u/Halifaxmouse

I’ve been on ACT Bupropion for 4 months now and I started to experience tinnitus a couple of months in. The constant and steady buzzing in my ears is driving me crazy and making it very difficult to settle at night and sleep. I also hear it during the day time when the room is quiet. Apparently this is a known side effect once you reach 300mg but a rare one (3-6% of users). Has anyone else experienced this and, if so, what steps did you take to stop it? I already know that reducing my dose isn’t going to work for me so maybe an alternate medication but there is such a wide range of options that it’s hard to figure out which one will help. I’m neurodivergent and use Bupropion for depression but also to support my energy, focus, and motivation because I can’t tolerate controlled stimulants like Vyvanse. Welcome any advice.

I was diagnosed late but like many have had a lifetime of struggle. I’m so tired of feeling like this. And I’m wondering if I should give up on trying to improve some of my challenges with medication. I’ve tried Vyvanse thinking things might be better if I improved my executive function capabilities. I lasted 3 months and had to come off of it because of how bad my nervous system got ; like it was on overdrive and I was losing myself. Now I’m on Wellbutrin and have been for 2 months. It’s not as bad as Vyvanse was but is it helping me? I don’t know. And it made me wonder if I should even bother to keep trying medication as a way to lessen my traits. Or should I just continue to live with this for the rest of my life? It’s been a really hard road and I’m so tired - I just wanted some relief from all this. But it’s beginning to make me think that the trial and error of medication won’t be worth it. That getting the right ‘cocktail’ will be like finding a needle in a haystack. That the hope isn’t worth the low that follows when it doesn’t work. I’m not sure if I should bother to keep trying? What do you guys think? Do you take meds to help manage any of your autism traits? Or co-morbidities?

I was asked this question at the beginning of a visit with a clinical practitioner the other day. Once it was asked I felt myself tense up immediately and found myself wondering afterwards about why this particular question always seems to cause me a negative internal reaction. I don’t say this to be mean or rude. After all, people ask this question of each other every day - it’s intended to engage someone in conversation and find out how they’re doing, right? For me, not so much. When I am asked “How are you?” my brain starts to scan for what kind of reaction or response the person asking it is actually looking for. Do they really want to know how I am? Do I give a short, normal ‘fine’ answer? Or do I tell them how I ‘really’ am. My experience is that most people don’t want to hear it. Society has gotten used to these types of questions and the majority seem to want the quick ‘canned’ answers. So when someone asks me “How are you?” I dread it because I know I’m either going to have to choose them (i.e. give them the typical socially acceptable response OR share something I don’t want to share but they want to know about). Or I’m going to have to choose me and say what I really feel like saying: “I’m actually having a shit day” or “I’m really struggling with my nervous system right now and feel super un-regulated” or “I was reading this cool book about the meaning of life the other day and…..”. <insert neurotypical eye roll here>. Either way, I lose. The norm for me when I’m asked “How are you” is to simply say ‘okay’. Because it’s pretty basically much how I feel. I know the one-word response makes me seem distant or reserved. But honestly, this one word answer is the only amount of energy I have to give to this question. And, I am just so fucking exhausted from trying to conform.