I’m currently taking Zyban (AKA Wellbutrin) to try and quit smoking. Unfortunately, I’m beginning to become overwhelmed by the side-effects (yes, I’m going to see the doctor about this next week), so I’m going to have to switch to some other kind of anti-depressant (which I definately do need to be taking). So what I’m wondering is if there’s any Dopers out there who had to quit taking Zyban/Wellbutrin because of the side-effects and what they switched to that worked for them and didn’t have the annoying side-effects. That way I might be able to pick something that’ll work for me without having to go through lots of trial-and-error. Thanks.
Well, I am not sure if this will help.
I started on Celexa, after trying Prozac and some other things. The Celexa got me about half way to cool. Wellbutrin got me the rest of the way.
If you are having bad reactions talk to your Doc, he-she should know what to try next. Maybe Celexa would work.
Slee
I had a very bad reaction to Wellbutrin–a sort of massive panic attack. But it works very well for others, like the above poster.
A good psychiatrist should be able to get you to the right meds without a lot of trial and error. Some trial-and-error is necessary. If one drug was unequvocally better than the others for all people, then why would anybody perscribe the “inferior” ones? Every drug affects every person differently. Our personal anecdotes may be interesting, but they are no substitutes for your doctor’s expertise.
In other words, we can’t help you. One Doper’s trash-drug is another Doper’s treasure. If your psychiatrist can’t figure out the right drug for you, then find a better psychiatrist.
And if the person doing the perscribing is not a psychiatrist, then you need to go to one. Wait, that sounds wrong. I don’t mean that you’re crazy for not going to a shrink. I mean that if you’re going to be messing about with your brain chemistry, you need a specialist doctor–a psychiatrist rather than an internist–to help you.
Good luck.
Green Bean, I would, 'cept I’m not sure if a shrink is covered under my insurance and I don’t have the money to pay for it out of my pocket. Plus, I’m planning on quitting my job ASAP, so I’ve got to find something that works fairly soon because I’m sure there’s going to be a gap in my insurance coverage, and I need a doc who’s familar enough with me to know that they can cut me a script for a lengthy supply without worrying that I’m gonna be selling it on a street corner somewhere.
Tuckerfan: You didn’t state the dosage you are taking. I belong to a smoking cessation support group, and have heard many stories. It’s quite common for a person to get side effects from taking 2 pills of Wellbutrin per day. (150 mg each, IIRC) Many of these people were able to cut back to one pill per day, and have the benefits of the medication without the side effects.
This is ancedotal, from about 60 persons of different body sizes and of both sexes.
Good luck, the stuff works for most people. YMMV
JCoM, I’m taking the twice daily doses of 150mg. I’m not going to be able to see the doc until next week, so until then I am going to cut it back to once a day to see how that works. I don’t know though, because I really didn’t notice any difference in my mood until I went to the double dose. There were two days where I felt great, and since then the side-effects have gotten progressively worse.
Well, that’s a tough situation, then. Sorry to hear it. Do check to see if a shrink is covered by your insurance–even one visit might be very helpful.
As far as your response that you won’t be seeing your doctor until next week–could you call him? He should be willing to talk with you. (at his convenience of course, haha) Then you can reduce your dosage and discuss the results with him next week.
Green Bean is on the money when he suggests a psychiatrist. Trust me on this - internists are just not familiar enough with the side effects of various antidepressants to be helpful.
Almost all insurance plans offer some psych coverage. The number of visits per year may be severely limited (10-20 visits is common) but you may not need many visits to get your needs met.
The stuff builds up levels slowly. That’s why most advise taking it ten to fourteen days before actually quitting. Maybe one per day will work for you now that you have a higher level of it in your body? I’m not advising against seeing your Dr., or a shrink as others suggest. That’s always best. I have, however, seen and heard enough of what you are describing to know that your case is quite common, and that for many people, once levels were built up in the person’s body, one pill per day was sufficient to allow them to successfully quit smoking.
Remember that quitting is a very individual thing. No matter how many aides are used or pills taken, it still requires a lot of “want to”. Stay with it, you can do it.
I smoked two packs per day for 40+ years, and have now been “smober” for seven months, so it can be done. Hang tough!
I am not an expert, but . . .
It’s my impression that wellbutrin (zyban) alone among the drugs used to treat depression is also effective in helping people to stop smoking;
I’ve been through quite a few medications to treat depression over the past couple of years and the one that has been consistently cited in my own research and consultations with my shrink as having the fewest, least remarkable side effects is Wellbutrin, especially in terms of avoiding the ‘limp noodle’ syndrome commonly associated with SSRIs.
That said, go talk to a professional, as everyone else has said.
Pablito, one of the reasons people smoke is that nicotine acts as an anti-depressant. So, in theory, switching to another anti-depressant could help me quit.
Heh. That’s exactly why my doc tried adding Wellbutrin to my Paxil. I don’t have a noodle, of course, but if I had one, it would prolly be limp. He thought it would help with the lack of libido thing. Made me nuts instead. Oh well.
I’m on 30mgs of Remeron taken before bed. I’ve noticed some improvment after taking it for a month. It’s a relatively new AD that works somewhat differently from SSRI’s and other AD’s. It doesn’t have the infamous sexual side effects I experienced on Prozac. Only real side effect I’ve had is drowsiness, which is kind of a benefit since I take it at night. I’ve stayed clear of Wellbutrin, because I already have problems with anxiety and panic attacks and understand the side effects can be “speedy”.
Wellbutrin was like prescription speed for me.
Celexa mellowed me out, but I became non-orgasmic on it.
Now I take Zoloft, and it’s great. No sexual side effects, I sleep at night, no hangover feeling in the morning. I think it might be expensive, but I have an Rx plan.
ummm… I haven’t been here long, and certainly never intended to share this kind of personal information, but in this case I think I have to.
A little less than two years ago my husband shot himself through the throat while in a psychotic episode (in his sleep, no less - just think really vivid nightmare) while on Zyban. I’ve discovered since then that this sort of thing has happened before (sorry, no cites off hand, may want to look through Medline. my lawyer has my file.)
Needless to say, this was not the way he wanted to quit smoking. It was a week before his 31st birthday.
argh - sorry, just realized how horror storyish this now sounds.
I do hope you find something else that helps!
- back to your scheduled programming…
kore, no danger here, I don’t own a gun, and I have had enough experience with psychoactive substances (cough LSD, cough pot, cough 'shrooms, and cough others cough cough) to know when I’m getting out of sorts. I knew that abberant behavior was a strong possibility with taking anti-depressants (one of the reasons I put off taking them for so long was that I didn’t know of anyone they’d improved, but I knew a shitload of people they scrambled), so I did pay close attention to my thought processes and other things. Most of the side-effects, once I got past the initial euphoria stages, were pretty minor, or ones that I could compensate for. What got me worried was the fact that I didn’t want to eat and never got hungry. That’s when I realized I had to do something. I’ve backed off the dose to once a day, and I go see the doc bright and early Tuesday morning, so I’ll see what she has to say about the whole thing.
It is expensive…my pharmacy charges around $50-60 for a month’s supply without an Rx plan…
I’ve been on Zoloft for around 5-6 years after having horrific side effects with Prozac. I don’t get that “hangover” feeling either, but I still have trouble falling asleep, even after the doc tinkered with the dosage. As for sexual side effects…let’s not go there 
I’m being gradually weaned from it. So far no dramatic change, except now I’m getting more headaches than usual…
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*Originally posted by beckwall *
Celexa mellowed me out, but I became non-orgasmic on it.
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Me too, plus I am having a problem with weight gain. What are my options?
ok - sorry, didn’t mean to be quite so inflammatory… I guess I still get pretty twitched out when I hear about folks taking it. You’re all grown up and don’t need me freaking at you.
The generic Prozac, Fluoxitine, is now really cheap. But not all people handle Prozac well.