Smithsonian , 1 year ago

Yeah, Adderall is a mixture of dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine (which are the right- and left-handed molecules of amphetamine).

Vyvanse is dextroamphetamine molecule attached to an extra Lysine amino-acid molecule. In this bound state, it doesn’t really do anything in the body; the body will, however, metabolize it and break it into its constituent parts of dextroamphetamine and lysine.

Adderall XR (and many extended release medications) rely on adding a coating that will take the body a longer time to break down before releasing the medication, which results in an initial dose with a secondary dose being released later.

Vyvanse is much different in that regard, as the body is continuously breaking the double-molecule medication apart, providing a steady release of the medication throughout the day instead of just two (or, in the case of newer extra-extended release version, three) “bursts”.