My advice to you is try a different Ritalin Product like Metadate or ritalin LA before you try the vyvance. My son has been on Vyvanse and had terrible aggression with it and other side efffects. It works great with some but at such a young age when they can't express how they feel it is hard to know what is going on. I wish you luck but we had problems with the Focalin as well and now that DS is able to swallow pills we are on Concerta another Ritalin based med.He is doing much better.

Thank you for replying. I believe he has had huge success with the Focalin, the only issue has been that it wears off. I also read from a different parent that their child took Vyvanse and had aggression. My son started developing an aggressive behavior around 4, depending on the circumstances, I don't want something to make it worse. Also of a concern is that he is to start the Vyvanse at 20 mg - - but he couldn't even take 10 mg of Focalin - it made him a zombie.

My daughter has been on a string of different meds. My psy explains it like this. There are kids whose brain chemistry responds to adderall and kids who respond to ritalin. My daughter responds to Concerta but she's always in between amounts for dose. One is not enough and the other too high which causes edgy behavior. We use methylin (which can be chewable also) to adjust the dose. Katie is 9 and we have been medicating her for two years now.

MyFish Rule: Has your daughter ever taken the Vyvanse? I do notice that my son has aggregation on the Focalin - depending on the circumstance. He has never been able to concentrate on anything as his mind goes and goes - but if he can't figure something out right away or make something work he gets very aggitated. I want to get the medication right, but still have doubts about Vyvanse? Does anyone else have comments about this medication?

Katie has never taken that one but my nephew has. It did decrease his food intake but at school he's doing well. The ? you want to ask are how long medications take to get into the system. With K her meds go in and out the same day. The Vavance (sorry about spelling) will stay threw the day and tapper off at night. Try to do homework asap before that happens. I make copies of her Rx and then write notes on the back to keep track. Sometimes you get side effects, it's about improving everyones quality of life. What you can deal with. Hugs

Thanks MyFishRule. I spoke with my dr again today. I am going to try the Vyvanse. I now one of the side effects is stomach aches and the ability to fall asleep. This is really an exhausting thing. I hope this medication works and I don't have to keep changing meds.

My son took vyvanse for 7 days. It worked ,but he had headaches and vomiting.

How old is your son Sharkboysmom?

I am a nurse with a son on vyvanse and I love it. It is long acting with fewer side effects. If they have a lot of side effects then the dose may be too high. My son had a lot of side effects at first and a speaker for the medicaiton at a conference told me to have them put him on a lower dose and our family has never been happier. He is a different kid. He wants to take it, he knows when he doesn't have it, and it has changed his life.

My son is 10 and has been taking Vyvance for the past 2 1/2 months and is doing real well. He was taking Ritilan LA prior and out grew it. He has a really great doc and he TOVA tests to help get the dosage right. The only real side effect is not wanting to eat. This is not a huge deal yet as he needs to shed a few pounds. When he started the Ritilan LA he didn't eat much, but once his system seemed to really adjust after 6 months or so that side effect wore off. I am hoping this is the same for the Vyvance. He too states he can tell the difference and said he feels smart. I guess the real test is when school starts...

My daughter has been diagnosed with ADD since around age 8. All attention/focus issues, no hyperactivity. Very mellow, nice sweet girl. Had problems all through preschool and beyond. I did not want to put her on meds as I do not like the risks or side effects. Tried Concerta for about 6 months. Took her off at summer break and never went back to any meds. She is not almost 14 and we just started on 40mg. last weekend. I started her on the weekend to see how she handled it. Seemed to help her focus but her personality was different. Very serious and somewhat on the almost angry side. Come Monday, first day at school on it, nurse called because my daughter was complaining of a racing heartbeat. I got to the school after calling the doc and the nurse reported her pulse at 100 BPM. Normal rate for her age is anywhere from 60-80 according to the nurse. Needless to say she is not on the drug anymore. still waiting to hear from the doc about what he wants to do. Teachers reported that she stayed on task which is something my daughter cannot do without many prompts. It all seems so difficult. Why can't they come up with a drug for ADHD that doesn't have the side affects! Very frustrating.

I agree!! My child has been on Focalin and he had such irritabilty and headaches. He was not my child. We took him off because teacher did nt see any difference in grades. He was out of it!! He was diagnoised with a LD and it has not been addressed in school yet.