My doctor has been prescribing different meds to see which work for me. He’s reluctant to prescribe Adderall because of the (artificial FDA-created) shortage. Here’s what we’ve tried so far:
Wellbutrin: Awful, made me feel depressed and generally shitty, quit after a few days.
Strattera: Better reading comprehension, less scattered thoughts. But I was sometimes tired, confused, and unfocused after meals. Also I had a weird tingly sensation on my tongue like I was drinking soda.
Strattera plus Methylphenidate: My doctor had me take a lower dose of Strattera with 10 mg time-release Methylphenidate for a week as a transition between the two. The combo was effective in that it got me to focus, but it effectively killed my inner monologue and made it nearly impossible to have any creative thoughts. Made me feel like the aliens in Blindsight: intelligent but not sentient.
Methylphenidate: What I’m on right now. 10 mg time-release first thing in the morning, plus another 5 mg quick release in the afternoon if I’m feeling tired or unfocused (not sure if I should make that an everyday thing). Generally, it seems very similar to caffeine, but more mellow and consistent over time, and I’ve been able to cut my caffeine use in half. It seems to help with focus and energy, but not as much with procrastination (I should really be doing chores right now).
I’ve seen people on here and elsewhere say that Vyvanse helped them, should I ask my doctor if I should try that next? Or does it have the same problems with shortages that Adderall does? Would Strattera plus Vyvanse have the same effects as it did with Methylphenidate?
I tried Adderall, Focalin, Dexedrine, and Vyvanse, and I had various issues with all of them, though some were more effective than others.
Strattera plus Wellbutrin SR (not XR, which is what most people on Wellbutrin take, that lasts too long for me) is what I’ve been on for 7 years, and that combo works great for me. Wellbutrin SR gets rid of the fatigue/depression from Strattera, but because Wellbutrin also reduces activity of the CYP2D6 enzyme, it effectively turns me into a slow metabolizer of Strattera, which makes it last the whole day, rather than wearing off after 5ish hours. This effect is listed as a drug interaction between Strattera and Wellburin, but if you know what you’re doing, this effect is a big advantage of combining the two.
I’m productive up until whenever I choose to sleep, but because Strattera does not keep me awake (some people take Strattera before bed, which I don’t recommend, that made it less effective for me), I can sleep whenever the Wellbutrin SR wears off.
I am careful to stay away from alcohol and caffeine, as either of these will greatly increase Strattera’s side effects.
I also took a pharmacogenetic test to confirm that I don’t have gene-drug interactions with either Strattera or Wellbutrin. It showed that I have a moderate gene-drug interaction with SSRIs, which explained why they didn’t work well for me
Because Wellbutrin makes me a slow/“poor” metabolizer of CYP2D6, my Strattera dosage isn’t high (60mg, even though 80mg is typical for someone of my weight).
Maybe that was my problem