Posted by Racer on January 3, 2006, at 23:33:58
In reply to Re: Questions about Wellbutrin, posted by anony on January 3, 2006, at 23:15:30
> Oh, well....I thought Wellbutrin can decrease anxiety just as other anti-depressants do.
Not really. While it's true that relieving depression will improve anxiety symptoms for most people, Wellbutrin does not affect serotonin, which is considered helpful for anxiety. Wellbutrin hits dopamine and norepinephrine -- also known as "noradrenaline." As in it's likely to trigger your adrenaline system if you're prone to that...
>
> Now, I'm hesitating to try this med since I read some people saying that it rather induces anxiety.Only if you're susceptible to it. And the only way to know if you are is to try it and see.
>
> I've tried most of SSRI's out there and Effexor, but none of them actually helped with anxiety associated with social activities themselves. Also, I didn't like their side effects (crazy withdrawal symptoms, sexual side effects, hair loss, etc.)Are antidepressants the only type of drugs you've tried for anxiety? It might be that you'd do better on one of the atypical antipsychotics -- don't cringe, they're not just for breakfast anymore -- or maybe one of the other anxiolytics. I, too, find benzos increase my depression, so I don't know that I'd look that way. Right now, I'm trying a drug called Buspar, which is an anxiolytic. I'm crossing my fingers.
I guess, if I were being honest with you, I'd recommend something like an SSRI -- side effects and all -- while going to therapy to work on the anxiety more directly. Learning self-calming methods, etc. Once you had an alternative in place, like those skills, you could either stop the SSRI altogether, or if you still needed an AD, you could try one of the others -- like Wellbutrin.
For what it's worth, I take Wellbutrin, I have been diagnosed with an eating disorder, and while I know that Wellbutrin isn't helping my anxiety, it really has helped me AND it's done it with very minimal side effects.
Good luck.
poster:Racer
thread:594725
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051231/msgs/595045.html