Posted by LyndaK on November 17, 2001, at 21:34:05
In reply to Going OFF Wellbutrin and other meds, posted by Tony P on November 16, 2001, at 2:02:31
Tony,
Although Wellbutrin is a wonderful med. for some, it would turn me into a total witch. For some reason I get VERY irritable on it. If your doc. thinks it's o.k. to get off all your drugs, great; but if it's the irritability that you're worrying about, you might want to just start with the Wellbutrin and see how it goes. I also found that the Wellbutrin tended to increase the side-effects of my other antidepressant, so if you're on any drugs that tend toward weight-gain the WB could be making that worse. (?)Take Care,
Lynda
> I've been taking Wellbutrin for 2 or 3 months now, and have tried both 150 mg SR /day and 300 mg/day. I have also been taking, in varying quantities, and together or at different times:
> clonazepam, trazodone (Desyrel) and Zopiclone (Imovane) to help with nervousness, tremor and insomnia;
> Buspar (which seems to be the one reliable med in the lot for me),
> and OTC Robaxin and Kava (also to help with the hyper side effects of the Wellbutrin).
>
> The WB worked well for a while but then I started needing more and more of the others to cope with stressful situations, the euphoria mostly wore off, I felt angry as much as I felt energized, and my family started telling me I was behaving crazily.
>
> By the way, I must be the only person in the world who hasn't lost weight on Wellbutrin - I've gained back at least 15 lb. of the 35 I lost the year before as my depression worsened.
>
> I've reached the point where I'm fed up and just want to stop taking all these different things to compensate for one other. This is very unusual coming from me - mostly I just love to take anything that will make me feel "better".
>
> I've discussed it with my Dr., and he agrees it's worth the experiment. I intend to taper the Wellbutrin quite quickly - he suggested 2 weeks, but I suspect I can manage it faster than that. I'll taper the clonazepam from 1.5-2 mg /day down to zero over several weeks. The Trazodone I intend to taper from 50 to 25 mg immediately for a few days, then only use it if I really need it to sleep - same for the Zopiclone. He has given me a small dose of Ativan to ease the transition and help with situations where I have been feeling really compelled to use the Robaxin in high doses (singing and performing on stage).
>
> The kava will have to go too, eventually, or at least be be seriously moderated, but I'm not as worried about that - it's pretty benign and seems to have no withdrawal effects.
>
> Buspar I will continue, at least for the immediate future - moderately useful for me and little or no side effects.
>
> If I succeed in this much, I'll at least have a cleaner system to work with. My ultimate goal is to be med-free at least until I know how it feels - I've been on A/Ds & other meds for 7 years now. If my depression returns, we can start looking at other possible medications and non-medical treaments from a much clearer starting point.
>
> I'm mostly writing this to affirm my plan for my own benefit, but I'd be happy to hear other people's experience, comments and even advice!
>
> Tony
poster:LyndaK
thread:84383
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011113/msgs/84551.html