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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by patc on October 10, 2002, at 17:29:15
Does the anxiety caused by Wellbutrin ever go away. It's great for my "major depression", but it makes me agitated, anxious and panicky. Since I'm an atypical depressant, Wellbutrin is a double-edged sword. 4800 mg of Neurontin and 2 mg of Klonopin is not relieving the anxiety caused by Wellbutrin.
Posted by sleepy lizard on October 10, 2002, at 23:47:35
In reply to Wellbutrin agitation and anxiety, posted by patc on October 10, 2002, at 17:29:15
I had to stop the Wellbutrin SR because of the panic feelings. I was taking it with Effexor XR. I doubt if it will go away becase it increases Norepinephrine, a fight or flight chemical.
Posted by patc on October 11, 2002, at 7:01:33
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin agitation and anxiety, posted by sleepy lizard on October 10, 2002, at 23:47:35
Thanks.
I might have to stop too.
Did you have any anorgasmia w/ Wellbutrin?
My anorgasmia started when I started taking Wellbutrin, but I heard that Wellbutrin would actually combat it.
Thx.
Pat
Posted by viridis on October 11, 2002, at 14:02:10
In reply to Wellbutrin agitation and anxiety, posted by patc on October 10, 2002, at 17:29:15
I took Wellbutrin SR for about 2 months for depression/anxiety, and the anxiety never got better -- it got much worse.
There was an initial mixup by my GP with the dosing -- he wanted to start me at 450 mg/day. Based on the little I knew, this seemed high, but he insisted it would be fine, and that it would either work or do nothing. Luckily I questioned this with the pharmacist, who called the doctor. He then said he'd made a mistake, and had intended to write 150 mg/day to start, then 300 mg after a week.
Anyway, it's a good thing I did question the dosing, because even 150 mg caused severe anxiety and other side effects. I tried 300 mg a few times, but it just about put me through the roof. The effects at both doses were intolerable: uncontrollable shaking, intense dizziness, a weird feeling of pressure in my head, bouts of irrational anger (all of these very unusual for me), insomnia, etc. In addition, I developed a strange aversion to bright light and eye contact with people (classic norepinephrine-mediated "fight-or-flight" responses), both of which could set off full-blown panic attacks. Although I'd experienced panic attacks before, these sorts of stimuli hadn't triggered them previously.
I tried going down to 75 mg/day by cutting the pills in half, and that reduced the side effects by about half too, still unsatisfactory.
Interestingly, around the same time, a friend of mine had a very similar experience with Wellbutrin, which she described as terrifying and stopped immediately.
After about 8 weeks with no lessening of side effects, I told my GP that I would have to stop the drug. His response was that there was no way it could have these effects, that I must be imagining them, and that I needed psychotherapy. I didn't buy this, and the side effects stopped as soon as I discontinued Wellbutrin.
I then found an excellent psychiatrist who told me, after detailed examination/questioning, that Wellbutrin would be just about the last thing he'd prescribe, since for someone like me it would have a high probability of heightening anxiety. He wasn't at all surprised by the reaction I had.
Now I'm quite stable on a combination that consists primarily of 1 mg Klonopin/day and 5-10 mg Adderall (plus 1200 mg Neurontin and occasional Xanax).
Of course, for others Wellbutrin can be a wonder drug, but clearly it has the potential to exacerbate anxiety, so if you're prone to that I'd be cautious and start with low doses.
Posted by Ritch on October 11, 2002, at 23:37:08
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin agitation and anxiety, posted by viridis on October 11, 2002, at 14:02:10
> I took Wellbutrin SR for about 2 months for depression/anxiety, and the anxiety never got better -- it got much worse.
>
> There was an initial mixup by my GP with the dosing -- he wanted to start me at 450 mg/day. Based on the little I knew, this seemed high, but he insisted it would be fine, and that it would either work or do nothing. Luckily I questioned this with the pharmacist, who called the doctor. He then said he'd made a mistake, and had intended to write 150 mg/day to start, then 300 mg after a week.
>
> Anyway, it's a good thing I did question the dosing, because even 150 mg caused severe anxiety and other side effects. I tried 300 mg a few times, but it just about put me through the roof. The effects at both doses were intolerable: uncontrollable shaking, intense dizziness, a weird feeling of pressure in my head, bouts of irrational anger (all of these very unusual for me), insomnia, etc. In addition, I developed a strange aversion to bright light and eye contact with people (classic norepinephrine-mediated "fight-or-flight" responses), both of which could set off full-blown panic attacks. Although I'd experienced panic attacks before, these sorts of stimuli hadn't triggered them previously.
>
> I tried going down to 75 mg/day by cutting the pills in half, and that reduced the side effects by about half too, still unsatisfactory.
>
> Interestingly, around the same time, a friend of mine had a very similar experience with Wellbutrin, which she described as terrifying and stopped immediately.
>
> After about 8 weeks with no lessening of side effects, I told my GP that I would have to stop the drug. His response was that there was no way it could have these effects, that I must be imagining them, and that I needed psychotherapy. I didn't buy this, and the side effects stopped as soon as I discontinued Wellbutrin.
>
> I then found an excellent psychiatrist who told me, after detailed examination/questioning, that Wellbutrin would be just about the last thing he'd prescribe, since for someone like me it would have a high probability of heightening anxiety. He wasn't at all surprised by the reaction I had.
>
> Now I'm quite stable on a combination that consists primarily of 1 mg Klonopin/day and 5-10 mg Adderall (plus 1200 mg Neurontin and occasional Xanax).
>
> Of course, for others Wellbutrin can be a wonder drug, but clearly it has the potential to exacerbate anxiety, so if you're prone to that I'd be cautious and start with low doses.Hi, I have had to cut down from 150mg SR in the morning to 75mg because of the same reasons you mention. I'm taking Ritalin 20mg (for work focus/ADHD), and I'm not having any problems with the Ritalin, but the WB just makes me too panicky. I know the difference because I work in the afternoons and I take the WB as soon as I wake up in the morning and I feel more panicky afterwards (from the WB) than I do when I take Ritalin (just before work) and the WB is starting to wear off. --Mitch
Posted by sleepy lizard on October 14, 2002, at 22:21:18
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin agitation and anxiety, posted by patc on October 11, 2002, at 7:01:33
I had delayed orgasm before taking the Wellbutrin, on Effexor XR and prior to that on Celexa and Paxil. Taking the Wellbutrin just seemed to make things worse. I know it is thought to have or lessen sexual side effects, but I started to get anorgasmia after I started the Wellbutrin. My psychiatrist said he has not found any of the drugs commonly prescribed to counter sexual side effects to work. (These include buspar, viagra, wellbutrin, yohimbe, and others.) He recommended taking a drug holiday for 2 days. Than worked. If you do that be careful of the withdrawal side effects.
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