These medications also take time to settle in. You should use a correct dose for at least a few weeks to see how well a certain molecule affects you.
Get that diagnosis, talk to a doctor. The hard way is often the better way.
this post was submitted on 08 Oct 2025
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ADHD
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Just switched to vyvanse myself after years on concerta. I’m liking it, tbh.
But it’s not a switch. The effects are subtle, and often subjective - what works well for one person won’t work as well for others.
Also, are you “undiagnosed, but suspicious-to-confident that you have it”, or are you just taking this for a spin? If you intend on exploring ongoing pharmacological support for ADHD, I cannot in good conscience encourage you to do anything but get a diagnosis and work with a licensed professional.
Also, are you “undiagnosed, but suspicious-to-confident that you have it”, or are you just taking this for a spin?
I heavily suspect that I have it (edit: inattentive type.) My intention here was to gauge the effects of medication, and if impressed I was hoping to be more encouraged to seek professional help.
I'm in the same club. 95% convinced I'm inattentive type, but the one time I built up the courage/remembered to ask a doctor, he acted like I was just trying to get drugs and it totally squashed that motivation.
The fact it’s having no effect on you probably means that you’d need a higher dose, since for a non-adhd person they would definitely be feeling that, BUT for the love of god go get an actual diagnosis and a prescription
I personally found that Vyvanse did two things: raise my heart rate to unsafe levels, and allow me to focus easier without the ability to choose what I focused on.
Same for me, i took it for a week, could focus on everything at once, without being able to choose on what to focus and kinda crashed at the end of the week.
Oh god, the crashes. Turns out you don’t get anything for free and you have to pay for it sometime.
Different meds work differently for different people. Or if you aren't actually ADHD they may be less effective for you. Better I ask a doctor, but Adderal works best for me.
It's not magic, to be fair, though you very well may be at an inappropriate dose since you self medicated.
Generally you'd expect it to 'help', but not a silver bullet for all your productivity needs.
Talk to a doctor and get a real prescription and work with them to dial in your dosing.
Vyvanse was my first medication (I'm on Foquest). The first few days, for me, were transformative but intense. My head buzzed, my heart jackhammered, but there was zero hesitation to complete tasks that were usually daunting (simple things like making a phone call, online banking, certain work tasks I'd been putting off, general human interaction). I had tremendous lasting energy and improved mood. While many symptoms of ADHD persisted in some form, they were diminished.
It was like I had spent my life hacking my way thru the jungle and suddenly there was a clear trail ahead.
My friend also started Vyvanse recently and described a very similar experience. The first few days were a revelation of a functioning headspace.
It didn't last of course. The intensity leveled off, but the net positive effects continued until the side effects were too much and I switched. When I started Foquest I could have said the same thing you described in your post.
Effect can vary a lot. I did a tolerance test with 5 mg, and even that was mind blowing. Effect was short, but my executive dysfunction was completely fixed. I cleaned, worked out, did calls and wrote letters I had been putting off for weeks. It felt like a fantastic dopamine shower.
Then, for a long time, I went with 10 - 15 mg. Slowly working up to 50 over 6 months.
The "mind blowing" effect is really fading hard one year later, though. I'm pretty sure that it's not really what the doctors want. They want regulation of dopamine and noradrenaline in the prefrontal cortex, which is a benefit that does not diminish over time. What gives the amazing feeling is excess dopamine in other regions of the brain, like a recreational drug, and that fades.