nyota Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 Hi. I'm pretty new to stims - maybe 6 weeks. So far nothing has worked brilliantly, but I do feel like once I start a task I'm better able to stick with it. I also feel a little more animated and 'present', if you know what I mean. I started with Vyvanse, tried Adderall xr, then methyphenidates Concerta and Focalin xr. The last 2 made me feel sleepy, sluggish, hungry and irritable. Adderall made me feel I was on another planet with my head wrapped in saran wrap - but maybe I didn't give it long enough. Not much appetite while it was working - which was fine with me. Anyway, I went back to trying Vyvanse again and most side effects are gone or tolerable. EXCEPT - I am hungry all the time. I don't remember this SE the first time around - I didn't lose my appetite like with Adderall, but just had my normal hunger patterns. The hunger started with the Concerta/Focalin, which sort of fitted with the sleepy, sluggish feeling (I felt this way on Prozac/Zoloft too). I thought it would stop again with Vyvanse, but no. Seriously, the only time I don't have the feeling of being hungry is for the 20 minutes or so right after I eat. Then, no matter what I just ate, I feel a gnawing hunger again. All day. I don't have much of a desire to eat, but I have constant hunger pangs. I'm trying to just eat small amounts consistently during the day to fend it off, but this is ridiculous! My pdoc doesn't think it's really hunger, but just a gastrointestinal pain. But it's that hollow, aching feeling that's exactly like being hungry! I also think she thinks I have food issues; that I want to resist my body's natural impulses. But that couldn't be further from the truth. My relationship with food has been mostly happy and flourishing my whole life. I'd love to lose 20-30 lbs, but generally I eat when I'm hungry, stop when I'm full, and am very interested in the variety and quality of what I eat. Even some pretty nasty depression never shifted my appetite much one way or the other. So what's up with constant hunger on amphetamines? Has anyone else experienced anything like this? Could jumping from med to med in a pretty short time have caused a neurological rewiring? Could it be because Vyvanse is broken down in a different way? Possible dehydration causing this feeling? None of the literature mentions this SE, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gerber Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 Hi Nyota, I started taking Adderall xr back in october and for the first two months I was hungry all of the time too! If I didn't eat every hour or so I would feel irritable and hollow. I've had bouts of anxiety during my adult years and recognize this 'hungry' feeling as a physical manifestation of anxiety (in this case from the adderall). Anyhow, I just accepted that I would have to keep having snacks throughout the day and made sure I planned ahead with healthy things that contained protein. This helped a lot. The potential good news is that this stopped after the first two months and my body went back to a regular eating schedule. I had some other unpleasant side effects that also disappeared around this time. So, maybe this will also end for you! If not, start packing a suitcase full of snacks before you leave for work in the morning Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Erin Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 OMG. I have the EXACT same issue when I take vyvanse (and sometimes with other amphetamines). I struggle a lot with fatigue and my ability to focus and vyvanse works AMAZING with those issues. However, the constant hunger is killing me. I try to eat before I take it but I still get RAVENOUS on the medication. For the most part my appetite is gone but my stomach will just growl and growl until I start going crazy. If I try to ignore the hunger pangs I start getting very light headed and then no longer can focus at all. And like you said, if I do eat the hunger it goes away for like 20 minutes and then its back again! Its really upsetting because I like everything else about the medication but constantly having to eat when I have no appetite or time (plus I'm unhappy with my weight) is very, very irritating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Liberty Posted October 29, 2009 Share Posted October 29, 2009 I too have had the hunger issue. I have a weight problem as well, so this hunger thing adds to my depression. I do like the focus I get when I'm on the meds, but seriously now the hunger has to stop. I have only been on it for 1 month, I will give it more time to see if it changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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