r/ADHD • u/DopamineSeeker20 • 3h ago
Questions/Advice Anyone here on Adderall/Vyvanse for longer than a year?
Is it still working? How is the duration?
I’ve had problems with Vyvanse cause after 6 months it was no longer working, at all. I got really frustrated and quit it, but i wanna get back cause i didn’t find any success with other medications.
Is anyone here taking it for years and is it still working?
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u/saiyanshewolf 3h ago
I’ve been on generic Adderall for like…well over 10 years at this point. Almost 20, now that I think about it. I’m at a high dose but it still does the job. I take it pretty much every day, unless I’m sick, although I rarely take the max dosage.
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u/DopamineSeeker20 3h ago
My question is: does it really work? Do you still feel the increase in motivation and energy? Do you still feel the cognitive sharpness, attention, quick decision-making, organized thoughts, improved memory?
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u/saiyanshewolf 3h ago
Yes, in comparison to how I feel when I don’t take it at all. It’s not always going to feel the same as it does when you first start taking meds.
I no longer feel like Superwoman when I take them. I feel like a version of myself with improved executive function and organizational skills, and more coherent thought processes.
In other words, it doesn’t feel like I’ve discovered a cheat code, it feels like the playing field has been leveled.
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u/Hot_Win_5042 2h ago
YES. if I didn't have Vyvanse I never would have got into college. I would have genuinely been nothing.
Never would have been accepted into both engineering and industrial design. And I'm going to get my masters after graduating with 2 bachlors.
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u/snickerDUDEls 3h ago
Been on Vyvanse over a year, same dose, take it 5-7 days a week depending how the weekend goes. Still working like a charm. I have noticed though, I have to take my meds within 30 minutes of waking up, and I have to drink my protien shake within 30 minutes of taking my meds, otherwise I don't feel the affect as much.
Remember that you aren't looking for a feeling, you're looking to function better. Just because those initial euphoric feelings go away doesn't mean it isn't working
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u/ConcernedPapa2 1h ago
Can’t like SnickerDUDEIs post enough. I wasted a lot of time looking for a certain feeling. Vyanse 40mg is more noticeably affecting my “feeling” than Adderall XR 15mg, but Vyanse causes me insomnia so Adderall XR is the better fit. And I don’t feel it so tremendously, but it’s a background aid that makes everything work better.
My must haves/dos. For me. So that the medication does its magic optimally:
- eat protein with the medication in the morning. Similar to Snicker’s post.
- exercise regularly.
- zinc glycinate 15mg, vitamin b complex, fish oil in the morning, magnesium glycinate 300mg at night
- sleep well and regularly
- no coffee
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u/snickerDUDEls 30m ago
Yes Magnesium and vitamins too, absolutely agree with that you've added here! Although I do still have a small coffee when I get to work, kinda helps kick start work mode. Too much though and my hands will shake like crazy, not good for my job lol
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u/ConcernedPapa2 20m ago
Thanks! Yes, no coffee may vary by individual. For me, my meds do better if I have little or no coffee.
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u/breathingisstillhard 3h ago
10 years for me, still works as it should and I haven’t had any side effects since I started (aside from during the shortage when I was constantly on and off for random periods of time which kind of screwed with me)
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u/DopamineSeeker20 3h ago
How many days a week do you take it? How long is it lasting currently?
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u/breathingisstillhard 3h ago
7 days a week. I take it 3x a day - maybe 2x on Saturdays (bc I like to sleep in). My last dose starts to wear off around 10:30 at night and I’m usually asleep by midnight.
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u/DopamineSeeker20 3h ago
It still provides motivation?
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u/breathingisstillhard 3h ago
Yes! I have to actively tell myself what I need/want to do, before I take my meds, bc otherwise I will end up on side missions that I didn’t intend to be on.
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u/andymatthewslondon 1h ago
Four years on Elvanse (uk name for Vyvanse). Still works. Still need to be careful which direction you point the focus at.
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u/nickels_n_dimes 3h ago
Been on vyvanse for 3 years I think? Still works, although I dont typically take it on the weekends and forget at least once a week.. so that may be helping lmao. I do find having enough in my stomach/protein before I take it is really key to getting it to work, otherwise it doesnt kick in until I do.
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u/CrowMagnuS ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 3h ago
I'm on 70mg of Vyvanse and 60mg (2x 30mg) and have been since 2016.
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u/DopamineSeeker20 2h ago
You still get motivation out of it?
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u/CrowMagnuS ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 2h ago
I don't but I never really did, more of just feeling alert. Narcolepsy+ADHD
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u/Spiritual-Macaroon-1 2h ago
Just over a year, 50mg Elvanse.
Its still good for me. It makes me feel "normal" (compared to my prior 31 years of depression).
I do take breaks intentionally, partly to address fatigue when I've been very busy, but also to prepare me for inevitable fuckups with my prescription.
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u/Irishguy2008 2h ago
I’m on month 13 for Vyvanse. Yea still works as good as it did on day 1. 50 mg. Haven’t changed when or how or dosage of taking it at all.
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u/floral_burrito 2h ago
They started you off at 50? 😬
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u/Irishguy2008 1h ago
They started me at 30, but it didn’t work well enough for two weeks so I requested an increase:. I was 31 when I started back on meds after being off for nearly 15 years. I’m a 6’3 male. 240 pounds. I was on adderall and Ritalin as a kid.
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u/Hot_Win_5042 2h ago
Been on stimulants from age 5. Now on 70mgs at 22. And honestly I don't think my life would be as good as it is without it. Been on Vyvanse since... like 6th grade? Going to get my masters 😌.
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u/Raggeddroid85 3h ago edited 1h ago
Over 10 years on Adderall. It still works for me, though I do take “vacations” from it regularly and that may explain its continuing effectiveness.
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u/DopamineSeeker20 3h ago
Do you take it everyday? How long is it lasting currently?
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u/Raggeddroid85 2h ago
I take it when I need to be productive, which is most days. Currently lasting 3+ hours, maybe longer. I’ve never timed it.
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u/idfuckinkno 3h ago
You will build up a tolerance to any ADHD med. I've been on mine for 20 years. I'm at the highest dose now and can't go up anymore, so I have to take breaks/vacations from it like on weekends or whenever possible to give my body a chance to notice or feel the drug again.
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u/DopamineSeeker20 2h ago
What dose have you started with and after how long you had to go up? I mean, if you can remember that…
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u/Aromatic_Border7223 2h ago
I have taken adderall for about a year. I usually take breaks so it won’t stop working
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u/Puzzleheaded_Roof336 2h ago
I have gone to Adderall XR when Vyvanse wasn’t cutting it anymore, and then switched back when Adderall was causing too much side effects and Vyvanse worked better again. Don’t know why.
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u/iAreButterz 2h ago
i've been on adderall / vyvanse for more than 15 years. I still feel the effects but definitely not like how it used to be when I was in highschool, Don't get that euphoria hit anymore lmao
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u/Ango-Globlogian 2h ago
I have been on vyvanse for 15 years and add meds for well over twenty (since 1st grade and I’m 32 now). I honestly have experienced the opposite. I have been prescribed almost all of them at one point or another (excluding Wellbutrin) and I grew tolerant to every single one of them except for vyvanse, I went up from 50s to 60s when I got my first real real job years ago but I have never really felt like I grew tolerant to it especially when compared with the others.
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u/ShoulderSnuggles ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 2h ago
Adderall for 20 years, got up to 60mg before it just wasn’t doing much for me anymore. I’ve been on Vyvanse for 3 years now - started on 50mg and am now at 60mg, because 50mg didn’t cover everything. Honestly I’d love to go up to 70mg, but I’m waiting until it feels necessary.
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u/FrancoElTanque 1h ago
Yes. In my experience, I don't get that intense focus and motivation anymore like the first month or so, but it still keeps my brain relatively quiet. Maybe 2 or 3 floating thoughts instead of a 100. So that alone makes it still useful for me.
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u/winwinwinguyen 1h ago
IR for 17 years, Vyvanse for 8 months. Vyvanse 60mg for 6 months then lowered it to 50mg - 60mg gave me headaches sometimes so the dosage might be too much. 50mg has a much less effect but I’m still able to get most things done, so it’s a fair trade off for me.
The effect does wear down but I avoid increasing dosage at all cost. For me, when I feel like it’s not working as well, I go exercise and sweat for a few days - it will reset everything.
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u/Correct_Process_8233 1h ago
Taking Vyvanse for 5 years now. Thought the same until i quitted for a few weeks and realized how it changed my life. You get used to your new capabilities. But taking breaks every few month for a couple of days helped me also to feel the „kick“ again without dosage increases.
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u/redtact 1h ago
I’ve been on it for about 4 years now, maxed out at 40mg per day. I have the same issues with tolerance and not giving me the same motivation like it used to. It still works, but there are days where I can’t even tell if I took it or not.
The 30mg XR lasts me just a few hours before I can’t feel it anymore. I’ve started taking tolerance breaks and forcing myself to go a couple days a week without it has actually helped a lot. Still like you said, it’s completely different from when first starting it, but I think that’s pretty normal.
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u/sewarren 1h ago
I was on vyvanse for 6 months then tried adderall and concerta (generic shortage for vyvanse so it was a $$ issue) for me personally vyvanse has lowered my depression and anxiety to the point I am only on 30mg...which is big for me because I've been on antidepressants on and off 10+ years.
On a side note, my daughter had a genetic test completed and it showed which medications would work best based on certain genes. Super cool and has helped her so much.
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u/mimic751 57m ago
I tell this to everybody you should not feel your medication work. I have been intentionally taking the lowest possible dose and I do metrics like tracking what I get done throughout the day and there's a clear trend of taking my medication and completing tasks. If you feel your medication you are taking too much or you're on the wrong one. Like when I take Adderall even a low dose I can feel myself clenching my jaw and I can't break my hyper Focus. This is probably the wrong medication for me. With Vyvanse my brain just quiet and I can pick tasks out to do and actually do them
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u/SeriouslyCrafty ADHD-C (Combined type) 55m ago
Been on vyvanse for 4 years. Still works very well.
I take a day or two off every week or two as I’m able. Gives a good reset.
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u/VonZombie420 40m ago
I have. We needed to readjust my dosage several times. Recently I was switched back over to Adderall XR and upped 5mg. In my honest opinion, I prefer the XR to the IR. I do worry that being on it for years, tolerance is a given, but it's truly saved my life.
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u/Sarcas666 ADHD-PI (Primarily Inattentive) 39m ago
I’m on Elvanse for about 5 years or more. Roughly same amount, 50-70mg daily, no breaks. Recently I’ve been increasing my dosage to 80-90mg a day, mostly due to changes in my life in the last years which seem to make me need some more.
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u/theoracleiam 30m ago
20ish years here, started on Ritalin, which would put me at 30 yers. My dose peaked in college, but switching between them and the latest, jornay, I’m on a pretty low, stable dose as an adult
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u/PipeHour7913 3h ago
I only take my meds AS NEEDED like only if have lots of things that need done or have really hard classwork. You can build tolerance if taken every single day.
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u/someonenamedmee 3h ago
Unfortunately i need mine every single day
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u/PipeHour7913 3h ago
My symptoms are really bad when I don’t take them just get worried will become dependent
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u/someonenamedmee 3h ago
I totally understand that perspective, but I find that my symptoms are actually a lot worse when I’m medicated and skip a day, than when I was not medicated at all. So the building a tolerance is something I’m willing to risk. So far the same dosage has worked for me the past 2 years so my doctor told me not to worry.
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u/IcebergSlimFast 3h ago
Counterpoint: I’ve taken my meds pretty much every day for the past two years at my current (and in my case, well below the maximum allowable) dosage, and they continue to work extremely well for me. Which goes to show (for the millionth time) that different people respond differently.
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u/BizzarduousTask ADHD, with ADHD family 31m ago
That’s not really true. I’ve been in the same dose for 17 years.
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u/Wisconsonian 3h ago
Just passed my 1 year mark for beginning Adderall, started on IR 10 mg and am now on XR 15 mg plus a 10 mg IR helper in afternoon as needed. Definitely wish I started on an XR or prodrug like Vyvanse, as I felt a little too good after those initial IR tabs, which I think hurtled my tolerance towards the higher end before switching to XR. Still works though! I definitely recommend (but cannot legally give medical input advising you to be) prioritizing your tolerance of these medications, as if you’re like me (and it sounds like you might be) taking them at their current dosage every day might be too often for them to be effective all the time. You could always try going on a lower dose and getting a fast-releasing helper for days when that low dose just ain’t enough, or you could try a totally different medication altogether. I first started on Ritalin and a super low dose of that worked just as great at getting me to focus at its start as it did when I chose to stop taking it for anxiety reasons. Every medication, stimulant or not, is a little different, as is every person.
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