Anyone had success with Wellbutrin

[Purplepumkind]

My depression comes and goes, its not SAD, im not quite sure what it is.. ill be i na bad place for a few months , then ill feel great, then rinse and repeat. I used to take prozac, ive beenn off it for 5 months and feel the blue blanket coming over me again. I was thinking of asking my dr about wellbutrin. Any info would be great, positive and negative. 

 

[mikeford]

Wellbutrin is kind of the Holy Grail of anti depressants.  I know many people who have had success with them although they did not work for me.  They have probably the lowest side effect profile of any anti depressant and kick in quicker than most (around two weeks).

They are chemically similar to adderall (which seems odd), but don't are not addictive.  I wish they worked for me.

Mike 

 

[Purplepumkind]

Wellbutrin is kind of the Holy Grail of anti depressants.  I know many people who have had success with them although they did not work for me.  They have probably the lowest side effect profile of any anti depressant and kick in quicker than most (around two weeks).

They are chemically similar to adderall (which seems odd), but don't are not addictive.  I wish they worked for me.

Mike 

Thanks Mike, 

Im rxed adderall, and xanax. I wonder if this would be an issue with my hopes of trying wellbrutrin? I have an appt next week. I guess ill find out then!

 

[spurnky]

My depression comes and goes, its not SAD, im not quite sure what it is.. ill be i na bad place for a few months , then ill feel great, then rinse and repeat. I used to take prozac, ive beenn off it for 5 months and feel the blue blanket coming over me again. I was thinking of asking my dr about wellbutrin. Any info would be great, positive and negative. 

@Purplepumpkins -- Hi there! I actually took Wellbutrin several years back. I had good success with it. One of the things that I liked about it was it didn't have the side effects that some antidepressant meds can have. Here in the USA it's been on the market for years which is good because that means it's been used by many people and if there were any bad side effects they would have come out by now. I'm always leery of New drugs that are put on the market that haven't had long-term testing by people. I've also taken Prozac and didn't care for the side effects I got from it.

Wellbutrin is also prescribed to help people quit smoking. It helps reduce the craving for tobacco. My Father was prescribed Wellbutrin to help him quit smoking and it worked well for him. He didn't have side effects from it that I'm aware of.

If you have any other questions about it please don't hesitate to ask. I'll be glad to help in any way I can. Take care!  ☺

 

[Purplepumkind]

Hi, thanks for the reply @spurnky

I ended up getting on effexor, side effects didnt seem too horrible and it also is supposted to help with anxiety. Hopefully it will work out.

I too have been on prozac for a decade on and off, it made me feel very blah, like i was just there, no feelings at all..also the side effects were horrible. 

Im optimistic about the effexor, so ill give it a shot

 

[spurnky]

@Purplepumpkins -- You are very welcome! I think it's good your doctor put you on Effexor. My Mother took that off and on for years and had great success with it. Her doctor had her on a lower dose and it worked really well for her. She never complained about any side effects with it. It also didn't give her that "blah" feeling like you described with Prozac. I had the same feeling on Prozac. I hated it! I think you'll do well with Effexor -- I hope so! Hang in there and know things will only get better for you. Take care!  ? ☺

 

[mikeford]

Hi, thanks for the reply @spurnky

I ended up getting on effexor, side effects didnt seem too horrible and it also is supposted to help with anxiety. Hopefully it will work out.

I too have been on prozac for a decade on and off, it made me feel very blah, like i was just there, no feelings at all..also the side effects were horrible. 

Im optimistic about the effexor, so ill give it a shot

I've always had good luck with Effexor.  It's really the only anti-depressant med that's worked for me.  It's not formulated like most of the SSRI's.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[danceruby46]

O have been on and off Effexor for 30 years. It is a very difficult drug to get off of. I also considered Wellbutrin, as I knew someone who switched and was happy with it. Effexor can cause blood pressure issues. Also, no one told me, so I found out for myself. It causes hyper sensitivity to the sun. Will age you faster with shiny brown patches. So always wear sun block. Other than that I agree the Effexor works just fine. 

 

[Kinglouie]

I took wellbutrin for a while. Its good for ppl with the type of "laziness" depression. From what I've heard, Its not very effective for "worry" or "anxiety" depression. 

Although if you take addy you might want to look into the interactions, if there are any. Since welbu is similar to amph it might make your heart race and/or similar side effects 

 

[Purplepumkind]

@Kinglouie my doc decided on Effexor, its been about a week since i started and maybe its all in my head, but im definently feeling more upbeat, i have energy and am feeling pretty good about life in general. I know antidepressants take weeks to feel any effects, but maybe this is just a good fit for me and my body chemistry. 

I have noticed im not as hungry, and i wake up with energy and sleep just fine so im really happy with this at the moment. 

@danceruby46 thanks for the reply. Ive heard about the bp issues, and mine is pretty good so hopefully it doesnt raise it. Im on a very small dose 75mg once a day. Also, im about as pale as they come so i already hate the sun ? so you wont catch me sunbathing. Truth be told, i live in a state.where the sun only really comes out 3 months out of the year, and strangely enough, i carry an umbrella when its too sunny !! 

 

[Kinglouie]

@Purplepumpkins glad to hear! And yeah they always say couple weeks but I have always been able to feel the effects on day 2 or 3 when starting AD's.. wellbutrin and lexapro a while back.  

Ive been depressed ever since i can remember. So i always thought thats the way everyone was. But when i found the right medz and dosage I remember thinking... "so this is how everyone else sees the world! 

 

[danceruby46]

Does anyone know if a person needs to come off Effexor totally out of system prior to switching to Wellbutin?  

 

[spurnky]

Does anyone know if a person needs to come off Effexor totally out of system prior to switching to Wellbutin?  

@danceruby46 --- Hi there! You do not need to have the Effexor totally out of your system prior to switching to Wellbutin. When switching from Effexor to Wellbutrin some Doctors will do something called "Dual Tapering". This is where you gradually reduce the dosage of the Effexor while simultaneously increasing the dosage of the Wellbutrin. You will slowly taper down off of the Effexor. While tapering down off of the Effexor you start with a small dose of the Wellbutrin. Over time you slowly go up to your Doctor Recommended dosage of the Wellbutrin while you taper down from the Effexor. As you go down on the dosage of Effexor you go up on the dosage of the Wellbutrin. You can always call your Doctor to double-check with him to make sure that the Dual Tapering Method will work best for you. You should not take full doses of the Effexor and Wellbutrin at the same time unless your Doctor says it's okay. 

Also, make sure that you do not stop taking the Effexor cold turkey as this could be very dangerous. You should never stop taking any antidepressant cold turkey without tapering down off of the medication first as it can cause very bad side effects or worse.

I took Wellbutrin and had good success with it! What I really liked about it was it didn't have the side effects that other Antidepressant Medications do. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. I'll be glad to help in any way I can! Good luck on the Wellbutrin. I really hope it works great for you!  ☺ ☺  

 

[danceruby46]

Thank you. I have given up Effexor several times and know how difficult it can be. Brain zaps are the worst. I will follow your advice. 

 

[Rainey]

Wellbutrin was a wonderdrug for me for several years but seemed to lose its effectiveness about two years ago.  I have been through all the usual stuff, prozac, paxil, sertraline nothing worked very well. Then my doctor put me on Strattera, built up dosage slowly over a few weeks and it is amazing, the diff is night and day! The only problem is it is super expensive for those without insurance.

 

[JexLex]

I can say that I have found that many doctors are prescribing it at low dosages on top of the stronger anti-depressants to enhance the effects of the stronger one. Not to get nerdy, but nerves, in a process referred to as reuptake (lots of info on the web about this), may recycle released neurotransmitters. Welbutrin works by stopping the reuptake of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine which results in more dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine to transmit messages to other nerves.  

 Simple terms - Missing shit that you need to be happy that your body has decided to get rid of without asking you is forced to stay and do it's job and tell your brain it's ok, you can be happier. 

 

[Sudoka]

Wellbutrin is such a strange stimulant to me. Certainly it is stimulating, but it is not a constructive stimulation. It also does not improve mood. I dislike wellbutrin and will not eat it anymore.

 

[RedGypsy]

Wellbutrin is an interesting Rx. As an antidepressant it is in a class of it's own. It is unique in that rather than acting on serotoninergic neurotransmission, as the SSRI's do, it is actually an SDRI (selective dopamine reuptake inhibitor) that also has some effect on the noradrenergic systems as well. 

Mikeford is correct, it does have a low side-effect profile compared to many of the SSRI's.  For example you won't experience any of the anti-cholinergic or anti-histiminergic sidefx that antidepressants are famous for like dry mouth, sedation/drowsiness, constipation etc.  Unlike the SSRI/SSNI's it is actually somewhat stimulating, so may give you a bit of energy (which is very hard to come by when your really depressed). Best of all it doesn't kill your libido, or cause weight gain -- in fact the average person actually loses a few pounds on it. 

Meta-analysis has shown it to be approximately equal in effectiveness compared to the SSRI's in treating depression, but not nearly as effective at treating anxiety. In fact it can aggravate anxiety for some (it did me unfortunately). Also, because it does NOT act on or interfere with serotonin, it is often prescribed along with SSRI's for those that do not achieve full remission of their depressive symptoms from their SSRI alone.

The big drawback with Wellbutrin is the potential for it to cause seizures. The risk is dose related, and more likely to occur in those taking doses of <650mg/daily (the typical therapeutic dose range is 150-300mg). However, even then the risk is still relatively low (2-3%). Consuming alcohol while taking Wellbutrin dramatically increases chances of seizure, so this isn't a good Rx if you are a fan of the bottle. 

Interestingly enough because of it's simultaneous affinity for the nicotonic receptor sites in the brain, it is helpful for those trying to quit smoking. In fact, it is the active ingredient in Zyban the smoking cessation Rx. 

Here's to better living through chemistry!

*Statistical citations:  https://psychopharmacologyinstitute.com

~RG