Lindsay21,

Hi Lindsay. There are two other issues that may be complicating the problem. Once those are corrected it's possible you won't still have the alcohol problem.

First, if you have anxiety, the Vyvanse or another stimulant can make it worse, unless you treat the anxiety as well. For example, both my daughter and I have GAD (generalized anxiety disorder) along with inattentive ADHD. Generalized anxiety (there are other types of anxiety as well) is not always apparent to those around us because it is more internal. I would worry about a lot of things and be anxious about many situations or concerns. My mind was always thinking and analyzing which can make it difficult to relax. Once I was given medication for my anxiety, I noticed that a lot of things didn't bother me the way they used to. I didn't panic (internally) if something wasn't perfect or I was running late, etc. I'm on Effexor XR for my anxiety and my daughter takes Buspar.

Next, 70 mg. of Vyvanse is not the maximum dosage. You may be undermedicated. Being undermedicated, as well as not medicated, both contribute to a greater risk for substance abuse per research studies. Of course, if you increase the Vyvanse, before controlling for anxiety, your anxiety will most likely be even more severe. I would ask to be evaluated for an anxiety disorder. If your doctor is not a psychiatrist he may not understand the impact of anxiety (or be able to properly diagnose it) on someone who is taking a stimulant.

Once you have any anxiety disorder treated (different types of medications are used for certain types of anxieties) by someone who understands anxiety disorders and the particular medications to try for the type you have, you may do much better on the Vyvanse. As for the maximum dosage alloted to Vyvanse, it is based on your weight. There is a therapeutic range of dosage based on weight.

Since Adderall XR has some similarities with Vyvanse, I'll give you the computations for both. For Adderall, convert your weight to kilograms (weight divided by 2.2). The dosage for Adderall is .5 mg. to 1 mg. per kilogram of weight. Then you can take the Adderall dosage and multiply by 2.34 to get the equivalent dosage for Vyvanse (30 mg. of Adderall is equivalent to 70 mg. of Vyvanse). Let's say someone weighs 120 lbs. Divide that by 2.2 and you get 54.5 kilograms. So the Adderall dosage would be anywhere between 27--54 mg. and multiplying those numbers by 2.34 (it may be easier to remember if you prefer to multiply by 70 and divide by 30), the therapeutic range of Vyvanse would be 63 mg. up to 126 mg. Here's a quick chart to look at:

SEE NEXT POSTING FOR CLARITY!1

Therapeutic Dosage Ranges Weight in Pounds Adderall XR Dosage Vyvanse Dosage 100 23 mg. to 45 mg. 53 mg. to 106 mg. 120 27 mg. to 54 mg. 63 mg. to 126 mg. 140 32 mg. to 64 mg. 75 mg. to 150 mg. 150 34 mg. to 68 mg. 80 mg. to 160 mg.

I take 140 mg. of Vyvanse and my daughter, who weighs between 110 and 115 lbs., takes 100 mg. of Vyvanse.

The therapeutic dosage ranges are based on scientific research by Joseph Biederman, the premier researcher and expert on ADHD. (I think he's out of Harvard Medical School or something like that). Unfortunately, most doctors are not as educated and up-to-date on ADHD and the research, and even less so when it comes to adults with ADHD.

I hope this will be of some help to you. I'm still learning new things every day. I wish you the best.

Elaine

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I couldn't get the chart to post the way it looked when I wrote it and I'm not knowledgeable enough to know how to do it. I tried to copy and paste from Excel but that didn't work either. So I'll do the best I can.

100 lbs. would equal 23--45 mg. of Adderall or 53--106 mg. of Vyvanse.

120 lbs. would equal 27--54 mg. of Adderall or 63--126 mg. of Vyvanse.

140 lbs. would equal 32--64 mg. of Adderall or 75--150 mg. of Vyvanse.

150 lbs. would equal 34--68 mg. of Adderall or 80--160 mg. of Vyvanse.

Elaine

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Thank you Elaine! It certainly helps to know that I'm not alone and that there are ways to control the problems. Thank you for your chart too. I'm always so confused when it comes to the right amount for me. My doctor has never explained his reasons for dosage amounts, so I'm really glad to finally have that information. Lindsay

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I would urgently talk to the person who prescribes your medications and let them know of your tolerance of Vynase it may simply you need to change your medication because some of the tolerance is a notice that the meds don't work. The anxiety in itself needs!!!!!!!!to be treated picking and causing damage to yourself is not healthy. . Many ADD ers have co -morbid behaviors . The alcohol is being used as anxiety reducer ; but initself it is a very big depressant so I would also look into depression . It is courageous to say you drink too much; but now it is time to change this behavior before you are no longer to quit. You really need to think about rehab if these problems become to big for you. Good luck the treatment you need is something that must be done ; and the medication Definetly need to be changed . The book the 6 types of ADD/ADHD by Dr Amen may be a book you would be interested in so you can figure out what type of ADD you are what medications work and what should be advoided

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I'm 18. Struggling with many many things. My vyvanse helps me in so many ways. Concentration, my grades. But the comedown has caused my addictive personality to sky rocket and I've pretty much drinken every night to feel better. My life is out of control. I'm gaining a lot of weight and it really affects me but I'm too depressed to motivate myself to go to the gym. I always have excuses. I want so badly to be in control. I know what I need to change to live a healthy life. But something ALWAYS holds me back. I also take anti depressants but for some reason my prescription went from 2 25mgs of prozac a day to 1. I think it may have been a mistake that I never confronted. I had to get a blood test to determine the right dose and thats when they rose it to 2 a day. I'm peicing it together and I realized I never needed alcohol for my comedowns, I used to go to school everyday (I miss a lot making excuses to stay home cause I feel sick from drinking or didn't finish homework and it kept building up) I smoke ciggs but I have been doing that for a long time and my parents know and accepted it. When my prozac dose went down my emotions and impulses started to take over my life. Its to the point where I'm finding random pills in my room from forgetting to take it or not having intrest in taking cause it doesnt make you feel happy 30 after you take it like my vyvanse. It takes up to a month to actually take effect if its dose changes or you are just starting it. To my point... Is this what is causing all my bad habits to unfold? Lack of motivation (without vyvanse) on vyvnse I can do anything I set my mind to. Without it excuses after excuses spiral through my brain "I will do it tomo, I will fake sick to stay home tomo to finish hw...etc) I now Im drinking even on school nights just to sleep. Anxiety, worries... I know vyvanse is a stimulant but I dont get anxiety when its on effect. I feel normal. Comeing down from it has put my liver at risk cause Ive been drinking so much. The only thing that did wonders and made me not really have a comedown, and helping my anxeity and insomnia from it is weed. But its not legal and I dont have enough money to but it all the time.During the day i'm a normal 18 year old hard working girl. Motivated in the things I'm passionate about. As nighttime sets in my other side thy I've been hiding comes out. I go put of my way to steal whatever I can get to feel better.

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Sorry for all the grammer mistakes but I types all of that on my itouch. It's 4 in the morning. Can't be on the comp downstairs..

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Regarding the dosage-by-weight chart you posted, are those daily dosages or 'every 4 hours' dosages? I weight 125lb and my Rx (Adderrol) is 10mg 3 times/day, for a total of 30mg/day. Sometimes I spread the 3 pills out across my daytime hours (ex: 8:00am, Noon, 4:00pm), while other times I take 2 at 8:00am and the 3rd pill at 2:00pm. For my weight, your chart indicates 27-54mg. Are those amounts per time-slot (as in my example above) or per day? I'm trying to determine if may be under-dosed. My mentality is 'everything in moderation.' I'm looking at that 54mg wondering how I would respond to that big a dose...and did you mean that maximum 54mg spread over the whole day or 54mg at several intervals throughout the day? I fear that either might be overstimulating for me, but then I also wonder if it would be more effective than my current dosage. I'm leary of experimenting without consultation and think it's best to proceed with caution. Please clarify about the dose amounts.

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Wow.. I cant sleep either. It's 6am and I havent gone to bed yet. Mango's post above described my life perfectly. Anyone have any answers??? I was actually BLOWN AWAY when i saw that this post was created within the last two weeks. Everything else i usually read when i'm googling stuff is from years ago. Seeing the date on this post actually gave me some hope, enough hope to create an account on here and post a response. Eagerly looking forward to checking back in and hopefully finding some answers. thank you.

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I totally understand your situation and have definitely been/still can be at that place. I just joined this forum tonight while looking for sleep help on ADHD medication. I've tried sleep therapy and pretty much every other "sleep tip" offered, but nothing seems to help me sleep better than alcohol. It's really depressing, but if I'm on my medication, there's little hope of me getting more than 2 hours of sleep if I'm not drunk enough to doze off (not pass out, just not thinking about sleeping, I guess). Alcohol also helps with any negative feelings that come with when my meds begin to wear off. Frankly, I'm tried of being this way, and as a result, I just scheduled my first appointment with a behavioral therapist. Hopefully this will help.

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I totally understand your situation and have definitely been/still can be at that place. I just joined this forum tonight while looking for sleep help on ADHD medication. I've tried sleep therapy and pretty much every other "sleep tip" offered, but nothing seems to help me sleep better than alcohol. It's really depressing, but if I'm on my medication, there's little hope of me getting more than 2 hours of sleep if I'm not drunk enough to doze off (not pass out, just not thinking about sleeping, I guess). Alcohol also helps with any negative feelings that come with when my meds begin to wear off. Frankly, I'm tried of being this way, and as a result, I just scheduled my first appointment with a behavioral therapist. Hopefully this will help.

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Hi, I am 18 years old in college and I have taken vyvanse for about three years now. Now that I have been consistently taking it (including weekends) every aspect of my life has improved: socially, academically, etc... Anyway, when I first started taking medicine I had a lot of trouble sleeping but did not want to take drugs to help me sleep. I went to the store and bought Valerian Root (its in the vitamin isle) because it is supposed to relax you and help you fall asleep. It really does work wonders and gets rid of the effects of vyvanse and relaxes you. I think it works especially well for people with a.d.d. and I definitely recommend it to anyone having trouble sleeping because of their adhd medicine. I have also noticed that the next day after taking valerian I am more calm and in a better mood: less tense, etc.

Hope this helps!

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