Hi all,

I just joined! This looks like a really good forum, hopefully I'll be able to help as well as be helped here.

I have dysthymia with occasional double depression, and I've just started taking Wellbutrin SR (day 6 today) and most of the side effects I am used to from other meds and they don't disturb me: increased anxiety, bad insomnia, no appetite. All of which appear common for this drug and the insomnia at least I expect will gradually pass.

But I've run into another problem - starting on day 2 of my 2x150mg dose, my mood suddenly plunged and I've been on the edge of an MDE since. I can only assume the Wellbutrin is the cause. I've done some research online and found that some anti-depressants CAN (though not commonly) apparently make your depression worse before they make it better. I've known for a long time about the suicide risk of some ADs which is usually ascribed to increased motivation, but NOT to increased depression.

What I want to know is, has anybody had any experience with this happening, either with Wellbutrin or another? And if so, did it get better eventually and turn you into a responder, or did the increased depression stick around until you stopped the drug? I have had many ineffective meds before and changing med is not an option at this stage. I don't have a lot of choices left so I need to give this a good trial. I'm just wondering whether I have 8 weeks of borderline MDE ahead of me, or whether it might clear up in a week or two. Obviously, it's not nice! I'll put up with it if it means it works later, but if it's not it's going to be a long 8 weeks.

I've never had this happen before, either. I suppose at least I am getting SOME effect from the drug, even if it is in the wrong way. I am hoping (almost against hope) that perhaps this is a good sign - all my previous drugs have just had zero effect. But I doubt it - guess I will soon see.

Thank you for reading my post and I wish all of you the best for your battles!

This post has been edited by psi81: Apr 22 2008, 07:53 PM

Hello, I've been taking 300mg xl for about 4 and a half weeks. The first four days were good and then I took a big downturn. As time passed I slowly came back up and am having ups and downs, but I'm better off than before I started it. Give it some time, if you still feel worse off after a month you should talk to your doc about it. Hang in there. ss

Hi. Welcome to the forum. It really is a great place.

I've been on wellbutrin SR for 36 days now. The first few weeks I was up and down. I'd go days just feel so great and then BAM the next day I'd be right back where I started. Even now, it isn't completely perfect, BUT, what I can say is, I have more good than bad days. Actually, the bad days are few and far between. And, when I do have a bad day or something happens that would normal pi** me off at the world, it doesn't. I am actually a lot calmer than I have been in a long time. I use to also have bad anxiety, and even that is gone.

So, I agree with SomebodySomeone, give it more time. I hope it all works out for you. I know it has changed my life.

D

Thanks for your reply. I had a good two or three days as I was building up my dose too - I think it was a temporary placebo effect caused by knowing I was starting a new medication that I had high hopes for. This also made the downturn that much worse!

I'm glad to hear you are better off, and you've only been on it four and a half weeks. It will probably be another two months or so until you reach the optimal effect so it sounds good for you! If I can match your results I'll be satisfied.




That's the plan - I'll give it two months I guess. Thanks - I hope I can say in two months that it's changed my life too!


This post has been edited by psi81: Apr 23 2008, 03:34 AM

I, too, experienced a lot of ups and downs during startup, but it all smoothed out in about 2 months time. Wellburtin is a wonderful antidepressant in my opinion, but it does give many people quite a rollercoaster ride at first! Please keep us posted on your progress.

I'm in the same boat. One week down, hoping in another month or two, I'm experiencing the same results many of you already have.

I am of the opinion that the standard dose of 300 mg is too high.
It never worked for me. It was always too high and made me sicker.
Today, I'm on 100 mg, and doing great.
Something to consider, anyway...

Peace!

I've noticed that many people do better on a dose lower than 300mg. As another example, one of our moderators gets great results from 150XL, but feels awful on 300XL. More is not necessarily better with these drugs. The first time I took WB, 150mg was plenty, and 300mg was too intense. But after a few months off medication (due to loss of benefits), when I started WB again, I was much more tolerant of it and needed 300mg to get the same effect. We all have different needs, and those needs can change over time.

Oh the torture. Yeah, I'm a week and a half in, 300mg of SR, and I'm definitely down. It's been a while since I've been this depressed. I go to work, and that's about it. I experienced the "honeymoon" after the first few days, then it tapered off, and slowly I've grown more and more depressed. I'm sticking it out, but this SUCKS!!

My poor gf. I just don't have anything, I'm so flat. I come home from work, stream sports talk radio, and just sit there. I hope this clears up. and SOON!

Hang in there, my friend! I'm two weeks in and in exactly the same boat. I have noticed a couple of times when I've woken up in the night I've been in the middle of a honeymoon-up, but the rest of the day and night is horrible.

I've shut down too. Even worse, my job at the moment requires me to be here but I don't have more to do than an hour or two's work a day. And I'm in the middle of the Australian outback in a town of 300 people. I stopped drinking so the pub is out, and I am nowhere near sociable enough to stay in a pub without drinking. So I basically retire to my office and sit online all day. I just can't do anything else, it's hell.

At least I'm getting paid, I guess.

The plus side is, I'm not quite as bad as I was earlier, and my depression scores have come down from borderline moderate-severe to squarely in the moderate range. It's not great, but at least I seem to be heading in the right direction, albeit it slowly.

I'll update again in another two weeks.

Hi. I am new here and only about 2 1/2 weeks in on Wellbutrin. But, I also had a very bad episode in my first week on it. The first five days were so bad I didn't think I was going to make it through. I just kept thinking, thank God I was on this medicine and it had better start working. But after reading about this happening to others, I realize that it was probably adjusting to the medicine that made things so bad. Then days 6, 7, and 8 I woke up early and was hyper all day long. Now I have kind of leveled off. Some trouble sleeping.

Anyway, just wanted you to know you aren't alone in this. I know it helps me to read your post and others to realize that these things are normal when starting meds.

Hang in there!

Kaygirl

Hello everyone and a good day to all of you!

I was on Wellbutrin SR for several years and doing reasonably well on it. I was off for about 4 months and had a bad relapse. I have been back on it now for 9 days, 3 first days at 150 mg and then at 300 mg. I felt quite high and almost elated on the 1st day and the 4th day (when I went up to 300 mg). As someone else mentioned, it might have been some kind of placebo effect. However for the past few days, like the OP, I have felt quite depressed. I also feel some generalized anxiety, which is very unusual for me.

The first time I started Wellbutrin was a few years ago and I do not clearly remember if I had any specific reactions during the first few weeks. It is reassuring to know that other people have had the same pattern and hopefully, for all of us, it is only a matter of getting accustomed (or reaccustomed) to the medication. Let us know how things evolve.

i was on wellbutrin for a while.. never really helped with my depression, but helped in other ways... perk of energy and helped with concentration.... but when i was taking zoloft,,, i was near suicidal. my np took me off it faster thank i could blink. i was slicing up my body, starving myself, rolls and rolls of images of how i could die passed thru my head, in fact it was all i could think about. i was making plans, and starting to execute a few times, had to stop myself. zolof was very scary for me, i never thought a med could do that..

hope you're feeling better.

Alright. I'm getting pi**ed.

It's been 3 weeks now, and I'm still not feeling too peachy. In fact, my depression has been low as it has been, and that's really the only thing that has been consistent through all of this. I had the nice little "honeymoon" for the first 4-5 days or so. I definitely don't think that was a placebo effect, cause things don't just clear up like that out of no where.

I was on this for years a while back, and it worked great. I normally respond to meds really quick too. I guess that's where my frusteration comes in, because I've tried so many other things (meds and therapy) and have not had any success. I'm getting to the point where I'm scared, and don't know what I will do if this doesn't pan out. I'm flat out tired of being tired of "going back to the drawing board" AGAIN!

Hold on there, (((((((lionheart7))))))). 3 weeks is still a short time to be feeling better. The fact that you had the honeymoon effect is a good indication that you're still responsive to the drug, but it may take a few more weeks before you feel better, consistently. I also took a break from WB, and when I went back on it, I noticed I was more tolerant to it, it took longer to kick in, and I needed more of it to get the same effect. It took me the full 8 weeks to adjust. WB has a very on-or-off quality to it, unlike the SSRIs that seem to build up more gradually. During startup, you might have a good day or two, followed by a bad day or two. It's quite a rollercoaster for some people, but it does smooth out eventually. Please don't give up on WB before the full 8 weeks. Just do whatever it takes to distract yourself while your body adjusts. I hope it's over soon for you.