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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by girlie916 on August 12, 2003, at 20:04:46
Hi there, I need your experience please.
A little background: I was on Effexor XR for a few years but went off a year and a half ago. Struggled with anxiety long enough and went to the psychiatrist to get back on medication in June. Did NOT want Effexor because of the side effects and the horrible time I had with withdrawls.
Tried Lexapro for a month but it caused me even worse anxiety and my mind would race with crazy thoughts (like I needed any help in that department!). Another big problem was that I was clenching my teeth again. Just got over that after YEARS with struggling with it so Lex was out.
Two weeks ago I started 5mg of Lexapro and one 150mg tablet of Wellbutrin. 5 days ago (on Friday) I went to 2 150mg tablets of Wellbutrin. I've read a few posts and see that I'm not alone with the irritability side effect (my hubby can attest to that!) but I want it to go away soon.
The weird thing that's happening is that I've got the "Effexor Brain Swoosh" and tingling lips going on. This started on Monday - day 4. Anyone else had this? Does it go away?
My next appointment is Thursday. I don't know whether to give this up so quickly or stick with it. I just can't deal with feeling like I'm withdrawing from Effexor all the time - I'm hoping it goes away with time.
Thanks for "listening" to me and thanks in advance for any help!
Posted by Zenclearer on August 12, 2003, at 20:33:31
In reply to Wellbutrin Questions, posted by girlie916 on August 12, 2003, at 20:04:46
Why not just stay at 150 WB a day for a while?
Posted by methylene on August 15, 2003, at 14:33:53
In reply to Wellbutrin Questions, posted by girlie916 on August 12, 2003, at 20:04:46
I think you should start and stay with 100mg Wellbutrin for a while. Not only will it help with the irritability, but those "brain swooshes" you are experiencing are the result of a flood of dopamine and norepinephrine that your brain is not used to. Jumping up to 300mg/day Wellbutrin might have been to much to soon, and what is happening is more or less seizure activity. Do you drink alcohol?
Posted by girlie916 on August 15, 2003, at 17:43:31
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin Questions, posted by methylene on August 15, 2003, at 14:33:53
Hi there,
I did not drink alcohol while on the Wellbutrin.I stopped taking it altogether a couple of days ago. The second day off of it my breathing got easier. I'm still feeling a few of the tingles now and then but I'm assuming that's a mini-withdrawal.
I'm going to start Buspar tomorrow. My issues are primarily anxiety related and not necessarily depression and I know this is specifically for anxiety. A friend's husband has had great success on Buspar and I'm hoping it will be good for me too. He's had no side-effects on it all all - although I know everyone is different, I'm hoping for the same experience!
The Doc also gave me Xanax to take if I need to before the Buspar kicks in over the next few weeks.
Posted by Viridis on August 16, 2003, at 0:17:43
In reply to Wellbutrin Questions, posted by girlie916 on August 12, 2003, at 20:04:46
Good luck with Buspar -- I haven't tried that one. I used WB for a couple of months and had a very bad time with it. My current pdoc says he almost never prescribes it for anxiety patients, because the increase in anxiety is so predictable for this group (it certainly heightened my anxiety and caused a bunch of weird side effects that didn't go away until I stopped it).
Xanax is a big help, and if the Buspar doesn't work, you might want to try Klonopin (clonazepam). It's been great for me and many others here.
Best of luck!
Posted by girlie916 on August 17, 2003, at 13:52:15
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin Questions » girlie916, posted by Viridis on August 16, 2003, at 0:17:43
Thanks for your message.
Wellbutrin made me so much more on edge than I normally am. I couldn't handle the slightest thing that didn't go my way. My poor husband was on the receiving end of my anger and frustration!I haven't taken a Xanex yet and have actually decided to start off with 5mg of Buspar twice a day instead of 7.5 twice a day. I was still feeling a little fuzzy and tingly from the Wellbutrin yesterday so I only took 7.5 mgs of Buspar and that's when I decided to go to 10mg total per day for a while.
I'm hoping this one works for me! : )
This is the end of the thread.
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