Vyvanse Drug Interactions

Vyvanse is a scheduled prescription medication used to treat symptoms of ADHD in children over the age of six years and adults. Because this is an amphetamine drug, it can lead to various drug interactions when used with other types of medication. While some interactions may not be serious, others can be life-threatening. This is why it is important to follow the advice of a doctor when combining amphetamines with other prescription medications.

Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOI’s)

Patients who have recently used MAOI’s should wait for at least two weeks before using Vyvanse. This is because these drugs can take a few days to be eliminated from the body and may lead to serious interactions if combined with Vyvanse. These medications include:

• Parnate
• Azilect
• Nardil
• Zelapar
• Marplan
• Eldepryl

Combining these two classes of medication can cause extremely high blood pressure which may lead to strokes or even death.

Tricyclic Antidepressant Medications

If a patient uses Tricyclic antidepressants, they need to inform their doctor because of the fact that these medications may affect the way that the brain reacts to Vyvanse. This could result in further interactions and side effects. There are various Tricyclic antidepressants available such as:

• Vivactil
• Ludiomil
• Anafranil
• Surmontil
• Asendin
• Elavil (Amitriptyline)
• Norpramin
• Silenor
• Sinequan

Patients who use these medications will normally receive a reduced dosage of Vyvanse in order to prevent the possibility of interactions occurring.

SSRI Antidepressants

SSRI and SSNRI Antidepressants may cause severe symptoms and side effects which are common to both medications.  These include:

• Celexa (citalopram)
• Cymbalta (duloxetine)
• Effexor (venlafaxine)
• Lexapro (escitalopram)
• Prozac (fluoxetine)
• Pristiq (desvenlafaxine)
• Zoloft (sertraline)

Antacids and Sleep Medications

Patients who make use of diphenhydramine-based sleeping medications (Tylenol or Benadryl) may find that the effects of this medication are decreased substantially while using Vyvanse. It is important to discuss this with your doctor so that dosage adjustments can be made if necessary. Antacids that contain calcium carbonate (Tums) or sodium bicarbonate have an effect on Vyvanse in that they increase the amount of the medication that is absorbed into the body. While using these antacids occasionally should not be problematic, it is important to advise your doctor if they are used regularly so that dosage adjustments can be made to either of these medications if necessary.

Blood Pressure Medications

Medications that treat high blood pressure such as beta blockers, ACE Inhibitors and Calcium channel blockers have been known to be less effective when used in conjunction with Vyvanse.  Examples of these include:

• Lopressor (Metoprolol)
• Trandate
• Lisinopril
• Altace (Ramipril)
• Lotrel
• Procardia

Dosages of these medications may need to be adjusted if they are used with Vyvanse.

Patients who use lithium based drugs such as Lithobid or Eskalith may notice that the effectiveness of Vyvanse is decreased when these medications are used together. If this happens, the patient’s doctor may need to make a dosage adjustment to the Vyvanse.

Patients who are using any form of prescription or herbal medication should inform their doctor before they start using Vyvanse so that accurate doses can be prescribed. This will reduce the risk of interactions and ensure that the Vyvanse works the way it is supposed to. Patients should always follow their doctor’s advice carefully regarding the possible interaction of other medications with Vyvanse.