Stimulants (Adderall, Ritalin, and Vyvanse)

This thread concerns the use strictly of central nervous system stimulants commonly prescribed for ADHD and narcolepsy.

I recognize that these are not drugs used specifically for tinnitus. However, my recent experience in starting Adderall
XR had a surprisingly positive impact on my tinnitus. In some cases it both buffered my mood to the point of not caring but also reduced the intensity of one of my tones.

These drugs are less common now as they are controlled substances here in the US, but it appears to have some success in reducing the annoyance of tinnitus in my life.

Most of these amphetamines act by increasing the amount of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain to increase arousal, alertness, and concentration. Of course, there are pretty hefty drawbacks to using drugs like these, but I am curious as to how stimulants like these affected your tinnitus.

 

I wasn't on them for long as they fucked up my anxiety levels so bad that I ended up having several full blown panic attacks a day which I haven't hd for a long time but I don't think I noticed a change in my tinnitus loudness for the little while I was on them, but I think they made it easier for me to not actually focus on my T

 

Yeah they can do that. I only got bad anxiety a couple of times and used clonazepam to quell it down. In general the results are mostly positive.

 

Anyone else have experience with amphetamines to increase concentration/energy levels? I found this study which may explain alteration of tinnitus perception:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/19046390/

 

Adderall is a horrible med. It causes all kinds of problems. I have never taken it. But from what I can tell about one person on it, I think it should be banned. It alters sleep, mood, digestion, overall general attitude. I hate that shit!!

 

I was on it for years and disagree pretty strongly

For people with severe, neuro based attention issues it can be the difference between succeeding in school and not; for normal people it obviously can be used to provide a temporary performance boost on cognitive tasks

Amphetamines are cardiotoxic at a certain dose, but they longitudinal data is pretty equivocal after 60 years: low doses of amphetamines are well tolerated and have relatively benign side effects in most adults, even when used for extended periods.

Abuse is an entirely different story because once doses escalate, insomnia becomes a huge problem which in turn can create a set of symptoms that include psychosis. The clinical signs of meth psychosis vs someone who has just somehow been awake for 7 days straight are not dissimilar

That said, attention problems or not, cc amps jack up my tinnitus so I haven't had a script for them in a decade.

 

I know this is an old thread, but after experiencing total silence from my tinnitus after a few nights of recreational Adderall use over the last year, I finally went to my doctor and asked for a script to trial it.

I just took my first 10 mg immediate release and now we wait and see. My tinnitus is at about a 4 out of 10 today. A usual week for me is 1-2 good days, 2-3 tolerable days, and 2-3 debilitating days.

Feeling like a test rat, but nothing else works - we’ve tried everything. Klonopin helps calm me down when it’s terrible, which is helpful, but benzos are also terrible and I don’t want to rely on them!

 

Any updates on this?

 

Interesting discussion - for what it's worth, I have been on Concerta (methylphenidate) for 3 years but it has had no effect on my tinnitus...

 

Large doses of Vyvanse make my tinnitus and hearing permanently worse. By large dose I mean 120 to 180 mg in a 24-hour period. My normal dose is 60 mg and it doesn't seem to make things any worse.

After taking a large dose my hearing and tinnitus got so bad I had to get intratympanic steroid injections to restore my hearing. The tinnitus went down after the injections but without them, the stimulants would have left me with much worse tinnitus and hearing.