Elvanse titration- wrong dose?!?

[CAG2003]

Looking for some advice- I am currently going through ADHD titration. Took concerta, didn’t get on with it after reaching 36mg. Made me more productive in a stressful way and v tired.
Started on Elvanse-30mg was nice. No difference with motivation but my brain felt a lot clearer and organised. Made me happier and reduced anxiety.
moved up to 50mg. Pretty much the same for the first 3 days as 30 (so great). Had a titration appt on day 4 told him I was happy, no side effects, but still struggling to make myself do things. He said great and sent me 60mg as he felt there was room for improvement.
day 4 started to feel unwell, stomach aches, general ill shaky feeling, upset stomach, severe forgetfulness, brain fog/ not working etc. Woke up the next day feel the same, started to feel a bit better by 11am so took the Elvanse and felt fine all afternoon (just a bit off) and then got a migraine in the evening.
Either way didn’t feel actually unwell anymore so put it down to having a stomach bug or something.
Since my days have been ALL over the place. I either feel like I haven’t taken anything or (often come the afternoon) rlly tired, headachy and just low on energy. I keep getting anxious In the afternoons and can’t reason with myself. Everything feels like it’s going wrong (it’s probs not). My brain feels like it’s stopped working, even more foggy/ slow than usual.
I was due my period on Monday and it hasn’t come- initially wondered if that’s why I was fine on 50 for 3 days and then started to feel odd around the time of it. It’s usually fairly regular give or take a few days so starting to worry a bit (I’d be shocked if I was pregnant/ unlikely).
Even worse is I have NO motivation for anything. I cannot make myself move. I do get worse with this around my period but this is extreme. Before urgency or guilt would make me do something eg I’ll be honest my room is always a mess but I’d get to a point where I felt so bad/ urgent that I’d do it. Now I look at my room and all sorts of others jobs and just think well what the point. It will only get messy Again.

I’m so confused by what to do. Shall I take the 60mg in 4 days when my 50’s run out? Is it because I need more medication? Do I try and get a hold of prescriber asap for a lower prescription. I have got through the last 2 weeks but can’t feel like this forever.
It’s so hard to tell what is meds and what is just life.
so so grateful for any help or advice.

I’m on Elvanse titration and up to 70mg. I went 30-50-70. Im
not sure there’s much difference in how I am either.

I was told that it doesn’t work in the week before your period and the week of your period. I’m post-menopausal but did have a random bleed and did feel it didn’t have any effect during that time. The bleeding has been checked out and all is fine.

I was told to take it before 10am otherwise it would affect my sleep. I usually take it around 7am on schooldays and around 8-9am on weekends if I sleep in.

It makes me VERY chatty about 3-5 hours after taking it as though I have a million things in my head that I have to say right now. It’s embarrassing and I don’t like it. I also get palpitations and feel a little anxious around 6-8 hours after taking which is apparently when it’s wearing off. I’ve had one day where I didn’t have that feeling and that day I don’t think I ate any lunch but had a high protein drink. I can eat breakfast most days and a late dinner sometimes but I mainly only want snacks. I really hoped I’d be more motivated to make healthier meals and have the motivation to get the house sorted but it’s not happened.

It’s been 2 months of medication and I’m not sure what the benefits are to be honest.

I do get hyper focused on whatever task I’m doing when they kick in. It’s just not usually the tasks I need to be doing. I’m a full time carer for my mum and no two days are the same so it’s not like I need to sit at a computer and be productive. I’m naturally flitting from task to task and they are mainly physical ones. I really need to get stuck in to cleaning my own house and doing some sorting out of stuff but I’m no more motivated to do it than I was before.

I have felt calmer in general and like my brain has less tabs open but it’s not been the life altering drug for me that people say it is. I’ve got a review today and part of me wonders whether to try 60mg or to ask to try something else instead. I’m not sure I can face restarting though. Im also not sure if I need an afternoon booster to get me through the 1-2pm crash.

I hope you find the right dose or medication that works for you. Is it via the NHS or private? Mine is right to choose so any difficulties and o can’t yet ask the GP. It’s frustrating.

I’d also add that after a couple of weeks on a new dose things felt more settled. It’s hard to describe as the effects are so subtle but even on the maximum dose I suddenly felt less wappy after 2 weeks.

Are you eating enough protein or enough anything? Protein helps it work but I’m crap at protein and sick of hearing about protein. I was told to eat 30mg at breakfast. There’s no chance. I might make 45g over the day. I’m drinking flavoured milk to get calories and protein because of the poor appetite. Also make sure you are drinking plenty. It can mask thirst so drink regularly to help avoid headaches. Some days I suddenly get a completely dry throat to the point it’s stuck together like I’ve had 10 pints of cider on a night out or similar. I’ve never actually done that but I’m sure you know what I mean. Even if I’ve been drinking water it suddenly dries out so I’m making sure I drink plenty especially in this heat. I’ll try a flavoured milk again today about midday to see if that alleviates the crash. I recommend babybels for a quick protein boost too. You haven’t mentioned your appetite so maybe it’s not been affected.
Also, I was told no caffeine. I’m going to query that today though as I know from reading Reddit that lots still have caffeine and are ok. My BP and pulse are fine so it should be ok.