my new psychiatrist gradually took me off of ritalin+venlafaxin and introduced bupropion, first 150mg while cutting the venlafaxin dosage in half, and now 300mg of bup alone, completely removing venlafaxin
it’s been 4 days i think since this last update and it’s been fucking rough. i’m not sure if it’s just the venlafaxin withdrawal or if the bupropion is contributing to it, but i feel like shit, i’m getting constant brain zaps unless i remain completely still with as little stimulation as possible, been having nightmares every single day, am extremely irritable and im not even sure the bupropion is even helping at all
is anyone else under the same treatment? it feels like a fringe/experimental treatment, but id like to confirm this from other adhders
thanks
edit: thank you so much for all the answers! they helped me to calm down and reassured me a bit. the symptoms are starting to wear off, so that also halped.
very late update: the venlafaxin withdrawal waned off and now i’m feeling so much better than before. this is working way better than ritalin
Bupropion fucked with my hormones in really bizarre ways, which was really unfortunate because it was super effective otherwise.
It was really effective (increase in focus & motivation, large decrease in depressive symptoms) for both my depression and for my ADHD when combined with my normal meds, but I couldn’t help but notice wild hormone fluctuations (that were absolutely as a result of the bupropion and couldn’t be attributed to anything else) that only got worse as my dosage increased. These hormone fluctuations caused a whole span of other issues, everything from emotional instability to cramping and my period going really out of whack. It was very reminiscent of going through puberty, honestly. And all of that went away when I switched to something else instead. Shame, really, as the replacement meds aren’t as effective, but they also don’t make me feel like I’m 13 again either, so ultimately it’s a win
Didn’t work at all for me. Tried it when stimulants were nearly impossible to get. I gave it a few months too. When I was finally able to stimulants again I was able to get back on track with things. That being said I’ve heard for some people it’s worked well. Though no one I know in person has found that to be the case, so YMMV
Buproprion has largely been good for me, but its less effective than Adderall. Teeth clenching and dry mouth side effects.
If it’s only been four days it shouldn’t even be at full effectiveness tho. I remember having to slowly increase my dose over a couple weeks until I was at therapeutic level, and if I missed a bunch of time I had to do it again.
What are brain zaps?
its hard to explain, but it’s this weird and really unpleasant “zapping” feeling in the head, which feels a bit like your brain is going static for a split second. sometimes i get 4, 5 “zaps” one after the other. it fucking sucks and it makes it really hard to do anything that takes even a little bit of mental effort
I was on it and it was the only time I passed my exams. It worked really well for my depression, adhd not so much. But atleast I could get up and go attempt the tests.
