Posted by yellowbrickroad on December 31, 2004, at 22:47:49
In reply to Wellbutrin and Rage!, posted by ed_uk on December 31, 2004, at 11:19:58
I was on meds for five years. Tried Prozac, Paxil, and Celexa long-term. They helped but made me sooooooo stupid. Paxil worked the longest until I started sleeping 12+ hours/day and still felt exhausted.
I started Wellbutrin. It was the first thing that allowed me to remember my SAT words and didn't kill my sex drive (on Prozac..."Men? what men? no, I wouldn't do THAT with a man, would I? you're joking, surely"...On Celexa, "what were we talking about?...look, I have HANDS!!!").
However, I started having crying jags while on Wellbutrin alone, so my doctor added lithium. Worked like magic.
Two years later, I started thinking that my neighbors were all talking about me, especially if they had the irritating habit of conversing in a language I didn't speak. Even strangers on the Metro MUST be talking about me, looking at me, laughing at me, thinking bad things about me.
I had a friend who'd also taken it, and about the third time she mentioned having been kept up at night by the "people who were trying to break into her apartment", it occurred to me that the Wellbutrin might have a hand in my own paranoid fantasies. I researched this problem on the net and found that some people do get a little nutty on the drug.
I told my doctor. He was dismissive. I said I would take myself off of it cold turkey or he could help me find a safer approach. He let me cut my dose to 150 (I had been on 300), and the paranoia WENT AWAY. But the crying came back.
I switched doctors. We went up to 200, and I found my magic bullet again. Enough to keep me stable but not enough to make me nutty. Again, I think it's worth noting that I was taking lithium together with the Wellbutrin. Lithium is said to boost the effectiveness of antidepressants, even for the non-bipolar, when taken together.
I should also mention that my friend and I that had the psychosis problems with the drug are both diagnosed with atypical depression, which in both our cases means that our doctors aren't sure if we have Bipolar II or not. I've never been manic under observation...but I HAVE baked every item in the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book in a two week period. Hmmm.... And my friend has had some truly interesting shopping and raging experiences. Hmmm....
I'm not on meds at the moment. If I ever have to go back on them, I will consider Wellbutrin before other antidepressants because it is the only one that doesn't seem to lower my IQ or make me completely asexual. But I'm not a brand loyalist. I know that what works one time may not work the next. What works for one person may not work for another. And, if I haven't tried a particular therapy (medication), how do I know that it won't help me?
I like to keep an open mind with medications. And talking to others on those drugs and KEEPING A WRITTEN RECORD of my experiences in invaluable.
Alright, I've made my (very long) contribution.
Hope someone gets something out of it.
YBR
poster:yellowbrickroad
thread:435990
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041228/msgs/436208.html