Elvanse and starting titration: any tips?

[Zwifter]

Hello

I have recently been diagnosed with combined ADHD and have opted to try medication. It has arrived today and I am excited and nervous in equal measure! I have purposefully avoided too much googling about it as I don't want to have any preconceptions about what might happen, or read any bad experiences from others ...

I am starting on 30 dosage for a week then up to 50 for 21 days - my first appointment to check up with the prescriber in the first week of January.

I have been told to give up caffeine (hard), alcohol (easy), and high intensity exercise (this could be problematic!). I have a works Christmas party on friday night then I'm flying on Sunday morning for a work trip. I am dithering about when to start the medication as I am worried about side effects. Should I bite the bullet and just start, or wait until I'm back home from the work trip?

Does anyone have any tips? What sort of routine do you follow? What do you have for breakfast with it? I usually follow a fairly low carb diet so breakfast is full fat yoghurt / kefir / berries / nuts / seeds. Things go downhill during the day as I tend to overeat for comfort / boredom... but I do at least try to start the day well! Do you have trouble sleeping? Is this the wonder drug that's going to tame the mad monkeys in my head, stop my boredom eating, and turn me into a domestic goddess or am I kidding myself?!

I'm 46, been peri since about 42 and it seems like this is what has made my tolerable quirks and needs become totally out of control. I'm also waiting for the second part of my autism assessment.

Sorry it's all a bit mememe but this is all new to me and I'm not quite sure what to expect - any experiences or advice gratefully received!

Hello! I'm currently on titration and I think I've found my dose at 60mg!

First few days of each new dose I felt a racey heart and didn't sleep as well, after a couple of days this disappeared.

For some reason, the first two weeks I bloody stank 🤣🤣 I think it was my body getting used to the medication and it also went away and got through it by using an aluminium free deodorant and fem fresh 🤣

You HAVE to eat breakfast with the meds otherwise you feel like crap and they don't work as well, so the fact you already eat breakfast is good because I never have until starting the elvanse. Drink lots of water and yeah definitely avoid caffeine.

As for your over eating (I did this with boredom / feeling low) it curbs your appetite completely (for me anyway) to the point you don't feel hungry but if you don't force yourself to eat you will become angry when your body realises it's starving later in the day.

As for a wonder drug I would say .. yeah if I'm honest ... For me it was an instant calm and silence in my brain. I went two weeks at 30mg and felt "normal" and could function but it wore off and oh my god my old life came back ten fold and it plummeted me into depression (something to be aware of is that the dose might not work / wear off and it's a shock mentally).

I'm now at 60mg and I feel my ADHD symptoms are under control but I'm struggling with depression so I'm also treating that separately but I don't think it's Elvanse / ADHD related (recently had a baby and have pnd too).

I tried 70mg and oh my god I thought I was dying, I should have went to the hospital as my prescriber said I was basically overdosing as the dose was too high for me.

If you've been told it only comes as 30/50/70mg (I was told this) it also comes as 40/60mg as well so if you think for example 50mg is too low but 70mg is too high you can get 60mg.

When you first take it you might feel a buzz but this wears off by the next day I'd say so don't chase that, I was told the best way to know it's working is for you to get to the end of the day and be like "is this working or not?" But whoever lives with you is saying yes it is because they've noticed how calm / productive / not argumentative you've been 🤣🤣