[adel34]

Hi Everyone,
I'm currently taking zoloft 75 mg. My new pdoc has recommended that I start welbutrin to help with my energy. I spend a lot of time during the day sleeping/ with little energy. He said that this can't be a side-effect of the zoloft.
I've looked up welbutrin. It seems like an ok med, though I don't understand the different types, Xr and SR and whatever. Also it seems the dosing is kind of high, like the lowest dose you can have is like 100 mg or something? I've only ever been up to 75 mg of zoloft, so anything over that seems high. Also I heard you have to take it several times a day.
It also says it can cause anxiety. Have others experienced this? I struggle with anxiety so would hate for it to be worse. Any other side-effects others have had?
Also, for those that take the zoloft and welbutrin combination what do you think? Just trying to do my homework before I go back at the end of january and decide.
Thanks so much.

You really can't compare doses of one med to doses of another. They just don't really work that way. Each med has its own dose measurements, and just because you take a "larger" dose of one med doesn't mean it is stronger than the other. That's just the way each med is measured out.

Wellbutrin is considered activating, meaning it has a common effect of helping with energy level in many people. In fact, for some people it is too activating (particularly people dealing with bipolar disorder) and can create mania.

I've been on wellbutrin xl and it worked really well for me. I generally take 300mg. I've never had to take it more than once a day. Perhaps regular wellbutrin works differently than the xl version and might require taking it more often as it wouldn't be timed released.

I've taken it in combination with other antidepressants, but not with zoloft. It worked well for me in combination with pristiq and also with viibryd (not all 3 at once). Sometimes a combination of antidepressants works well for people as different antidepressants work on different neuroreceptors (all too technical for me, but your pdoc could explain). I'm one of those people who generally needs a combination of AD's or an AD with a mood stabilizer for greatest effect.

[adel34]

Hi Farmergirl,
Thanks so much for your reply! I really didn't know that, that you can't compare one med to another, but your explanation makes sense.
I'll have to ask my pdoc about which kind of welbutrin he'd be giving me. Glad you only had to take yours once a day and that the combination you were on worked for you!
That's scary that it can cause mania. I heard at a support group once that if you're not actually bipolar and you get mania just from taking too much of a med or something it's called bipolar 3. Anyway, I hope that doesn't happen to me. I've just been diagnosed with depression, not bipolar so hopefully it should be ok. I heard also that you can get seizures. It said it's mostly for people who have had that before, or if you take a really high dose. But then someone on youtube said that they had their first seizure on welbutrin which is really scary. (sigh)
Anyway, thanks so much Kris.

The seizure issue is a problem if you have had seizures in the past. Really, I've found wellbutrin to be probably the most effective AD for me personally and I haven't had problems with it losing effectiveness (which I had with other AD's). I had no problems with mania and I do have a bp diagnosis so the mania issue doesn't happen to everyone.

[sunrise]

XL (extended release): take once a day
SR (sustained release): take twice a day
Regular (immediate release): dosing varies, but generally it would not be prescribed just once a day, and one would work up to 3 times a day, either 3 x 75 mg or 3 x 100 mg. It is often used initially when figuring out the right dose for the person. Then a switch is made to SR or XL.

I have taken Wellbutrin for several years and really like it. When I asked my prescriber about the med causing anxiety, she said that there may not be one med that would help with all my issues, so the Wellbutrin might help with my ADHD and depression, but not anxiety. So I shouldn't have expectations for a cure-all. A prescriber has to start somewhere, and ADHD and depression is where she chose to begin. My experience was that the first few days on Wellbutrin were super activating but that went away soon. Whenever I had a dose increase, the same thing happened. So if you do feel increased anxiety at first, it might resolve. I now only take a low dose--100 mg SR once a day--and this is enough for me. (Helps with ADHD in a way that a stimulant alone does not.) But I used to take as much as 300 mg. My only side effect at that dose was hand tremor and I just tolerated it rather than switching meds.

Good luck!

[adel34]

Thanks farmergirl and sunrise.
Your oppinions and thoughts on this are so helpful.
I'll keep everyone posted on what goes on.