Posted by rxcuriousity on January 22, 2002, at 4:54:47
In reply to Re: More Depressed with Wellbutrin, posted by Tammy on January 21, 2002, at 23:08:58
Tammy,
This is my second time trying Wellbutrin. I have been on it for about five days now. This time I am taking it as an adjuvant to my Effexor therapy. Last time I tried Wellbutrin was about a year ago. I was a partial responder to the anxiolytic effects of combined Zoloft and Serzone therapy. My sex drive was also nill. My pdoc at the time thought Wellbutrin was a good move. I was weaned off Zoloft over the course of 6 weeks as I increased the dosage of Wellbutrin SR to 200 mg + Xanax 0.5. Two months into my Wellbturin therapy, I was terribly anxious, agitated, and depressed. Some of this I believe was discontinuation sydrome from my stopping Zoloft. A lot of it I believe was anxiety, agitation, and depression that was not being treated effectively (existing endogenously, if you will . . . would have been there with no meds). I have to wonder, though, what part was Wellbutrin playing in all of this.
I did not mean to scare anyone out there. Wellbutrin is a fabulous antidepressant for most people. It has also been used very effectively in people with anxiety disorders (almost never as a first-line therapy . . . usually after other therapies have failed, however).
This is my second go. I am hopeful that my experience will be different this time now that I am on Effexor as well. I am just a bit apprehensive about success, having had the experience that I had a year ago. I started five days ago, and . . . I'm not feeling so hot. I plan to ride these initial feelings out for a few weeks. If however, I don't at least return to the baseline of comfort I had established with Effexor monotherapy in a few more weeks, I will discontinue my use of Wellbutrin.
What other regimens had you tried before Wellbutrin? Is anxiety your primary trouble (led you to initiate Wellbutrin therapy)?
Make sure you report any significant increase in anxiety to your doctor. You don't want to suffer needlessly. You may just need to up the benzo dose. You may need to discontinue the Wellbutrin. The last pdoc I had, made me ride it out way too long. I complained weekly, and he made me stick with it til I left him for another doc (2 mos. later).
I wish you the best of luck.
poster:rxcuriousity
thread:91053
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020116/msgs/91088.html