Posted by Joe Schmoe on July 4, 2001, at 19:44:16
In reply to Re: One more try - Klonopin and Wellbutrin » Joe Schmoe, posted by Rick on July 4, 2001, at 4:40:29
> I trust your doc is going s-l-o-w working you up to the 300.
My schedule is a 150 SR tablet once a day for three days, then two 150 SR tablets per day after that. I took my first one about 7 hours ago, so far I feel a little euphoric but with some tightness in my chest. I used it as motivation to go exercise.
>If you have the opportunity to first try the Klonopin solo for awhile, that would be a good because within a week or less you should have a sense of whether it's working out for your SP (which I fully expect).
Well I have taken a few days off work so I decided to get the Wellbutrin going so I can get the worst parts of it out of the way. No way to test the Klonopin at home for SP....although I may end up taking it anyway just to test drive it and help with any Wellbutrin jitters.
>Of course if you experience pretty severe depression, it may be best to start ramping up on the AD right away.
I would say I am more dysthymic. It comes and goes. I have never spent days in bed or anything like that, but I have a pretty negative outlook on life most of the time along with hopelessness at times.
>(My pdoc actually suggested starting at 25 mg and moving up slowly...I should have followed his advice. I felt no adverse effect at 50mg, so I made the mistake of jumping up to 100 mg too quick.)You must have been taking the non-SR version then? The smallest SR pill is a 100 mg I believe. And you are not supposed to divide it or it will ruin the SR properties. There is nothing I can do with these 150 mg pills except take them whole. My doc was out of samples, I wonder if the sample pacs have smaller doses for SR?
>And there are definitely anxious people who do well with it once they get used to it, although there should usually be something of a more calming nature in the mix -- in your case, Klonopin.
I usually don't suffer from free floating anxiety. I am not sure if I am considered an "anxious person" or not, since my anxiety is almost always caused by some obvious external factor, i.e. social scrutiny, worrying about some upcoming confrontation or performance, etc. If there is nothing wrong in my life, I feel fine and can go months without Xanax. That is why I think of myself more as "sensitive" and prone to catastrophic overreaction to problems, rather than anxious. Probably why I was always given Xanax instead of Klonopin. Of course Xanax is only useful if you get advanced warning...."These people just showed up, can you give them a little presentation about our organization?" "Sure....*gulp*"
> BTW, you mentioned the size of your Klonopin pills, but not the daily dosage. Does this mean you're taking it as-needed?
Yes, she wants me to figure out what I will need. Due to my past experience with xanax I am still reluctant to take a benzo round the clock for fear of developing tolerance. I will try to get away with taking it on weekday mornings and see if that works. I am afraid even that will cause a tolerance/dependance to develop but at this point who cares, I want a better life.
I guess my fear is building a tolerance, having to up the dose, repeat, etc. till I am at the maximum dose and what do you do then when you develop a tolerance? I wish I knew how often I could take it and still avoid a tolerance.
> Good luck to you. I think you've got a real good chance of doing well with this combo for both your depression and your SP, especially if you start-low-go-slow with the Wellbutrin.
Thanks. Wellbutrin seems to have a lot of positive commentary compared to the other ADs. I was scared away from it by the seizures thing, but on closer examination, it seems to have the same seizure rate as Paxil and Zoloft. I don't understand what is going on. I will start a new thread on this.
poster:Joe Schmoe
thread:68599
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010701/msgs/68975.html