Vyvanse involves
amphetamine, but
methylphenidate (
Concerta/Ritalin) is not an amphetamine, although it is related and somewhat similar.
It really varies a lot by person. For some people,
Adderall works perfectly and
Ritalin does very little or is not as good. For others, it's the other way around. For others, Vyvanse works better than either of those. Some people need a very high dosage starting out, others are strongly affected by a very low dose. It has nothing to do with you being a big guy either. Personally, I find that methylphenidate works way better than Adderall, which was a nightmare for me in the end, although it seemed great the first time I tried it. Based on your results regarding appetite, I would think that a higher dose of methylphenidate might be what you need. Or maybe if you combine l-tyrosine with it - I've read a story of one Adderall user who found that it calmed them but took a break and took l-tyrosine during the break... they said that when they got back on Adderall, the effect was very different and more intense (which for them was too much since the Adderall already worked before), so that could also possibly make the
stimulants more effective?
Could also be that methylphenidate just doesn't work for you, so I would suggest trying Adderall as well, although I personally hate that
drug and it seems like there are lot more horror stories about it, so proceed with caution. Don't give up, but know that these
drugs are super complicated, and our brains are all strangely different... the differences that are popularly understood regarding these drugs are beyond oversimplified. You may have to try a lot of different drugs to find the answer for you, unfortunately. It's kind of scary how unpredictable it all is and the side effects you can suffer if you get on the wrong one. But the benefits in the end, I think, when you find what works for you, will be worth the trouble of the search. My one month of Ritalin before going on Adderall was amazing and very promising.
I also asked my psych about combining methylphenidate with Vyvanse, and she said it has been known to work better than either by itself, for some people. Another thing I recommend is that you should feel free to experiment and take higher amounts on a given day, within reason (don't suddenly jump by 50mg one day). If it's not doing much for you anyway, you're not losing anything by using up extras on one day. So if you have a 36mg script that's not working, try upping it over a period of a week to see if you can reach an amount that is actually working for you. Don't just stay at the 36mg wasting your time on a script that doesn't do the job for you. I tell my psychiatrist about every experimentation I do with the drugs and she never finds that disturbing, but simply works with me to help me find out what's best - I am responsible with my experimenting, though.
