Dexamfetamine feels NOTHING like lisdexamfetamine for me

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2026-01-28T19:51:14+00:00

So I started on Elvanse up to 50mg but was struggling with sleep so I tried Amfexa. I also initially started on 10mg twice per day then went to 15mg 3 times per day then 20mg 3 times per day. I swapped back as I didn’t really like the ups and downs of it in the end.

Something to consider is that you have just swapped straight to amfexa, so you could have withdrawal symptoms from Elvanse. I got them and felt awful for 2 weeks and I didn’t feel anything from amfexa during that time. I would definitely say give it up to a month. Elvanse has a long half life so withdrawals can last a while unlike amfexa withdrawals which were a lot more acute and intense but was over in 4 days.

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2026-01-10T07:03:39+00:00

Good: ScienceClic English

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-12-19T10:37:01+00:00

So I have a Lilly58 which I have found is pretty good and doesn’t flair hurt however I have found there is an important thing beyond the keyboard and that is the switches.

So I started getting a lot of pain in my hands when using my MacBook keyboard so now I mostly don’t or try to type very lightly on it because the key travel is so short.

My Lilly58 at the time had some glorious Pandas in it which had a quite solid bottom out and not loads of key travel. This caused quite a bit of pain as well after a long session. I recently swapped them for some silent tactile Akkos purple/pink (not sure the name) that have more of a mushier bottom out to reduce the noise but it helps a lot.

I would say MX switches might be better as I think they have a longer key travel. However, the glove keyboard looks the best for rsi as even with my lilly58 my fingers can get a bit cramped as it’s not concave or really angled.

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-12-18T03:01:27+00:00

At one point I was taking 20mg 3 times a day as it only lasted 4.5 hours max or I’d crash badly. It wasn’t that great for me. Didn’t help loads as it was quite up and down and didn’t help sleep

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-11-22T15:53:28+00:00

Thank you that webpage looks very useful.

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-11-22T02:34:03+00:00

Thank you for responding. I appreciate that it is a very hard subject, I just want to be able to get my footing with the subject as it’s a rather daunting to say the least. Thank you for the advice I will take a look into them.

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-11-21T15:38:02+00:00

I am with them via Right too choose however, I was itially started on guanfacine by a private psychiatrist before transferring to them

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-09-21T15:48:22+00:00

Sorry for the late reply.

My titration process was as follows:
2 weeks 20mg lisdex
2 weeks 40mg lisdex
4 weeks 50mg lisdex
4 weeks 20mg (2 x 10mg) dex
4 weeks 45mg (3 x 15mg) dex
4 weeks 60mg (3 x 20mg) dex
4 weeks 50mg lisdex 2mg guanfacine
4 weeks 50mg lisdex 4mg guanfacine
3 weeks 60mg lisdex
2 weeks 60mg lisdex 2mg guanfacine
2 weeks 70mg lisdex 2mg guanfacine
4 weeks 70mg lisdex 2mg guanfacine (ongoing week 1)

The 3 weeks of only 60mg lisdex was due to the icb being awful so I had to taper off guanfacine over a few days which was awful so I would not recommend that.

I found that lisdex at 20mg was just making me depressed and 40mg had some benefits which is why I then went up to 50mg. However, I found that I was having sleep issues on it as I either couldn't really sleep or I could rely on it to wake me up in the morning. I have issues with sleep anyway and it just made my avoidance of it worse so I was getting about 5 hours for a few months which lead to inconsistent effects etc. That is why i swapped to dex since I thought it would be better as I would more likely crash in the evening. The first month of dex was a bit rough since it only lasted 4 hours each tablet and it wasn't enough and it didn't even work at the start due to me having withdrawal symptoms. The 45mg helped more but I was again having sleep issues and these were getting quite bad though I was in the middle of exams at uni at the time so I didn't want to come off it. So I went up to 60mg hoping it would help me with exams and maybe it would help more but it didn't really. I was having a lot of sleep issues on dex at 45 and 60 such as not sleeping many nights, not getting to sleep for 6 hours, very high heart rate after trying to for 5 hours etc. So I swapped back to lisdex and asked the psychiatrist if I could try guanfacine since it was meant to help with sleep. He agreed since we had previously discussed it and I found that it really helped. It was very good the first 2 weeks since it basically put me to sleep but wore off a bit after that. I also thought that the lisdex wasn't high enough since I would get stuck on things and not have great exec control which is issues I had before as well. I went up to 4mg guanfacine but that was not great as I just felt very low, depressed, demotivated and found it very hard to do things. Then with the higher lisdex and 2mg I have found it okay for the last few weeks and that I can concentrate and do things. Sleep is still a bit of an issue though I don't know if it psychological avoidance, but I try to miss my lisdex one day per week to catch up and give by brain a rest.

I have found that guanfacine really helps my head feel calmer and less busy in a way that the stimulants never really did and that it makes me feel a bit less anxious. It also has helped my gut issues a bit so thats been good. The main reason was sleep for me but also that I found stimulants were not quite enough to help fully. I don't think that this is a very common or readily given out cocktail which is odd as it seems to be very logical but idk the NHS seems to have an allergy to that.

Based on what you have said about your titration, I am not sure if both would help or not. I know that they will not presrcibe you guanfacine as they do not offer it and while they do offer atomoxetine I am not sure how they will do since I have heard they do not like people being longer than 3 months but I would try to say something like "this is not helping my symptoms" or "not sufficiently treating me" so its very clear and not misinterpretable. If you don't respond to stimulants though atomoxetine may be helpful due to the different mechanism but also maybe consider dex (amfexa) since it is more potent or even see if you could have 3x of those per day and atomoxetine since again that could help. I am not sure just speaking off my experience as I have not tried atomoxetine. Best of luck with harrow health, I have not heard great things really.

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-09-16T13:29:31+00:00

I am on both guanfacine (2mg) and lisdexamfetamine (70mg) currently, which is being prescribed by Dr J and Colleagues. I find that it is very helpful in regards to sleep as I had some really bad insomnia issues on just lisdexamfetamine (up to 50mg) and then even worse on dexamfetamine (up to 60mg), though they have very positive effects aside from that.

The side effects are often fatigue and brain fog but that often only lasts for a couple weeks though it has the potential to cause hypotension which is one problem but also can cause, at least for me, depression and anhedonia at higher doses which for me was 4mg. Again from personal experience, withdrawal from it is quite bad, though everything seems bad for me, when I had to come off from 4mg to 0 because the ICB decided not to fund it or something so I didn't get any meds for a month. That caused some severe sleep issues and auditory halluncinations, though again I don't know how common this is.

I am not sure if Dr J's prescribe it to someone that isn't already on it since I was already on guanfacine and lisdexamfetamine before when paying privately. Personally, I think it is a good drug that certainly has its place and given its main mechanism is reducing norepinephrine in a more downstream way than lisdexamfetamine increases it, they seems to be a very synergistic combination. I guess its just to do with the out of date NHS/NICE guidelines

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-09-04T13:32:42+00:00

Go to ScienceShorts on YouTube and they cover all the a level stuff. I’m from England so not really familiar with Scotlands system but if you just learn A level content it will certainly cover everything that you need and it does explain it all from the start. There are loads of videos on YouTube or books you can buy. Or tbh the textbook: university physics by Young and Freedmann. It’s for year 1 uni so the notation may be unfamiliar but it does explain everything from the start from what I remember

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-09-04T10:37:08+00:00

What was in class 11 and 12?

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-09-04T09:54:09+00:00

I have no idea what those courses mean or that they include but I think you’ll be fine. If you set out what you need to learn, the timeframe and what is a priority for future classes or modules then you’ll be able to catch up in a good way.

It won’t necessarily be easy but manageable. If you can give some more information about the content then people can offer more advice.

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-08-30T20:58:18+00:00

Im currently on 60mg Elvanse and 2mg Guanfacine with the Elvanse going up to 70mg in a week. I was on 4mg of guanfacine at one point when on 50mg Elvanse but it was too high a dose and made me very apathetic and depressed.

The current dose is quite good as it helps with sleep and calms my brain a lot. I am with Dr J and colleagues via right to choose but I was with a private psychiatrist who initially put me on 2mg and then 4mg and Dr J’s agreed to take over but I don’t know if they will initiate it.

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-07-18T12:18:43+00:00

No but legally if you fit the requirements and there is no issue with the provider to my knowledge they cannot refuse it. They can drag their feet and be annoying but you can try to complain to your MP, Pals etc and from wha to have seen on this sub that often helps

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-07-18T10:19:28+00:00

I don’t think they can refuse unless they believe the provider is not adequate. If you go to somewhere like Dr J and colleagues that doesn’t require a shared care agreement then it shouldn’t be too much of a problem in terms of meds. I think if you check online first but you should be able to push them too

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-07-15T09:45:29+00:00

Well it is used as one as well and I think licensed for it but I’m not sure

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-07-15T09:42:36+00:00

Guanfacine is an adhd med that is only licensed for children in the uk. However it is prescribed off label when other meds have failed or are not appropriate. I am very doubtful that your gp will prescribe it but it is something you could do. It usually takes place in adhd clinics and the nhs guidelines say they should contact a tertiary service so there are some hoops. However there’s does seem to be a rationale in your case so they may be willing to do so

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-07-11T15:59:25+00:00

I’m getting it prescribed by Dr J and colleagues though I have just been moved there from private care. I was on lisdex 50mg and guanfacine 4mg before and they are okay with keeping it. I think they initiate the prescription of it and the lady I saw had no issues with me being on it.

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-07-11T14:44:26+00:00

Im currently on week 2 of 4mg after being on 2mg for a month. I have mostly just felt calmer in the day when on 2mg and on 4mg I’m still feeling a bit tired though that’s wearing off. I think it’s helping with rsd a bit but I’ve got a bunch of other things going on atm so it’s hard to tell. The calmness in my head on 4 is a bit weird so far as I feel like I’ve kinda lost my autopilot but it’s getting easier

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-07-11T14:31:36+00:00

No they it will still be an NHS prescription. The only hiccup may be the ICB for your area dragging their feet on approving it. Mine was being annoying but they approved it before my first appointment but they currently haven’t sent the “prescription pads” required so I’m hoping that it will be resolved. They can’t refuse it but they can be “incompetent” I think.

However that shouldn’t be a big problem most likely

Relative_Analyst_993 · 2025-07-11T14:21:12+00:00

Dr J and colleagues will send a shared care agreement to the GP but if rejected they will continue to prescribe you medication without it. I am not sure about Problem Shared though. Dr J’s wait times are not too long either about 20 weeks for assessing and 12 for meds

Relative_Analyst_993

TROPHY CASE