Posted by Viridis on September 17, 2003, at 4:11:40
In reply to Re: WELLBUTRIN;...Breaking SR pills, Watch out... » Viridis, posted by femlite on September 16, 2003, at 8:44:33
Hi Femlite,
Well, it's a long list. My GP said that I must be "imagining" the side effects, but since many are things I haven't even experienced before, I doubt this. Plus, the pdoc I started seeing around this time said my reaction wasn't especially unusual.
The most prominent side effects were insomnia, extreme dizziness, bizarre outbursts of anger over trivial things (it takes a lot to make me angry under normal circumstances), trembling hands and shaking in general, sensitivity to light, constant anxiety, and full-blown panic attacks. I do have anxiety problems, but WB made them much worse. The weirdest of all was an inability to make eye contact with people -- that triggered severe panic. This is not at all normal for me.
Many of these symptoms are consistent with the classic "fight-or-flight" reaction induced by elevated norepinephrine (adrenalin) levels in response to stress. WB is supposed to be a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (increasing the amounts of NE in synapses), so there is some logic to it. However, I now take Strattera (another NE reuptake inhibitor) and actually find that it has a calming effect, so go figure.
I gave WB a decent try (2 months), but the side effects never went away, although they were reduced with the 75 mg dose. They did stop almost immediately, though, once I discontinued it. I even tried it again at 75 mg once I was stabilized with benzos (Klonopin and Xanax), and although the anxiety wasn't as bad, I was still very uncomfortable and had many of the same side effects.
This definitely isn't the drug for me. But it's great for some people, including a friend of mine who's done very well on it.
poster:Viridis
thread:259757
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030917/msgs/260909.html