Hello Everyone ....
As I am feeling different after four months on Wellbutrin I came across an interesting theory that perhaps you would like to hear about?    

As you are working with brain meds, please be aware that they sometimes do not work, they sometimes make things worse, they sometimes help at first yet loose their effectiveness after several months, they sometimes increase or cause depression (by stimulating inhibitory receptors as a side effect), they sometimes have side effects when first started or when they are stopped, and they sometimes exhibit side effects in the steady state condition. These meds tend to be quite powerful; therefore, working very closely with an outstanding psychopharmacologist (or, as a second choice, a psychiatrist) is recommended.

Also, one must be prepared to stop one med if it is not working well and start another, and to try a handful of meds over a 2 to 8mth period. Yes, this is very hard work, yet since we cannot see receptor/neurotransmitter impairments with tests, there is no other way out of this box other than trial and error (sorry).

NA Drugs can Zap Your Energy If In Short Supply
Drugs that stimulate noradrenaline activity (NARI) can boost energy, yet if one's energy (e.g. ATP energy) is in short supply, these meds can deplete it after a while, and when energy becomes depleted (metabolic fatigue), one can feel more fatigued. In other words, one may feel better temporarily (e.g. 1 to 16wks), and then feel worse. If this happens, it is recommended that you discontinue use of your med for 3days, and then continue. If you feel good on day 4 or 5, then you have a major finding on your hands. This means that you are building up tolerance to the med, and need to pulse it's dose (e.g. 1 day on 1 day off, 3 on 1 off, 3 on 3 off, 5 on 2 off) if you want to get that good feeling long term. Also, you may do better if you reduce the dosage. Pulsing or dosage reduction gives the body time to recover, and reduces the chance of the body accommodating the med and the med loosing it's effectiveness, which is not uncommon. This issue of "energy being in short supply" is huge with CFS. You may have two problems that need addressing, one is dysregulation of the NA neurotransmitter, and the other is your body is not producing enough biochemical energy.

Has anyone here experienced this with Wellbutrin?  If so, did you resolve it by pulsing the dose like it said?  I have been on Wellbutrin SR for 3 years and I have not had this problem.

Katie :)

I was on 400 mg of Wellbutrin SR and have been moved to 450 mg Wellbutrin XL.  I did not seem to notice this side effect either.  It took 400 mg to begin to lift the fog in my brain (so to speak).  

I was lucky to find a pdoc that started raising it quicker than my HMO doc.  I plodding along for almost a 8 months and was only up to 300 mg.....

I started on Wellbutrin SR about 2-3 months ago.  Tapered off of Lexapro and dealt with the brain zaps, but got through it.  Started feeling much better on the Wellbutrin.  Went up to 150 SR 2 times a day and did fine.  Recently (maybe 3 weeks ago) I switched to the XL for ease of dosing.  It was OK at first then after about a week I started feeling agitated and irritable again and couldn't figure out why.  I read this article and decided to quit the XL for 2 days. No problem.  The I started back on the SR 2 times a day and I feel much better after a few days.  The difference is tremendous.  I can't tell you why.  I hear peolple talk about losing effectiveness with the XL, but I don't know.  All I know is I feel better with the XL and I will continue to pulse the dose as needed (maybe skip a day or 2 every week or so).  Thanks for the info.  Hope this helps someone.

I'm in the same boat.... I'm kinda down to 150mg XL from 300mg and gona try to stay there unless I feel the pulsing dosage will help.  Gota make a docs appt hopefully for next Monday, i'm gona bring this article to him and see what he says about it.  I'll let you all know the docs advice.

Pharmacist 25: so the SR worked better for you than the XL?

Are you by any chance taking an acid blocker like prilosec?  I have heard that that can interfere with the action of the XL somehow.  No proof of this.  Have just heard it from other people.

Glad the WB is working for you!

No, not on any acid blocking agents.  The only thing that I may be able to attribute it to is that the SR has a faster release rate of drug.  You are not getting more of the drug, you are just getting it faster.  I am also pulsing the dose, skipping about 2 days every 2 weeks right now.  That also seems to help.  But I definitely am doing better on the SR.

Thats ver interesting about pulsing , never heard of that before. - I just started a NARI today called Reboxetine. Ill put a new thread in other meds section.

I am so glad you are all enjoying this thread...
Here is the original copy of the article I posted in our old DF.com
:;):

NARI's

I have pulsed a little bit with my Wellbutrin in the past, but now down to 150mg XL which seems to be doing better than the 300mg.  Although, I feel a little Lethargic at times and I did decrease the Lexapro, but I might even decrease it more or talk to my doc about pulsing up on the Wellbutrin again if needed to see how that goes.

Again, a reminder...  
Information supplied on Depression Forums should not be relied upon and is not a substitute for medical advice from a health professional or doctor.  Please consult with your Physician before making any changes in your dose, etc. :)

Thank you~

~Lindsay