Wellbutrin + Lamictal anyone?

I was prescribed Wellbutrin today in addition to my Lamictal. I tried Abilify a few weeks ago with bad results. Anyone have any thoughts on this drug?

Wellbutrin is one of those drugs that most people either do well on, or it's disastrous for them. For me it was the latter---that drug is the only reason the descriptor "psychotic" is in my medical record. It sent me full-on into mania and suddenly I was slamming doors at work, threatening to kill people, raging and screaming......it was gnarly.

For those it works for, however, it's usually a winner. It's definitely worth trying, as the majority of BPers who use it do really well on it. Good luck!

I liked Wellbutrin & also had a bad experience with Abilify. Yes both were in combo with lamictal.

I'm on Welbutrin along with Lamictal it has worked fine for me.

I still did not want to get out of bed today, it has only been one day though. When I did get up I clean up the clutter in the house, made my green shake, yoga, weights, and a 10k. Working on DBT skills workbook and my project now. So far a better day...

I am on a 30 day dose of wellbutrin as I am starting Lamictal ramping up so I can ramp down topamax. I tried Abilify before and no, that did not work for me as it made me more manic than anything. Irritable, moody, want to just fly off into a rage kind of thing.

I am on week 2 of Lamictal at the 50 MG dose, by week 4 I will be on the 100 MG dose. At that time we will re-evaluate whether i will keep wellbutrin or go with pristiq. So far I can't tell a difference on it either way. I can tell a difference between the Lamictal and Topamax. The Lamictal is working much better than the Topamax.

I do well on Wellbutrin It's my favorite antidepressant. Least side effects. You might actually lose some weight your first month on it. But eating habits return after a month. The really nice thing about it is it usually starts work 1 hour after you take it even on day one. It does take longer for some people to see the difference. It's on the line of a mild stimulant. It's a great addition to any SSRI because it pretty much counters a lot of the zombie effects of them. But it does nothing on it's own for anxiety, in fact it may increase your anxiety. Which is why I also take zoloft with it and xanax as needed. Mostly to counter the anxiety. And it's gonna be either a love or hate thing. I love it

so far so good, better than ability. dry mouth and itchiness.....

When you first get up to 300mg per day you may get constipation for a week off and on. By itself I use to get extremely irritable, and started acting like a bloody Borderline My anxiety also went thru the roof! But Zoloft has really helped counter that effect. Oh, check this out, it also increases your sex drive too lol. If only I had wellbutrin when I was a little younger!

I really liked welbutrin but I'm not souppose to be taking it.

LOL IndieVisible, increased sex drive for me is not good! I think I am already experiencing the constipation, I didn't even think that was related. I hope I don't get irritable, that is one of the biggest problems I experience, I ma already dx borderline.... I have a good civilian job, I cannot afford to get fired bc I can't act right. So far I need some anxiety, I have little interest in the consequences of not doing my projects for my M.S. program at this point, I am generally a diligent student.

Miguel'smom, are you still taking it? Why are you not supposed to?

I had my first psychotic episode on Wellbutrin, this was about a decade ago, before diagnosis. A psychiatrist told me it's quite activating (someone said stimulant, I guess the same thing). For this reason I've been surprised at how often it's prescribed, but it really seems to help some people, and I don't know if maybe in the context of Bipolar II, if one's hypomania episodes are fairly mild, if this stimulant aspect of it then doesn't tend to send someone into mania?

It can induce mania to some BP folks but honestly the chances are very low. There was a study of 40 or 50 BP people given Wellbutrin, only about 4% experienced mania during it. However what is not really certain is how many of those 4% would have gone manic without wellbutrin. I have to find the link with all these tests with different meds and disorders, really interesting! Anyway, of all the antidepressants, Wellbutrin appears to be the safest for BP according to studies any way. Which is hard to understand because Wellbutrin is a mild stimulant that activates more dopamine. The way I understand it is it does this in a entirely different way then other stimulants and there is actually a limit or "roof'.

Did it make most food taste weird? I want to eat but nothing sounds or is good.

I don't remember. What I do remember is forgetting to eat or eating didn't seem as important. I would wait until hunger pains before I ate, then not very well. I lost a significant amount of weight my first month, but your appetite does come back! And I can tell you food taste great for me now! But even now after 6 months on it, I still do not east as often as I use to! I use to weight 190 lbs, I'm down to a steady 155. I'm 5' 10". So it definitely effects your appetite. You definitely get use to it tho! And whatever your lacking now will return. I can still go 12 hours without eating before I get hunger pains. Of course I don't choose to but it's still kind of easy to forget to eat

Really?? I don't have that going on at all. I am overweight now and honestly I wouldn't mind losing some and if that helps hey good. But I still eat the same.

I have no interest in food, my stomach tells me to eat. My mouth tastes weird and is dry, I am itchy, feeling a little buzzy. It feels weird when I touch my hair....I hope this doesn't mean it is not working, I don't have time for this....

Made me manic, and I'm bipolar 2.

I was talking to myself, crying, totally out of touch with reality, my heart pounding. I stayed up all night feeling absolutely crazy, then then next morning I went to urgent care. This was on the 5th day.

Sorry if that freaked you out. Good luck!

My Pdoc said that Wellbutrin's biggest drawback is irritability and so it was. He gave me Lamictal to help with the irritability and it worked great. It is claimed that a famous TV doc called it the "happy, horny, skinny pill" and again, so it was! I lost quite a bit of weight on it, really without even trying. I just didn't feel like eating and some things tasted weird, like any meat. I am a meet lover but stopped eating meat completely, just like that, the thought of it made me feel sick. It is also the exact same drug as Zyban, prescribed for smoking cessation. So I stopped eating meat and smoking cigarettes and this lasted for about six moths. I basically ate fruit for months. It does have the tendency to induce hypomania but I just had an overall feeling of health and happiness.
After a few months I felt that depression returned at a somewhat lower level than before and my Pdoc suggested taking only the mood stabilizer. After yet another couple of months I missed how Wellbutrin made me feel (in the beginning) and went back on it. This time, like the first time, the side effects were a bit heavy, felt like I was on cocaine all the time and I couldn't control my face - jaw clenching and teeth grinding. I left it again and really feel more lethargic for it.
No wonder it is used for some off-label uses for obesity and cocaine cessation. I still think it is a wonderful drug if you can out live the side effects and if it doesn't induce mania.
Good luck, stick it out!

Wellbutrin in the beginning made me lost my appetite.

Hehe, sorry for the last sentence, that's how it was suppose to start and not end doh!

Does Welbutrin cause jaw clenching and teeth grinding? I have noticed myself having these issues and wondered why.

It never did for me but I certainly wouldn't be surprised if it does for some people. On it's own with nothing else taken, I feel well off happy, but it does make me irritable and anxious. It's suppose to address anxiety but I have not heard a single person say it helped their anxiety. Just the opposite usually. But I still take it because it's great with Zoloft they two together is called welloff
Taken with Zoloft I still feel the wellbutrin however the zoloft does halp on the anxiety and also gives the wellbutrin a little kick on the depression too. Together does take some getting use too! Muscle tightening in the knees and elbows, insomnia, mild tremors, brain zaps. But those wear off eventually. It's certainly not going to be for every one.