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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by gritslad on July 13, 2000, at 16:36:58
I'm considering asking my doctor for some Wellbutrin. I took Prozac for 8 years but it pooped out. Tried Effexor, Celexa and Zoloft all with problems. At the moment I'm not in a major depression, but I never seem to feel any enthusiasm, and can't motivate myself to do much. Any advice would be appreciated.
Posted by MB on July 13, 2000, at 17:28:32
In reply to Wellbutrin stories?, posted by gritslad on July 13, 2000, at 16:36:58
I like Wellbutrin. This is the second time
on it for me. It always takes a little
getting used to for me. It tends to make
me a little anxious at first. It is
pretty stimulating at first...I would say
that it *does* motivate me. But it's more
of an anxious motivation than an enthusiastic
motivation (but it's motivation, nonetheless).From what I remember, after about a year on it
it started making me sleepy. I reduced the dose
and felt better...then quit taking, and crashed.
I should have just stayed on the reduced dose.\
Oh, well. Better luck this time, I hope.Good luck to you, also.
> I'm considering asking my doctor for some Wellbutrin. I took Prozac for 8 years but it pooped out. Tried Effexor, Celexa and Zoloft all with problems. At the moment I'm not in a major depression, but I never seem to feel any enthusiasm, and can't motivate myself to do much. Any advice would be appreciated.
Posted by allisonm on July 13, 2000, at 19:27:25
In reply to Wellbutrin stories?, posted by gritslad on July 13, 2000, at 16:36:58
I've been on Wellbutrin SR for about a year. I am at 400mg currently, along with Remeron. It's not a cure, it's not perfect, I still have bad days, but like it. It's been the most helpful of all of the ADs I've tried over the last 3 years.
I have had to eliminate all caffeine, but I don't care as long as I stay relatively clear of the pit.
Strangely, I've also lost my appetite for meat, which doesn't bother me. Actually, I've just kinda lost my appetite in general, which I like as a side-effect as I have always been overfed.Good luck to you.
Allison
Posted by paul on July 13, 2000, at 22:54:16
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin stories?, posted by allisonm on July 13, 2000, at 19:27:25
my best advice would be to be well-versed in the many side-effects of this drug before taking it. i had a heartless a%%wipe for a pdoc whilst on it so ALL of the problems got ignored. they included seriously manic episodes (i'd get it up my nose that i HAD to find a certain thing-always something TOTALLY meaningless-i always found it but i'd hate to have experienced the other side of this);
extreme destructive rage-i eventually ran out of things i could destroy that meant nothing to me-once when an audio component screwed up for the fifth and final time i actually tore it out of the wall and smashed it to bits-and i mean SMALL bits;
tremors that would NOT respond to propranolol;
total inability to sleep;
and finally extreme social enxiety-i was afraid to go to the store for fear that the tremors would make driving/check signing impossible, which they often did.
on the good side-
i was put on it as an alternative to suicide and with all it's nastiness it did keep me sort of alive till i got back on my feet. i'd be VERY careful with this stuff. it's best attribute for me was absolutely no withdrawal-put it down and NEVER even thought of looking back.
p(c(l))
Posted by Renee N on July 14, 2000, at 3:01:11
In reply to Wellbutrin stories?, posted by gritslad on July 13, 2000, at 16:36:58
Too severe side effects for me---the lasting ones were recurring mouthsores that ruined the results of a past gum surgery, ringing in the ears (tinnitus), insomnia, loss of appetite, weight loss.
Unfortunately the best side effect was temporary---wildly increased libido!
Posted by MHK on July 14, 2000, at 14:29:59
In reply to Wellbutrin stories?, posted by gritslad on July 13, 2000, at 16:36:58
I've been on Wellbutrin SR twice: a year and a half ago at 200mg twice a day and again starting about 2 months ago (same final dose -- which is also the maximum recommended.)
Negative side effects for me have been negligible. If I take it too late in the evening, I sometimes have vivid dreams that keep me from sleeping deeply.
The only troublesome side effect was shortness of breath, but ONLY on the 150mg tablets. If I take two of the 100's, no problem. Nobody knows why (maybe some kind of peak release issue or a different binder in the tablet-making process), but it's been confirmed by trial and error that it is definitely the 150's that cause it.
Good effects have been:
-Effortless weight loss (I'm way overweight)
-Increased sexual response
-Easier to wake up in the morning
-More motivationI went off it last time because I mistakenly thought I could do without it. This time, it seemed to poop out a few weeks ago and now it may be getting better again (too soon to tell.)
Best of luck to you.
Heidi
Posted by ksvt on July 14, 2000, at 21:02:12
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin stories?, posted by MHK on July 14, 2000, at 14:29:59
> I've been on Wellbutrin SR twice: a year and a half ago at 200mg twice a day and again starting about 2 months ago (same final dose -- which is also the maximum recommended.)
>
> Negative side effects for me have been negligible. If I take it too late in the evening, I sometimes have vivid dreams that keep me from sleeping deeply.
>
> The only troublesome side effect was shortness of breath, but ONLY on the 150mg tablets. If I take two of the 100's, no problem. Nobody knows why (maybe some kind of peak release issue or a different binder in the tablet-making process), but it's been confirmed by trial and error that it is definitely the 150's that cause it.
>
> Good effects have been:
>
> -Effortless weight loss (I'm way overweight)
> -Increased sexual response
>
-Easier to wake up in the morningI started Wellbutrin about 3 years ago or so after a frustrating 2 years of trying out Prozac( which I was on for a long time but never really worked), effexor and luvox. I have some history of baling out of drugs and I think I stopped taking Wellbutrin shortly ofter I started because I didn't like the side effects. (mostly some intestinal discomfort) I came back to it because it was unfortunately obvious that i needed to be on something and it seemed a better alternative than some of the others if for no other reason than it didn't cause a decrease in libido. I started out pretty low and raised it gradually in 25mg increments over some time, either at the suggestion of my pdoc or on my own. I noticed with each incremental increase I'd have some side effects, like maybe an upset stomach and occasional lightheadedness. For a long time I took 100mg. 4xday and altho it was not a perfect solution it clearly worked better than anything I ever took before and after a couple of weeks any side effects seemed to go away. I never really noticed the burst of energy or nervousness that some people talk about altho maybe I just got so used to how I felt on it. I take a small amount of Klonopin at night so that pretty much took care of any sleeplessness. Unfortunately, about 6 months ago I felt myself really slipping and about 6 weeks ago or so I started looking at alternatives. I switched to 150 mgs 2xday of the Wellbutrin SR and augmented it with 50 mgs of zoloft. This has not worked well for me. I started having much more trouble sleeping and this made me feel washed out or very wired during the day. I thought it might be a different reaction to the SR variety so I went back to the regular form. My pdoc thinks that may be the zoloft and maybe he's right because I still have trouble getting to sleep. I just quit taking the zoloft on my own a couple of days ago because it has made me anorgasmic and I frankly feel like its leveled me out so much that I feel sort of emotionally numb. Most importantly, after initially making me feel alot better, I started slipping again and I'm not willing to increase the dose if that's what's necessary. I was actually originally drawn to this site in search of something else that I might use to augment WB. I find the whole process of coming up with the right drug or combination of drugs to be unbelievably frustrating and sometimes overwelming. It's so hard to find something good that it's particularly discouraging to see how many people have to start looking for alternatives after a fair period of time. I always feel with each drug failure that my alternatives are shrinking, and that's a pretty scary prospect. Nonetheless, give Wellbutrin a fair try, because I think it's a very good alternative to the SSRIs. It did contribute to weight loss for me too altho only after I was at a fairly high dose. Good Luck
> -More motivation
>
> I went off it last time because I mistakenly thought I could do without it. This time, it seemed to poop out a few weeks ago and now it may be getting better again (too soon to tell.)
>
> Best of luck to you.
>
> Heidi
Posted by gemmagirl on July 15, 2000, at 12:12:15
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin stories?, posted by ksvt on July 14, 2000, at 21:02:12
I'm also interested in taking Wellbutrin because of the awful sexual side effects I've experienced on 9 months of 50mg/day Zoloft. Only problem is, my doc doesn't want to prescribe it to me because the Z also tends to be overstimulating to me (ie, I get wired during the day and have trouble sleeping pretty regularly) and he says that the W can be even more overstimulating than the Z. But I'm desperate, and absolutely cannot deal with the disappearance of my sex drive any longer. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Posted by allisonm on July 15, 2000, at 19:52:54
In reply to What about Wellbutrin vs. Zoloft?, posted by gemmagirl on July 15, 2000, at 12:12:15
Hard to say. I couldn't tolerate Zoloft even for a few weeks because of overstimulation, yet I could take Wellbutrin on top of Remeron with some initial side effects that went away. Everyone is different.
Re sex drive, since my husband left I have not been in a relationship -- about 2 years now -- and really have had no sex drive. Can't say whether this is because there's no relationship, because of the ADs I'm on, or because I have depression - of which one symptom can be loss of interest in activities one used to find pleasurable...
At times I wonder whether some folks blame their ADs when maybe it's the depression.allison
Posted by ksvt on July 15, 2000, at 22:12:19
In reply to Re: What about Wellbutrin vs. Zoloft? » gemmagirl, posted by allisonm on July 15, 2000, at 19:52:54
> Hard to say. I couldn't tolerate Zoloft even for a few weeks because of overstimulation, yet I could take Wellbutrin on top of Remeron with some initial side effects that went away. Everyone is different.
>
> Re sex drive, since my husband left I have not been in a relationship -- about 2 years now -- and really have had no sex drive. Can't say whether this is because there's no relationship, because of the ADs I'm on, or because I have depression - of which one symptom can be loss of interest in activities one used to find pleasurable...
> At times I wonder whether some folks blame their ADs when maybe it's the depression.
>
> allisonEveryone responds so idiosyncratically to these drugs that sometimes it does seem awfully difficult to figure out whether a side effect is a side effect or a symptom of depression. When it comes to a decreased sex drive and difficulty achieving orgasms, I'd put my money on the Zoloft not the depression. I've had no sexual side effects on WB but every time I get near an SSRI, an automatic shut-off valve kicks in very quickly. I can't address whether gemmagirl would be more or less wired on WB. I never felt that I was when I just took WB, but with Zoloft thrown into the mix, that side effect is definitely there, but more tolerable than the sexual side effect to Zoloft. The anorgasmia is bad enough, but the lack of libido is maybe worse - it made me feel emotionally barren, and more isolated than usual. I might not have cared if Zoloft was otherwise a miracle drug for me or if I wasn't married, but it wasn't and I am so it seems like a big deal. I'm withdrawn enough as it is and my marriage seems shaky nough sometimes without adding another layer of complication. If I were gemmagirl, I'd probably be inclined to try something else.
Posted by allisonm on July 15, 2000, at 23:30:53
In reply to Re: What about Wellbutrin vs. Zoloft?, posted by ksvt on July 15, 2000, at 22:12:19
I apologize. I didn't mean to imply that I thought gemmagirl's situation was caused by depression sted of an SSRI. I know everyone reacts differently, and I have read enough about SSRIs to know sexual dysfunction can be a serious side effect. I was referring mostly to my own situation.
The previous post got me to thinking that when I was married and my depression was untreated and bad, I had no interest in anything -- especially sex. This certainly added to what had already become a tenuous relationship. (My desire did increase remarkably for the very brief time that I was in Effexor XR, but I couldn't tolerate the other side effects.) My husband eventually left, saying that my bad attitude toward myself made him love me less, that he couldn't make me better, and he thought I'd have depression for the rest of my life. It didn't matter that by then I had sought out treatment, was on ADs and in weekly therapy. He wanted me for a scapegoat.
I still have little interest in sex, but I don't know whether it's because of my ADs or my depression, or because I am not involved in a relationship. Or maybe it's a combination of the three. I guess since I'm not in a relationship, it doesn't really matter. But if I were sexually active, I'm not at all sure that I could tell whether my general non-desire and anorgasmia were caused by my depression or by my ADs.
Posted by ksvt on July 16, 2000, at 10:45:53
In reply to SSRIs and sexual dysfunction, posted by allisonm on July 15, 2000, at 23:30:53
> I apologize. I didn't mean to imply that I thought gemmagirl's situation was caused by depression sted of an SSRI. I know everyone reacts differently, and I have read enough about SSRIs to know sexual dysfunction can be a serious side effect. I was referring mostly to my own situation.
>
> The previous post got me to thinking that when I was married and my depression was untreated and bad, I had no interest in anything -- especially sex. This certainly added to what had already become a tenuous relationship. (My desire did increase remarkably for the very brief time that I was in Effexor XR, but I couldn't tolerate the other side effects.) My husband eventually left, saying that my bad attitude toward myself made him love me less, that he couldn't make me better, and he thought I'd have depression for the rest of my life. It didn't matter that by then I had sought out treatment, was on ADs and in weekly therapy. He wanted me for a scapegoat.
>
> I still have little interest in sex, but I don't know whether it's because of my ADs or my depression, or because I am not involved in a relationship. Or maybe it's a combination of the three. I guess since I'm not in a relationship, it doesn't really matter. But if I were sexually active, I'm not at all sure that I could tell whether my general non-desire and anorgasmia were caused by my depression or by my ADs.Alisonm - your ex-husband sounds like a real jerk. Did he not claim any of the responsibility for your break-up? What you've been writing about got me thinking about a related issue. Not only are AD side effects and depression symptoms similar, but so many of both can also be symptomatic of other medical conditions. I'm sometimes very slow to seek medical help because I assume that whatever ails me is stress or depression related. I've also had docs in the past who seized on my history of depression to explain things that I really felt were not depression related. I'm sure there are lots of us who have had similar experiences.
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