the days that I don't. The evenings are better with a walk too.
YYZ...
Running
Submitted by waynebloss on
I try to run 2-3 times a week and now I am trying to add in a little weight lifting 1-2 days as well. I also feel that once the medication wears off, exercise allows me to focus and allows me to make better decisions sort of replacing the meds at night. I value sleep too much to wake up any earlier than 5am to start my day!
Wayne
Walking / Running
Submitted by YYZ on
I hear you... The walking at night keeps my focus going and keeps my trolling for snacks at night down too. Since my diagnosis, I definitely require less sleep. If I get 5 hours I'm actually okay, especially when combined my morning walks. It is twice as hard to get going with the meds alone. The damn 115 lb almost two year old German Shepherd comes in around 4:45am... He is Ready to Go at that time every morning. I need to just roll with it :-)
No dogs...yet!
Submitted by waynebloss on
But I have a 6 and 5 year old that are up at 6-7 am every morning and are full of energy until bedtime!
Dogs and kids...
Submitted by YYZ on
I know what you mean... I've got a 8 and 13 year old girls :-)