# Wellbutrin?



## Verushkita (Apr 30, 2012)

Anyone taking Wellbutrin? It was given to me during PPD but I never really took it. However, I may need it now. Just wondering if anyone can tell me their personal experiences. Yes I know everyone will react differently, I guess I'm just asking because I'm trying to determine whether I should start it again.


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## nice777guy (Nov 23, 2009)

Verushkita said:


> Anyone taking Wellbutrin? It was given to me during PPD but I never really took it. However, I may need it now. Just wondering if anyone can tell me their personal experiences. Yes I know everyone will react differently, I guess I'm just asking because I'm trying to determine whether I should start it again.


I took it years ago.

Its a pretty typical anti-depressant. One of the most common reasons its given is that it doesn't have some of the side effects that others have (weight gain, loss of sex drive.)

If you start taking it, you need to give it a good 4 to 6 weeks before it really starts taking effect.

BUT - I think I felt a bit of a placebo effect when I started it.

But also for me - it didn't seem effective for long. It probably helped me for a year or so.

Is this what you're looking for? Let me know...


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## angelpixie (Mar 2, 2012)

I've taken it for years, and the only real side effect I've had is a bit of a tremor -- but after I moved away from STBXH, it went away. I've realized that the tremor is really only a problem when I'm also under a lot of stress. Otherwise, I didn't notice anything bad about it, and it seems to work OK. (It's not the only AD I take, so hard to tell, exactly).


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## nice777guy (Nov 23, 2009)

angelpixie said:


> I've taken it for years, and the only real side effect I've had is a bit of a tremor -- but after I moved away from STBXH, it went away. I've realized that the tremor is really only a problem when I'm also under a lot of stress. Otherwise, I didn't notice anything bad about it, and it seems to work OK. (It's not the only AD I take, so hard to tell, exactly).


So - really - sounds like that might not even be the medication...???


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## angelpixie (Mar 2, 2012)

Tremor is a common side effect of WB, and I thought all these years that that's what it was (so did my doctor). It was a big surprise that it suddenly went away when I moved out. But it has come back now and then during super stressful times, so now my doctor thinks it's a combination of the two.


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## stedfin (Apr 14, 2012)

It made me sweat, and it made me more anxious requiring the use of an antianxiety med to offset those side effects and it induces suicidal thoughts.

I can think of better meds.

Such as Effexor.


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## Verushkita (Apr 30, 2012)

Thank you guys and girls. What about side effects? I was really bad about taking it when it was prescribed to me. I kept forgetting to take it and then take it when I was feeling really down.

Would I need to be monitored by a doctor? My gyno gave me the prescription.

I'm working now, and I need to be alert and not drowsy and also I'm a little worried about gaining weight. It comes on really fast on me and takes a long time to put off.


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## stedfin (Apr 14, 2012)

Wellbutrin doesn't make you drowsy and I don't recall weight gain being an issue. I remember the sweats, the increased anxiety, and oh yeah, the tingling shocklike effects where you feel you keep getting zapped in the brain or something.


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## angelpixie (Mar 2, 2012)

It is a drug you cannot go off and on cold turkey because there is an increased risk of seizures if you do that. Even if you are changing doses, you need to taper off or ramp up. That said, I had to go off of it when I wanted to get pregnant, and I didn't have any withdrawal when I did it the way my doctor directed. 

If you have trouble remembering to take drugs, this might not be the one for you. And, like Nice said, you don't notice the effects right away since it does work on serotonin and norepinephrine (sp?). That's what makes WB and Effexor different from drugs like Zoloft, Prozac, Paxil, Celexa, Lexapro, etc. They primarily work on serotonin, and have higher sexual side effects, weight gain, etc. WB and Effexor are not supposed to do those things, HOWEVER...

*Everybody is different:* Effexor made me INCREDIBLY drowsy, and it didn't go away til I stopped taking it. The worst drowsiness except for Ambien (which is what you _want_ from that, LOL). On the other hand, stedfin had sweats, anxiety and brain zaps from WB, and I've taken WB over three long chunks of time over 10 years, and never had any of those. (I take 300 mg/day of the extended release)


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## stedfin (Apr 14, 2012)

angelpixie said:


> *Everybody is different:*


That's the key point. You could get no side effects, you could get many of them. You could get the intended, desirable effect, or you could get all bad effects. It could take a few weeks to a month or more for it to start working, or you could start feeling effects within a few days of taking it, although much of this could be do to the well known placebo effect.

I tried a half dozen AD's and Anti Anxiety's during my divorce, some in combination with one another. The only thing that worked for me, and it worked really well to keep me on an even keel with little to no side effects was a very low dose of effexor.

Each time I used an AD including the Effexor I was on it for months and I stopped on my own, cold turkey. Not a good idea but I didn't have any major issues as a result. 

I have read about many people doing this. They feel like crap, they take the med, they feel much better, they come to the erroneous conclusion that they no longer need the med, they stop it, way too soon, and going cold turkey without consulting with the doc who prescribed it and they wonder why they feel like crap again!


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## DeepPurple (May 22, 2012)

As mentioned, everyone reacts differently to AD medications. I took Wellbutrin and found that it made me more aggressive. I actually had road-rage while I was on it and chased someone down with my vehicle (stopped taking it immediately after that).

Also, it's not a drug you can take PRN. If you start taking it, you have to keep taking it, and if you take it for a long time, you have to taper off or you're going to have some nasty side effects. This goes for any AD medication.


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## Verushkita (Apr 30, 2012)

thanks. i've been terrible taking it. i don't need anything that is going to make me aggressive, thank you for everyone's response.


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