[ComfortablyNumb5]

I've been on welbutrin for months now and at first it really got me out of my hole. Well lately I'm starting to feel pretty down again. I'm not open to increasing since it makes me shaky. I take 150mg one - two times a day. Depending on the time I wake up. Well lately I just want to cry at everything. I lay in bed all day, get easily agitated. I can't tell if the welbutrin had just pooped out or could it be making my depression worse?

Anyone with experience on this?

For me Wellbutrin is stimulating. There were times when I was stimulated and felt bad also, this was not a good combo. I like Wellbutrin, I'm a big fan, but I must use if cautiously and I recommend others with bipolar to always be on the lookout. Wellbutrin is mostly helpful to me in providing energy, reducing my need for sleep, allowing me to have energy enough to chat with people....it's like it makes me hypomanic. It also increases anxiety and heart palpitations too at time. All of these meds have a downside it seems. Can't escape that I guess. I hope you figuring out a solution to your dilemma.

[CherryGlazer]

antidepressants usually make you go up, and then crash - atleast if you have bipolar, it can exaggerate that.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Originally Posted by CherryGlazer

antidepressants usually make you go up, and then crash - atleast if you have bipolar, it can exaggerate that.

Yes that's what feels like is happening. Wellbutrin was an upper and put me in a good mood at first but now I'm in this funk where I have no motivation and my only emotion is sadness. Not even getting out of bed. The whole 9 yards. And I take my Wellbutrin every day but it's just not cutting it anymore. I was never one to stay stable for long. And this is a let down since I was doing so good for months. I'm a rapid cycler and I hope to god I'm not going back to that.

[still_crazy]

hi. i was on 400mgs wellbutrin (200mgs sr, 2x daily). It was ok. good at first, then ok, then i started feeling somehow both over-medicated (I take other stuff, too...) and jittery, so I dropped it, rather quickly. I was slowed down and kinda pensive for a couple days, but I bounced back quickly. I feel a lot better now.

I will say that the wellbutrin was easier to stop, for me, than anything else. I didn't quite realize how jittery-making it was until I'd been off of it for a little while. Then...well, I kind of wonder why I was on it for so long, and also...why my dose was doubled, from 200 to 400, so quickly. I dunno.

Some people take an additional antidepressant with wellbutrin. I'm not recommending it, at all, but it seems to be somewhat common. an ssri, remeron, now and then effexor or cymbalta. I guess the additional drug would depend on the problems you're dealing with, doctor's preferences, etc.

I hope you can find a way out of this situation. The psych drugs clearly only do so much, many of them only help for a while...I kind of wonder how and why psychiatry exists as a separate specialty, honestly.

[Tkb1966]

I had the same problem with wellbutrin. Was really good for a while then just stopped working. But for me every AD is the same, they stop working.

[ComfortablyNumb5]

Yea Wellbutrin is basically the only AD I can take because SSRI's and SNRI's have sexual side effects that really suck. I think I'm going to see if my pdoc can take me off it and increase my lamictal.

[Leia78]

When Wellbutrin stopped working for me, my doctor switched me to Trintellix. It works really good in it's place, however, I don't know anything about the sexual side effects. (meds effect everyone differently - I haven't had any, though) They both work on the same receptors or something. Trintellix is different than other AD's, my pdoc said because it's a modulator for 5 receptors or something like that.

[Sunflower123]

I take 450 mg of Wellbutrin a day along with 40 mg of Prozac. I still have depression but when I went off the Wellbutrin I went into a severe depression. I'm guessing that is causing my anxiety issues so I will be talking to my pdoc about this.