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Realized - You ave to give the meds a chance to work. In reading your post a couple of things came to mind.
Ten weeks is often not long enough to determine if the EffexorȘ [venlafaxine] (hopefully the XR version) and WellbutrinȘ [bupropion] (hopefully the SR version). I am assuming that the doc is raising your Effexor dose slowly, to avoid severe, sometimes debilitating side effects (which often leads to discontinuing a potentially effective drug).
A "rule of thumb" is that it can take 4 to 6 weeks of treatment „after„ reaching a target dose (eg 225mg of Effexor XR daily). To reach a 225mg dose while minimizing side effects is a slow process in some people. In people who are sensitive to the start-up side effects of Effexor XR (eg GI disturbances, "fuzzy head", lethargy - ie. the "blahs") I recommend that the dose increase be on the order of adding 37.5mg of Effexor XR every 4 to 7 days as tolerated, and continuing this until the target dose that the doc has chosen. Unfortunately, the start-up side effects may recur with every dose increase (in some people).
The upside to Effexor XR start-up side effects is that they eventually fade, no matter how quickly the upward titration is. As I have said, the start-up side effects usually disappear 4 to 6 weeks after reaching the target dose, but I have seen some people have absolutely no start-up side effects, while others had to put up with them to 12 to 16 weeks before disappearing (BTW - I saw the latter person a few weeks ago and this person's depression is still in remission after 3 years and there are no side effects worth mentioning (a little bit of a delayed orgasm, but this person considers this a bonus).
Wellbutrin SR is often added to Effexor XR (especially since some preliminary studies have appeared in the literature - the April or May/02 ed. of J Clin Psychiatry, I believe). I have found that the Wellbutrin SR augmentation of the Effexor XR does increase energy and brightens mood in many treatment refractory cases of major depressive disorder. Hey, it's working for me.
<font color=blue>"Education is is overrated. I'd rather sit with intelligent people than be educated any day. - Erik Pierce</font color=blue>
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