Vyvanse and The Typos

It has been brought to mine and my colleagues attention that there are videos on social media causing a stir about the spelling mistakes on several batches of the ADHD medication Vyvanse. People making these videos are claiming the spelling errors are also connected to the medications efficacy and side effects. So, let’s get into it.

A couple of weeks back, a thread on Reddit pointed out the spelling mistakes on Vyvanse bottles that read “each capsules contain…” and “pharmaceutivals”. This Reddit user went as far as contacting the Vyvanse manufacturer Takeda and their customer service to question if the bottles with spelling errors were a bad batch. The reply was simple: the grammatical error did not impact the product’s quality nor did it jeopardise patient safety.

This is not the first time something like this has happened, and it’s not exclusive to Vyvanse either. There are many of these posts on Reddit where people complain about reduced efficacy or even increased side effects because of a simple error on the label or change of manufacturer. 

According to Reddit users and fellow doctors in the community, both Takeda and the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) have received reports about reduced efficacy and increased side effects for Vyvanse. If there’s nothing wrong with the medication, why are people collectively experiencing that their medication is not working? 

Cue the nocebo effect.

We have all heard of the positive or therapeutic effect that can occur solely from the patient's belief in the treatment or medication; the placebo effect is well-known in clinical trials throughout history. 

So when someone online suggests that a medication is not working because *enter reason here* and people re-inforce it by airing their own experiences, the opposite of the placebo effect happens: nocebo, the negative effect caused by a belief or expectation of harm, rather by the actual substance or treatment itself.

The circulation of videos on social media with people claiming they have experienced side effects (or no effects) of the stimulant because they have been taking the typo-batch Vyvanse has thousands of views. While the power of the mind is strong and can alter treatments both positively and negatively, the algorithm in certain platforms is stronger and will show you more of the content you engage with. But before we start arguing about the accuracy in the media we consume, can we first check how we are storing our meds?

Temperature control impacts medications to the point where we rarely come across one that doesn’t have those guidelines. The Vyvanse consumer medicine information states, 

“Store VYVANSE in a cool, dry place where the temperature is below 25°C. Keep the container tightly closed. Do not store VYVANSE or any other medicines in the bathroom or near a sink. Do not leave medicines in the car or on windowsills. Heat and dampness can destroy medicines.” 

Why is this relevant, you ask?

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the average daily maximum temperature for Brisbane was 30.4°C during summer of 2025. It's been a hot and wet summer to the point where you get out of the shower and you can keep on toweling yourself the rest of the day without even feeling close to dry. Unfortunately, this weather also means humidity and dampness everywhere, not only in the bathroom. 

Now, I don’t know if you store your meds in a special climate controlled container or if your bedroom is always pleasantly below 25°C and dry, but one thing is certain: Vyvanse, and many other medications, may not have been made for Queensland summers and due to the weather conditions, its effect may or may not have been impacted.

It’s awesome that social media makes you question things. Like during the pandemic when many of us slipped into the undiagnosed neurodivergent side of TikTok and ended up looking into ADHD assessments and eventually got diagnosed. What I’m saying is that it’s ok to think that the meds are not working and you should definitely talk to your medical professional about it. But if you have seen the videos mentioned in the beginning of this post, then maybe after you have checked the Vyvanse bottle for typos (I know I did), please check the temperature of the room where you have your Vyvanse every day.

A spelling mistake on the bottle of a highly regulated stimulant medication, that undergoes strict quality control, does not affect the medication. 

Storing it in suboptimal conditions will. 

Taking Vyvanse, or any stimulant medication, with vitamin C supplements or even orange juice, definitely will.

And forgetting to take it, because you started storing it in the fridge after reading all of this, will not improve anything at all.