on the wellbutrun bandwagon

[Heather67]

So a doctor prescribed me Wellbutrin 100 xr. This was like 3 weeks ago..still haven't picked it up. I have not quit adderall entirely..much due to not feeling so down in a hole when I do...will this stuff help with any of that?? I've never been a fan of the build up in your system meds either...I want what they do...like NOW! !! LOL

[BeHereNow]

So a doctor prescribed me Wellbutrin 100 xr. This was like 3 weeks ago..still haven't picked it up. I have not quit adderall entirely..much due to not feeling so down in a hole when I do...will this stuff help with any of that?? I've never been a fan of the build up in your system meds either...I want what they do...like NOW! !! LOL

 

Hey Heather,

 

You still around?  I just jumped on the Wellbutrin bandwagon too.   I've always been scared of antidepressants and Lexapro made me feel manic, anxious, and crazy.  My new doctor prescribed me wellbutrin 75 mg, instant tablets, 2x a day.  I feel the effects already, and felt them after the first pill!  I'm on day 3.   I'm starting to feel like myself for the first time in a long time!   To be honest, I think it might help me get my pre-adderall self back.  I already feel more confident, creative, inspired, energetic, focused, but not in any way that resembles adderall.  Combined with my Klonopin, I think it might help me with my social anxiety too.

I've been in a dark hole all summer that keeps spiraling around like a fucking tornado and I think that Wellbutrin is gonna help me at least navigate the shit I'm dealing with right now.   It doesn't make me feel like a zombie the way Lexapro did.  I feel like I'm still able to feel sad when things are sad, I can cry when I need to cry, but my mind isn't dwelling on negative thoughts as much.

 

I also just read that since it's a stimulant, it's banned for professional athletes.  I can feel that, but in a way that promotes rather than detracts from my overall well-being.  It's not really comparable to adderall but acts on some of the same neurotransmitters.  So for people recovering from adderall I can see how this would help especially with the post-adderall blues.    I know it's not for everyone but it's totally a match for me.   

 

Heather if you ever see this, I really think it might help you!  Don't worry about the slow buildup, it starts working right away and I think just gets better with time.

[Krax]

Wellbutrin kept me sane and functional during the first four months after quitting ritalin, then at that point it was too activating and stimulating for me - once my natural energy started to return.

 

May lay-person's understanding is that like amphetamines it prevents or inhibits the reabsorbing (reuptake?) of dopamine to the brain cells, thus letting more of it swim around in your brain at a given time, however unlike amphetamines it does not cause the artificial release of dopamine in the first place, so it's a stimulant, like coffee I guess, but not so potent and not addictive.

[lea]

Hey guys -- I know it's been ages since I've posted but couldn't resist the wellbutrin thread.  Nothing earthshattering ... I've been taking it for a while (years pre-ritalin & months post) and I too find it helpful for depression.  It does act on dopamine but not in the same way as adderall and as mentioned above not at all comparable. I do, however, believe it has appetite suppressing effects.

[Motivation_Follows_Action]

I think everyone here knows I've been taking Wellbutrin for a really long time... like 8 years.   Including through my adderall days.  I never really stopped taking it, except for a few accidental times here and there. And recently, a few things happened:

 

1) I was prescribed lexapro, 10mg x 1 daily.  That's not a big dose.

2) I went from 150mg SR 2xdaily wellbutrin to 300 1xdaily 

3) I started to feel really odd.  mood swings, extreme bouts of emotionality, nihilistic thinking, etc. 

4) I switched doctors.  

5) My new doctor is amazing.  She said to me that my brain needs dopamine, not seratonin, because that's what it has been craving.  Especially since adderall.  

6) She put me on 3x100 SR wellbutrin daily, and I am tapering off the lexapro

 

I am finally starting to feel normal again.  

 

I think the punchline here is that well, doctors don't really have the faintest idea what they're doing and it's all a crap shoot; and also if you think something is not working, it's probably not.  

 

SSRIs are just bad news for me.  I get lethargic and despondent and I knew this from my Prozac days, but I was hoping we'd "evolved" to a different era.  Now I know we haven't really, and it's up to each of us to know our bodies and find the right help.  

 

I'm still not there, quite, yet... maybe I never will be.   I'm learning to accept that crippling depression may be my baseline and I will learn to deal with it in a way that is partly prescribed, and mostly through my own discovery.

 

But anyway, Heather, I am glad you're still around these parts ad still posting.  I think of you often and hope you know that you can be honest here, and we will always welcome you.  Don't let the harsh words of the well-intended-but-sometimes-judgy voices here deter you from being fully open... it's a lifelong struggle that we all deal with.   And well, you know, recovery is not a linear process.

 

It's good to know you're out there.  And celebrate the wins, rather than berrating yourself for not being 100% clean yet.  

[Motivation_Follows_Action]

oh, I forgot to say.  Anti depressants are useful ONLY if coupled with therapy.  Otherwise it is a very expensive, inconvenient bandaid.  Are you in therapy, H?

[ashley6]

MFA,

I know this wasn't intended for me, but I'm glad to see it because I just started Wellbutrin, and it's been pretty good so far. It felt weird at first because it had a bit of a stimulating effect. I texted my therapist and asked if it could be a trigger. She reminded me I wasn't seeking the speed anymore, and it was totally different. She said she's heard of great success with Wellbutrin. I'm on Lexapro as well. I see what you mean about the negative side effects of that. I didn't realize you've been on Wellbutrin for a long while. Thanks for sharing and giving your input. I 100% agree with you that therapy should go hand-in-hand with taking these medications.

[tessa0412]

I never thought about Wellbutrin till now or heard of it. Why Wellbutrin and no other? Is it specific to adderall abuse?

[BeHereNow]

So, my partner decided to tell me he's worried about me going on Wellbutrin. He is concerned that it might be inhibiting my brain's quitting-adderall healing process.   That the Wellbutrin might just be slowing down the healing.  What do y'all think?

 

His other major concern was withdrawals--would I get hooked on this drug long term and have trouble stopping?  Are withdrawals something I should be concerned about? I can't find much about it. I'm on a really low dose.

[Motivation_Follows_Action]

Occasional1, 

 

There are 2 schools of thought about Wellbutrin...or any other antidepressant, especially those that target dopamine receptors (ie can have speed like properties).  

 

One is my own:  I am genetically and [more recently, due to adderall] artifically dopamine deficient, and I need help to rebalance these deficiencies.  That is what wellbutrin has been produced for... people like me.  I am fairly liberal when it comes to crazy meds and on/off label use and it has helped me tremendously.  I am pretty sure I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for wellbutrin (I have family members on both sides who've topped themselves and my parents are both bipolar II, although both refuse to get offically diagnosed).  

 

The other is that of your partner, and it's a compelling argument:  that once you start on wellbutrin you will be artificially producing more dopamine and that's not "nature's way" of healing.  

 

 Before you ever started taking adderall, did you ever suffer depression?  Have you ever been diagnosed with depression or ADHD or any other mental or personality issues?  Has anyone in your family ever suffered depression?  If the answer is no, then your partner is probably right.  If the answer is yes, then you are probably have a predisposition for it. 

 

Im going to go out on a limb and make a HUGELY blind, totally inappropriate and highly unscientific assessment based on the "you" that has been represented here over the last few months.  Based on the following observations, I'd say you may have a tendency towards emotionality & passion, you "feel things more deeply" than others, you are a creative and tortured soul but you'd rather be creative and tortured than boring and comfortable.  Now I don't know that those traits are correlated to depressives, but I'd be interested to see the data on it.  Also, didn't you say you're a philosophy major/post-grad?  Now I'm really going to say something irresponsible, but without exception, every philosophy major I have ever met has been slightly unsettled, if you know what I mean.  Don't get me wrong, I find that to be a magnetic quality, but you do have to wonder if people who chose to make a living by asking hard questions about the meaning of existence aren't going to find themselves feeling slightly overwhelmed or despondent sometimes.  

 

But this doesn't answer your question.  In fact you didn't really ask a question, so it certainly doesn't answer it!  But my point is, whichever decision you take, do it for the reasons you're comfortable with, and don't second-guess yourself.   Or take it, and decide it's not for you, and stop taking it.  

 

One final thought:  wellbutrin is not addictive, but you can have withdrawal symptoms if you stop suddenly.  What's the difference, you ask?  Well, I'm a walking case study.  I forgot to refill my prescription a few times for wellbutrin (or was traveling and I ran out) and within 3 or 4 days I was wondering why I couldn't stop weeping and wanted to eat myself to sleep every night.  So if you're going to take it, you have to commit to it.  

 

Hope that helps... 

[BeHereNow]

Thank you MFA for your sharp insights.  Very helpful and a lot to think about!!  I'll get back to you when I've thought this through some more.  Haha, you're so right on with the extra sensitive/tortured soul thing.