Shire Pharmaceuticals has just received FDA approval on a new ADD/ADHD drug called Vyvanse. It should be available to consumers by prescription as early as July 2007. Like other ADD medications, Vyvanse is a controlled substance, but it is different from other similar medications in a couple of significant ways:

• In order for Vyvanse to be effective, it must be metabolized first. That means that the medication must go through the stomach and be digested before it takes effect. This means that, unlike other ADD medications, there is little to no chance of abuse. (Other ADD medications can be snorted in order to get high. Vyvanse has no effect when snorted.)
• Vyvanse has shown more consistent results, controlling symptoms for a full 12 hours – compared to the normal 10-12 hour effects of other medications.
• Vyvanse has shown to be more effective long term; in clinical studies, participants noticed no decrease in effectiveness of the medication a full 12 months after beginning the trial.

Since I’ve been writing about medications and Attention Deficit Disorder for the past few posts, I thought I would share this news. I’m not a doctor or a health care professional, and I’m certainly not making a recommendation here – just passing on some information you might not be aware of.