[Poppet]

Today I went to my dr and asked him if I could try Wellbutrin - he had never heard of it. I wondered if I had pronounced it wrong ! I felt so stupid I didn't know what to say..... I murmured something about 'was it only available in america' but felt so stupid I just gratefully answered his next question.
He is a really calm and understanding dr and accepts the illness and my character very well, but he doesent 'know' me.
He has prescibed Lustral ( I see it is called Zoloft here ) so fingers crossed !
Just getting it off my chest, is it possible he wouldn't have heard of Wellbutrin because that is only available in the US ? ?
I am in a highly stressable state at the moment so maybe thats why this is whirling round in my head - why, why, why hadn't he heard of it !!!!!!!!
Why am I making such a big deal of it - everything is like that at the moment and I feel like shouting ' stop the ride, i want to get off !!!'
Sorry, guys and gals.................be better next time Poppet
Seriosly, though, does anyone know the answer to that question ?

[h0kie]

I don't know why your doc hadn't heard of it Poppet. You could be right about it only being available in the US.

As far as Zoloft goes, hubby pdoc told him it was one of the mildest antidepressants, so that might by why he perscribed that.

I'm glad you got to the doc. New meds are coming out all the time, its hard for docs (and us) to keep up. Maybe do a search on the web or go to the drub makers site and take the info with you next time. I've seen Wellbutrin commercials here, but I'm in the U.S.

Here is the website: http://www.wellbutrin-xl.com/
There is a note at the bottom that says the site is intened for US residents only. So it may only be available here.

[silver_queen]

Hey Poppet, I looked it up and what I found was quite interesting. Its generic name is bupropion and it seems that in the UK it is mainly used to help people quit smoking, and its brand name here (in UK) is Zyban.

[silver_queen]

Actually, I was quite relieved when you talked about Wellbutrin, because I had been thinking when I first saw the title of this post, that you were going to say he hadnt heard of depression, and I wouldnt put that past some drs in the UK either lol.

[(JD)]

Yes I think it does have a different brand name in the UK... but the base name is Buproprion, and maybe that isn't different? I guess you could google it..

[Rebound]

Please try not to worry too much about this. If buproprion is either not available in your country or available under a different name it is actually likely your doctor would not know of Wellbutrin. My own doc gets confused when I refer to drugs by their generic names (they are printed on my prescription bottles) rather than the names he is familiar with lol.

As has been already said, unfortunately, doctors in general have way more to keep up with than they actually do, really, especially when it comes to medications. A pharmacist should be able to tell you if it is available under a different name even if your doctor can't.

[Poppet]

everyone ! just a quick hello - been on computer waayyy too long and told myself I wouldn't get tempted into the realm of the forum ! but I couldn't resist
I have found out my brother-in-law took Zyban for smoking and he was told it was also an antidepressant. So, I think the theory of differences in UK and US drug names could be the answer to my ( then) desperate question.
have good weekends ( if you can )..........
Poppet

[Rapunzel]

I'm sure he must just not have been familiar with the name it is sold under in the US, however, I'm continually amazed at the things that experts don't know. One of my vets was going to treat a lesion on one of my sheep, and I asked him if maybe he should use gloves because if it was what I thought it was it could have possibly been zoonotic (which means contagious from animals to humans or from one species to another), and he didn't seem to have heard that word before. A veterinarian! Then again, I've had veterinarians not be able to tell which of my critters were goats and which were sheep. I guess it's not surprising that human doctors don't know everything sometimes. They do have a lot to keep up with, and sometimes those of us who spend a lot of time learing about one particular thing may know more about that thing than the experts, or at least a few details that they don't know.