Posted by dioxinsniffer on July 30, 2001, at 22:02:56
hi,
i feel pretty stupid saying this but i've just figured this out tonight and happened on this message board by chance (or by google if you will.) i tend to get long-winded in most written communications but please bear with me.
i've been taking Wellbutrin SR 2x150/day for about 20 months and have just realized a correlation between it and a worsening acne problem. Since around the time I began taking the Wellbutrin for depression and to cope with the then-recent departure of alcohol from my life >:) , I've noticed a general increase in acne, especially cystic acne. i had almost zero acne in HS or in college (i'm 25)- just one pimple at a time if any. i've also been having some gastrointestinal problems recently but honestly the acne is of more concern to me since it has negatively impacted my self-esteem and affected my desire to be social or see anyone, really.
i have made the connection between the two by observing that over the past few weeks, as I have been forgetting roughly half of my daily doses, my skin has vastly improved while no other factors such as diet, weight, exercise level, what-have-you has changed. however, the past four days i've gone back to the dual dose and now have seen yet another set of these horrible pustules appear on my face. neither i nor anyone even remotely related to me has ever had spots like this.
though i would like to go completely off of Wellbutrin because I feel very confident that it has been seriously impacting my skin condition which in turn has been seriously chipping away at my self-esteem (and it's all downhill from there, believe me), I remain cognizant of the fact that I've been taking this for almost two years and it *has* helped me, so cold turkey is probably the wrong thing to do.
my concern is THIS: Has anyone heard of or seen in themselves a correlation between Wellbutrin usage and acne problems? Especially concerning long-term use of Wellbutrin? I've read some posts about GI issues with it but with about an hour of searching I was unable to find anything here and little elsewhere about the affects of Wellbutrin on the skin (other than extreme reactions such as rash and hives.) This worsening has been so gradual and now this recent deduction so breathtaking that I am at a loss for words and extremely conflicted - part of me wants to remember the positive effects of the drug that got me through some real SHIT-life. the other part of me wants to beat myself up for not seeing the connection sooner and then put a bat through this monitor.Are there any discussion forums devoted to issues with long-term Wellbutrin use? I feel like all the doubt I had at the beginning re: no studies of LT side effects is coming back to kick me in the ass. In case it's too veiled I'm rather angry and need some real data to quell my suspicions.
Any comments or commiserative tales are appreicated, thanks
ds
poster:dioxinsniffer
thread:72622
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010725/msgs/72622.html