[gina_re]

I want to start this off with the fact that I never mess with my meds without speaking with my pdoc first. But I've become desperate. I have been having major anxiety issues for months, almost a year now. Things have calmed down at work and I thought that would help, but I still feel anxious and paranoid a lot. My gut feeling was telling me that it was my Wellbutrin. So I started taking just 150mg in the morning and skipping the afternoon dose. My anxiety dropped so much and I felt so much better. I even took my trash out during daylight hours! But the problem is that my appetite increased. At first I blamed it on that time of the month, but that shouldn't be the case by now. So do I go back to my regular dose? I'm not a fan of my pdoc anymore because I feel like she doesn't take me seriously. If I'm having these feelings for no reason, I think it's chemical. Nothing is happening that I can bring to my therapist. I'm going to refill the bottle I guess. It's just so frustrating. Needed to vent to someone out there who may get it.

If I'm understanding the question correctly, you are asking if a decreased appetite is worth crippling anxiety? Only you can answer that question I'm afraid. I would be inclined to say it's not worth it but I don't know your weight and corresponding health and mental issues enough to make such a determination. I'm staying off Wellbutrin currently because I can't handle the increased anxiety at this time. For me the anxiety issue diminishes though so I plan to try it when more stable. For you it doesn't seem the anxiety goes away and for me that would be an unacceptable side effect. (((Hugs)))

[xRavenx]

I can relate as far as the Wellbutrin goes.
When I got off of it, I was able to notice such a positive difference. Wellbutrin made me super agitated and anxious. Although it suppressed my appetite, it was worth getting off of it. In my case, it even caused me to rapidly cycle. I really hope you find a pdoc who you like that takes you seriously. If you want, you can tell her that you don't feel your concerns are being taken seriously. Otherwise, getting a referral from someone you trust would likely be a good option and is personally the route I would take. Regardless, I am sorry about what you are going through and hope you feel better soon.

[luvyrself]

Originally Posted by xRavenx

I can relate as far as the Wellbutrin goes.
When I got off of it, I was able to notice such a positive difference. Wellbutrin made me super agitated and anxious. Although it suppressed my appetite, it was worth getting off of it. In my case, it even caused me to rapidly cycle. I really hope you find a pdoc who you like that takes you seriously. If you want, you can tell her that you don't feel your concerns are being taken seriously. Otherwise, getting a referral from someone you trust would likely be a good option and is personally the route I would take. Regardless, I am sorry about what you are going through and hope you feel better soon.

-- I had the same experince w wellbutrin. I too was agitated and anxious. I am bp2 w gad. I think the Wellbutrin was pushing me up into hypomania. Now i am taking only latuda and it is working much better for me.

[Unrigged64072835]

I had to stop taking Wellbutrin because it caused anxiety. Such a shame, it was working on my depression well.

[gina_re]

I was originally prescribed it a couple of years ago for this horrible depression after the crash from hypomania. It did wonders back then. But I guess it is not meant to be part of my cocktail anymore. Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences!!

I tried wellbutrin years ago. Never again! Yes I had no appetite, but I was agitated, had insomnia, horribly anxious. It was horrible.

For me lack of appetite isn't worth that. I hope you can find a pdoc that listens to you. It's worth it.

[Sunflower123]

Wow!! I'm glad you started this thread. I was diagnosed as BP2 with GAD. I take 450 mg of Wellbutrin a day and I fall into a deep depression without it. I never connected my Wellbutrin with my sometimes severe but always there anxiety before. I will definitely be talking to my pdoc about this next week. All these times I've been telling him about my out of control anxiety and this topic never surfaced. Maybe it's something I should have known.

Thanks again for bringing this up.

[gina_re]

Originally Posted by Jennifer 1967

Wow!! I'm glad you started this thread. I was diagnosed as BP2 with GAD. I take 450 mg of Wellbutrin a day and I fall into a deep depression without it. I never connected my Wellbutrin with my sometimes severe but always there anxiety before. I will definitely be talking to my pdoc about this next week. All these times I've been telling him about my out of control anxiety and this topic never surfaced. Maybe it's something I should have known.

Thanks again for bringing this up.

I have the same diagnoses as you. But I've heard others say that they have had bad anxiety after taking Wellbutrin, so I was curious if that was the same for me. I think it might be. Good luck to you!

[ComfortablyNumb5]

I'm "supposed" to take my Wellbutrin twice a day at 150mg and like you I often have to skip my second dose because it makes me so jumpy and a massive tremor. I'd shake so bad my family thought I was drinking again. Or if I'm at a store and have to hand over money it just shakes like crazy and it's embarrassing. I'd say just go at a pace that feels ok for you. I definitely get what you're going through. As far as appetite goes, I don't think I ate for like 2 days when I first started it but after a week or so my appetite went back to normal.

Yeah Gina, the anxiety is real and I'm so sorry about it because Wellbutrin is just so absolutely wonderful for depression. At least for me it is. And I like the weight loss, energy, sex drive, need for less sleep. I don't know if that's all hypomania or just a positive result from the med but I sure did enjoy it. Perhaps having my AP on board will buffer it a bit when I try taking it again. As soon as I'm over this current episode I plan to try it and might soon be sitting where you are wondering if it's worth the anxiety. (((Hugs)))

[gina_re]

Originally Posted by ElsaMars

Yeah Gina, the anxiety is real and I'm so sorry about it because Wellbutrin is just so absolutely wonderful for depression. At least for me it is. And I like the weight loss, energy, sex drive, need for less sleep. I don't know if that's all hypomania or just a positive result from the med but I sure did enjoy it. Perhaps having my AP on board will buffer it a bit when I try taking it again. As soon as I'm over this current episode I plan to try it and might soon be sitting where you are wondering if it's worth the anxiety. (((Hugs)))

The sex drive! I forgot about that. Guess my libido is going to go back down soon. I stopped taking it two days ago. I guess that's ok since I've been single for years and years...
I still have a refill, so if it doesn't work out, I'll at least take the one morning dose. But one thing I have noticed is that my energy just overall has dropped. Such a catch 22 with all of this.