So Wellbutrin (my anxiety med) CAUSES anxiety?!?

The BBQ Pit
1

My anxiety is back full-strength, and I’m desperately looking for a way to get back to my former calm, happy self. I’ve been doing lots of reading and research of my condition, and I have discovered that anxiety is all in my mind, that breathing from my diaphragm will magically cure me (it does actually help when I’m in full panic mode), that thinking positive thoughts and improving my self-esteem will magically cure me, that I have a GABA deficiency in my brain, that I’m probably Vitamin B deficient, that anxiety and panic won’t kill me, that tapping spots on my body will magically cure me, that there are a million cures for anxiety out there FOR ONLY $129.95!!! ORDER NOW!!! CURE GUARANTEED IN FOUR MINUTES!!!

I’ve also learned that the tranquilizers I can take for instant relief are addictive, and that the Wellbutrin I take twice a day for ongoing relief is now suspected to CAUSE ANXIETY. Well, isn’t that fucking ironic?

Oh yeah, in trying to find a therapist that deals with anxiety disorders, I discovered that they are booking for February or too damned stupid to understand what “call after 5:00 or I won’t be home because I’m at work until then” means.

Has anyone here or that you know ever conquered an anxiety/panic disorder? What worked for you? Cognitive/behavioural therapy, meds, a combination thereof? Acupuncture? Rubbing donkey dung all over your body and dancing in the moonlight? Whatever it takes, I’m there.

(Oh yeah, I’m planning to go to a self-help group on Tuesday. If they start group hugging or telling me how I have to learn to love my inner child, I may give trank addiction a try.)

2

A few years ago, I took Wellbutrin briefly (4 weeks?) for depression; I stopped because of the terrible anxiety I believe it was causing. (I also tried Celexa and Paxil-- Paxil is what eventually worked for me for the depression symptoms.) This was all under a doctor’s supervision, of course.

I do not have a full-blown anxiety/panic disorder, so I don’t know how helpful this is going to be, and you’ve probably heard this before… Listening to music while exercising helps me lower my overall base anxiety level. Rock music is best, something that makes me want to jump and stomp and feel all strong and powerful and in control. (“Trogdor…!!!”) Sometimes I play the music on the computer and dance around in my underwear. Sometimes I play it on the walkman and walk around the neighborhood, usually wearing something else over my underwear.

3

I’m not a psychiatrist, but as a therapist I work with quite a few people who have anxiety disorders and are on medication. Wellbutrin doesn’t seem to be too terribly helpful for anxiety, no. Often very helpful for extreme low energy depressions, though. Absolutely check with your psychiatrist (or a different one if you want another opinion) before you change anything - starting or stopping psych meds abruptly can have unpleasant side effects. Anecdotally, it seems to me that Paxil works best on really, really bad anxiety. When it works for someone, they can really mellow out a lot. It can take a few weeks to work, too, but you probably already know that. You can seriously get some tolerance and addiction to Xanax, Atavan and the like over the long term, so other options might be worth exploring.

When I have clients call who are freaking out, sometimes I suggest a hot bath with some candles and calm music (or not, Mariemarie :slight_smile: ). It sounds corny but sometimes it helps enough.

If you have an HMO that gave you referrals, you could try telling them that this feels like an emergency to you and ask them if they have clinicians on their panel that have indicated that they are available for those kinds of appointments. I can sometimes see someone on fairly short notice if she’s really having a hard time and can be somewhat flexible with her schedule.

Take care, and let us know how things work out…

4

I took Wellbutrin (Zyban) to quit smoking. As I had no disorder, I can’t tell you that it wouldn’t work against anxiety - but damned if it didn’t cause it. I think that it may cause anxiety in those who don’t currently experience it as a matter of course.

5

Lexapro has been a godsend for my social anxiety. It’s supposed to treat other forms of anxiety disorder, too.

6

I had a significant anxiety problem two years ago. For three months I went on benzodiazapines (Xanax family). They were incredibly addictive and ruined my coordination and artistic drive. On the other hand, they helped me take charge of my life in a lot of ways, and once I got off them, I felt more capable of doing the things I needed to do than I ever had, and now I hardly ever have real anxiety issues. So I dunno, I guess it’s a tradeoff. If you do take them, under no circumstances quit them abruptly, unless you think uncontrollable emotional outbursts are cool. (At the same time, if your anxiety stems from a feeling of powerlessness, quitting an addiction can be very cathartic.)

–p

7

Paxil really takes care of my social anxiety disorder. Though, in me this manifests not as fear but as an extreme nonspecific embarassment. Methylphenidate (ritalin, dexedrin, concerta) greatly reduces my panic attacks and death phobia.
From My Experience

Logic and reasoning are useless for fighting off panic attacks. But thinking of the panic as a thing seperate from yourself and fighting it emotionally can work. EG ‘I will not let you control my life! I will not be afraid! etc’

Thought stopping often works. Did you ever watch Ally McBeal? There was a man with a stuttering problem. He found he could stop the stutter by saying certain words ‘Your honor, my client pl-pl-pl-plea-pl Poughkipsie! My client pleads guilty.’ A panic or anxiety attack often involves a loop of thoughts or not being able to stop thinking about a certain thing. Thought stopping is a technique to get out of the loop and move on to different thoughts. Any good pyschiatrist or therapist should be able to recommend you some books teaching different thought stopping techniques.

8

And it didn’t do jack sh!t for me. That’s one of the pitfalls of psychoactive medications-different ones do different things for different people, and there’s no way to predict which will do what for whom. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Wellbutrin reduced anxiety in some people and increased it in others …

9

I was prescribed Welbutrin for depression. At first it made me assertive, which was kind of nice. Then it made me a royal bitch. Then it made me so jangly and agitated that I could barely function. My life had sort of gone to hell over the course of taking the Welbutrin, and I thought it might get worse if I stopped – then I realized that the longer I went between doses the better I felt. Things got so bad one day that I was considering going to the emergency room. My doctor (ex-doctor) would not return my calls. I stopped taking the Welbutrin and started feeling a whole lot better almost immediately.

My experience with Welbutrin is that yes, it can cause extreme anxiety.

10

I’ve been fighting panic disorder for about 10 years myself. Only within the past 3 or so have I been treated for it then. (A complete nervous breakdown will do that for ya!)

It’s my understanding that most antidepressants that are used as antianxiety drugs (Paxil, Wellbutrin, Zoloft, etc.) will increase anxiety temporarily, until you get the “right amout” built up in your system and they take effect. That was DEFINITELY my experience with both Paxil and Zoloft. I was kind of an extreme case at the time though: when I went on Zoloft, I had been hiding in my house for about 2 weeks, afraid to leave my room because my panic was so bad.

I’ve been on Xanax for just over 2 years now, a low “maintenance” dose of 1 mg. Yep, it’s a physicall and psychologically addictive drug. But, I’ve been on the same dose for 2 years now, so the actual drug effect is probably negligable.

For me, Xanax was a godsend. It got me to the point where I could leave the house, go for therapy, and stop thinking I was losing my mind/going crazy/etc. etc. It’s not recommended for long term treatment, but my doctors seem to have no problem with me being on it for 2 years–again, I’ve been closely monitored, and I’ve never upped my dosage or taken more than I should to get the desired effect. I’m sure I’m tolerant to the dosage I’m on now, but the psychosomatic effect of the drug’s good enough for me. I never did go on Paxil or Zoloft because in addition to making my panic 100x worse, I also don’t do well with SSRI’s… I’m very very skinny, and anything that suppresses appetite is not a good thing for me.

Talk to your doctor; they may be able to give you something to “tide you over” till the Wellbutrin kicks in. There’s alternatives to Xanax that aren’t as “hardcore” such as Buspar, etc. that aren’t addictive as easily and you can be weaned off it when the antidepressants do their thing as antianxiety meds.

For me, cognitive/behavioural therapy is what worked best (along with the drugs!). Learning how to face the panic and not let it take over. Learning coping mechanisms. Having a trained professional tell you “No, you’re not going to go crazy or lose your mind.” Go to therapy. Even if you don’t think it’s helping, go. Practice what you’re taught. Make yourself go do small things that provoke anxiety, and reward yourself when you do them.

God, I remember where I was two years ago and I don’t think I could ever go through that again. I survived, obviously, but years of ignoring this disorder and telling myself it was all in my head really made for a bad situation. There’s nothing as terrifying as being terrified by nothing. My life was destroyed by this disorder, and I’ve been slowly but surely building it up ever since.

Good luck to you, and to everyone else here!

11

Thanks for all the encouragement. I’m going to see my doctor today (a couple of mgs of xanax should allow me to get in my car and sit in a waiting room for an hour). He will get me the right meds, because as I noted in my OP, the therapists around here are booking for FEBRUARY now. That’s right, if I can get in to see a therapist that specializes in anxiety, it will be February at the earliest. As those of you who experience panic/anxiety know, I will be living under my bed by February if the meds don’t work.

That should be my next rant; the gov’t of Alberta/Canada that sees psychiatric healthcare as a non-essential item and won’t fund it.

12

Ick, featherlou … February. It was tough getting immediate attention here in the US. I ended up in the ER, which got me some immediate help, but also my mom and dad were both teachers and the guidance counselor at their school knew a great doctor who specialized in panic disorder, so he put in a call for me and got me in.

The worst part about the ER though was being treated like a drunk/druggie. I understand they have to rule out drug addiction/withdrawal because of the symptoms I was displaying, but they wouldn’t give me Xanax or anything of the sort because they were afraid I might be some junkie looking for sedatives. Heh, I was a 27 yr old afraid to leave the house and was brought in by my parents. The ER psychiatrist gave me the Zoloft script originally, without warning me it’d increase anxiety for a bit before it worked right. When I started taking it and ended up freaking out MORE, I called my GP who saw me immediately and gave me the script for Xanax.

13

Oh, and I don’t know how much this will help but… I have to try to be encouraging and tell you you CAN get better. You CAN beat this, even though it feels like you can’t. I don’t like to say “I know how you feel” but I can relate to what you’re going through and I know how it feels to think “I’m never going to be normal/never going to be ok/never going to NOT be afraid.” For the past 2 years I’ve gotten back to a normal life, with minimal anxiety. I didn’t think I could do it. I thought I’d end up in an insane asylum or “losing my mind”, yet here I am. I can’t stress enough… stick with whatever your doctors recommend, and if it’s not working, have them try something else. It sounds silly but I could cry for you… I know the terror, panic and fear you’re feeling. Ugh.

14

Featherlou, I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. I also deal with generalized anxiety disorder (gotta love being worried about EVERYTHING, from whether you left the curling iron on to whether that noise in the plane - someone shifting - was the engine falling out), and I’ve been through several different meds. As someone else said, what works for one may not work for another.

I don’t know how long you’ve been on the Wellbutrin, but I know when I first started Paxil (for anxiety/depression/panic disorder), I was a blinking mess for three days - I was so anxious that I called a few friends in tears because I couldn’t breathe for the anxiety. The only thing that got me through were several Klonopin a day. After the first few hideous days, I started feeling better. (I did go off of the Paxil because it made me emotionally numb, though…not fun…). Now I’m on Zoloft and Xanax and doing much better. It just takes a tweaking of meds until you find what’s right for you.

Feel better - and feel free to email me if you need to talk. I definitely understand what you’re going through.

Ava

15

Hunh, I always thought it was solely as depression drug, not an anxiety drug. That’s the impression my doctor gave me; he didn’t want me to try it because I said I already seemed to be a stressful, anxious person. We eventually tried it anyway in conjunction with another antidepressant when we were attempting to address libido issues.

Not on it now, but it did seem to rev me up.

16

Thanks, all, it does help to hear people say it won’t always be like this. I’ve had three anxiety-free years, and I guess I forgot just why I was taking those meds every day in the first place. Just saying “I have an anxiety disorder” is a helluva lot different than being in the middle of an anxiety disorder.

I went to the doctor today (diaphragm-breathing, baby - got me through the drive and the wait) and he felt the Wellbutrin was still good, but needed a supplement with Celexa. My anxiety is strong like bull - it laughs at weak, girly antidepressants. I’m hopeful for the Celexa - I’m very reactive to drugs, so hopefully it will do exactly what it’s supposed to. And soon, too, dammit.

As an aside, I am also mildly depressed - anxiety and depression very often go hand in hand - so I guess the Wellbutrin isn’t a bad idea still. I’m getting a whole new appreciation for recovering alcoholics and quitting smokers, though - getting through day by day.

17

Wellbutrin caused me awful anxiety as well. (I’m taking it because of a back injury-- it’s supposed to raise pain-tolerance.) For about five weeks, I felt terrible.

One of my co-workers coaxed me to keep taking it for the full six weeks necessary for complete effacacy. She said that sometimes you get the side-effects before the benefits kick in, and that it would probably go away once I was getting the full effects of the medication.

She was right. After about five weeks, my anxiety completely dissapeared. I don’t think it did much for my back, but I’m still taking it. I’ve noticed that my moods are more stable on it, so I think it’s giving me some benefits.

18

I’ve been on Welbutrin for nearly two years (depression) and have never experienced any anxiety or ill effects. It’s stabilized me pretty well, so I have no complaints.

19

I take Wellbutrin for depression, and have no side effects whatsoever…

20

Even anxiety can take lots of forms. The worst of it for me was waking up in the morning to waves of anxiety sweeping over me. I wasn’t particularly afraid of anything – just anxious.

From time to time now I will have a mild panic attack. I will feel like I can’t get my breath and that I need cool air blowing around me. Sometimes I start to hyperventilate.

I’ve had friends who feel like they are having a heart attack when they are having an anxiety attack.

Maybe if I were trying to hold down a job I couldn’t continue to take it. But for the last 14 years I’ve been taking at least 1.5 mg of xanax at bedtime. (I cut back from 2.0 mg voluntarily and very slowly, but have not been able to cut back further.)

Just in case you ever need to know, mental health units in private hospitals are not the horror shows that they are often portrayed to be. They can be very secure and reassuring, but having the right therapist is very important.

You said that that information is based on your own experience. I guess we should assume until we are told otherwise that that has been your experience with panic and anxiety rather than as a doctor treating patients. That does make a difference. Anxiety is different from fear. Fear is thought-based. Do you have a cite for studies on thought-based anxiety?

You are kidding! That is the first really negative thing that I have heard about Canada. Is that true only in Alberta or is that nation-wide?

I think my Medicare pays 50%.

We still don’t have parity in the United States in most private plans. My Blue Cross now pays at 80% for psychiatric problems and 90% for most other physical problems. For most of my life they have paid at a rate of 50%.

So with the two programs together, Medicare pays 50% but gets the doctor to lower what he charges by about 2/3. Then Blue Cross pays 30%. So each visit to my psychiatrist costs only $12 for 20-30 minutes. I am extremely fortunate and that kind of coverage is very rare I think.

I really hope that you get past this soon. I know it can be pure hell. Can’t your physician get you an appointment with a specialist?