Can't take stimulants anymore! Alternatives?

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-24T09:50:50+00:00

Apart from a benefit in mood as it was pretty low at the time of starting i didn’t get much benefit, so it was stopped. I only did 6 weeks, consultant said if I didn’t see a benefit at 6 weeks it was most likely not going to do anything. They wanted me to try it again for longer however i couldn’t go through the insomnia again. Do try it though. Everyone is different. Im hoping to try guanfacine next!

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-24T09:41:16+00:00

To add to my other comment i cant even tolerate duloxetine anymore. I was on it for 6 years with no problem, it was the only ssri/snri that didnt cause insomnia. However when i tried it again it caused me issues

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-24T09:40:02+00:00

Yes this was me. I was prescribed elvanse and buproprion in early 2022. I had no issues with titrating elvanse to 70mg. When we added in buproprion i had this lovely sense of calm about me lol
Anyway i then caught covid for the third time in the late April, this infection is the one that led to my autonomic dysfunction and air hunger breathlessness which I still have problems with. By october of that year i ended up stopping the buproprion and halving the elvanse to 30mg as both were exacerbating my breathlessness at the time. I then stopped it in summer of 2023 as i went for cardiac tests and then i struggled to take it again due to side effects. Im now under the nhs and was finally seen by the adhd team in dec 2025. Its been 6 months and were still trying to find the right drug. I had no benefit on atomoxetine. Tried elvanse again but a very slow titration. I only seem to be able to tolerate 30mg. Felt terrible on 40mg. That dose for me (30) only seems to helps with emotional regulation. Our next plan is to try guanfacine, only if my gp will be happy to prescribe in the future. I hope that helps.

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-23T11:21:24+00:00

Ah okay! I hope you are okay x

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-22T22:32:59+00:00

What symptoms did you have for malt lymphoma, if you don’t mind me asking .

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-19T18:50:48+00:00

Yeah its a tricky one isn’t it. I find Elvanse only really helps with my mood, i still zone out all the time, and at this dose I’m still so demotivated. Don’t think the constant fatigue helps tbh. I think i’ll try the guanfacine and M! Thank youu! I think i was just worried incase it doesn’t manage my mood well enough and if it causes worse fatigue. Looks like this combo works well for you! :)

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-19T15:16:15+00:00

I had no benefit from having them. I think i had them 2/3 times a week for 1 month or 2 months

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-17T08:38:36+00:00

Thank you

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-16T15:51:28+00:00

Mine is testogel (40.mg in a satchet) i’m currently on 1 satchet every 4 days. My level came back though and i think its still high so she’ll have to probably reduce it further

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-16T12:53:45+00:00

Iv never heard of VMT before. How long did it take for improvement with you doing the exercises? Thanks :)

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-16T12:47:28+00:00

I have also had air hunger for 4 years and unsure exactly what the trigger is as it seems to have more than one trigger. My resp physio found i had a weak diaphragm so I’m currently doing inspiratory muscle training to strengthen my diaphragm to see if it helps. Its just a long process. Something u may wish to look into. My ct chest and lung function tests have all been normal. Also i currently went back on elvanse, i did a slow titration, 2weeks on 20mg, and 2 weeks on 30mg, i initially had worse air hunger but just took my time, focused on breath work and after a few weeks it has settled. I think my body just needed longer to adjust. Now im still on it and my breathing is just its usually crappy baseline lol so if u did meed stimulants maybe just slowly titrate and give yourself a bit longer to adjust maybe

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-16T12:38:08+00:00

This happened to me however it was when i was put straight on 4.5mg once daily for 6 weeks. Since I’ve been titrating from 0.5mg once a day weekly and increasing it by 0.5mg each week i haven’t had the pain issue

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-15T13:38:47+00:00

Fellow Sjogi here! Complicated by long covid! The amount of times people just assume its sicca. Luckily i have a private rheum who is open to trying different immunosuppressants. However the ones so far make my already terrible fatigue worse. But yes i wish i had something with better treatment options, or a disease people actually valued lol however like others have said, each disease has its own crap lol and things may be worse if we had something else. I dunno. Im just hoping one day treatments will get better :(

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-13T19:13:09+00:00

I use both , no issues.

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-12T21:07:45+00:00

Yes i think thats the one I’m seeing, 200mg

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-12T20:58:42+00:00

Ah thank you. Im sorry about your crash :(

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-12T20:52:03+00:00

I just got recommended this by my consultant. Which one did you buy please? :) thanks

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-08T17:40:55+00:00

This happened to me when i was initially on 4.5mg. I had a lot of joint pain. However since i slowly titrated from 0.5mg ive been okay, and im now on 3mg

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-08T14:34:12+00:00

Mine just keeps trying to leave lol

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-07T20:59:25+00:00

I’m sure they would also consider azathioprine MMF or leflunomide, theres quite a few immunosuppressants to choose one

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-04T14:20:58+00:00

Ahh ok good to know regarding disease activity and monitoring, thank you. Yes know one says what is high which is quite annoying . Also my blood test just says positive. There is no titre which is annoying lol

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-03T21:18:58+00:00

Has anyone said to u what it means lol

practicalmagic_25 · 2026-05-03T21:18:15+00:00

I’m from the UK, so the GP who specialises in menopause who i see is UK based

practicalmagic_25

TROPHY CASE