This article details the use of Vyvanse for weight loss. Although not the medications primary use some people have found that it helps them lose weight. Is It recommended? Is it safe. What are the alternatives.
What is Vyvanse?
A medication available on prescription to help treat ADHD and moderate to severe B.E.D.
Table of Contents
Is Vyvanse Good for Weight Loss?
Vyvanse is a prescription medication that is intended to be used as a treatment for hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Doctors may also prescribe Vyvanse to patients who need help to control binge eating but never for use as a general weight loss aid.
However, appetite reduction is a side effect some users experience. For that reason, it’s not uncommon for people to try and obtain the medication illegally to use as a weight loss pill.
There are other examples of medications being sed for fat loss or weight loss that is not their primary intended use:
Some people use Linzess as diet aid – It’s primary use is to treat IBS and or chronic constipation.
Using for its intended use – to treat ADHD in patients 6 years and above and for adults with moderate to severe B.E.D – Vyvanse is recommended
What Is Vyvanse and How Does It Work?
Vyvanse is a popular brand name for the drug Lisdexamfetamine. It’s a stimulant you take by mouth. It provides a combination of L-lysine and dextroamphetamine.
L-lysine is an amino acid. Dextroamphetamine is a form of amphetamine. As with all amphetamines, dextroamphetamine can be very addictive. Nevertheless, it’s often used as a standalone treatment for ADHD.
After it’s picked up by the blood, the ingredients in the formula is carried to the brain. When it gets there, it stimulates changes in brain chemistry that may be beneficial to people suffering from ADHD.
One of the main things ADHD does is impair mental focus and concentration. Hyperactivity is another common symptom of ADHD.
In common with other similar medications, Vyvanse mainly affects dopamine and norepinephrine. By elevating levels of both these important neurotransmitters, the medication tweaks cerebral function in ways that can improve mental focus and make concentration easier.
In 2015, the American FDA extended its approval of the drug, making it available as a possible treatment for binge eating.
Clinical evidence and neuroimaging data suggest binge eating may be due to dysfunctions in dopamine and norepinephrine. By boosting neurotransmitter activity, Vyvanse appears to manage the desire to binge eat. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4841437/#__sec5title
Does Vyvanse Help Weight Loss?
Although some people may gain weight due to binge eating, most people who become overweight do not become so for this reason.
However, it stands to reason that, by controlling the desire to binge, Vyvanse could offer genuine value to people who are overweight due to binge eating.
As with similar stimulants, Vyvanse may also reduce appetite as a side effect. This is totally unrelated to binge eating and the drug has no approval for use in this way.
It’s also important to be aware that, although Vyvanse is available via prescription in the USA and certain other countries, it’s banned in many more.
Is It Safe to Use Vyvanse to Lose Weight?
Vyvanse is a medication for ADHD. Although it may be useful for controlling binge eating, it’s not intended for people needing help to lose weight. Doctors never prescribe it as a slimming aid and it would be unwise to try and use it that way.
Vyvanse can cause numerous side effects. Possible side effects may include:
- Anxiety
- Irritability
- Jitters
- Insomnia
- Fatigue
- Panic attacks
- Hallucinations
- Paranoia
May also elevate blood pressure and/or cause other cardiovascular issues.
What Is the Connection Between Vyvanse and Weight Loss?
People become interested in using Vyvanse like a diet pill when they learn it has a reputation for suppressing appetite. Some of them may realize this is a side effect of the medication, not a primary goal, others may not.
When you need to lose weight, anything that reduces hunger can be very useful. Controlling the amount of food you consume each day is one of the hardest aspects of any serious attempt to lose weight. It’s also the most important.
When your body has excess fat it’s a visual representation of all the excess calories you have eaten. Your body is very efficient. It doesn’t waste energy. If it has more than it needs at any given time it stores the energy it cannot use by converting it to fat.
Good diet plans are so low in calories they cause an energy shortage within the body. This encourages your body to begin “burning” its stores of fat to fuel its activity.
This energy deficit is vital if you want to lose weight but hunger can make it incredibly hard to maintain.
That’s why appetite suppressants are so popular. Their ability to reduce hunger makes it easier to eat less food every day and keep burning fat.
Vyvanse may provide this very useful benefit as a side effect but there are risks involved and it does not work in this way for everyone.
Can You Buy Vyvanse Over the Counter as a Diet Aid
Vyvanse is a medicine for treating ADHD and binge eating. You cannot buy it over the counter to use for weight loss. Nor should you try to. There are safer better options that are designed for this purpose and offer a greater level of support.
Why Do People Use It as a Diet Pill?
Some people hope to use Vyvanse for weight loss because they have difficulty fighting their hunger.
Others believe it may help them to lose weight faster. It may do both these things but other options can do them better.
Are There Any Similar Drugs That Work for Weight Loss?
Adderall, Ritalin, and Phentermine are prescription medications that suppress appetite in a similar way to Vyvanse. All three are stimulants that share its addictive nature and have a reputation for causing side effects.
However, although Adderall and Ritalin are treatments for ADHD and narcolepsy, doctors in the USA and certain other countries are permitted to prescribe them for “off label” use as obesity treatments. This is not the case with Vyvanse.
Phentermine is a more suitable option because it’s actually designed to support weight loss and is not a treatment for ADHD.
1. Adderall
Adderall is a drug that provides four amphetamine salts. As with Vyvanse, loss of appetite is a common side effect.
As an ADHD treatment, Adderall’s benefits may last up to 10 hours. Vyvanse may keep working for a couple of hours more.
There’s also an immediate-release version of Adderall. Its benefits can wear off in six hours or less.
Adderall is sometimes used as weight-loss aid.
2. Ritalin
When it comes to treating the symptoms of ADHD, there’s not a lot of difference between Vyvanse and Ritalin. Some people respond better to one, while others appear to attain greater benefit from the other.
However, although both drugs have side effects, Vyvanse tends to be the most troublesome of the two.
3. Phentermine
Phentermine is probably the most famous prescription appetite suppressant in the world. It’s an amphetamine stimulant that’s a popular anti-obesity treatment in Australia, Canada, and the USA but unavailable in most other countries because it presents so many health risks.
Although Phentermine’s ability to support weight loss is likely to be superior to that of Vyvanse, it does not work for everyone and is somewhat overrated.
Due to the popularity of the drug and its reputation for causing side effects, many supplement manufacturers have developed safer alternatives. The best of them will also be equally good natural alternatives to Vyvanse.
There are also prescription injectable medications that primary focus is obesity:
For example Saxenda is an injection that is called the SkinnyJab. It is a European hunger-suppressing weight loss injection that’s getting a big promotional push from celebrities in the UK.
Semaglutide was developed as an anti-diabetic medication. It has been an FDA-approved treatment for diabetes since 2017 and is distributed under the brand name Ozempic.
There are also the anti obesity medication such as Orlistat and Qsymia that are meant exclusively for weight loss.
One the newest anti obesity products to enter the marketplace and be given FDA clearance is Plenity – One of the best things about Plenity is it has fewer nasty side effects than many weight loss medications. It’s also stimulant-free and non-habit forming.
Is It Legal to Use Vyvanse for Weight Loss?
Although some people manage to obtain Vyvanse and use it for weight loss, it’s not legal to do so. Nor is it a good idea. Apart from being illegal, using Vyvanse to control body weight can present severe risks to your health.
Summary and Conclusion
Vyvanse is a medication that’s often associated with weight loss but that’s not what it’s for.
As with similar medications, such as Adderall and Ritalin, Vyvanse may reduce appetite as a side effect. Although its ability to do this is well known, doctors don’t prescribe it for weight loss.
Regardless of this, the drug’s ability to influence appetite makes it appealing to many people who are overweight.
By controlling hunger, Vyvanse can make it easier to eat less food and sustain the energy shortage that necessitates the burning of fat.
The medication does not present this side effect in everyone but overweight individuals who are being prescribed Vyvanse for an alternative reason may find it helps them to lose weight.
Unfortunately, any weight loss benefits may come at a price. Vyvanse poses a threat of addiction and can present highly undesirable side effects.
If you are suffering from ADHD, these negative issues may be acceptable but this is far from the case if you only need to lose weight.
The fact that doctors can prescribe Adderall, Ritalin, or Phentermine for obesity, but not Vyvanse is noteworthy. All are better options and, with less potential for side effects and greater levels of weight loss support, the best natural alternatives to Phentermine are better still.
Vyvanse Pros & Cons
PROS
- Can be effective for treating ADHD and binge eating
- May suppress appetite as a side effect
CONS
- Can be addictive
- Causes side effects
- Not intended for weight loss
- Does not work for some people
- Not legally available in most countries
- Better options available (for weight loss)
Other Diet Products to Consider Instead of Vyvanse
There are diet supplements thats primary use is to help the weight loss process. We have a page dedicated to the premium, highest rated and most effective brands.
