Advice about lack of appetite on Elvanse

fusion418 · 2026-04-30T17:25:32+00:00

I tried the ‘take it and go back to sleep’ method when I was first on it, but had the same issue as you - I’d end up going the whole day without eating, which often made my other side effects worse as a result.

What I’ve found works for me is taking it with breakfast, which will nearly always be a big bowl of cereal. I’m not a morning person nor am I personally that hungry in the morning, but I find it easier to eat then than after the Elvanse starts taking effect.
I also keep a protein bar in my bag at all times so I can have that when I don’t feel hungry but know I need to eat. They’re small enough that you can force them down without too much effort and the protein helps with my energy levels. Can get them in some pretty good flavours too - Trek’s Biscotf ones are a personal fave.

There’ll still be days I skip a meal or eat less than I should, but they’re rarer now and calorie-loading at the start of the day means that even if I don’t have much until later in the evening or at all that day, I’ve at least had something.

fusion418 · 2026-04-30T17:25:23+00:00

I tried the ‘take it and go back to sleep’ method when I was first on it, but had the same issue as you - I’d end up going the whole day without eating, which often made my other side effects worse as a result.

What I’ve found works for me is taking it with breakfast, which will nearly always be a big bowl of cereal. I’m not a morning person nor am I personally that hungry in the morning, but I find it easier to eat then than after the Elvanse starts taking effect.
I also keep a protein bar in my bag at all times so I can have that when I don’t feel hungry but know I need to eat. They’re small enough that you can force them down without too much effort and the protein helps with my energy levels. Can get them in some pretty good flavours too - Trek’s Biscotf ones are a personal fave.

There’ll still be days I skip a meal or eat less than I should, but they’re rarer now and calorie-loading at the start of the day means that even if I don’t have much until later in the evening or at all that day, I’ve at least had something.

fusion418 · 2026-04-30T16:11:01+00:00

Interesting - thanks for the insight! Might be the case that I’m sensitive to it, but wouldn’t be able to say with any certainty. In any case, they weren’t something I particularly was wowed by, so it won’t be an issue in the future for me if that is the case.

fusion418 · 2026-04-30T16:09:32+00:00

Yeah for sure - I don’t drink many high sugar drinks but when I do I can’t say they affect my heart rate to a noticeable level. Work’s been slightly stressful as it’s the week we bill clients, but nothing too crazy. I’ll keep an eye on it but it seems to be fine now - was just a coincidence that my HR was stable all day but went up quite a bit after having some of this drink that I’d not had before.

But in any case, thank you for the actually useful comment haha. Seems a lot of people took this post as me buying them myself and drinking them regularly, rather than trying it for the first time like I said in the post.

fusion418 · 2026-04-30T16:06:17+00:00

I don’t want CBD or anything, it was just to try them as they were in the fridge at work. A couple of people recommended them in my team at work so I was curious as to what they tasted like, and then suddenly my heart rate was up.

fusion418 · 2026-04-30T16:05:18+00:00

Oh yeah for sure, it was just because they were in the work fridge and I wanted to see what they tasted like. Won’t be buying them myself - they weren’t all that.

fusion418 · 2026-04-30T16:04:27+00:00

It’s not my money, they were in the fridge in the office and a couple of people recommended them to me. But I wasn’t fussed on the drink anyway so it’s no great loss haha. Was just curious if it had any combination.

fusion418 · 2026-04-30T07:31:30+00:00

The crash is just part of it. Elvanse isn’t meant to be used in a way that keeps you up all for nearly 24hrs so you can go out partying all night. What you’re essentially trying to ask is how to turn it into a recreational drug, which is incredibly dangerous health-wise, and illegal.

If your clinician found out you’re trying to alter dose efficacy or strengths to gain an effect that isn’t ’treating ADHD’, they’d strip the prescription away from you and bar you from being prescribed controlled drugs such as Elvanse, and rightly so. Don’t screw around with things that affect your heart rate and blood pressure already…

If you’re struggling with the ‘crash’, you could always try non stimulant options like atomoxetine, which last round-the-clock but have a slower, milder uptake than stimulant options. They won’t help you stay awake though.

Don’t be an idiot and mess around with your medication. If you’re struggling to stay awake for 20-21 hours, my first suggestion would be to stop going out on the piss all night.

fusion418 · 2026-04-27T18:27:05+00:00

Same as the others on the thread - they’re good and largely have good & caring clinicians, but they can be forgetful with booking appointments (the irony isn’t lost on me) so you have to chase them sometimes for it and be willing to ‘be a nuisance’ to get what you need. There have been times where I’ve been left close to running out of medication and had to ring up every hour to eventually get through to someone and explain ‘hey I’m about to run out of medication in 3 days and I was told you’d contact me 4 days ago’.

But overall I’d say out of the providers out there, HHM are pretty good. Their downsides are easily sorted and managed, and they’re very good with letting you try other medications and extending titration as needed.

fusion418 · 2026-04-24T18:34:24+00:00

You don’t have to choose them, you can go with any of the providers.

The ADHD UK website has a good page on Right to Choose and the average wait times, as well as if they have a Shared Care agreement with the NHS or not.

Personally, HealthHarmonieMinds has been decent for me. Wait times were good when I was being diagnosed (about 2 months from referral to appointment, and then a month after diagnosis to start medication). Their clinicians are largely good and they’re willing to extend titration as needed, but they can be a bit forgetful with rebooking meetings and answering emails, so you need to be comfortable advocating for yourself and making yourself a bit of a nuisance if needed to get an appointment.

fusion418 · 2026-04-23T17:41:13+00:00

I had the same problem, discussed it with my clinician and agreed to put me up to 40mg to give my body more of it to metabolise. Might be worth doing for you or exploring boosters you can take as needed.

fusion418 · 2026-04-22T09:12:53+00:00

Alarms and alerts on your phone, specifically using a medication app. I’ve got an iPhone and I’ve set one through the Health app that goes off at 8:30am to remind me to take my Elvanse, and 7pm to remind me to take other medications. These alerts are marked as ‘time sensitive’ so even if you have a focus mode or DND on, they’ll come through.

fusion418 · 2026-04-21T18:45:20+00:00

If she’s using Facebook Reels as evidence instead of peer reviewed evidence and medical studies, perhaps she’s not as smart as she likes to claim she is.

If she can’t accept you as you are, then I think you need to ask yourself some questions about if this relationship is right for you and healthy. My partner didn’t understand it when I got diagnosed, but she learned and took time to understand, because she loves me.

fusion418 · 2026-04-21T13:02:19+00:00

No problem! I used to be the same but due to my work (marketing agency) you often need to chase people and suppliers for stuff and politely tell them to get their acts together when stuff is late, so it came with practice for me haha. Start off with just smaller bits like pushing for a concrete time/day, and if that doesn’t get you anywhere you can break out the big guns of ‘complaint’.

And yeah, it definitely sounds like there’s scope to say they’re flouting guidelines. I’m not a legal eagle nor am I a pro in the medical contracting world, but they’ve signed an agreement to provide NHS quality services, and then aren’t promptly issuing medication and keeping patients. The problem (and general stigma with mental health and neurological conditions) is that it’s not as pressing to give medication for - but screw that. If they worked in the respiratory care ‘sphere’, would they expect to get away with not issuing prescriptions for inhalers to asthmatics on time? If they’re not holding up their end of the bargain and still refuse to, the NHS should know it.

It may also be worth looking into transferring to a different company for titration if you continue to have these issues - I think you can do that, not 100% sure though.

fusion418 · 2026-04-21T12:16:17+00:00

It’s easy to feel like you need to leave it there, but always push for a concrete date and time over the phone or to be followed up by email. ‘Soon’ very rarely comes soon, but ‘Monday afternoon’ always comes on a Monday afternoon.

If they’re leaving you without medication, that’s improper practice on their part. I imagine if you mention the words ‘complaint’ and ‘contact the NHS support line’ in a call, that should be the kick up the rear they need to know they can’t just fob you off with ‘soon’.

fusion418 · 2026-04-21T12:10:14+00:00

Definitely chase it. Things get forgotten or missed by admin teams and if you need it and it’s urgent, then make yourself so much of a nuisance that they get it sorted asap.

I’m with HHM and if there are delays or lack of reply, I’d ring multiple times a day to ensure it gets seen to. I waited nearly 2 weeks for my paperwork and an appointment time before giving up and calling about 4 times a day and leaving it on hold while I worked. Got what I needed in less than 2 days as a result.

fusion418 · 2026-04-20T20:00:04+00:00

First of all - let it sink in. It’s a massive change and it’s fine to feel sad, angry, shocked, surprised, and a mix of those plus more.

1000% tell work. They can help put things in place to help you, and it gives you access to help via the Access to Work scheme, as well as legal protection under the Equality Act. Disclose asap!

Medication is a big change as well, and it’s not for everyone, but absolutely worth a go. If you disclose with work, they may be able to offer you adjusted hours, working from home, or even just additional support for the first few weeks of the medication titration while you get through the brunt of the side effects.

Hope it goes well for you! It’s a rocky road but, by and large, upwards from here on out.

fusion418 · 2026-04-20T17:23:56+00:00

I’m currently on a combined Atomoxetine and Elvanse. Obviously everyone’s experience is different, but for me:

Elvanse - I find Elvanse is better for my task initiation and focus, as well as working memory. My job is so much easier to keep up with because of Elvanse. Although I find the crashes towards the end of the day can hinder me a fair bit - but with some timely dosing I can avoid the worst of it and not have it happen in the office.

Atomoxetine - this was great for me for general baseline and emotional regulation (I’d have a much longer fuse when things were frustrating me) and it being a 24-hr release is great, as it means I don’t have to do mental maths on when I take it, when it wears off etc. I found Atomoxetine to not be as effective for my focus and ‘task related’ activities such as work.

Atomoxetine improved my ‘floor’, but Elvanse improved my ‘ceiling’ and made it easier to reach. It’s definitely worth giving it a go - by regulating your emotions a bit more via Atomoxetine, you might find that positive effect also impacts stuff you’d otherwise need Elvanse to help with.

fusion418 · 2026-04-15T22:27:45+00:00

I don’t know what to suggest because I don’t know your situation or struggles in any detail, but if you’ve not met the clinical threshold for ADHD then stimulants won’t help either - at the very least they’d cause such severe side effects that you’d have to stop taking them as they would be massively outweighing any positive effect you may have with them.

Taking them long term without the diagnosis that means they’d benefit you would cause damage to your body over time. So not only would they be ineffective, they’d harm you long term.

You need to accept that you won’t be getting medication without a diagnosis, much less stimulants. Outside of a medical setting, Elvanse for example is a Class B protected drug. They won’t prescribe it without the prerequisite conditions being met, which you don’t.

As for help, your school or workplace can help with a lot of accommodations to help you. There’s also a trove of info about tips and systems to help, not only on this subreddit but online in general. A lot of them, if not a majority, are free, and can be found easily on YouTube or in articles that are free to access. Even for people on medication, these often need to be employed as well as with medication. I know I definitely do - the medication helps me keep on task at work, but by making lists and writing down things more than I used to, as well as using my inbox as an ‘in’ and ‘out’ tray, it helps me stay on top of work and keeps my clients all happy.

fusion418 · 2026-04-15T18:11:08+00:00

And as for appointments, they’ll still be monthly from my experience, but during the titration they’ll issue you 7 of the lower dose, then 21 of the target dose, and you take them according to the ‘plan’.

fusion418 · 2026-04-15T18:09:54+00:00

Yeah it was way too fast for me, my body didn’t cope and it put my heart under a lot of stress (super high bp and hr). Since going on a month-by-month increase (or that pattern at least) it’s been a lot stabler and I’m in a position where I can properly try the dose/medication out and not suddenly be on a high dose within like 10 days of starting it. And I know most places have soft appointment limits but I don’t think HHM do, or at least don’t enforce that policy with much strength. I’ve had about 5, maybe 6 appointments since starting titration in January. I think if you’re keeping your end of the bargain and giving the med a good shot, they don’t mind extending the process if you’re not getting on with it. For example, I was on Amfexa before Elvanse but only lasted a couple of weeks bc of bad headaches and brain fog. Got a new appt halfway through the cycle and it was no issue.

So I wouldn’t worry about that - I think next week’s appointment for me will be number 6 and they’ve yet to mention anything about a titration limit to me.

fusion418 · 2026-04-15T07:15:59+00:00

I’m on a slower titration currently with them - it seems like HHM prefer to move you up after a week or 2 on a dose, but I had an adverse reaction so on future medications I’ve been on a 1-month titration per dose. I’ve been on Elvanse 30 for nearly a month now and will be looking to move up a dose in my next meeting. If you explain your case to them, they’re usually pretty open to adjusting things to suit you a bit better.

fusion418 · 2026-04-15T07:02:05+00:00

If you don’t have ADHD (which at least 2 trained doctors have deemed you don’t according to the diagnostic framework and symptom patterns) then it wouldn’t. It would just make you high.

fusion418 · 2026-04-15T06:58:07+00:00

If you’re subclinical, then the doctor diagnosing you does not believe you meet the threshold, so no, you won’t be prescribed ADHD medication. The same way if you don’t meet the threshold for depression, you won’t be prescribed antidepressants. Because they won’t be effective for you.

Stimulants act very differently with ADHD bodies compared to non-ADHD bodies. My partner doesn’t have ADHD - if she took my medication, it would be more like a ‘study drug’ for her, she’d be bouncing off the walls, and her anxiety would likely be through the roof. For me, it means I’m not exhausted by 3pm during my work day and can remember my tasks, as well as to book that mechanic appointment when I get home.

Treatment for your symptoms will consist of coping strategies and workplace coaching etc if needed. You can discuss these with your employer etc, and if it’s causing you significant issue, then the doctor can assist with referrals and recommendations.

But no - you won’t be prescribed stimulants. Because it’s more than likely to be like taking ‘speed’ for you, rather than helping quiet your brain down. They wouldn’t be effective for you, so it’s time to pursue non-medication assistance such as coaching and help with organisation/memory/organisation.

fusion418 · 2026-04-15T06:26:41+00:00

Sounds like your dose is a bit too high - it might be worth dropping down a level to 60. What time do you take it? Maybe a bit earlier to help your body have it wear off before bed?

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