[SoScorpio]

Do you think that's long enough for it to be working, if it's going to work?

I tried Welbutrin against the advice of my boyfriend and some people online. The thing is, it's one of the few I've never been on before, and obviously the ones I've been on didn't do the trick, so I thought I'd try it. There were a few things about it, like smoking cessation and less risk of gaining weight or getting restless leg syndrome, that appealed to me.

I don't know if it's working though. My boyfriend says he doesn't think so because when I first started taking it I got worse. I told him that can happen, and in any case I don't really think it was related. I just happened to be going through a depressive stage that I saw coming, with the coming of winter, and that's why I got on medication.
After that first bad week, I started feeling much better. I felt like I could cope, didn't feel sad for no reason, etc. But the past month or so has been really bad again. I can't really see it being worse if I hadn't been medicated, but I guess I don't know for sure.

Anyway, think it's time to try a different one? It's been so long since I was on anything, maybe I have to try the ones I already did again. I'm very leery of Seroquel and Trazodone though, I took those two together for a year and the side effects were horrible, and I can't be sure which was causing them.

Thoughts?

Edit: I should mention that apparently I was on very high doses of Seroquel and Trazodone. I don't remember what the dosages were, but I do remember when I went to a different psychiatrist and they saw what I was on, they called my previous psych incompetent and said there was no reason, with my symptoms, to have me on that much. Maybe I wouldn't have restless leg syndrome and munchies on them if I'm on a low dose?

[Moogieotter]

Hi,

What symptoms are you seeking relief from with Welbutrin? What dose are you taking?

Other meds now too? Which ones and how much?

Can help,

moogs

[Permacultural]

Are you still at 150mg or did your doctor bump you up to 300?

[jbuttz]

I switched from wellbutrin to escitalopram(lexapro/cipralex)
Side effects = no appetite and sexual interest went down but not diminished. My mind feels cloudy some days, still having anxiety and still have depressed days but that's to be expected. Overall, I think I'm doing better. Hope this helps!

[SoScorpio]

Sorry, should have added more details.
I'm at 150 still, it's the Welbutrin XL that I guess is delayed release? I'm taking it for depression and anxiety, the depression has been worst lately. I think I may have SAD, I seem to get depressed every winter, though it happens other times as well.
Not on any other meds except birth control, dunno if that matters. Could have an effect on hormones I guess. I have actually discovered that birth control tends to improve my mood. Did an experiment a couple years back, stopped taking both birth control and Zoloft at the same time, then tried them separately. I found that on just Zoloft, my mood wasn't very good and I had decreased libido. On just birth control, I felt a little better and the libido issue disappeared. But I've been on birth control consistently for more than five years now, and it isn't enough for my mood anymore.

I've tried Lexapro before, but it was years ago. That one didn't seem to have much effect on me at all.
Prozac, on the other hand, I think made me more prone to rage. I guess it's possible I was just going through a natural period of rage and it wasn't related.
Cymbalta was ineffective.
Seroquel and Trazodone, as I've mentioned, had terrible side effects, and I think it was also when I was taking those that I became dependent on my pills to sleep, and it took years to re-train myself to sleep on my own.

Those are all the anti-depressants I can remember, though I've also taken anti-anxiety meds. I was prescribed Xanax (real Xanax) at age 12, before they stopped giving them to minors. I wonder if it somehow messed up my neurons or something. I did manage to stop taking them before becoming dependent, because I started noticing a placebo effect. In the past few years I've also sporadically taken Klonopin. Haven't in months though, I'm actually out right now and my doctor didn't want to refill it for some reason. I was using the online refill service and the nurse wrote me back and was really vague about the reason. I was too lazy to press the issue, since my anxiety has been pretty manageable lately.

It looks as though I've never been on a TCA though. I wonder why no doctor has ever suggested them to me?

I just learned something interesting, regarding hormones. I am NOT a morning person, never have been, and in fact experience morning sickness many mornings, and have since childhood. I looked this up just now and found that it's rather common, and common causes include acid reflux and the body's inability to release serotonin or adrenaline in the morning. But only for some people, and that's why most people don't feel like they're dying every morning.
Here's what gets me: if it is a lack of serotonin, shouldn't an SSRI help? Come to think of it, I can't recall if I had these symptoms when I was on SSRIs. I don't really know the actions of dopamine and norepinephrine, which the Welbutrin is a reuptake blocker for. But is it possible that it's actually making my morning symptoms worse?

Well crap. I also just learned that I should have been taking my Welbutrin in the morning, not at night. I've been taking it at night for three months. Do you think I have to do a whole 3 months more taking it in the morning to see if it works?

[Moogieotter]

Welbutrin 300 xl might help. Yes change to mornings. Do you drink alcohol? I would try what they call "California Rocket Fuel" which is an SNRI + Remeron.

Have you had your thyroid levels checked. Hypothyroidism can cause rage and depression.

Good luck.

moogs

[Moogieotter]

Oh, about TCAs. They are an option but have much higher instances of side effects than SSRIs and newer treatments.

[Chummy]

Do you see a pdoc? He/she can give better advice than us.

I'm on Wellbutrin 300mg and Effexor. Wellbutrin helped me a little bit, but when my pdoc added effexor I really felt a different in my mood.

Before this I've tried several SSRI's but none of those did anything for me.

[SeekerOfLife]

It took me six months on Wellbutrin SR (100 mg, in morning only) to see the full effects. Yes, six months. In the last month, it seems to not be helping as much. May be time for a change.

[SoScorpio]

I don't see a psychiatrist, yet. I have so many kinds of appointments I have to make, I'm trying to do everything I can to prepare before making one, so I don't have to keep seeing them.

Switched to taking the Welbutrin in the mornings a couple days ago. It's going to be so hard to remember, for as long as I've been taking pills (over a decade) I've taken them at night, because the ones I used to take were sedative, and it was easier for me to remember, as soon as I get ready for sleep my mind knows to remind me to take my pills. Have to figure out a way to remember them in the mornings.

Guess I'll keep waiting. A supplementary medication might be in order too, back when I was on meds all the time I rarely only had one.

I just hate making appointments. I barely get time off as it is and I love being at home, it's so hard to sacrifice my free time for it, especially when I know if I made all the appointments I'm supposed to, I'd have no days off for a month. Guess I'll just try to spread them out.

[pinkflower17]

Just curious, have you tried a sun lamp? You mentioned you think you might have SAD. It's been really helpful for me, especially with getting going in the morning.

[SoScorpio]

Thought about it, but my boyfriend would never let me buy something he considers useless. He doesn't really believe in mental illness, seems like.
I do have an AeroGarden... It's LED though so I'm not sure that works anymore.

[Moogieotter]

Hi,

I have used a full spectrum lamp in treatment of SAD. I agree as do numerous studies that they are helpful. Not sure about the not allowed because of boyfriend's beliefs. Does he control other areas of your healthcare?

moogs

[SoScorpio]

Not my healthcare per se. He doesn't really "stop" me from doing anything, but he's said again and again that he doesn't think therapy will do me any good. He says I can do it if I want to, but with an attitude that suggests I'll come around to his way of thinking.
I should explain what I mean by "let", because I have a heightened fear of disapproval. I mean that if I asked him if I could use some of our money to buy one, he'd say it was stupid. If I pressed the issue, he might finally relent, but tell me I can't eat fast food for lunch or something, to make up for it in the budget. If I went and bought one without consulting him, he'd be mad because he'd see it as a waste of money. He wouldn't threaten me or physically stop me, but I still don't feel I can do it without his permission.

It's hard to figure out if our relationship is healthy. He's controlling in some ways, but I often feel like it's more because I'm out of control than because he needs to have control. I've been more dependent on him than I should, and have noticed a pattern of dependence in past relationships.
As for my mental health, I mostly just get the feeling he doesn't want to be involved, because he can't understand it and can't fix it. He thinks I can fix everything myself, and counseling is a waste of money. A full-spectrum lamp for mood improvement he would see as akin to voodoo -- in other words, baloney. He's just very cynical and takes a negative view of anything that isn't people just solving their own problems without talking to anyone. He doesn't rely on anyone, and doesn't see why I have to, I think.

He also advised me against Wellbutrin, but a couple years ago it was him who suggested I should get back on medication if I felt bad all the time. And when I discovered I'd been taking it at the wrong time, he said it was good, because he thought the pills weren't working at all, and maybe they will now.

[Moogieotter]

I see. There's good evidence and research on the lamps. Here is the mayo clinic article on it. They are well-respected even with cynics.

Seasonal affective disorder treatment: Choosing a light box - Mayo Clinic

We got a verillux light at Tuesday Morning for $30. Good luck!

moogs

[SoScorpio]

Originally Posted by Moogieotter

I see. There's good evidence and research on the lamps. Here is the mayo clinic article on it. They are well-respected even with cynics.

Seasonal affective disorder treatment: Choosing a light box - Mayo Clinic

We got a verillux light at Tuesday Morning for $30. Good luck!

moogs

Tuesday Morning, wow I forgot that place existed. I thought they only sold junk though, interesting. Good price, my mom got hers for about the same but it was on sale, normally $60 or something.

How do you use it though? Is it like cumulative, like you can use it whenever you're home and start to feel a little better overall, or do you have to have it on in the morning or whenever you're feeling particularly bad?

[Moogieotter]

It works best for me to just have it on, close to my face while I have cereal or check emails in the morning. I think a week with around 30 mins a day added up will help.

There's lots of good info out there. What are you doing w ur medication?

moogs

[SoScorpio]

Going to keep taking it for a while, since I didn't know I should have been taking it in the morning. I guess at least another month, maybe more.

[Moogieotter]

300 xl or 200 sr are both options I've enjoyed. Good luck!