Thanks all. Op here. I will try to get her to have more protein in the am. Maybe a smoothie is a good idea! The other issue I am now seeing is for the second time this week she suddenly gets in a horrible irritable mood that is hard to snap her out of. Both times it’s been mid afternoon on a weekend.

Several of the stimulants actually put me to sleep. Some do not, however. They are all similar, but not molecularly identical, so always bring up side effects with your doctor. If they seem extreme on one medication, another might be better.

It is always a trade-off, of course, but if the increase in attention is canceled out by other issues that make it hard to get through the day, it might not be the right med for her.

Absolutely have protein for breakfast. It helps with the hunger and also with absorption of the medicine.

I find that if I force myself to eat a couple of bites, I feel well enough to eat more. Encourage your daughter to at least try to nibble something for lunch. Maybe give her something really tasty that will entice her.

DS who is a teen would never fall asleep in the afternoon. He needs to take it by 8am to fall asleep by 10:30pm - it can last up to 14 hours which can be tough if he sleeps in but needs to take it on a weekend.

For breakfast, he has a protein smoothie with fruit. He hates protein powder. One smoothie he likes is milk, ice, banana, choco syrup, peanut butter. Otherwise, banana, greek yogurt, milk and frozen fruit. We only keep greek yogurt in house, muffins made with eggs and 1/3 to 1/2 of flour replaced with almond flour. Eggs in some form to = 2 eggs. I always add almond flour to pancakes and waffles and always add milk and use eggs even if it's a mix and says add water. He also eats bacon and turkey sausage, cheese in his eggs if scrambled or in an egg muffin which I make in batches.

I posted about my hyper teen DD falling asleep in the afternoon on Vyvvanse. To be honest, this is how I truly knew she has ADHD. Her appetite is great in the evenings, not so much during the day. My inattentive DS takes Concerta and must take Melatonin for sleep. I asked the pharmacist how much is too much, as they sell 10mg, and she said nothing is dangerous at all, but some people will not react to melatonin at all.

Anonymous wrote:What do you have for a big protein breakfast? Our kiddo is on Concerta but have similar challenges.

Np. I have one on Adderall and one on Focalin. The kids favorite breakfast is a fruit smoothie. I use full fat Greek yogurt and a scoop of protein powder. The second favorite is a veggie omelet with cheese and a side of turkey sausage. I keep protein filled muffins and yogurt pops made with protein powder in the freezer if they need a grab and go breakfast.

Melatonin and guanfacine worked for us. Some ASD kiddos use Clonidine for sleep

We gave up on Vyvanse for our DD of similar age because of the sleep issue. As our psychiatrist said, sleep= non negotiable!

What do you have for a big protein breakfast? Our kiddo is on Concerta but have similar challenges.

We do a big protein breakfast and all the food he wants after he's hungry again in the evening until bedtime. As a teen the dr told him he must force himself to eat lunch if he wants to gain muscle (he's an athlete) even though he's not hungry.

The dr told us for younger kids who lose weight over the school year, it's recommended to take a break over the summer to put it back on.

I don’t know about Vyvanse in particular, but I think that in general taking stimulants on an empty stomach is not great for their moods. Can you try to get in 15 grams of protein at both breakfast and lunch for a few days and see if that stabilizes her mood?

Yep. Those are the two main side effects. No appetite means it is working. My son is hungry by morning so he eats a decent breakfast. He eats next to nothing or nothing for lunch and then is hungry by after school. Sometimes he eats dinner and sometimes not. The doctor said to let him eat whatever he wants before bed so he does. Now he is 13 and going through a growth spurt and sometimes wakes up to eat in the middle of the night. He is also more tired so not sleeping is not an issue anymore.

My DD is 9 and ADHD inattentive type. We started her on 10 mg of vyvanse on Saturday. It's definitely affecting her sleep and appetite. Do these effects ever get better? I feel like bc she is not sleeping great, she is super cranky in the am. She also seems to not be so hungry for lunch with also causes her to be crankier late afeternoon until she eats and then she seems fine. otherwise she seems to be doing well on it and fine at school, etc. Bascially, does this get better? this is our first foray into meds so I dont know if I am hyper sensitive to her every mood, etc.