Dexedrine for ADHD

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Has anyone ever been prescribed Dexedrine?

I'd never even heard of it before. I take Vyvanse and Guanfacine for ADHD but I've never noticed that they do much. Sometimes I think they might make it worse. I'm not allowed Strattera or Ritalin because of my strokes.

My trauma therapist who has ADHD said she takes Dexedrine, and likes it a lot better than Vyvanse. It's faster acting and better absorbed, or something like that.

I have an appointment with my doctor next week so of course I'll ask her, but I'm just curious if anyone can share their experience with it.

I have only tried one medication for ADHD - Ritalin, and it was such a bad experience that I haven't bothered with any other stimulants.

My anxiety increased and I became actively paranoid with Ritalin (a known side effect).

Not cool.

I started Dexedrine last Monday.
At first my doctor suggested 10mg up to three times a day.
I suggested 5mg because I usually need baby doses of all meds.

So far I've been taking 5mg just once.
One day I took two of them (10mg) once - since my doctor said 10 was OK.

I like it a LOT better than Vyvanse.
So far, no side effects.
I can kind of sleep except for when there's a febrile man in my bed.

I can't tell if it's working for EF yet, but it does help my mental health / PTSD.
I've certainly put it to the test already.

Dexadrine is a brand name for dextroamphetamine. I am surprised that you are given a contraindication for Ritalin but not for some of the others yot mentioned. Vyvance is a molecule that turns into Ritalin in the red blood cells, so it should be slower than Dex or Ritalin. Guanfacine works differently than the stimulants and usually helps people who are ADHD-H who still have trouble when taking Ritalin as an add on.

I added Guanfacine on top of Strattera but it didn’t seem to help so I stopped. I don’t think it would really help me with ADHD-i or EF but some studies suggest it might. Took Vyvanse on top of Strattera but got chest pains.
Tried Dex years ago but I get weird side effects on stimulants at supposedly therapeutic doses. So Strattera and black tea and Lexapro is my current regiment.

But

Everyone has different biochemistry and it isn’t the med that works but the med + your biochemisty.

Only way to to tell how it will work for you is to take it.

(Sad but true)

Thanks for the info.

I forgot to say that I'm still on Guanfacine too, just 1mg.
I'm allowed to take it at bed or in the day.
I've played around with both options but normally take it in the day.
I think it helps my brain fog.
I don't know for sure because I'm really bad at interoception.


Vyvanse was originally prescribed by the neuropsychiatrist who gave me this page:



He circled Vyvanse and said I had to stay in that category of Amphetamines.
It was because of my history of stroke (one at the time, now two).
Apparently the Vyvanse group raises blood pressure but not heart rate.
Or maybe it's the other way around?
I can't remember.

After seeing him for the first year after dx he transferred my care to my GP.
I don't see him anymore.
My GP has had authority to do dosage adjustments or switch me off Vyvanse.

Last spring she added Guanfacine to the Vyvanse.
Now it's Dexedrine with Guanfacine.



PS -

Yes, Vyvanse was slower acting.
I never felt it actually kick in, and I was awake every night until 5 or 6 am.
Now I can just get a hit of it in the morning, do my work, and sleep at night.

Google

name-of-med mechanism of action

Sometimes the answers change over time so consider the source but also the date of the source.

Hope your meds help more than they harm or you find a good-enough regiment.

Dexedrine can actually be beneficial post-stroke, which surprised me.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl ... 20recovery.

I said Vyvance becomes Ritalin (Methylphenidate). My memory glitched. It becomes dextroamphetamine.

Lisdexamfetamine is an inactive prodrug that is converted in the body to dextroamphetamine, a pharmacologically active compound which is responsible for the drug's activity.[81] After oral ingestion, lisdexamfetamine is broken down by enzymes in red blood cells to form L-lysine, a naturally occurring essential amino acid, and dextroamphetamine.[24] The conversion of lisdexamfetamine to dextroamphetamine is not affected by gastrointestinal pH and is unlikely to be affected by alterations in normal gastrointestinal transit times.[24][82]

The optical isomers of amphetamine, i.e., dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine, are TAAR1 agonists and vesicular monoamine transporter 2 inhibitors that can enter monoamine neurons;[74][75] this allows them to release monoamine neurotransmitters (dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, among others) from their storage sites in the presynaptic neuron, as well as prevent the reuptake of these neurotransmitters from the synaptic cleft.[74][75]

Lisdexamfetamine was developed with the goal of providing a long duration of effect that is consistent throughout the day, with reduced potential for abuse. The attachment of the amino acid lysine slows down the relative amount of dextroamphetamine available to the blood stream. Because no free dextroamphetamine is present in lisdexamfetamine capsules, dextroamphetamine does not become available through mechanical manipulation, such as crushing or simple extraction. A relatively sophisticated biochemical process is needed to produce dextroamphetamine from lisdexamfetamine.[82] As opposed to Adderall, which contains amphetamine salts in a 3:1 dextro:levo ratio, lisdexamfetamine is a single-enantiomer dextroamphetamine formula.[81][83] Studies conducted show that lisdexamfetamine dimesylate may have less abuse potential than dextroamphetamine and an abuse profile similar to diethylpropion at dosages that are FDA-approved for treatment of ADHD, but still has a high abuse potential when this dosage is exceeded by over 100%.[82]

Source: wikipedia

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisdexamfetamine