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
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Bupropion fucked with my hormones in really bizarre ways, which was really unfortunate because it was super effective otherwise.
could you give more details (if it’s not a problem to you ofc)
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
Not what you asked and I don’t take bupropion, but I did come off of venlafaxine, and it was a horrorshow of brain zaps and nightmares until I went onto fluoxetine.
i knew venlafaxin withdrawals were nasty, but i didn’t know they could last so long. i thought id be fine after 2-3 days
my Dr said to expect a couple weeks when I go off it, if I ever do. and supposedly the all the way off is worse than just going down
When I was put on bupropion it made me dissociative, but I’m also bipolar which may have played a role. My psych prescribed it bc she didn’t want to put me on a classical stimulant specifically because I’m bipolar. I ended up on Ritalin though, which didn’t have significant adverse effects
I have been on both of those and I don’t think you’ll notice the bupropion helping until you’re out of the withdrawing stage. Venlafaxine is a really wicked one to quit, I’m a bit surprised your doctor didn’t do a longer taper off schedule.
For what it’s worth, I really loved buproprion, and it’s done wonders for my bff who also has adhd.
my venlafaxin dose was originally 75mg, so he planned to reduce it to 37,5mg for a month then take if off completely. reducing to 37,5 was fine so i thought taking it off would be too ig
fwiw not feeling that annoying ritalin anxiety anymore last month did indeed feel pretty good. your comment gave me a little bit of hope, so ty
Yeah as the others have written, the withdrawal off venlafaxin is rough. If I could change one thing in my life it would be to taper it off for half a year or more. I took it out too quickly I think and dealt with the symptoms of withdrawal for months.
Bupropion for me was the first antidepressants that seemed to really work while still making me feel human. Lots of bad stuff didn’t happen. Now I’m slowly getting rid of it. It’s gonna take me months this time… Good luck with it. Everyone’s experience is gonna be different.
My doctor cut my dose way too fast as well and it definitely sucked but I adjusted after a couple weeks. She did raise my bupropion at the same time though.
Bupropion was by far the most effective med I ever took, but I personally got really bad side effects and I had to stop really quickly. None of the side effects you got though. Just extreme tiredness and getting over emotional. I also might have had a mild seizure, but it’s not known if it was the bupropion that caused it. I was in the ER pumped with a load of other drugs that also could potentially cause it, but my psychiatrist took me off it anyway just to be safe.
according to the leaflet, although it’s rare, having seizures is one of the known side-effects
My doctor took me off Venlafaxine which was paired with bupropion and raised the dose on the bupropion. I actually like it. I it nixes my anxiety, gives me energy, and treats my suspected executive dysfunction and attention issues too.
I was given escitalopram first but it didn’t help enough so I asked for an SNRI and the psych doctor gave me Venlafaxine which helped but caused weight gain and lethargy so they added bupropion and now my PCP changed over to just bupropion and it works like a charm. I guess instead of an SNRI I needed an NDRI.
My bupropion was jacking my blood pressure to the point where at an ER visit (for headaches from eye strain), the nurses were looking at me like I was the walking dead. I switched ultimately to a low dose of Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) which does the trick, without too awful sexual side effects. Also 20 mg Adderall ER.
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.
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
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
Bupropion is rough. I took it for nearly a decade for depression. Headaches, shakes, and fuzzy memory. It didn’t help my ADHD (then-undiagnosed), but it did wonders for making me feel less physically exhausted during periods of depression.
Bupropion is the only antidepressant that works for my mood. The SSRIs and SNRIs make me feel numb and dumb, so I hate them. However, bupropion doesn’t have any noticeable impact on my adhd. I gotta take ritalin for that.
