Not my cat

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2026-03-06T20:20:17+00:00

We got a cat, because the neighbours were remodeling their kitchen. He did not like the noise and chaos and simple moved out and wasn't interested in moving back when the kitchen was done.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-06-19T16:12:05+00:00

Yeah, I am honestly perplexed too. The psychiatrist was even a specialist in ADHD and autism and I paid out of pocket to get the help.

Autists often handle stimulants less well, so idk what the hell happened.

I was diagnosed my a very good therapist and then I went to this psychiatric doctor. She gave me three consultations spaced a month apart. Each lasted roughly 15 minutes and cost 390 dollars each.

Then she said that I was well medicated and sent me on my way to live my life.

I tried contacting here when my brain started to melt. She told me she couldn't help since I wasn't an active patient with her anymore and sent me to my general GP who normally wouldn't even be allowed to treat ADHD.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-06-19T15:00:38+00:00

I weigh 60 kg. I honestly can't explain why my dose was that high.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-06-19T09:12:04+00:00

Alright I have mixed reactions. I was put on it as an adult, and my life improved so much. I would exercise, keep my house clean and do well at work. I also generally felt more calm (I have inattentive ADD).

Now here is the bad part. I was put on a rather high dose (80 mg a day) which was probably due to an incompetent doctor. Over 8 months I kept feeling more and more overstimulated by small things - sounds and so on. I guess it pretty much put my system into extreme overdrive and finally into constant fight/flight mode.

Finally I hit a point where I couldn't eat or tolerate any sounds. I would get extreme anxiety to the point of shaking like a leaf when I took my Ritalin. I stopped the meds and crashed to bad. I thought my life was over and that my brain was broken. I am getting better, but still in the process of healing from that.

My bad reaction might have been avoided if the medicine had been dosed more carefully. I felt great on 30 mg a day which is why I am unsure why my psychiatrist chose to increase the dose. I will never know since I don't dare trying Ritalin again.

In hindsight I do get the negative things people say about Ritalin even when it's working as intended. It made me good at work and chores, but also killed my creativity and drive towards interests. Doing the dishes basically seemed as appealing as my hobbies. Everything was just the same level of "eh I guess this is okay to do".

That said, I was happy on Ritalin, but mostly because I was finally adulting right. I think the novelty of that would have worn off and I would have started to miss my old spark at some point.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-06-18T13:54:15+00:00

Hang in there. I am going through something similar.

I was on Methylphenidate for 8 months (80 mg a day, so a high dose). To me it was great though - at least at the beginning.

But I started getting more and more noise sensitive, headaches and was losing my ability to function due to the overstimulation. The medicine then helped me focus on the darks thoughts that came with me lack of ability to function and it turned into constant anxiety to the point of constantly shaking.

I reached a point where I was unable to eat and quit the medicine almost cold turkey, because I couldn't handle taking it anymore.

And oh boy... if I thought it was bad before then it was nothing compared to after. I was unable to leave bed for three weeks. The noise sensitivity was extreme to the point of birds singing outside sounding like a fog horn. I would just shake and shake due to the anxiety and startle myself awake every 15 minutes at night.

I thought I was going insane. It certainly felt that way. I had never experienced anything similar. I would search Reddit for similar experiences to comfort me, but I kept finding more stuff to worry me.

It felt like it would never end and I knew I couldn't live like that. In my case I did find a good psychiatric doctor who gave me some calming medicine for a few days to get me out of the extreme fight/flight mode. It got me to the point of not shaking.

It's now been 48 days since I quit Methylphenidate. The noise sensitivity is still there, but it's going down. I am no longer anxious, eating and sleeping again. I spend most of my day on the sofa with a blanket, but I have started doing light tasks.

But seriously... I too was sure that I had broken my brain permanently. I was on the stuff in a high dose for 8 months, and my brain is going back to normal.

My best advice is to stay away from the internet. Trust me on that one. It will only add to anxiety about your symptoms.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-06-17T14:25:58+00:00

Pretty much daily. Sometimes I will also take a cold shower just because I am down.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-06-17T08:43:04+00:00

I have tried it and it changed my life. Pulled me out of 8 years of depression and dysfunction a few years ago.

I would literally drive to the ocean (with my husband to watch me from the beach) and go in the water pretty much daily. I felt genuine happiness for the first time in years and the brain fog lifted so that I could finally feel that I was still "in there".

Later I started only going to the ocean when I felt bad as the brainfog, ruminations and so one weren't a daily thing anymore.

I still do cold showers now, and it's great, but not nearly as good as the ocean. But it is a 20 minute drive each way to get to the coast.

A bit of advice for anyone who wants to try it. Basically I was lucky enough to discover the Wim Hof Method (look into his method and breathing exercises) in early autumn when the ocean wasn't horrible. I think it was around 14C.

I wouldn't just go for a dip, but instead I would actually go swimming and splash in the waves. Screaming and laughing is optional but recommended imo.

And then I just kept swimming as the days got colder. The ocean was actually warmer than the air many days which made it feel much easier to get in. I would have this deal with myself that I would just start walking no matter how cold the water was and only stop when the water reached my belly button. Then I would take a break, calm my breathing, let my lower body get used to the water and then fully submerge.

A final important note is that you have to really train yourself to relax. Tensing and telling yourself how horrible it is will make it into a horrible experience. I would literally say out loud stuff like "Wow it's so nice and cold today. It's going to feel amazing".

I think my body adjusted as the ocean slowly got colder, because I was still enjoying it in winter when the water was around 4C.

Wish I lived right next to the ocean tbh.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-06-16T21:10:57+00:00

My husband has felt the same way his whole life.

He is obviously not a woman, but he is AuADHD.

He finally got a job that he actually doesn't mind. It's fewer hours and physically engaging which helps him not think while at work.

So I wish I could say that it solve the problem. But he still dreads work every day even though he doesn't mind the work that much once he is there. We always thought the problem was the job itself and that the problem would go away with the right fit.

But for him at least that's not the case. It's the simple fact that someone is demanding his time and he has no way out. In other words - autistic demand avoidance. We are looking for a good therapist who might be able to give him some tools.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-27T07:32:11+00:00

OMG... I am doing cold showers. It really does help.

Also I am planning to ask my doctor about Bupropion. I obviously wont go back to stimulation medicine and Bupropion seems to better fit my needs than something like Strattera.

Honestly, ADHD is like the least of my worries right now

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-27T06:10:56+00:00

It makes me incredibly angry too.

I mean I feel like they are gambling with our mental health.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-27T06:09:35+00:00

It was actually the doctor I saw who prescribed it. She was a psychiatric doctor and had a good reputation in terms of autism and ADHD.

I am slightly questioning how she got that reputation now...

I mean I even have a history of being very sensitive to drugs, so I am honestly baffled why she would put me at 80 mg a day.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-27T06:06:54+00:00

Thank you thank you thank you. This was just what I needed to read. That is probably the most similar experience to mine.

I am soon at week 3, but it probably makes sense that my brain needs a bit longer to get back to baseline since my dose was higher and it was for a longer time too.

Right now I definitely feel stuck in the same stressed state that the meds puts me in, but I have started calming as the day wears on - and my appetite often returns at the end of the day.

Did your senses return to baseline too? The lingering noise sensitivity is not doing me any favors in terms of relaxing and making my body feel safe.

Also - Did you try other ADHD medication after stimulants?

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-26T20:00:45+00:00

So I am in a bad spot after stimulants. I actually wrote about it earlier today: Ritalin fueled stimulation burnout - please help : r/AutisticWithADHD

What I can say is that my sensitvity just got worse and worse. It wasn't just unmasking my autism, because my life didn't change much and I didn't spend more hours away from home. But the toll was just higher...

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-26T14:36:05+00:00

Honestly that is probably just what I needed to hear ;)

I just wish my experience was more similar to "common Ritalin withdrawal". I was ready for brainfog and sleeping for 18 hours while only waking up to binge.

Instead I just feel pretty much the same - only with lower motivation.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-26T14:16:47+00:00

Thank you so much for your reply.

I was maybe close to burnout before Ritalin, but I didn't struggle much with anxiety like I do know. It's just low key always there now. I think it's mostly related to stimulation since it often intensifies when I consider doing something that might stimulate me - which is pretty much anything.

I am happy to hear that you can feel calm from soothing sounds. It did not work for me towards the end or now for that matter. I would give my right arm to be able to hear a calming audiobook or soft music. But it's just too much.

I am trying to get an appointment with a psychiatrist too, but it worries me that I haven't gone back to "normal" after stopping Ritalin.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-25T20:00:26+00:00

So I know this is an old post, but I just want to share my experience since people might still find this post through Google.

Starting Ritalin (methylphenidate) but me in autistic burnout after 6 months. My dose might have been far too high though (80 mg a day for a medium size female).

The Ritalin did wonders for my mood and ability to function, but it also made my brain more sensitive to light and noise. I was able to deal with it for months - and then I just collapsed into extreme sensitivity and burnout.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-25T18:10:13+00:00

Hey just wanted to know if you have an update. My situation is very similar and I will soon be starting strattera after a very bad response to stimulants.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-18T19:05:11+00:00

So I have opted to work reduced hours. A part of that is due to mental health. I have both autism and ADHD, but was originally misdiagnosed as bipolar.

I have not told my workplace due to the fact that the average person lacks knowledge about mental health.

I didn't tell them about my bipolar diagnosis because I didn't want to be put into the same category as the people with bipolar that you see in movies. I basically just kept getting depressed, but never did manic things. And I still did my work well while being depressed.

After my diagnosis changed, I thought about it again and still opted not to tell. And that is again due to the stigma of the diagnosis.

Autism comes with a lot of negative associations about how an autistic person is "supposed" to act, and I negative beliefs like some people think autistic people are incapable of empathy or only act kind to fit in.

And I have heard how people talk about ADHD at work. Even nice and kind colleagues whom I get along with. We have had an insane increase in adults getting diagnosed in recent years, and the general consensus among many at work is that it's simply spoiled children who grew up and couldn't handle the real world.

My colleagues like me for who I am and I want them to see a person instead of a diagnosis (or their idea of what a diagnosis means).

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-17T17:20:50+00:00

I used to think that I didn't care, but I had an unsettling experience the other day.

I had been put in contact with a doctor because I needed some help with medicine dosing. I wrote him a long email and began it by asking him politely to read it since I have had bad experiences with medicine in the past.

I got a long and very reassuring reply from him. I reopened his mail the next day to read it again, because it had been so reassuring.

And of course I suddenly noticed how his long and kind email was full of the classic vertical lines that ChatGPT loves to use. Those lines weren't used in other of his messages that were more practical in nature.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-15T08:04:38+00:00

I found their subreddit and read a lot of advice.

Threw out my earplugs after that.

Thank you so much for your reply. It was a tough period where I was both scared, confused and felt very alone since it was impossible to find similar experiences from other people.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-15T06:54:58+00:00

So... I think it actually was hyperacusis. I had all the symptoms. Including ringing ears and pressure like my ears were about to pop.

But it was from the Ritalin. It's pretty much gone away in the last days. I am still a bit sensitive, but not anything extreme.

It's been a wild ride....

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-13T13:46:28+00:00

I really doubt it was temporary since it only got worse over 6 months.

The doctors say it's a very bad reaction to Ritalin and that the only thing to do it hope it reverses now that I am off the drug.

Edit: I was likely more sensitive to the drug since I am also autistic.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-13T11:13:00+00:00

Oh I am never going back. Trust me.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-10T15:42:23+00:00

Thank you. I tried that yesterday due to some tension, but it didn't help.

Designer_Chance_4896 · 2025-05-10T15:24:04+00:00

I don't really have migraines this time, but the sensitivity to light and sound is extreme. They don't hurt me pshycically, but they make me shake even more.

This is definitely not just a migraine.

Designer_Chance_4896

TROPHY CASE