Posted by burnedout on December 4, 2003, at 10:38:48
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin & kolonopin, posted by Brady Franzen on March 16, 1999, at 15:33:01
I am taking Wellbutrin after going through many of the meds. you tried.
Wellbutrin is know to have a side effect of increasing Anxiety. The Klonopin is like Ativan, but much longer lasting. It is used to decrease anxiety.
Since you haven't had success with the SSRI anti-depressants and the Wellbutrin works, differently, just as Effexor, maybe the combination of the Wellbutrin + the Klonopin will work and the Klonopin will balance out the side effects of the Wellbutrin.I am taking considerably more Klonopin than you are.
What we did is use a quicker acting benzo, Ativan, to see where it finally stabalized the anxiety. Then adjusted the Klonopin dose to be essentially the equivalent.
Long-term use of any of these medicines are likely to have withdrawal effects. NEVER go off one abruptly.
I have both Mj. Depression & PTSD--so saddness + stress/anxiety disorders.
After having gone through nearly everything else, unsucessfully, we thought Effeoxr might be the answer. It is an SSNRI. So it works on two chemicals in the brain, instead of just the serotonin and is labeled for giving relief to depression and anxiety.
I switched from Clexa to Lexapro to Effexor-XR. The Effexor nearly killed me.
The side-effects were bad. For four weeks I stayed at 75 mg./d, which is below the 150 mgs/d that is considered "theraputic" level.
I decided to push ahead and go to the 150, hoping the good would be better than the bad. I was ok for three days. Then it was horrible.
I wound up 8 hours in the ER.To discontinue Effexor is a nightmare. Just recently Wyeth labs changed their monograph on it to now include "discontinuation effects."
For the person whose taking Effexor, please, please, if you change from it, come off slowly. Many, many people get into trouble. There doctors don't know what to do other than follow the taper that Wyeth has published. That is NOT what Wyeth tells people to do who have trouble with it--and so many people have trouble, it is freightening. (I don't see how the drug stays on the market). In Sept of this year the FDA made thme change their lable to include suicide as one of the side effects in adolescents. --the company knew this, but they didn't publish it. The FDA made them send a letter to doctors telling them to not use it in those situations. they also knew of the discontinuation effects, but didn't publish them until recently.
I am now out 11 months from no Effexor. My blood pressure went from 136/84 to 170/120 and has not returned, I have unrelenting Tinnitus--which is maddening, I have abdominal pain which now comes and goes and is diagnosed as IBS, both suicidal ideation and anxiety have increased from moderate to extreme/acute; and I feel electrical shocks when I move my eyes--in the monography under the NOW included discontinuation effects it says something to effect--sensory disturbance, electircal like--but you wouldn't know what that means unless it happens to you.
Wyeth told me that (I believed these things couldn't be happening) I wasn't imagining and that these things are coming in as post-marketing effects. I was told that they usually happen when a person has been taken off Effexor-XR too quickly--when ANYBODY is taken off it too quickly. Then she looked up the information they have on how to do a better taper than what is published. It's too bad my doctor didn't know or the pharmacist didn't know. If they had maybe I wouldn't have gone through so much pain that I was going in and out of conciousness, plus now having the permanent things I mentioned happen and many more. Just be very careful. (what's so appaling about this is that Wyeth knows but isn't telling--at least to the US--they are to the UK).But back to Wellbutrin & Klonopin.
I think it's probably a good mix.
The Wellbutrin will most likely give you more energy, but watch out for becoming over-excited and anxious--that would indicate too high a dose.
The Klonopin will aid in releiving stress and anxiety, but you have to get it to the level where it does that. That will most likely take experimentation.Then, if the Wellbutrin + Klonopin is stabalizing you, use that time to get some therapy so the mind can take over what the drugs are doing. That's a much better and safer solution, but it's a much harder solution to accomplish.
The benzodiazapene can and most likely will cause dependency.NEVER go off any of these medicines abruptly.
I hope it works for you.
poster:burnedout
thread:360
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031202/msgs/286518.html