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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 15 of 15. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by KarenRB53 on October 29, 2010, at 21:45:48
Has anyone had experience with the combination of Wellbutrin and a beta blocker like propranolol?
Posted by Bob on October 29, 2010, at 22:20:32
In reply to Wellbutrin + propranolol, posted by KarenRB53 on October 29, 2010, at 21:45:48
> Has anyone had experience with the combination of Wellbutrin and a beta blocker like propranolol?
Why this combo?
Posted by Tomatheus on October 29, 2010, at 22:39:02
In reply to Wellbutrin + propranolol, posted by KarenRB53 on October 29, 2010, at 21:45:48
> Has anyone had experience with the combination of Wellbutrin and a beta blocker like propranolol?
KarenRB53,
I used to take 400 mg of Wellbutrin SR with 10 mg of propranolol and 900 mg of lithium. The propranolol was prescribed to reduce the severity of the tremor that I experienced on lithium (and still experience after having discontinued the medication). I found that the propranolol also reduced the agitation that I experienced when I was on my Wellbutrin-lithium combo. I think that most of my agitation came from the lithium rather than the Wellbutrin, but perhaps I was experiencing a little bit of low-grade agitation or anxiety from the Wellbutrin as well. Anyway, I had no problems with propranolol when I took 10 mg of it with my Wellbutrin-lithium combo.
Tomatheus
Posted by Phillipa on October 30, 2010, at 0:48:01
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin + propranolol, posted by Tomatheus on October 29, 2010, at 22:39:02
Are you planning on trying this or just asking? Phillipa
Posted by KarenRB53 on October 30, 2010, at 8:18:16
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin + propranolol, posted by Tomatheus on October 29, 2010, at 22:39:02
> > Has anyone had experience with the combination of Wellbutrin and a beta blocker like propranolol?
>
> KarenRB53,
>
> I used to take 400 mg of Wellbutrin SR with 10 mg of propranolol and 900 mg of lithium. The propranolol was prescribed to reduce the severity of the tremor that I experienced on lithium (and still experience after having discontinued the medication). I found that the propranolol also reduced the agitation that I experienced when I was on my Wellbutrin-lithium combo. I think that most of my agitation came from the lithium rather than the Wellbutrin, but perhaps I was experiencing a little bit of low-grade agitation or anxiety from the Wellbutrin as well. Anyway, I had no problems with propranolol when I took 10 mg of it with my Wellbutrin-lithium combo.
>
> Tomatheus
Did you stay on the combo of wellbutrin w/propranolol for long? Are you still on Wellbutrin? Did you find anything else that helped like wellbutrin?
Posted by KarenRB53 on October 30, 2010, at 8:20:44
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin + propranolol » KarenRB53, posted by Bob on October 29, 2010, at 22:20:32
> > Has anyone had experience with the combination of Wellbutrin and a beta blocker like propranolol?
>
> Why this combo?I have read that sometimes people take beta blockers with wellbutrin to off set some of the agitation and anxiety. I also have essential tremors (have had since well before taking wellbutrin) and my dr has wanted me to try the propranolol anyway.....so thought it might work for both.
Posted by KarenRB53 on October 30, 2010, at 8:24:12
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin + propranolol, posted by Phillipa on October 30, 2010, at 0:48:01
> Are you planning on trying this or just asking? Phillipa
I did pick up the script but haven't taken it yet. Was trying to find out if anyone else had any success with the combo first. I've been taking the wellbutrinXL 150mg for about 6 months now and its not helping the way it did when I started so am also trying to decide if I'll quit taking it or up the dosage. My pdoc said its up to me. My hair is also thinning out a lot since I started the wellbutrin??
Posted by Tomatheus on October 30, 2010, at 14:04:26
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin + propranolol, posted by KarenRB53 on October 30, 2010, at 8:18:16
> Did you stay on the combo of wellbutrin w/propranolol for long? Are you still on Wellbutrin? Did you find anything else that helped like wellbutrin?
KarenRB53,
I took propranolol with Wellbutrin and lithium for about a year. I am not still taking Wellbutrin. I took the antidepressant for about two years (one of which, as I mentioned, I spent taking propranolol with it) and stayed on it for as long as I did because it was the only antidepressant that I had tried up to that point that didn't trigger rapid-cycling episodes. However, it wasn't very effective for my anergic depression, especially when I took it alone. Adding lithium to Wellbutrin did boost its effectiveness, but even with that combo, my depression was far from being in remission. What ultimately brought my depression into remission was Nardil. When I took film-coated Nardil, I experienced remission for about two weeks, but when I put the contents of my Nardil tablets into enteric capsules, I experienced remission for about a month on the Australian Nardil, and I experienced a strong antidepressant response (which was a bit short of remission) for two additional months on Pfizer's Nardil. I ultimately stopped taking Nardil after I received what was probably a bad batch of the medication that brought on extreme amounts of agitation and stopped working on my depression.
Tomatheus
Posted by Conundrum on October 30, 2010, at 14:34:36
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin + propranolol » KarenRB53, posted by Tomatheus on October 30, 2010, at 14:04:26
I've read of people saying that the pfizer nardil is not as good as the Parke Davis, but also that there may have been bad batches. I wonder if there really were bad batches, or some did just not do well on Pfizer's reformulation.
> > Did you stay on the combo of wellbutrin w/propranolol for long? Are you still on Wellbutrin? Did you find anything else that helped like wellbutrin?
>
> KarenRB53,
>
> I took propranolol with Wellbutrin and lithium for about a year. I am not still taking Wellbutrin. I took the antidepressant for about two years (one of which, as I mentioned, I spent taking propranolol with it) and stayed on it for as long as I did because it was the only antidepressant that I had tried up to that point that didn't trigger rapid-cycling episodes. However, it wasn't very effective for my anergic depression, especially when I took it alone. Adding lithium to Wellbutrin did boost its effectiveness, but even with that combo, my depression was far from being in remission. What ultimately brought my depression into remission was Nardil. When I took film-coated Nardil, I experienced remission for about two weeks, but when I put the contents of my Nardil tablets into enteric capsules, I experienced remission for about a month on the Australian Nardil, and I experienced a strong antidepressant response (which was a bit short of remission) for two additional months on Pfizer's Nardil. I ultimately stopped taking Nardil after I received what was probably a bad batch of the medication that brought on extreme amounts of agitation and stopped working on my depression.
>
> Tomatheus
Posted by KarenRB53 on October 30, 2010, at 15:28:01
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin + propranolol » KarenRB53, posted by Tomatheus on October 30, 2010, at 14:04:26
> > Did you stay on the combo of wellbutrin w/propranolol for long? Are you still on Wellbutrin? Did you find anything else that helped like wellbutrin?
>
> KarenRB53,
>
> I took propranolol with Wellbutrin and lithium for about a year. I am not still taking Wellbutrin. I took the antidepressant for about two years (one of which, as I mentioned, I spent taking propranolol with it) and stayed on it for as long as I did because it was the only antidepressant that I had tried up to that point that didn't trigger rapid-cycling episodes. However, it wasn't very effective for my anergic depression, especially when I took it alone. Adding lithium to Wellbutrin did boost its effectiveness, but even with that combo, my depression was far from being in remission. What ultimately brought my depression into remission was Nardil. When I took film-coated Nardil, I experienced remission for about two weeks, but when I put the contents of my Nardil tablets into enteric capsules, I experienced remission for about a month on the Australian Nardil, and I experienced a strong antidepressant response (which was a bit short of remission) for two additional months on Pfizer's Nardil. I ultimately stopped taking Nardil after I received what was probably a bad batch of the medication that brought on extreme amounts of agitation and stopped working on my depression.
>
> TomatheusDid the propranolol help with the anxiety and tension from the Wellbutrin?
Sorry you've had such a hard time with meds. Its very frustrating and overwhelming.
How are the meds you're on now working for you?
Posted by Tomatheus on October 30, 2010, at 16:16:15
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin + propranolol » Tomatheus, posted by Conundrum on October 30, 2010, at 14:34:36
> I've read of people saying that the pfizer nardil is not as good as the Parke Davis, but also that there may have been bad batches. I wonder if there really were bad batches, or some did just not do well on Pfizer's reformulation.
Conundrum,
I know that it seems unbelievable that a medication can have as many problems as Nardil has been reported to have, but I would say that based on my experience with the medication that there are probably bad batches. Even though there were periods of time in which I put the contents of my Nardil tablets into enteric capsules to try to capture the effect of the "old" Nardil, I never did take the "old" Nardil. I just took the Australian Nardil and Pfizer's Nardil. Once I was putting Pfizer's Nardil into enteric capsules, I noticed that the effects of the medication were more or less consistent over time. However, after two months of taking Pfizer's Nardil in enteric capsules, I noticed a sudden difference in the way that the medication affected me. As I said in my last post in this thread, I experienced extreme agitation (which Nardil actually helped when it worked right) and a loss of efficacy right after I received a particular batch of the medication.
It should be noted that those who were taking Nardil at the time of the formulation probably didn't receive truly bad batches of the medication at the time of the switch. As you suggested, I think that these patients just did not respond well to the reformulated Nardil. At the same time, I certainly think it's possible that some of those who responded well to the "old," but not the "new" Nardil, might have also received some bad batches that were worse than the regular "new" Nardil batches that they received. I know that my claim of receiving a bad batch probably sounds pretty far fetched to someone who hasn't experienced the effects of one of these batches first hand, but I believe the problem of bad batches to be a real phenomenon.
Tomatheus
Posted by Tomatheus on October 30, 2010, at 16:31:39
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin + propranolol » Tomatheus, posted by KarenRB53 on October 30, 2010, at 15:28:01
KarenRB53,
See below for my responses...
> Did the propranolol help with the anxiety and tension from the Wellbutrin?
Although I think that the anxiety and tension that I experienced on my Wellbutrin-lithium combo was probably more a product of the lithium than the Wellbutrin, I would say that the propranolol did a fairly good job of alleviating this anxiety and tension.
> Sorry you've had such a hard time with meds. Its very frustrating and overwhelming.
> How are the meds you're on now working for you?I've noticed some gains against my depression over the past few months, but my depressive symptoms are still not too close to being in remission. It also doesn't help that I've got negative symptoms, cognitive impairment, and cognitive blunting to contend with now that I have schizoaffective disorder and am being treated for it. I miss the functionality that I had when I was taking Nardil, and I think that if I can gain maybe 2/3 of that functionality back I'd be satisfied with my treatment.
Anyway, good luck with your treatment. I hope that Wellbutrin and propranolol work out for you if you decide to go that route.
Tomatheus
Posted by KarenRB53 on November 6, 2010, at 20:54:06
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin + propranolol » KarenRB53, posted by Tomatheus on October 30, 2010, at 16:31:39
> KarenRB53,
>
> See below for my responses...
>
> > Did the propranolol help with the anxiety and tension from the Wellbutrin?
>
> Although I think that the anxiety and tension that I experienced on my Wellbutrin-lithium combo was probably more a product of the lithium than the Wellbutrin, I would say that the propranolol did a fairly good job of alleviating this anxiety and tension.
>
> > Sorry you've had such a hard time with meds. Its very frustrating and overwhelming.
> > How are the meds you're on now working for you?
>
> I've noticed some gains against my depression over the past few months, but my depressive symptoms are still not too close to being in remission. It also doesn't help that I've got negative symptoms, cognitive impairment, and cognitive blunting to contend with now that I have schizoaffective disorder and am being treated for it. I miss the functionality that I had when I was taking Nardil, and I think that if I can gain maybe 2/3 of that functionality back I'd be satisfied with my treatment.
>
> Anyway, good luck with your treatment. I hope that Wellbutrin and propranolol work out for you if you decide to go that route.
>
> Tomatheus
How long did you use the propranolol? Did you notice and side effects? I take ativan with the Wellbutrin and it does help to some degree but it makes me tired. Wonder how ativan compares to the propranolol with the Wellbutrin.
Good luck with your meds also.
Posted by Tomatheus on November 6, 2010, at 22:27:29
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin + propranolol » Tomatheus, posted by KarenRB53 on November 6, 2010, at 20:54:06
KarenRB53,
I took propranolol (with Wellbutrin SR and lithium) for about a year. I noticed no side effects when I took it at 10 mg; I just felt less jittery and agitated with fewer tremors on the medication. I think I tried 20 mg once and noticed a sore throat at that dose, but as long as I stayed at 10 mg I didn't notice any side effects.
I think it would be interesting to see how Ativan with Wellbutrin would compare to propranolol with Wellbutrin. I've taken Ativan before, but not with Wellbutrin, so I can't say based on experience how the combos would compare. I would guess that you'd probably experience less fatigue on propranolol with Wellbutrin than you would on Ativan with Wellbutrin, but some people might experience side effects from the propranolol that I didn't experience -- especially at higher doses.
Tomatheus
Posted by KarenRB53 on November 7, 2010, at 8:03:51
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin + propranolol » KarenRB53, posted by Tomatheus on November 6, 2010, at 22:27:29
> KarenRB53,
>
> I took propranolol (with Wellbutrin SR and lithium) for about a year. I noticed no side effects when I took it at 10 mg; I just felt less jittery and agitated with fewer tremors on the medication. I think I tried 20 mg once and noticed a sore throat at that dose, but as long as I stayed at 10 mg I didn't notice any side effects.I'm going to talk to my doctor about the propranolol before I start. When he prescribed them for me it was before I started the Wellbutrin. Thanks for the information.
>
> I think it would be interesting to see how Ativan with Wellbutrin would compare to propranolol with Wellbutrin. I've taken Ativan before, but not with Wellbutrin, so I can't say based on experience how the combos would compare. I would guess that you'd probably experience less fatigue on propranolol with Wellbutrin than you would on Ativan with Wellbutrin, but some people might experience side effects from the propranolol that I didn't experience -- especially at higher doses.
>
> Tomatheus
This is the end of the thread.
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