Taking Vyvanse – and Losing Your Memory?
There are several likely explanations, so let’s review. Most importantly, remember these small Vyvanse challenges do teach us – they point the way to the next logical intervention for the most effective medication dosage strategies.
Vyvanse and Time
Vyvanse Question from Lara
I am in my late 30’s and have been on Vyvanse 50mg for over 6 months. Like some previous posters I experience some unsettling memory problems even though I have great focus. I can’t remember simple things like my children’s teachers names, or the name of a store. My word retrieval skills are terrible, or I will reverse words thought, example: “I am going to the bananas to get the store.”
This is quite common and it is only after I utter this nonsense that I notice the error. My children even pick up on it sometimes. Also, for several months I experienced a shortness of breath that seemed similar to my asthma symptoms as a child. This seems to come and go now, but is bizarre. Do you think these could be related to the Vyvanse?
Vyvanse, the Window and other Neurotransmitters: My Reply
Do look very carefully at your duration, your DOE as discussed in this post on Vyvanse dosing, and assess if it has crept up to the 14 hr range. While not always the accurate barometer [having only misrepresented Vyvanse dosage efficacy with careful questioning only 2x in my experience], it will often tell the tale.
The phenomenon of decreased memory can be related to several different issues, the most frequent, and the reason for measuring the DOE, is simply adhd-medication-management-series-measuring-the-top-of-the-window/”>too much Vyvanse, leading to an excessively long DOE [somewhere over 12 hr with some folks]. Said another way, sounds like you are coming out of the Top of the Therapeutic Window. These findings in the office are less common, as many adults have done well in specific work simulated studies with 14 hr DOE.
Shortness of breath can also be associated if the dose is slightly too high.
Another possibility, also quite likely, is that your ADHD is simply caused by a dysregulation with one of several different neurotransmitters, for example PEA. Phenylethylamine, PEA, is not commonly appreciated by the current ADHD psychopharmacology practitioners simply because we haven’t had a medication to address levels. Low PEA can create ADHD issues, and an abundance of PEA can drive the stimulant consequences [side effects] out the top of that window.
Measuring PEA, as I do now in every challenging presentation, saves big time – months of speculation and trial and error, and real dollars as the evidence will tell the practitioner exactly what to do. As you may know from these pages I am a strong advocate of science and measurement, and disparage the Missouri Turkey Shoot method of dosing – such as taking a blurb like this one from the Internet and running out to find the amino acid precursor for PEA, phenylalanine.
However, if you are interested in PEA do take a look at this article [PEA noted on pg 269] from Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, for verification of this possible targeted amino acid neurotransmitter precursor for intervention, should that be the correction needed.
Neurotransmitter measurement possibilities discussed in detail on the Neuroscience page here.
Interesting Vyvanse/neurotransmitter question, thanks,
cp
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