Posted by MB on February 3, 2004, at 20:48:32
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin effectiveness, posted by SummerSanders on February 3, 2004, at 17:41:32
> This is interesting to me. I myself loved Paxil, but hated the 40 pounds I gained in a year..I am 5'1... I am worried about wellbutrin because of my anxiety and natural nervous personality. Does it make you nervous?
When I first started Wellbutrin (or whenever I first *start* it: I've tried it a number of times) I have had a considerable amount of anxiety with it. However, here's what I've learned. In the past, doctors have usually started me at too high of a dose. I've been started at 150mg a day for two weeks, and then bumped to 300mg a day. This was way too fast for me!!! A better titration schedule for me this time around has been 100mg/day for almost six weeks and then bumping up to 100mg 2x day (where I am now). For me, but not for some friends I know on WB, coffee can be a a big factor. When I *first* started taking WB, if I drank *ANY* coffee, I flew into a *bad* panic. I had to avoid coffee like the plague. I can now drink a couple cups a day for a boost without getting anxious. Lastly, Klonopin has been a Godsend. Before, I needed an SSRI along for the ride to treat my anxiety. Wellbutrin alone wasn't enough to treat my anxiety. I needed another antidepressant, an SSRI. But on the SSRIs, all I wanted to do was to sleep all day. Sure they gave me the typical startup akathisia/insomnia, but once I adjusted, they turned me into an unmotivated sloth. Now with the Klonopin (1mg 3x day), I can keep the Wellbutrin as my only antidepressant (no SSRI), and my anxiety is taken care of. It also helped with the initial "getting used to" phase of the Wellbutrin initiation. The Klonopin *did* make me drowsy at first, but that went away really quickly (unlike with the SSRIs, which, seemed to make me more drowsey and fatigued the *longer* I was on them). On the Klonopin/Wellbutrin combo, I have no sexual side effects, and I don't need to take a two hour nap every day like I've had to on the SSRIs. Also, comming off of SSRIs, for me, has been horrible. Comming off of Wellbutrin seemed to have no withdrawal effects other than the return of the depression. Klonopin *is* somewhat difficult to come off of: there is considerable rebound anxiety. But for me, I would rather come off of Klonopin any day than go through the incapacitating withdrawals of SSRI discontinuation.MB
MB
poster:MB
thread:91687
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040131/msgs/309083.html