Wellbutrin-any experiences

[Katie]

My doctor just put me on a new medicine to help with my mood swings..and generalized "^**#(". ( that is another whole post..lol)

Anyway...any experiences out there? good and bad??
How long till I feel a little more Happy!

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

Pharmacist DH says you could feel a little draggy for 7 days or so, but you should definitely see some improvement in 10-14 days, or you need to try something different.



Good luck, I hope it works for you!

 

[EROS]

Katie, it's an excellent drug, and as CJ stated, it should have an effect within 1-2 weeks. The same agent is also marketed as ZYBAN to help people give up smoking . It also has no sexual side effects compared to the SSRIs (Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, and Celexa) which can cause sexual dysfunction in up to 40% of patients .........

 

[Beauty]

Is this one of the ones that you can immediantly switch to from Paxil? I have been on the Paxil for 10 years and would love to try and come off buy the withdrawel from Paxil is heck!

 

[mamajoan]

My experience with Wellbutrin... I was on Paxil for approx 18 months... did not need it any more.. Had one hec of a time trying to come off Paxil the first time. Doc gave me Wellbutrin to help me come off the Paxil.. then I would come off the Wellbutrin.
It was successful. I am no longer on either of these drugs. HURRAY!! The only problem for me was I was Allergic to Wellbutrin-severe rash and nausea. But I stuck it out as long as I could so I would be able to get thru the absolutely HORRID PAXIL WITHDRAWAL. Coming off the Wellbutrin was quick and easy for me. All in all it took almost 2 months to ween off of both meds. It is a slow process but it was easier to do with the Wellbutin than without it. Everyone is different and experience with medications varies wildly.
Today I feel better than I have in a long time. Please keep in close contact with your doc. I am fortunate to have a doc who truly cares how medication affects me.
I hope you feel better soon.

 

[WebmasterAlex]

Just be a little careful, apperantly in some people it can have the opposite effect. I took it as Zyban to quit smoking and after about a week I was smoking twice as much and completely depressed! My doctor knew right away as apperantly it does happen.

 

[snoopy]

My sister used it to quit smoking, it worked in that she quit smoking but she said it made her completely loopy. Could be that she wasn't depressed to begin with, so it had an adverse affect on her.

 

[cleo]

I've known a number of people who've been on it and found it made them want to jump right out of their skin. One of my dear friends used it right after her father died and it was not a good experience for her. I'm sure it's an individual thing, so perhaps there's no way to know how you'll react until you try it.

 

[SeaSpray]

Just another experience here:

DH took Wellbutrin to quit smoking. It worked, and he had no noticable side effects. He wasn't depressed to begin with, so I don't know how it would've worked in that capacity.

Good luck, Katie, I hope it helps!

 

[KozmicLee]

For about the first week I had really bad headaches, but after that I haven't ever had a problem. Good luck

 

[Geoff_M]

A word, or two, of caution... My wife was hospitalized last week due to a chronic overdose of Wellbutrin SR. She's been on it for over a year and when she takes the correct dose it works for her. But during a recent office visit, her LNP accidentally wrote the script down incorrectly on the pad. Instead of the normal 2 – 100 mg tabs twice a day, she wrote down 2 – 200 mg tabs twice daily. This is TWICE the maximum daily dosage per the PDR. The pharmacy, a national chain that trumpets their computer system on TV ads for catching bad scripts and potential harmful interactions, was all too happy to dispense it. My wife noticed the pills looked different, but double-checked the label for the instructions: "Take 2 tablets - twice daily."

Let me pause for a second and acknowledge that most, if not all, Rx drugs have health consequences if overused. But the ER docs that we later encountered said that Wellbutrin has a smaller margin for error that other anti-depressants.

She started unknowingly OD'ing herself two Sunday's ago. She said she was rather tired for the next couple of days, but she attributed that to the OTC cough syrup she was taking for a cough she developed. She had been taking the OD for four days when she “went critical” at work. She couldn't do simple math, she didn't feel right, and she'd read things but couldn't comprehend some sentences. Her co-workers said she was pale and her eyes were red.

Thankfully, she had to presence of mind to think that the Wellbutrin had something to do with it. She called her doctor's office and the pharmacy. A co-worker drove her to the doctor's office. In the meantime the doctor and pharmacist realized the error. When she arrived at the doctor's office her resting pulse rate was over 140! The main risk of OD'ing on Wellbutrin is Grand Mal seizures.... which they thought she might have at any moment (throw in a stroke or cardiac arrest too for fun!) They called the ambulance and she was off to the ER.

She spent the night in the ER. Per the Poison Control Center, there wasn't much they could do other than give her activated charcoal to drink. She started to come "down" the next morning, but they had to put her on heart meds lower her still elevated heart rate (then around 100). She was discharged later that morning and has been off work for a week now. She's been going through cold-turkey withdrawal (slept around 18 hours the first couple of days) and then a slow build-up of going back on the Wellburtin SR.

The aftermath... All indications are she'll have a full recovery. They said if she had continued with the OD for a couple more days there could have been permanent damage to her health... or death. The LNP and doctor were horrified at the error. They have been great. They've apologized, told us they won't blame us if we left the practice, etc. etc. Someone from the hospital's Rick Management office (they also own the office where the doctor practices) came to the ER about two hours after she was admitted and said the error was theirs and they would cover all expenses, including lost time at work, child care, etc. etc. I was expecting them to ask us to sign a waiver excluding them from further liability in exchange, but no such request was made. There’s no indication that this represents a pattern of problems with the LNP or doctor.

The pharmacy was another story. It was clear from my layman's reading of the PDR for Wellbutrin SR that there should have been a red flag at the pharmacy when the bad script was presented. I took a photocopy of the DPR entry and took it to the pharmacy. The pharmacist on-duty (not the one that filled the script) was doing a major CYA. She was sorry that my wife was sickened, but she said doctors prescribe off-label (deviate from FDA approved labeling) "all the time" and they "were just doing what the doctor ordered". I know that State Board of Pharmacy regulations prohibit the dispensing of any prescription that the pharmacist “has reason to believe that such prescription COULD cause harm to the patient.” As terms of their license, they are bound to double-check or question prescriptions that don’t look right. So I said I wanted to know if the dispensing pharmacist had called to verify the script before filling it.

We've talked to about 10 health care professionals we know about the case, and their initial reactions were all the same... They'd drop their jaws and say "She was talking HOW MUCH per day!?!?!?" One friend, who's a nurse, asked a 3rd year pharmacy student about what they'd do if presented with a script for 800 mg of Wellburtin SR a day. The student immediately responded "I wouldn't fill it.... the maximum dose of that is 400 mg per day!"

Four days later I still hadn't heard back from the pharmacy. So I called again. Later in the day the “district pharmacy manager” called me back. He, for the first time, said they should not have filled the prescription. He also said their computer system should have flagged the script as questionable. He tested it with the same drug and dosage to be sure. He said the pharmacist on-duty at the time would had to have OVERRIDDEN the warning to dispense the drug. He said he’d investigate what happened and get back to me. In the meantime I have an “Allegation” form from the state on my desk with their name on it!

 

[TigH]

Geoff,

I am so sorry to hear about what happened to your wife. I hope she is making a wonderful recovery. I also hope the pharmacy takes some kind of action against the person who filled her prescription. Sending pixie dust to you both!!!!

 

[Geoff_M]

Thanks. It's funny how attitude makes all the difference. In theory, we ought to be as, or more, upset at the person that wrote the script as we are at the pharmacy. But their reactions have been 180 degrees apart.

I also want people to understand that I'm not saying Wellbutrin is a "bad" drug. Just that it's some SERIOUS stuff and be very careful if you go on it. Educate yourself about it, how to use it... and NOT use it. It ain't aspirin!!!

 

[Kermit]

Geoff, I'm praying that your wife makes a full recovery with no lasting effects. That is so scary. I don't blame you a bit for being so upset with the pharmacist. It sounds like everyone else at least learned something and will be much less likely to make a similar mistake in the future. The pharmacist sounds like someone who's full of himself and who won't change.

 

[bsnyder]

Geoff, I'm relieved to hear your wife is recovering and expected to be fine!

And I agree with you! It's all in the attitude. When someone makes a mistake, they should be willing to admit it! It doesn't change what happened, of course, but when someone is not willing to admit a mistake, I think it increases the likelihood that it will happen again!

 

[RoutemanDan]

I'm on it it right now.I am taking 300mgs a day to quit smoking.It is definitely helping me quit(can't stand the taste or smell and am down to about 4-6 cigs a day as opposed to the1 and a half to 2 packs a day)but I hate the way it makes me feel,not myself at all.

 

[Geoff_M]

For general information, here's the PDF version of the prescribing information for Wellbutrin SR:
http://us.gsk.com/products/assets/us_wellbutrinSR.pdf

This is the approved labelling per the FDA.

Note: This is ONLY for the SR formulation of Wellbutrin!!!

 

[iLovDisney]

I'm on Wellbutrin now and have taken it on and off for 3 years for depression. I have a little problem with dry mouth when I first start taking it, but that wears off.

I wrote a post about my depression experience here.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=165844&highlight=chair

It's on the first page with the name Mom-to-3 (which I can no longer use due to cookie problems).


I have found that many people take anti-depressants, and are helped by them, but not nearly enough people talk about taking them. It's still a big hidden secret. And it shouldn't be.

PM me if you have any specific questions.

 

[Claudia1]

A close family member is on 300mg daily, 100mg in the AM and 200mg at supper. They advised her to take the big dose early in the evening to avoid sleep disorders. It can keep her from sleeping if taken too late in the day.