30mg Vyvanse + 5mg Dexedrine

7.5mg Dexedrine messes with my sleep. At least, it does if I take three 2.5mg doses around 9, 11:15, and 2:30. The result felt very similar to 50mg Vyvanse; I could get to sleep without too much difficulty, but I would wake up several times from 1am to 5am and never really feel like I got solidly back to sleep.

7.5mg Dexedrine is ~17.5mg Vyvanse, so from a total dosage point of view this is not so surprising. The Dexedrine is only supposed to last ~4 hours per dose, though, unlike the Vyvanse. The point of using them together was to have the Vyvanse provide a smooth base dose over the entire day, while using Dexedrine for a short-term boost just during work hours. Emphasis on short-term. There is absolutely no reason why the extra Dex should still be hanging around at 1am. Thanks, crazy metabolism.

Still, I didn't really feel like the extra Dex was giving me a big boost during the day. If anything, I felt a little jittery. Combine that with the sleep problems and it was time to drop back down a little.

What I am trying now is actually to do the first two doses in the 7.5mg schedule, and just leave off the third. If the amphetamines really are sticking around for longer than they should, then dosing early should be the way to go. I've tried this for a couple of days now, and it feels good.

As always, the highly variable nature of my work (particularly the fact that is is often quite challenging) makes it difficult to assess how much help the meds are giving me. One thing is very clear though: I do not need caffeine anymore.

I used to really need to use caffeine to stop getting drowsy at my desk, even when I had plenty of sleep. It wasn't a caffeine withdrawal problem just mistaken for drowsiness either; I have plenty of experience with caffeine and I always used it very, well, technically. I know how much to take, when to take it, and I know when I'm getting withdrawal symptoms. I didn't take that much (1 Starbucks "grande" brewed coffee sipped over the entire day), since the research shows that chronic high caffeine use will quickly cause significant tolerance and dependence. I even cut my dose back on weekends by enough to kill any built-up dependence while avoiding significant withdrawal symptoms. I was a caffeine boss.

Regardless, I could be clean of caffeine for well over a week, have gotten 8+ hours of sleep a night for several nights, and I'd still have trouble keeping my eyes open at more that just a couple of points during the day. I know now that this was likely an ADHD symptom. My brain was getting worn out from focusing and couldn't keep up the effort. I used caffeine as an over-the-espresso-bar-counter medication for it. I don't have to do that now, at all, so the meds are helping, and they are helping in a more consistent way. Heck, I've been grumpy and/or jittery many, many more times due to bad caffeine dose choices than I've experienced during all this messing around stimulant medication.

Maybe part of the reason I didn't notice as much of a huge change as I'd expected on the meds is I was doing a good job self-medicating with caffeine? I don't know.

What I am sure of, though, is that 30mg of Vyvanse alone is more than sufficient for my weekends. That's one thing I really like about using Vyvanse and Dexedrine tabs together. On the weekends I don't have to worry about carrying around the Dex and dosing at the right time. There are no worries about feeling grumpy or losing sleep. 30mg of Vyvanse is absolutely fabulous from that point of view. I've never felt even a twinge of extra grumpiness when using it, and most of the time I feel calmer, more relaxed, and more patient.

So hats off to Vyvanse for that, I guess, even if it does crazily stick around in my system for 12 hours longer than it is supposed to. Silly Vyvanse, I can't stay mad at you.