# Vyvanse vs. Adderall



## wantotalk (May 4, 2009)

I have a question for those who have experience with both Vyvanse and Adderall (which I suspect are few). I have been lucky enough to have a pdoc who has prescribed what many have found to be the 'holy grail' of social anxiety medications: a combination of Vyvanse and Xanax. It is obviously not a cure, and has plenty of drawbacks (i.e., crashes, tolerance, etc.). Anyways, I have been taking Vyvanse with Xanax for about 3 months now and the pro-social/anxiolytic effects have been generally very good. Granted, tolerance issues pushed me from 30 mg to 70 mg, though 70 mg proved to be too much with regard to anxiety, so I am now back down to 50 mg. The pro-social effects have waned significantly since I first started the drug, and I have been taking mini-breaks (weekends off or a couple of days during the week). However, I am still generally pleased with the results while they last (about 3/4 hours).

My question, after my long-winded intro, is this: has anyone found that one medication fairs better than the other in terms of their pro-social effects? I guess I am referring to Adderall XR, but perhaps regular Adderall as well. Are tolerance issues the same? Are crashes better/worse? Any info would be helpful. Thanks


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## GSH (Jul 16, 2009)

I like Vyvanse better because of the ups and downs. With Addrerall I get depressed when it wears off in the evening with Vy I don't. Vy lasts longer in my opinion but is not as good for ADHD. 

A frugal person wouldve stayed with the 70's and emptied 20mgs or so into an empty capsule to be taken later. That $50 copay sucks.:b


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## User5 (Jun 22, 2010)

Adderall didn't help my SA. Made it worse. Vyvanse was much better. But if Adderall works for you it might be good. it's stronger than Vy


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## UltraShy (Nov 8, 2003)

I use both Vyvanse and Adderall IR and I'd rate them as pretty much the same. Obviously, Vyvanse has a much longer duration than Adderall IR, but otherwise they sure feel the same. No surprise given that Vyvanse is metabolized to d-amphetamine, while Adderall is mainly d-amphetamine, so they're pretty much the same drug.


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## Spungo (Jul 30, 2012)

I've only tried them from friends; I have no long term experience with either.
I think Vyvanse was better. It had a slower rise and fall. It's like the Prozac of amphetamines. Adderall had a very sharp rise, a period of intense motivation and anxiety, then a very hard crash. It was brutal. Vyvanse feels more like a natural sleep-wake cycle. Take it in the morning, get more energy throughout the day, and it slowly drops off. Vyvanse is actually a pro-drug that needs to be converted to a drug, so your body enzymes limit the rate of drug release. That's great for legal purposes because it means the abuse potential is far less - it's easier to get this drug because you can't smash it and snort it. Well you can, but doing that is a waste of time because it will still have a slow buildup.


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