Another Drug Question - Wellbutrin

In My Humble Opinion
1

On Tuesday, my doctor decided that Wellbutrin would be a good idea for me, the requisite anti-depressant combined with a bit of a kick in the ass for energy. She warned me that I was likely to feel a little caffeinated, and explained some of the other side effects, yadda yadda yadda. She started me out on the 150mg dose, moving up to 300 after a week.

Yesterday, my first dose made me feel throughout the day as if I were moving at 78 rpm in a world of 33. I’m a caffeine junkie, so I’m well aware what being extra-caffeinated feels like, but I felt like I’d taken 4 or 5 Stacker 2s and washed them down with a triple espresso and a Red Bull. By the time 11 pm rolled around, I desperately wanted to go to bed, but was still jittery enough that I couldn’t sleep. Of course I had a hell of a time getting up this morning, as a result.

Day two, and I’m feeling slightly less jittery, but there’s still a good deal of extra energy that I can’t work off here in the office, I feel kinda removed from the whole world, and there’s a good deal of sweating (of course, it’s almost 80 degrees in my office, I think, so that could be a contributing factor).

Yesterday, I took the pill with food, as instructed (corn muffin for breakfast, which is unheard of for me, I never eat breakfast), and found myself completely uninterested in eating lunch, barely able to choke down about five bites of dinner, and absolutely not hungry for the rest of the night. I managed to eat about half a muffin for breakfast today, and even that seemed too much. I didn’t eat lunch, and I’m finding myself wondering if I’ll ever give a damn about eating again. Decreased appetite is one of the aforementioned side effects, and, let’s face it, I could use to lose a little weight (okay, a lot of weight), but I’m finding this slightly scary.

I decided that if I still felt this discombobulated on Day Three, I would call the doctor and make sure I’m supposed to feel this way. I’m also headed off now to do a bit of net research on the drug and calm some of my fears.

But hey, I’m certainly not feeling depressed. :smiley:

So, can anybody help me out? Any Dopers with experience here? Is this totally normal, and I’ll adjust in a couple days, or do I need to get myself to the doctor now?

2

Hey, as side effects go - you’re lucky. :wink:

A few weeks ago Sudafed managed to give me stroke-level blood pressure.

And I seem to be one of the only people in the world allergic to One-A-Day vitamins.

3

I am on Wellbutrin, and have been for some months now.

I have noticed some insomnia, especially when just starting to take it or when increasing my dosage. For me, the insomnia goes away after a week or so. I’ve also noticed a decrease in appetite - when on Wellbutrin, I usually skip lunch, just not interested in eating. I sometimes notice a bit of jitteryness and nausea, but it also goes away after a few days for me. It sounds like the side effects are a lot worse for you than for I. If it doesn’t get better in a week you should probably talk to your doctor.

4

I’m taking Wellbutrin, and I have some serious insomnia issues. I can’t sleep when I want to, only when I get tired enough. This means that every third night I’m up all night, and I can only get short naps in during the day (one reason why I’m unemployed.)

I have diabetes with neuropathy complications, so I may be a little different.

5

Thanks for the responses–between you guys and WebMD, I’m feeling much more “normal.” :slight_smile:

And the loss-of-appetite thing is apparently temporary, about twenty minutes ago I realized that I could eat a draft horse and not leave enough left for glue.

6

You could always take Xanax or something to sleep until you get used to the meds.

7

Get to the doctor. Wellbutrin is supposed to speed you up a little, but not that much. It sounds like you need a smaller dosage or a different drug, although IANAD.

Personally, Wellbutrin never made me feel particularly altered except when I accidentally took a double dose (I also took a double dose of the Dexedrine (basically amphetamine) I was also prescribed, both for ADD). That was my first state of altered consciousness, and quite an eye-opener. I won’t share the story here because it’s more of a hijack than anything, but anyone who’s interested is welcome to IM or email me.

8

Actually, now that I think about it, I did feel a little more sped-up than felt right when I was on (my normal dose of) Wellbutrin. I eventually stopped taking both because the Wellbutrin amped me up and the Dexedrine brought me down, and I’m just not comfortable with having that sort of a pharmacological battle waged in my body. My psychiatrist wasn’t too pleased, but I told him that either we would find a new drug or I would go without medication and I would not budge on that position. We eventually settled on Strattera, which works great.

Anyway, now that I’ve read the whole thread, it seems you’re feeling a little more normal. That’s good, but you should probably tell your doctor the whole sequence of events just so they’re in the know.

9

I took it for awhile. Never experienced any kind of caffeine type effects. But, I’m prone to anxiety. My doctor either didn’t know, or was too stupid to tell me it can enhance that. So Wellbutrin triggered my first ever full blown panic attack.

10

When I first took it, I felt mildly dizzy for a few days. Not enough to wobble, but small movements of my head felt a little strange.

11

When I first took it, I experienced exactly what you described. For about a week. Gradually, I started to calm down and my friends and co-workers could again, tolerate me in small doses. :smiley:

Give it some time for your body to get used to before you go running back to the doc. Mine told me it takes your body six weeks to adjust to a new chemistry.

It’ll pass and you’ll feel better soon.

12

I was on Wellbutrin XL a few months ago, and had to come off it because I had double the side effects the OP described. I also became what I termed “a screaming bitch”, which is totally the opposite how I am in RL.

The side effects, for me, unfortunately, didn’t subside. I ended up having to take Topamax at night so I could at least lie down and doze.