Has anyone used Vyvanse for Binge Eating Disorder?

She was more concerned about my anxiety and depression, which I don't believe I have anxiety, maybe depression, but it's all rooted to my ED.

I guess my question is, how do you find a good psychiatrist to help deal with your BED?

Yes, I am losing weight, but as I've discussed with my doctor, that's because I spent years developing a healthy lifestyle in all ways except for my damned binges. Vyvanse won't make you hate junk food, stop you from taking a second serving, or change your palate so that all you want are salads. My lunch on Sunday was coffee praline ice cream with hot fudge... BUT, unlike in the past, that was a conscious choice, eaten in the company of other people, and when I had enough, I was able to stop eating. (Ice cream was one of my common binge foods in the past, when I could inhale half a gallon easily between meals, with other binges on the same day.) I'm not purposely restricting calories or counting fat grams or anything; I try to eat nourishing, satisfying, and tasty foods.

However, I should mention that I've had two kidney stones in the past few weeks. Those are new for me and could be connected to the weight loss. I'm trying to drink a lot more water each day.

This is my chance to improve my relationship with food, which has been difficult since childhood and diagnostically disordered for almost 30 years. Without the binge compulsion -- which I've always characterized as voices in the back of my head, though the only voice is mine -- it feels like I can take a moment to think, "Do I really want that?" or "What do I really want?" When I tried to do that in the past, my decision was usually overridden by the blind urge for intake, not for pleasure, comfort, or health.

I'm also taking this break from BED -- which I hope will be permanent, but who knows? -- to make peace with my body. For me, Vyvanse seems to enhance the reward effect I feel after exercise; whereas in the past I would finish a workout exhausted and glad the damn thing was over, now I feel accomplished. This reinforces my personal, non-scientific suspicion that BED is connected to a dopamine mechanism malfunction. So, I've been exercising more and enjoying the improvements to my fitness. I've started taking selfies for personal use to try to accept the woman that I see in the photos. (Another issue I have that I'm curious if others share: I look very different to myself in the mirror. It seems to be a flipped version of the usual body dysmorphic disorder: I see myself as significantly smaller, so photos or an unexpected glimpse of myself in a reflective surface can be shocking.)

One problem that has reared its ugly head is the logistical difficulty of taking a Schedule 2 drug on an ongoing basis. I've started mapping out my refill dates on a calendar far into the future, because it's a 2-day process for me: calling my doctor to request a refill, then driving an hour round trip to pick up a paper prescription the next day and take it to the pharmacy. I will run out of pills in the middle of a family reunion trip in another state in July and I'm already a little panicked and trying to get answers from my doctor or pharmacist about what I can do. As I understand it, some pharmacies will not fill a Schedule 2 script written by a doctor who is not licensed in the same state, so just taking along a paper prescription won't do, and pharmacies are limited in how many doses of Schedule 2 medications they can give at once, so my chances of getting a buffer week of pills are small. Wish me luck.

I used to be able to join WW and lose weight, but in nearly the last decade I was not in a good place mentally.I joined a few times and could never stick to a diet. For the same period of time, I have been having sleep issues. I easily could fall asleep, but could not stay asleep. I woke up around 3 am each night and I was pretty much done. My doctor also rx lowest dose of prozac, which worked right away and I felt more content-not emotionless, not feeling close to crying. For sleep, I take 5 mg clonidine and 100 mg trazodone. I can now sleep until 4 or or 430, and I've had a few nights I slept through the night. Since these have been issues for years, I think it will be awhile before I can discontinue any of them. My doctor is an MD/therapist, and I do see him weekly. Given my history, he prescribed these at the same time and said I shouldn't not have any problems. This was absolutely true. First few days on 50 mg trazodone, I felt a little foggy into the afternoon. I had dry mouth d/t all or some of the meds. This initial dose was too low, so it had to be increased to 100 mg. After 3 days on 50 mg, felt fine when woke up. Felt fine when increased to 100 mg. I had to wait a week for Vyvanse to be approved by my insurance, even though rx was free. I had an atypical childhood, which started my problems. When I had some other upsetting events happen (esp 2015), I felt worse than ever. 3 of my 4 kids have ADHD/ADD, so I knew well of this medication since they had taken it in the past. They went off, because it didn't last them any longer than Adderall XR the longer they took it. Strattera came out and they have been taking that since then. Given that their experience was positive, I had no problem taking it to help me. We all have our own unique medical/psych hxs and there are doctors who tackle these issues differently. Some would not start on more than 1 or 2. Some would not start at same dosages. What's right for me, might not be right for you. I have lost 14 lbs so far, when I weighed myself after 2 weeks. This is the same amount I lost when I stuck to WW in the past the first two weeks, and I was not as heavy as this. Giving up soda/unhealthy foods, probably made an impact as well-less fluid retention. Good luck to everyone on this journey!

Positive? The urges are gone! Gone gone gone. Those of you with BED understand the compulsions, so strong that even if you are very aware of them and try to stop, it's close to impossible and makes the next wave even worse. On a very stressful, emotional day, I felt the tiniest flutter of a binge urge pass through my brain, but then it was gone without my having fight it. My non-binge eating is pretty healthy, so I sailed through the holidays with rich food and sweets everywhere that didn't even appeal to me. That said, I'm sticking to a non-restrictive eating approach because restrictions are a trigger for me; I can quickly become obsessed with eating and exercising PERFECTLY, and once that collapses, I'm back to binging. I focus on eating lots of vegetables, some fruit, and trying to have nourishing, flavorful meals with plenty of fiber and healthy fats. No counting calories or grams of anything. No "bad" foods; just a focus on nutritious ones. I do moderate exercise daily -- 20 vigorous minutes on a stationary bike or an hour of yoga, plus walking my dog when weather permits -- but again, I'm trying not to let obsessions take over in any direction. Sure, I've lost some weight and I hope that continues, but my intent is to make a healthy lifestyle my new normal. Vyvanse is helping me achieve that, so far.

The worst part was when I stopped taking it due to the elevated heart rate. I was told there were no side effects, no withdrawal symptoms. Well for me there was one and it was significant - whatever satiety mechanism I possessed before starting the drug was now gone. I was hungry all the time and ate and ate and ate. In great quantities and with more abandon than I ever did before and I gained 25 pounds in six weeks. That was almost three years ago. It took more than a year to be able to recognize when I was full. If I could go back in time and make the choice not to take it, I would. I'm still trying to lose the 25 pounds I gained.

Now a bit of background in case it helps anyone... Last year has been the worst in my life. I sought out a new psychiatrist since my previous psychiatrist of 8 years suggested I get a second opinion because my severe depression was not responding to any medication. I was hospitalized against my will earlier this year for suicidal ideation because of my previous psychiatrist's instructions to stop 2 of my longtime meds too quickly. I also suffered from chronic ideopathic urticaria for 11 months. No treatment worked and my labs were normal, but I had horrible, painfully itchy hives covering my face and body that disappeared as suddenly as they appeared.
The new psychiatrist diagnosed me with both ADHD, BED and several other disorders. I am taking Fetzima, Viibryd, Wellbutrin, and Neurontin as well for the depression. He also added Evekeo, which is also for eating disorders, but I haven't started that yet. Some of the diagnoses are far-fetched and I definitely don't believe I have ADHD (that's been confirmed by the fact that my attention, concentration, and focus haven't changed with this medication); but I know I suffer from BED and I always assumed it was linked to my depression and that it couldn't get better. I went from being a marathon runner weighing 145 pounds to 285 pounds within a few years. I was willing to try anything new since the traditional antidepressants weren't even keeping me functional. I hope this gives someone out there a little hope. I'm still scared, but something seems to be helping.