Weight check: 210 lbs.
Dosage taken at 5:25 am (x1).
Monday, November 3, 2008
Weekend Update
Well, that projected 7 am dosage of Vyvanse on Saturday? Yeah, that didn't happen until around 8:45 am. And it looks like it wore off around 5 or so.
So x1 = 8:45, and x2 = 5, which means:
d = x2-x1
= 5-8:45
d = 8 hours and 15 minutes
The Sunday dosage was taken around 8 am, and I have absolutely no recollection as to when it wore off.
Here's why:
I realized that, if I have a To Do list, this Vyvanse helps me stay on top of it and just plow my way through it.
If I don't have a To Do list? Well, let's just say I get kind of lost. I can still get things done, but just not with the efficiency and expediency I've found by having the list.
So x1 = 8:45, and x2 = 5, which means:
d = x2-x1
= 5-8:45
d = 8 hours and 15 minutes
The Sunday dosage was taken around 8 am, and I have absolutely no recollection as to when it wore off.
Here's why:
I realized that, if I have a To Do list, this Vyvanse helps me stay on top of it and just plow my way through it.
If I don't have a To Do list? Well, let's just say I get kind of lost. I can still get things done, but just not with the efficiency and expediency I've found by having the list.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Halloween, etc.
Woke up late and had more than a hectic day, so this post is late.
Vyvnase (and the right music) went a long way yesterday. I was able to focus consistently for a very long time, more than I could expect. As a result, I got a whole helluva lot done.
Weight check: 211
Time dose was taken: 5:40 am (x1).
So, the dose wore off around 2 pm (x2), which means:
d = x2 - x1
= 2 - 5:40
= 8 hours and 20 minutes
Vyvnase (and the right music) went a long way yesterday. I was able to focus consistently for a very long time, more than I could expect. As a result, I got a whole helluva lot done.
Weight check: 211
Time dose was taken: 5:40 am (x1).
So, the dose wore off around 2 pm (x2), which means:
d = x2 - x1
= 2 - 5:40
= 8 hours and 20 minutes
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Looking Back on Day One
It looks as if Vyvanse seems to work. There are several things I noticed:
1. Focus; Between coming off of the generic methylphenidate and starting on the Vyvanse - a span of approximately 4 months - I could not focus and it showed. It showed at work (where I would waste most of my day playing card games on the computer), it showed at school (where I delayed everything), and it showed at home.
Yesterday, Day One on Vyvanse? I had a major - and I mean major - project thrown at me first thing in the morning, and it needed to be done before the end of the day. If this had happened before, I'd've either procrastinated on it big time or cobbled together something that was not have fit the bill.
What I ended up doing is staying completely focused on it, not only getting it done well within my time constraint, but also far exceeding the expectations of my boss regarding the quality of the final piece.
2. Duration; this was my big problem with methylphenidate. None of it lasted more than 3-4 hours. Hell, I even took Ritalin SR - which has an expected life span of 6-8 hours - and even that never made it past the four hour mark on a good day.
3. Fidgeting; there's a story here - that day I first met with the psychiatrist, he told me that one of the things I need to do is learn control. "Think before you speak; think before you act." Right there is the only positive thing I took away from that session.
So I decided that I would work on my self-control, one thing at a time. But where to start, right?
I started with my knuckles.
I've been cracking my knuckles since I was in the sixth grade, which makes that about, oh, 29 years that I've been cracking my knuckles.
Obviously, this was the thing I decided to start with.
And it was tough; always is when you're working on a habit you've had that long. To me, this was the equivalent of a long-term smoker suddenly giving up cigarettes. But for a while, I was able to do it.
However, once I moved off the methylphenidate, I found myself slipping. And even once I was back on the methylphendiate (as Concerta), I found it difficult to stop.
Yesterday? I think I cracked my knuckles twice - three times at best. So that's another good one.
As I mentioned previously, I had taken the dose 5:33 am; we'll call that x1. If I'm right, the dosage probably wore off around 2:30-3:00 pm. Let's say, for the sake of argument, it wore off at 2:30 pm; we'll call that x2.
Using that information, we'll plug it all into this equation: d = x2 - x1, where x1 is the time the dose was taken, x2 is the assumed time the dose wore off, and d is the difference between the two (sorry; I've been taking statistics courses lately).
So, d = x2 - x1
d = 2:30 pm - 5:33 am
d = 8 hours, 57 minutes
That's actually pretty good.
I'll be keeping up on this, and, if I can figure out how to do it, I'll incorporate a graph of the duration over time. It's something I had done when I was tracking progress in a physical notebook, and while I know I could do the same thing in Excel, I still need to figure out how to port it into Blogger.
But for now, a good start.
1. Focus; Between coming off of the generic methylphenidate and starting on the Vyvanse - a span of approximately 4 months - I could not focus and it showed. It showed at work (where I would waste most of my day playing card games on the computer), it showed at school (where I delayed everything), and it showed at home.
Yesterday, Day One on Vyvanse? I had a major - and I mean major - project thrown at me first thing in the morning, and it needed to be done before the end of the day. If this had happened before, I'd've either procrastinated on it big time or cobbled together something that was not have fit the bill.
What I ended up doing is staying completely focused on it, not only getting it done well within my time constraint, but also far exceeding the expectations of my boss regarding the quality of the final piece.
2. Duration; this was my big problem with methylphenidate. None of it lasted more than 3-4 hours. Hell, I even took Ritalin SR - which has an expected life span of 6-8 hours - and even that never made it past the four hour mark on a good day.
3. Fidgeting; there's a story here - that day I first met with the psychiatrist, he told me that one of the things I need to do is learn control. "Think before you speak; think before you act." Right there is the only positive thing I took away from that session.
So I decided that I would work on my self-control, one thing at a time. But where to start, right?
I started with my knuckles.
I've been cracking my knuckles since I was in the sixth grade, which makes that about, oh, 29 years that I've been cracking my knuckles.
Obviously, this was the thing I decided to start with.
And it was tough; always is when you're working on a habit you've had that long. To me, this was the equivalent of a long-term smoker suddenly giving up cigarettes. But for a while, I was able to do it.
However, once I moved off the methylphenidate, I found myself slipping. And even once I was back on the methylphendiate (as Concerta), I found it difficult to stop.
Yesterday? I think I cracked my knuckles twice - three times at best. So that's another good one.
As I mentioned previously, I had taken the dose 5:33 am; we'll call that x1. If I'm right, the dosage probably wore off around 2:30-3:00 pm. Let's say, for the sake of argument, it wore off at 2:30 pm; we'll call that x2.
Using that information, we'll plug it all into this equation: d = x2 - x1, where x1 is the time the dose was taken, x2 is the assumed time the dose wore off, and d is the difference between the two (sorry; I've been taking statistics courses lately).
So, d = x2 - x1
d = 2:30 pm - 5:33 am
d = 8 hours, 57 minutes
That's actually pretty good.
I'll be keeping up on this, and, if I can figure out how to do it, I'll incorporate a graph of the duration over time. It's something I had done when I was tracking progress in a physical notebook, and while I know I could do the same thing in Excel, I still need to figure out how to port it into Blogger.
But for now, a good start.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Pendulum Swings
So, even while on meds, I tend to do things in cycles. Bothers the hell out of me, even more for my wife (who deserves a lot more credit than I give her for putting up with me for this long).
One of the things I regret not keeping up with (just one?) is a journal I had started back in April, coinciding with the start of treatment for my ADD. I had actually been able to keep up with it very well, until the start of July.
That was when a psychiatrist said, "You need Strattera - here's a prescription. Start taking it, and I guarantee that you won't have a problem again."
So I started the Strattera. Know what happened?
Nothing happened.
That's right. There was no response to it whatsoever. And all the progress, all the discipline I had had developed since April - out the window. Sometimes, on clear days, I look out the window and think that I can still see them, flying around. I wave at them, and imagine them waving back.
So, what I'm going to do now is try to get back to that, using this blog. Everything that I can remember writing in my journal will be done here.
And with that:
Weight Check: 211 lbs.
Time of 50 mg Vyvanse dosage: 5:33 am (x1)
Notes: The 211 is a good sign, seeing as how I was 214 on Friday. I'm still a little higher than the 207.5 I was at a little more than two weeks ago, but seeing as how the weight is dropping again, I should be able to get back down to that and then some.
One of the things I regret not keeping up with (just one?) is a journal I had started back in April, coinciding with the start of treatment for my ADD. I had actually been able to keep up with it very well, until the start of July.
That was when a psychiatrist said, "You need Strattera - here's a prescription. Start taking it, and I guarantee that you won't have a problem again."
So I started the Strattera. Know what happened?
Nothing happened.
That's right. There was no response to it whatsoever. And all the progress, all the discipline I had had developed since April - out the window. Sometimes, on clear days, I look out the window and think that I can still see them, flying around. I wave at them, and imagine them waving back.
So, what I'm going to do now is try to get back to that, using this blog. Everything that I can remember writing in my journal will be done here.
And with that:
Weight Check: 211 lbs.
Time of 50 mg Vyvanse dosage: 5:33 am (x1)
Notes: The 211 is a good sign, seeing as how I was 214 on Friday. I'm still a little higher than the 207.5 I was at a little more than two weeks ago, but seeing as how the weight is dropping again, I should be able to get back down to that and then some.
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