Vyvanse is an amphetamine commonly prescribed to treat both children and adults with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which are labels given to people who daydream and whose minds sometimes wander.
Because of the personal injuries and wrongful deaths that amphetamines cause, Public Citizen has given Vyvanse its Do Not Use designation. That warning means that a drug is very dangerous and that it’s no better at treating the conditions for which doctors prescribe it than other drugs are.
The basic danger with Vyvanse is that it’s an amphetamine known either as dextroamphetamine or dexedrine. Amphetamines are synthetic stimulants that are structurally similar to adrenaline, the hormone that the body produces when it’s either excited or scared. Athletes “get the adrenaline flowing” during competition, and it aids in focus and performance. Because adrenaline is a natural substance, it has no damaging side effects.
But, because amphetamines are creations of the chemistry lab, and not of Nature, they’re extremely dangerous. On the street, amphetamines carry the nickname of Speed, and people can go to jail for selling them. People can also go to their graves for using them, and amphetamines can cause addiction and psychotic symptoms such as hallucinations and hearing voices.
Because of the personal injuries and wrongful deaths that these dangerous drugs cause, Vyvanse and other ADHD medications such as Adderall and Ritalin carry the FDA’s Black Box warning, which is the just one step below a complete ban. The Black Boxes on Vyvanse and other amphetamines offer these cautions:
• Should be prescribed or dispensed sparingly.
• Misuse of amphetamine may cause sudden death and serious cardiovascular events.
Despite those warnings and the admonition to use them sparingly, doctors write millions of prescriptions for amphetamines to treat ADD and ADHD every year. As a result, millions of children lead lives defined and limited by their medications. In fact, estimates put the number of children and teenagers who take these dangerous drugs for at 2.5 million.
In 2008, a survey of teachers on the web site of the National Education Association asked, “Are any of your students taking prescribed psychiatric drugs for disorders such as AD/HD?” The results of 666 responses were: Yes 592 – (89%) … No 74 – (11%).
That response shows just how widespread the use of legal “speed” is, and that 2.5 million number is 2.5 million higher than it was 30 years ago. It was in 1980 that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) invented Attention Deficit Disorder. In 1987, the association came up with ADHD, the industrial strength version, and drug sales have been growing ever since.
And while ADHD apparently afflicts millions of Americans, it also seems to be something that’s as American as football and NASCAR. According to the marketing firm Datamonitor, “The US dominates the ADHD market with a 94% market share.”
However, despite the prevalence of ADD diagnoses in the USA, many American doctors believe that ADD and ADHD are nothing more than made-up diseases that enable psychiatrists to see patients and pharmaceutical companies to sell drugs.
Dr. Fred A. Baughman, a noted neurologist, wrote, “ADHD is a total, 100% fraud.”
Dr. Peter Breggin, a respected psychiatrist and a strong critic of medicating children, wrote, “Of all the harmful actions of modern psychiatry, the mass diagnosing and drugging of children is the most appalling with the most serious consequences for the future of individual lives and for society.”
He also observed that many children come to him for consultations when they are taking four or five psychiatric drugs at once, and he wrote, “Not satisfied with this huge expansion of the drug marketplace, psychiatrists advocating on behalf of drug companies recently began to diagnose thousands of children with bipolar disorder. The purpose? To justify giving more “mood stabilizer” and “antipsychotic” drugs to children.”
One of the drug companies that has been most aggressive in looking for new opportunities to sell expensive amphetamines is Shire, the manufacturer of Vyvanse. Shire bought Vyvanse from New River Pharmaceuticals because Shire’s patent on Adderall, another dangerous ADHD medication, was expiring. Then Shire began a campaign to increase the number of people who believe that they have ADHD and will, therefore, be likely buyers of Shire’s pills.
In 2008 and 2009, Shire hit the road with its ROADHD Trip. The company filled a huge truck with equipment and propaganda designed to convince adults that they have ADHD and need medicine from Shire. After the first ROADHD Trip, Shire released this report: “Our 2008 screening outreach initiative was very successful at raising awareness – nearly 52,000 adults self-screened.”
Shire has also disguised a slick marketing trick as a purported public service. Amphetamines are popular with street drug users, and many people who have prescriptions for ADHD medications sell some of their pills. So, to make itself look like a good citizen, Shire gave Vyvanse a formulation that’s different from other ADHD medications.
Shire bonded the dexedrine with a protein so that a person must digest the pills to free the dexedrine and get the amphetamine effect. That means that Vyvanse takes longer to go to work than other ADHD medications do, but it doesn’t mean that it has no appeal to amphetamine users. It just has a different appeal.
At a website called Urban Dictionary, amphetamine users discussed the merits of Vyvanse and Adderall. Several said that they prefer Vyvanse because it delivers a longer-lasting effect. One described it this way: “Vyvanse is like a big, slow-moving amphetamine truck that hits you all day long. It constantly hits you with the maximum dose that an equivalent dose of Adderall would only reach occasionally, due to the complex structure of the amphetamine in this (Vyvanse) pill, which your body can only process so fast.”
The dangers of amphetamines are clear, but millions of children and adults are taking these pills for a “disease” that didn’t even exist 30 years ago.
“If Mozart or Beethoven had lived today they would have been drugged for ADHD. This would have destroyed their souls and immeasurably diminished human culture. In my opinion, the current indiscriminate drugging of children is satanic.” Dr. Julian Whitaker.
Vyvanse is a dangerous medication marketed by a deceitful manufacturer. If you or a loved one has been a Vyvanse victim or a victim of any of the other medications used to treat ADHD, contact us. We have special experience with dangerous drug attorneys and can provide you with important information if you have suffered personal injuries from defective products.
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Vyvanse – A Dangerous Drug and A Crafty Manufacturer
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