[ajv2014]

Just started Wellbutrin a week ago, as an adjunct to Celexa 10 mg. for sexual side effects. Also hoping it will help with some ADHD inattentive symptoms, which SSRIs tend to exacerbate. I’m taking 200 mg. per day, one dose at 7 am and one at noon. The first few days were unremarkable, with typical side effects (sore throat, sleeplessness, little appetite). It did help correct the citalopram sexual dysfunction, initially (before all hell broke loose). The pharmacist told me this drug could be stimulating, but I’ve found the opposite effect to an extreme.

I feel fatigued and zombie-like, worst anhedonia and lethargy I’ve ever felt in my life. I am emotionally flat, nearly catatonic. I was told Wellbutrin can increase anxiety, but it took mine completely away. Along with motivation, creativity, sex drive (even WORSE than before), appetite, cognitive function, and personality, all within a week. I can’t think enough to be anxious. Everything feels like slow motion. I just stand or sit for long periods of time staring blankly into space. Citalopram never made me feel this drugged. I can barely even listen to music or watch TV. Nothing is remotely pleasurable.

I’m a pretty avid writer, and normally write a lot of poetry. The first couple days of Wellbutrin I was writing a fair bit, but I quickly lost the ability to write at all. And we’re talking ten pages a day to scribbling some mundane sentences about the weather on a piece of paper and then giving up. I never feel content doing anything. When I’m active I just want to lie down and sleep, but when I lie down I can’t sleep at all. I have the feeling that I’m no longer a person, but a corpse with a functional brain. I try to exercise and I feel so weak that I have to stop. I can barely keep up a conversation.

I know these drugs can take time to work, and the side effects will often fade, but I don’t know if any benefit is worth how awful I feel right now. Everything is so dull, like severe depression without low mood, if that makes sense. Just no energy, no drive, no emotion to speak of—and my whole body aches. I have headaches and pain all down my neck and shoulders. I just want to lie down in a dark room all the time.

But the strangest thing is, the more caffeine I drink, the more deadened I feel. Today I was exhausted at work, so I drank a few cups of coffee and one of tea. I felt no increase in energy; I just got slower and slower. By the end of the day, I was practically immobile. Now I feel overwhelmingly sleepy, which is strange because I drank so much caffeine.

I know that it works by a different mechanism, but I’ve taken Adderall before and it was wonderfully calming. More like a “Zen state” as opposed to the “zombie state” with the Wellbutrin. However, I was worried about side effects, tolerance, and addiction potential. I’ve also tried Strattera, which gave me killer mood swings. The Wellbutrin might be helping me focus, but more by putting my brain into a stupor than anything else. If anything, my inattention, forgetfulness, and lethargy are worse than before! I just don’t care about anything.

I want so badly to feel emotions. I hate this feeling, and I want to be sad or angry about it, but it’s like my brain won’t let any emotions surface—like they’re being wrestled down by the drug. Other people have even noticed a blunting in my affect.

I don’t know how typical this reaction is. Oddly, the most comparable experience I’ve had was taking Abilify two years ago when I was misdiagnosed with bipolar II. Most people seem to experience an initial euphoric period, or at least increased anxiety with Wellbutrin. I don’t want to stop taking it without talking to my psychiatrist (who prescribed it over the phone since he’s too busy to see me this month), but I feel like I’m poisoning myself every time I take it. I don’t know if I should stop or keep waiting to see what happens, since I know they take time to really work. At this point, I’d rather have sexual dysfunction than total dysfunction. If this keeps up, I’ll be too incapacitated to work or socialize. It’s too bad; I’d heard that the bupropion/citalopram combo was generally well-tolerated.

Any advice or experience would be greatly appreciated! I don't know if I should scrap the Wellbutrin and keep the Celexa, or just try and go off of both. Or try a new combination like Celexa and Adderall.

[Vossie42]

Since it makes you so tired, maybe you should take it in the evening and at bedtime. Also, call your doctor to see if you can cut your dose a bit. It seems that 200 mg is too much for you. You may be ultra-sensitive to it and need to take less to get the same effect as someone on a higher dose. Or you started on too high of a dose. Or it may not be suitable for you at all. Call your doctor and see what he says.

Just thought of something... Do you take the regular version or the extended release version of Wellbutrin? That can make a major difference.

[ajv2014]

The sustained release (which is the normal one I think). It's also generic, which I've heard can make a huge difference. I'm trying to get a hold of my doctor to talk about it. Honestly I do fine mood-wise on the celexa and since the wellbutrin isn't helping counteract the side effects it was supposed to I'll probably just go off it, if my pdoc ok's it.

[Vossie42]

I went on Wellbutrin to supplement my antidepressant after the death of my dad. Wellbutrin had worked well for me in the past. Well, not this time! The sustained release made me manic. I could not calm down or sleep no matter what I did. Doc switched me to the regular version. Not much improvement. I gave up on Wellbutrin altogether. Sounds like it's affecting you just as badly as it did me only in the opposite way, lol.

[ajv2014]

Sorry to hear that;it sounds like a rough time! I had such high hopes for this drug, too. Yeah it seems like agitation/mania is way more common...it's not usually so sedating/draining. When you took it before and it worked, did you have a lot of side effects at the beginning? When did it really start kicking in? Although, I'm sure everyone's reaction is different.

I'm certainly no expert, and I guess this is more a question for a doctor, but I'm confused as to how I could do so well with stimulants like Adderall and so poorly on this. I thought both acted on dopamine and norepinephrine. I'm sure the mechanism is entirely different, though...

[Vossie42]

The only side effect from when I took Wellbutrin in the past was that it aggravated my eating disorder. I could take the medicine for up to two weeks before it aggravated the eating disorder, but that was generally all I needed to get through a temporary rough patch.

According to one psychiatrist I saw, there are various versions of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. I'm sure you've heard about the lock and key analogy about how meds hook up to neurotransmitters. So, not only does serotonin have different locks from dopamine, but within the serotonin class, there are numerous different kinds of locks. That is why there are so many SSRIs. One SSRI fits one kind of serotonin lock and another SSRI fits a different kind of serotonin lock. Some people have more of one kind of serotonin cells and other people have more of a different kind of serotonin cells. Hence, one SSRI can work for one person and not help another person. Since there is no test (blood test, brain scan, etc.) to determine exactly what version of neurotransmitters you have, you have to try all the meds on the market until you find the right one. Bummer.

[shortandcute]

its only been a week -- give it time (but do talk to your doc)

[sugahorse1]

I don't find Wellbutrin to be stimulating anymore. It may counter the sexual side effects of Zoloft, and it definitely does a good job as an anti-depressant.

[NJBlues]

Wellbutrin may not be for you - it wasn't for me - but you shouldn't go off it without speaking to your dr about how to wean off it.