Hi, I'm new on this forum and started taking Wellbutrin, 150mg, SR, a week ago. I take my first pill at 7 and my second pill around noon or 1pm.

I had the honeymoon high for 2 days, then leveled off, but feel more upbeat and clear, not foggy headed.

Anyway, thank goodness I work from home because today around 3pm, I got so sleepy I thought i was going to pass out. I went to lay down and then got freezing cold. Wrapped in a blanket, I slept for 2 hours like a log.

????

I have no problems getting to sleep at night, in fact, I'm very sleepy now. :)

I know that only a week in that this might go away, and that it might take a good 8 weeks for my body to balance out. I was looking for reassurance if the cold/pass out thing is common or not. could be the SR dose maybe?

Thanks!

im new to wellbutrin myself. and today i had a horrible crash, and passed out, didnt feel cold though

Hello to both of you!

Your body will have certain reactions at the beginning, you're right. If they make you too uncomfortable, you should tell your doctor. If you can ride it out, find ways to make yourself feel better for the time being, like sleeping. If you can, give Wellbutrin a try!

I never had such a big crash, but I have had the chills a few times.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Wouldn't you know last night after waking up from a nightmare (I was a CIA operative in a car convoy and got lost and couldn't get a cell signal to find the convoy again) feeling stressed, and then couldn't get back to sleep, then woke up early, I think I've answered my own question.

I'm not getting good, deep sleep! I think the Wellbutrin keeps me revved up just enough so that I awake during the night and get up too early, so no wonder I'm crashing at 3!

I'm sure I'll even out after a while and I'll practice some relaxation techniques before bed and increase my exercise.

This is an awesome board. Thank you!

You might talk to your doctor about taking one 300mg XL in the morning. Possibly it would give you a bigger spike earlier in the day and leave you more relaxed at night.

Hi Queenie,

Wow it seems like you are going through the gambit with your intial startup with Wellbutrin. As you have probably read startup can be difficult but will level off over time. Your symptoms (chills, fatigue)are not common, but as other members have said everyone reacts differently to the medicine.

As for the sleep this can certainly be more common...I think as John said possibly considering the XL (once a day) version of Wellbutrin may give you a little more consistancy with the medicine and make it easier to sleep at night. However, I have been on the XL for some time and still have issues with getting into a deep sleep....so there may not be a quick solution to this issue.

Anyway, good luck and be sure to keep us posted how things go for you

Thanks Darken!

Do you take anything to get to sleep? I"ll have to search the boards to see what others have used. Sleep is underrated and I take mine seriously, and less than 6 hours/night isn't going to work for me.

I'm not sure if I wrote it correctly, but my pdoc started me off on a very light dose,SR, 75mg/2x day.

I don't drink or like to take ANY medication, and I'm a lightweight with prescription meds. (I took 1 vicodin after a surgery and started hallucinating, so I used Tylenol for pain control instead) I took a Chlortrimoton (antihistamine that normally wipes me out) last night thinking "A-HA! I got you now Wellbutrin, I WILL sleep tonight!" and I woke up just a half hour later than the previous nights, at 2:30 am. I'll take Melatonin tonight and see if that helps.

I feel pretty good emotionally. I started taking the meds as I was coming off of an episode, so time will tell. My mental fog is definitely gone and when I sit down to work I can concentrate for a pretty long time. I'm being more social, wanting to get out and see friends and do things, which is nice. After years of being depressed and not wanting to go on medication, I just want Wellbutrin to do it's job yesterday, and it's going to take some time.

Patience is not a core competency of mine.

Overall I think I'll do quite well on Wellbutrin!

Hi Queenie,

Thanks for updating us on your progress. I've got to say your question about sleep comes at a rough time for me as I've been having loads of trouble lately getting to sleep....this is tough for me because like you I really don't like being on any medication and certainly no more then I have to....also I've never had sleep issues so it's beginning to drain me. I've tried the over the counter stuff and it just makes me groggy in the morning...I'm not sure I want to try anything stronger, but something has to give so we'll see what my doctor says this week.

I'm glad to hear things are going well emotionally for you, I know it's tough but sticking with it should pay off in the end.

Take Care,

Darken