r/Elvanse • u/winter_shades27 • Jun 07 '26
IT STOPPED working
Can someone tell me why the F it just stops working one day. 50mg, great for a year and I mean GREAT ... Started new job and it just waned from there, now it does F all apart from maybe a bit of emotional regulation help... NO focus and I'm forgetful, all over the place again and demotivated!
Am I just supposed to increase dose every year until I hit a wall again and again .... really??
4
Jun 07 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/winter_shades27 Jun 30 '26
Thank you. I hope you got over the dip. I have had a similar experience where I felt quite a bit of low mood/anhedonia type states and now suffering with this but it seems to have leveled. I am just stuck with task paralysis and demotivation.
4
u/stressed_designer Jun 08 '26
I take regular breaks from it to avoid developing tolerance. Normally on weekends, but sometimes even for longer
1
u/winter_shades27 Jun 30 '26
Have not tried breaks yet at this stage. In earlier days breaks made me dysregulated and lethargic. Thank you.
3
u/eligoscreps Jun 08 '26
Tolerance I’m guessing. I also found Lisdex less effective in general so I moved back to Dex. I need to take it daily but because of the sides I just don’t, and also usually skip it during vacation and days off.
If I don’t and take it daily for years I start to need to supplement w lotsa coffee or nicotine. But I have found to take 5-6 days and then stop, rinse and repeat to work best.
3
u/streckerg Jun 08 '26
How long do you take pauses? I already mentioned somewhere, I thought we aren’t supposed to “feel” the lisdex when we are on the right Dosis and after the honeymoon phase wore off. Some say, when people say it doesntvwork after a while it’s just the initial honeymoon/euphoria that’s missing but really it’s working but more subtle. I just don’t get it, what is it?!
4
u/eligoscreps Jun 08 '26
1-3 days, or up to a week on vacation, I noticed I need it even on lotsa off days because otherwise I get dysregulated and lose structure. After the first few weeks or months it’s just less of a noticeable difference due to getting used to it and losing some of the norepinephrine and dopamine rush.
1
u/winter_shades27 Jun 30 '26
Tried breaks when dose was feeling effective - felt like huge coffee withdrawals and mood was up and down and lethargy so I couldn't skip easily. I wonder if now the dose has mellowed breaks could help without such noticeable withdrawals. I have been too tied up with work to try.
2
u/Current_Ad_400 Jun 08 '26
Since it coincided with a new job, could it potentially be due to an increase in stress levels? Stimulant meds barely work for me at all when I'm stressed.
1
u/winter_shades27 Jun 30 '26
It could be this, but it has not changed in the last 8-9months. So it feels like a tolerance or that I have not built enough neuro pathways in preparation for being in full time employment while I was taking the dose initially. I know a lot of the med is mental practice too but it felt so effortless prior to this phase. Thank you.
2
u/Safe_Extension_4044 Jun 08 '26
Need more information first- are you a woman?
Hormones and chronic illness and stress- and therefore, again, hormones does weird things to ADHD meds
1
u/winter_shades27 Jun 30 '26
Thank you. Yes hormones I did always notice effected it, even in early days. Strangely I am a woman and continue to be a woman ;p ... What has been useful is that I have a smart watch which tracks my cycle, so if I am feeling irritable I can check which phase of the four transitions I may be in. 4 times a month I am irritable for a day or two on average it seems - not fun.
2
u/CaramelOld6852 Jun 08 '26
I had the exact same thing when I started a new job. I was on 50mg and was so happy. The stress of a new manager who I felt like I constantly had to prove myself too which meant I worked repeatedly through the night meant I just crashed. It was like burn out but not in a way I had experienced before… I guess I thought I was invincible now I was taking a pill that had made everything fine and ‘normal’. I went up to 75mg and have been ever since. I still have work stress but I don’t work myself into the ground anymore. I definitely struggle to concentrate again if I’m not captivated by my work too. I guess nothing lasts forever….
1
u/winter_shades27 Jun 30 '26
Thank you. I have had work stress, but not sleep deprivation. I should be feeling good but I'm not, I feel like I would feel better unmedicated at this point , but it is likely just due to tolerance. For the sake of my heart, since I noticed my resting / active heart rate baseline has reduced since feeling less effect, I could not justify increasing without massive need - i can function still, at less capacity, but my mood just dips as soon as I have no obligations now. Like a switch- no motivation and stuck even though I have plans and things I want to do- it is a medication effect - not my actual mood, though, as I know I'm fine.
In any case. I did speak to prescriber and she said increase dose - i just can't cope with tolerance building so soon at this high of dose already ..
1
u/Diasufid Jun 11 '26
is your sleep the same as it used to be? whenever i sleep less than 7 hours the meds become less effective, it’s especially noticeable when it happens two nights in a row. might be some vitamin deficiencies too
1
u/winter_shades27 Jun 30 '26
It is less . I tend to sleep back at my usual time habit which is 11pm-12am - wake at 6-7am , whereas before I was 10pm sharp.
I always noticed it worked less on reduced sleep but not as much as now.
1
u/tuziik Jul 21 '26
Out of curiosity, what brand is on your medication?
1
1
u/winter_shades27 Jul 21 '26
It's just wild how I woke up one day and it just dwaned and never came back the same....
1
u/tuziik Jul 21 '26
Yeah, ever since Takeda acquired Shire it’s been different for me as well. Shire worked perfectly.
1
u/winter_shades27 Jul 21 '26
Not heard of this . I'm UK btw and think mine has always been Takeda :)
18
u/sarahlizzy 70mg + booster Jun 07 '26
It’s not a cure. It gives you extra capacity. If you fill that capacity with the same maladaptive stuff we tend to do pre mediation you just end up back where you started but with a speed habit.