Help! Advice needed on Elvanse side effects.
I have started Elvanse recently (within the past 2 weeks) for the first week I was on 30mg now moved up to 50mg until my next titration meeting near the end of this month. Today is my 2nd day taking 50mg. I work for NHS 111 in a call centre and I thought taking ADHD meds would help make my job a lot smoother and later down the line that might well be the case however right now they are really impacting my work life!
My current side effects: nausea, vomiting, no longer feeling tired at night, excessive hand sweating, lots of air coming from my throat if that makes sense but not necessarily burping, headaches, jumbling up my words, increased forgetfulness as an already very forgetful person, lack of appetite but also just generally not enjoying food, immense pressure behind my eyes and in my head, (main concerning symptom) sensitivity to bright light.
I am used to being on medication as I was previously taking anti-depressants for a portion of my teenage years, although I eventually stopped needing them after learning to become content with my PTSD. I had expected that ADHD meds would answer my remaining life problems…(procrastination, very noisy mind, lack of drive in life, difficulty completing tasks) but honestly I haven’t seen any positive results as of this far making me question if the process of being diagnosed and getting medication has even been worth it.
My main concern as of right now is how it’s impacting my ability to work. This is the 3rd time now that I have thrown up at work and have had to leave. Coincidentally, I have noticed that around 3:30-4pm is always when I experience a ‘funny turn’ at work. ‘Funny turn’ symptoms that hit me so suddenly out of nowhere: raised temperature, palpitations, excessive sweating, and extreme sensitivity to light… eventually followed by vomiting. I should note that I eat hardly anything since being on these tablets, in all honesty I eat one meal a day when im home and settled from work around 8pm. The main problem is the sensitivity to light as I work in a call centre looking at a computer screen all day; strangely enough the computer screen isn’t the hardest light to bare but it’s the large windows and natural light that I struggle with. Natural light is the biggest struggle to me honestly. As I had mentioned, it always seems to be around 3:30-4pm, I thought maybe it’s because that’s when more people come in to start a late shift which obviously results in the call centre becoming a lot louder and maybe warmer because more bodies?? Idk lol. I also thought maybe it could be because the medication peaks around this time? Although I do not take the medication at a specific time everyday- I take it between 9am-10:30am.
I am debating if it’s worth me going off sick whilst I find my feet with the medication as I know it’s very early days still! I also think maybe if I changed my shifts to finish at 3pm because up until that point I am pretty okay. But then as I said, I haven’t experienced any positives so is it worth carrying on? Please is anyone able to make me feel less alone in this situation.