Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common mental health disorder that affects roughly 4.4% of American adults each year. ADHD can also affect children. Although ADHD is prevalent, about 20% of people who have ADHD seek treatment. Worse yet, more than 10% of adults with ADHD have severe cases. Symptoms of ADHD, like other mental health and substance use disorders, will continue to get worse until you engage in treatment. Medications like Vyvanse vs. Adderall are typically used to treat ADHD.
While Adderall vs Vyvanse is both highly effective in reducing ADHD symptoms, both have a potential for abuse. You can become addicted to Vyvanse and Adderall even if you are taking your prescription exactly as prescribed. Whether you become addicted to Vyvanse vs Adderall, an Adderall addiction treatment center in Portland Oregon is usually needed in order to ensure you fully recover.
What is ADHD?
ADHD is a mental health disorders that limits your ability to focus and concentrate. Common symptoms of ADHD include:
- High energy, fidgeting and inability to sit still
- Trouble concentrating or completing tasks
- Getting distracted easily while performing tasks
- Difficulty participating or completing structured activities
- Talking more than classmates, peers or co-workers
ADHD can include both inattentive and hyperactivity symptoms. ADHD can make you more likely to make poor or risky decisions and make it difficult to sit through class or work. It can prevent you from completing tasks and reduce the quality of your work. ADHD can impact both adults and children but is more common among men than women. A psychiatrist or psychologist can diagnose ADHD. Medications like Adderall vs Vyvanse can reduce symptoms.
If you think that you or a loved one may have ADHD, talk to a psychiatrist or psychologist for an evaluation. There are many treatments available to help manage symptoms of ADHD so that you can live life to the fullest.
Vyvanse vs. Adderall
Vyvanse and Adderall are both commonly prescribed medications utilized to reduce and alleviate ADHD symptoms. It is a prescription medication and is a central nervous system stimulant that causes your body to release serotonin and dopamine. Mixing other serotonin inhibitors with Vyvanse can lead to serotonin syndrome, which is an acute and fatal condition that requires immediate medical treatment. Adderall is also a prescription central nervous system stimulant. Unlike Vyvanse, Adderall is predominately a dopamine inhibitor.
Both medications have the potential for abuse because of the pleasurable stimulant effects they produce. Taking more Vyvanse vs Adderall than prescribed, or using either drug recreationally, can cause:
- Increased energy
- Positive moods and euphoria
- Increased heart rate
- Increased sexual desires
- Improved cognitive functioning
Vyvanse and Adderall are both addictive and can result in a fatal overdose when taken in excess.
Vyvanse and Adderall Addiction
When you become physically dependent on Vyvanse vs Adderall, you can experience painful withdrawal symptoms when you attempt to quit using. When you take Vyvanse or Adderall, your brain releases a pleasurable rush of neurotransmitters.
Once the effects end, you are depleted of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, which cause your brain to crave more. When your brain associates Vyvanse or Adderall with pleasure, your brain rewards your substance use and punishes abstinence, making it hard to stop using without the help of an Adderall and Vyvanse addiction treatment center Portland Oregon offers.
As you may already know, Vyvanse and Adderall both work by increasing dopamine levels in the brain and blocking reuptake of dopamine, allowing more of it to stay in your system for longer periods of time. While these drugs can be very effective at treating ADHD, they can also cause addiction when used improperly. In fact, both Vyvanse and Adderall are classified as Schedule II drugs due to the high risk of abuse and dependence.
Vyvanse and Adderall Addiction Treatment
Whether you need Vyvanse vs. Adderall addiction treatment, you will have both inpatient and outpatient options. Withdrawal can begin within 24 hours of use, climaxing within the first several days of abstinence. Some withdrawal symptoms may last for several weeks, making it hard to cope with cravings and triggers and increasing your risk of relapsing.
An addiction treatment center can help you safely detox from Vyvanse or Adderall and set you up with inpatient rehab treatment and outpatient rehab treatment. Both inpatient and outpatient treatment options use evidence-based treatments and holistic treatments to help you recover. Medically assisted treatment programs are available for those who need help managing symptoms and want to maintain abstinence.
If you or a loved one is struggling with Vyvanse or Adderall addiction, there are many effective treatments available. Inpatient rehab centers offer intensive, in-depth treatment plans that include medical supervision, behavioral therapies, and holistic treatments. Outpatient rehab programs provide similar evidence-based treatments and support, but in a less intense setting.
Reaching out for help at 866.262.0531 is the first step in recovery for Vyvanse vs. Adderall. Contacting a substance use treatment center today can provide you with the support and resources you need to fully recover.
Since 2016, Dr. Merle Williamson, a graduate of Oregon Health Sciences University, has been the Medical Director at Crestview Recovery, bringing a rich background in addiction medicine from his time at Hazelden Treatment Center. He oversees outpatient drug and alcohol treatments, providing medical care, setting policies, detox protocols, and quality assurance measures. Before specializing in addiction medicine, he spent 25 years in anesthesiology, serving as Chair of Hospital Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and Chief of Anesthesia at Kaiser Permanente. This experience gives him a unique perspective on treating prescription drug addiction.