Lisdexamfetamine
Why this is used
Lisdexamfetamine is used as part of a treatment program to control symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; more difficulty focusing, controlling actions, and remaining still or quiet than other people who are the same age) in adults and children. Lisdexamfetamine is in a class of medications called central nervous system stimulants. It works by changing the amounts of certain natural substances in the brain.
How to take it
Lisdexamfetamine comes as a capsule to be taken by mouth. It is usually taken once a day in the morning with or without food. Take lisdexamfetamine at around the same time every day. Do not take lisdexamfetamine in the late afternoon or evening because it may cause difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take lisdexamfetamine exactly as directed. You may swallow the capsule whole, or you may open the capsule, sprinkle the entire contents into a glass of water, and stir to dissolve. Drink the mixture right away. Do not store the mixture for future use, and do not divide the contents of one capsule into more than one dose. Your doctor will probably start you on a low dose of lisdexamfetamine and increase your dose gradually, not more often than once every week.Your doctor may decrease your dose if you experience unpleasant side effects. Your doctor may tell you to stop taking lisdexamfetamine from time to time to see if the medication is still needed. Follow these directions carefully.
Side effects
<p></p> <p></p> <p></p> <p>Lisdexamfetamine may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:
<ul>
<li>
difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep</li>
<li>
sleepiness</li>
<li>
uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body</li>
<li>
dizziness</li>
<li>
jitters</li>
<li>
headache</li>
<li>
dry mouth</li>
<li>
stomach pain</li>
<li>
diarrhea</li>
<li>
nausea</li>
<li>
vomiting</li>
<li>
loss of appetite</li>
<li>
weight loss</li>
<li>
fever</li>
<li>
sweating</li></ul></p> <p></p> <p>Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of these symptoms call your doctor immediately:
<ul>
<li>
fast or pounding heartbeat</li>
<li>
chest pain</li>
<li>
shortness of breath</li>
<li>
fainting</li>
<li>
slow or difficult speech</li>
<li>
weakness or numbness of an arm or leg</li>
<li>
seizures</li>
<li>
hallucinating (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)</li>
<li>
believing things that are not true</li>
<li>
feeling unusually suspicious of others</li>
<li>
aggression</li>
<li>
irritability</li>
<li>
mood swings</li>
<li>
frenzied, abnormally excited mood</li>
<li>
seizures</li>
<li>
tics</li>
<li>
hives</li>
<li>
rash</li>
<li>
swelling of the eyes, face, tongue, lips, or mouth</li>
<li>
blurred vision or other vision problems</li></ul>Lisdexamfetamine may cause sudden death in children and teenagers, especially children and teenagers who have heart defects or serious heart problems. This medication also may cause sudden death, heart attack or stroke in adults, especially adults who have heart defects or serious heart problems. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking this medication.Lisdexamfetamine may slow children's growth or weight gain. Your child's doctor will watch his or her growth carefully. Talk to your child's doctor if you have concerns about your child's growth or weight gain while he or she is taking this medication. Talk to your child's doctor about the risks of giving lisdexamfetamine to your child.Lisdexamfetamine may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication.If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online [at <a href='http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch'>http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch</a>] or by phone [1-800-332-1088].</p>
<ul>
<li>
difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep</li>
<li>
sleepiness</li>
<li>
uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body</li>
<li>
dizziness</li>
<li>
jitters</li>
<li>
headache</li>
<li>
dry mouth</li>
<li>
stomach pain</li>
<li>
diarrhea</li>
<li>
nausea</li>
<li>
vomiting</li>
<li>
loss of appetite</li>
<li>
weight loss</li>
<li>
fever</li>
<li>
sweating</li></ul></p> <p></p> <p>Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of these symptoms call your doctor immediately:
<ul>
<li>
fast or pounding heartbeat</li>
<li>
chest pain</li>
<li>
shortness of breath</li>
<li>
fainting</li>
<li>
slow or difficult speech</li>
<li>
weakness or numbness of an arm or leg</li>
<li>
seizures</li>
<li>
hallucinating (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)</li>
<li>
believing things that are not true</li>
<li>
feeling unusually suspicious of others</li>
<li>
aggression</li>
<li>
irritability</li>
<li>
mood swings</li>
<li>
frenzied, abnormally excited mood</li>
<li>
seizures</li>
<li>
tics</li>
<li>
hives</li>
<li>
rash</li>
<li>
swelling of the eyes, face, tongue, lips, or mouth</li>
<li>
blurred vision or other vision problems</li></ul>Lisdexamfetamine may cause sudden death in children and teenagers, especially children and teenagers who have heart defects or serious heart problems. This medication also may cause sudden death, heart attack or stroke in adults, especially adults who have heart defects or serious heart problems. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking this medication.Lisdexamfetamine may slow children's growth or weight gain. Your child's doctor will watch his or her growth carefully. Talk to your child's doctor if you have concerns about your child's growth or weight gain while he or she is taking this medication. Talk to your child's doctor about the risks of giving lisdexamfetamine to your child.Lisdexamfetamine may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication.If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online [at <a href='http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch'>http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch</a>] or by phone [1-800-332-1088].</p>
Precautions
Before taking lisdexamfetamine, tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to lisdexamfetamine; other stimulant medications such as amphetamine (in Adderall), benzphetamine (Didrex), dextroamphetamine (in Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat), methamphetamine (Desoxyn); any other medications, or any of the ingredients in lisdexamfetamine capsules.. Ask your doctor or pharmacist or check the manufacturer's information for a list of the ingredients. tell your doctor if you are taking a monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam, Zelapar), and tranylcypromine (Parnate), or if you have stopped taking one of these medications during the past 14 days. Your doctor will probably tell you not to take lisdexamfetamine until at least 14 days have passed since you last took an MAO inhibitor. tell your doctor and pharmacist what other prescription and nonprescription medications, vitamins, nutritional supplements, and herbal products you are taking. Be sure to mention any of the following: alpha blockers such as alfuzosin (Uroxatral), doxazosin (Cardura), prazosin (Minipress), tamsulosin (Flomax), and terazosin (Hytrin); antidepressants ('mood elevators') such as desipramine and protriptyline; antihistamines (medications for colds and allergies); beta blockers such as atenolol (Tenormin), labetalol (Normodyne), metoprolol (Lopressor, Toprol XL), nadolol (Corgard), and propranolol (Inderal); diuretics ('water pills') such as acetazolamide (Diamox); lithium (Lithobid, Eskalith); narcotic medications for pain; other medications for ADHD; medications for asthma, colds, and high blood pressure; medications for mental illness such as chlorpromazine (Thorazine) and haloperidol (Haldol); certain medications for seizures such as ethosuximide (Zarontin), phenobarbital, and phenytoin (Dilantin); meperidine (Demerol); methenamine (Hiprex, Urex); propoxyphene (Darvon, Darvon-N); and sodium phosphate (OsmoPrep, Visicol). Your doctor may need to change the doses of your medications or monitor you carefully for side effects. tell your doctor if you have or have ever had glaucoma (increased pressure in the eye that may cause vision loss), hyperthyroidism (condition in which there is too much thyroid hormone in the body), or feelings of anxiety, tension, or agitation. Your doctor will probably tell you not to take lisdexamfetamine. tell your doctor if anyone in your family has or has ever had an irregular heartbeat or has died suddenly. Also tell your doctor if you have recently had a heart attack and if you have or have ever had a heart defect, high blood pressure, an irregular heartbeat, hardening of the arteries, or other heart problems. Your doctor will examine you to see if your heart and blood vessels are healthy before you start taking lisdexamfetamine and will check your heart and blood pressure regularly during your treatment with lisdexamfetamine. Your doctor will probably tell you not to take lisdexamfetamine if you have a heart condition or if there is a high risk that you may develop a heart condition. tell your doctor if you or anyone in your family has or has ever had depression, bipolar disorder (mood that changes from depressed to abnormally excited), or mania (frenzied, abnormally excited mood), motor tics (repeated uncontrollable movements), verbal tics (repetition of sounds or words that is hard to control), or Tourette's syndrome (a condition characterized by the need to perform repeated motions or to repeat sounds or words), or has thought about or attempted suicide Also tell your doctor if you have or have ever had mental illness, seizures, an abnormal electroencephalogram (EEG; a test that measures electrical activity in the brain), or liver or kidney disease. talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of taking lisdexamfetamine if you are 65 years of age or older. Older adults should not usually take lisdexamfetamine because it is not as safe as other medications that can be used to treat the same condition. you should know that this medication may make it difficult for you to perform activities that require alertness or physical coordination. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this medication affects you. you should know that lisdexamfetamine should be used as part of a total treatment program for ADHD, which may include counseling and special education. Make sure to follow all of your doctor's and/or therapist's instructions.
Overdose
In case of overdose, call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call local emergency services at 911. Symptoms of overdose may include the following:
<ul>
<li>
restlessness</li>
<li>
confusion</li>
<li>
aggressive behavior</li>
<li>
feelings of panic</li>
<li>
hallucination (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)</li>
<li>
fast breathing</li>
<li>
uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body</li>
<li>
fever</li>
<li>
muscle weakness or aching</li>
<li>
tiredness or weakness</li>
<li>
depression</li>
<li>
fast or irregular heartbeat</li>
<li>
nausea</li>
<li>
vomiting</li>
<li>
diarrhea</li>
<li>
stomach cramps</li>
<li>
seizures</li>
<li>
coma (loss of consciousness for a period of time)</li></ul>
<ul>
<li>
restlessness</li>
<li>
confusion</li>
<li>
aggressive behavior</li>
<li>
feelings of panic</li>
<li>
hallucination (seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist)</li>
<li>
fast breathing</li>
<li>
uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body</li>
<li>
fever</li>
<li>
muscle weakness or aching</li>
<li>
tiredness or weakness</li>
<li>
depression</li>
<li>
fast or irregular heartbeat</li>
<li>
nausea</li>
<li>
vomiting</li>
<li>
diarrhea</li>
<li>
stomach cramps</li>
<li>
seizures</li>
<li>
coma (loss of consciousness for a period of time)</li></ul>
Educational reference only — talk to a pharmacist or prescriber about Lisdexamfetamine.