Anyone Taking A Pristiq/wellbutrin Combo?

[rambler]

Was wondering if anyone here is taking a combo of a Pristiq & Wellbutrin prescription? My PDOC prescribed this to me and I thought they were both antidepressants? Is this not a bit too much?

[Guru]

Was wondering if anyone here is taking a combo of a Pristiq & Wellbutrin prescription? My PDOC prescribed this to me and I thought they were both antidepressants? Is this not a bit too much?

Hello rambler,

I don't take this combo, but I do take a combo of Lexapro and Wellbutrin. Combos are actually very common since one drug can complement another, or perhaps kick-start one another. In your situation, the Pristiq is a glorified version of Effexor, which acts on norepinephrine and serotonin, and the Wellbutrin acts primarily on dopamine, but also has a lesser affect on norepinephrine. I'm not sure what illness you are treating with this combo, but your PDOC must believe that this is a good place to start. I can tell you that if you are concerned about sexual side effects, which are just about universal with any of the serotonin focused meds (SSRI's), that the Wellbutrin is often given to offset that. I certainly has for me In addition, over the years I have taken several SSRI's with little success, but since I am on the Lexapro/Wellbutrin combo, I have begun to see what I believe are some real improvements, especially over the last several days, so the WB seems to be what I needed. Good luck!

Guru

[arp2008]

Was wondering if anyone here is taking a combo of a Pristiq & Wellbutrin prescription? My PDOC prescribed this to me and I thought they were both antidepressants? Is this not a bit too much?

Hey my doctor prescribed me the Pristiq today. I'm also taking Wellbutrin and was wondering the same thing. I also take Lamictal. So I am a lil nervous about all of these.

[jencon]

smile:

I've been taking wellbutrin for quite a few years, added pristiq, 50mg, to the mix three months ago and have steadily had an increase in blood pressure. As of Friday, I was 'pre-hypertension'. I'm 37, am the Wellness Coordinator at my job, have exercised and eaten right for 20 years and have always had low blood pressure. I left a message for my doc, stopped the pristiq cold, and stayed with my wellbutrin sr, 150mg, that I've been on. Plus I take klonopin as needed, so right now I'm just taking a 1/2 a pill a day to make sure the withdraw is minimal, so far just a little dizziness nothing compared to the stress that pre-hypertension started to cause me. I'm not adding anything else and am going to stay with my wellbutrin and klonopin only. I don't want to add any more meds. Let me know if anyone else has noticed a spike in blood pressure.

God Bless all of you :-)

[kellz]

i just added pristiq to my daily 450mg of wellbutrin.

i feel alot more energized today ...alot less sad too. but bad headache and real achy neck.

its only day 1, so i'll come back in a week or so to give you guys the scoop

Edited January 9, 2009 by kellz

[Walker]

i just added pristiq to my daily 450mg of wellbutrin.

i feel alot more energized today ...alot less sad too. but bad headache and real achy neck.

its only day 1, so i'll come back in a week or so to give you guys the scoop

Same with me -- I just quit the Lexapro and started Pristiq today along with 300XL of Wellbutrin which I've been on for years. Very nervous but I too will report back to you all here!

[ADDwoman]

Hi...I've been on Wellbutrin (150 mg SR) for a number of years for depression but have had increasing anxiety. Pdoc started me on Cymbalta but I did not do well on that...very foggy, nausea, extreme fatigue.

Now I'm on Wellbutrin and Pristiq (plus Adderall for ADD) and wondering how others are doing with WB Pristiq combo. What were your side effects like, how long did they last, and when did you feel like the combo was working? Did you adjust your AB dose when adding the Pristiq?

Or, did it not work and you gave up Prestiq?

I'm on Day 2 of Prestiq/WB; very hot and sweaty, dizzy on and off, brain foggy, a bit tired, but I did actually have the motivation to clean and put away a few things in spite of feeling brain-foggy and tired.

Interested to hear other's experiences. TIA!

[vballqt1]

Was wondering if anyone here is taking a combo of a Pristiq & Wellbutrin prescription? My PDOC prescribed this to me and I thought they were both antidepressants? Is this not a bit too much?

Hi Rambler;

I have been on Wellbutrin for 12+ years and was added Pristiq 50mg 3 months ago. I've experienced no side effects thus far. I am moving up on Pristiq to 100mg, and am still ok.

Hopefully, whatever you've decided is working for you.

vballqt1

[alkirk123]

Was wondering if anyone here is taking a combo of a Pristiq & Wellbutrin prescription? My PDOC prescribed this to me and I thought they were both antidepressants? Is this not a bit too much?

I'm in the process of coming off of Cymbalta and my pdoc prescribed Pristiiq. I'm kind of afraid to start it, as I'm having a REALLY hard time coming off Cymbalta. Let me know how it works for you.

[kleopa2120]

I take Pristiq 50mg and Wellbutrin 450mg, the Pristiq is replacing Lexapro for me, I have some problems sleeping and feel more irritable now, in addition I have some killer headaches which I saw someone else in this thread was complaining about the headaches also.

[kleopa2120]

Was wondering if anyone here is taking a combo of a Pristiq & Wellbutrin prescription? My PDOC prescribed this to me and I thought they were both antidepressants? Is this not a bit too much?

Hey my doctor prescribed me the Pristiq today. I'm also taking Wellbutrin and was wondering the same thing. I also take Lamictal. So I am a lil nervous about all of these.

I take both and desvenlafaxine (Pristiq) which is very similar to Venlafaxine (effexor) is used to treat anxiety and panic attacks in addition to depression, while Wellbutrin is use for depression, ADHD and to control bipolar disorder, so I assume one compliments the other.

LUV

[ADM]

Hi...I've been on Wellbutrin (150 mg SR) for a number of years for depression but have had increasing anxiety. Pdoc started me on Cymbalta but I did not do well on that...very foggy, nausea, extreme fatigue.

Now I'm on Wellbutrin and Pristiq (plus Adderall for ADD) and wondering how others are doing with WB Pristiq combo. What were your side effects like, how long did they last, and when did you feel like the combo was working? Did you adjust your AB dose when adding the Pristiq?

Or, did it not work and you gave up Prestiq?

I'm on Day 2 of Prestiq/WB; very hot and sweaty, dizzy on and off, brain foggy, a bit tired, but I did actually have the motivation to clean and put away a few things in spite of feeling brain-foggy and tired.

Interested to hear other's experiences. TIA!

I have been taking Pristiq (just moved up to 100mg, was taking 50mg) and Wellbutrin (300mg) for about 6 months. I had some side effects with pristiq such as my hair seemed to be weaker and falling out more. My nails also seemed to be brittle. I did experience some of the side effects you have of dizzy and brain foggy. Also tired and yawned all day long. These side effects started to wear off after about 3-4 months. I also started taking a skin, nail, hair vitamin which has helped alot. I like pristiq and have tried several other medications.

How do you like Adderall? How has the combo of all 3 been for you? My doc wants to put me on it or Strattera, so I am trying to do some research on them first.

[warpysaint]

smile:

I've been taking wellbutrin for quite a few years, added pristiq, 50mg, to the mix three months ago and have steadily had an increase in blood pressure. As of Friday, I was 'pre-hypertension'. I'm 37, am the Wellness Coordinator at my job, have exercised and eaten right for 20 years and have always had low blood pressure. I left a message for my doc, stopped the pristiq cold, and stayed with my wellbutrin sr, 150mg, that I've been on. Plus I take klonopin as needed, so right now I'm just taking a 1/2 a pill a day to make sure the withdraw is minimal, so far just a little dizziness nothing compared to the stress that pre-hypertension started to cause me. I'm not adding anything else and am going to stay with my wellbutrin and klonopin only. I don't want to add any more meds. Let me know if anyone else has noticed a spike in blood pressure.

God Bless all of you :-)

I became pre-hypertensive while just taking Effexor.... turns out a real nasty coffee habit (like two pots a day) was really pumping up an otherwise mild increase from the effexor. (My normal had been like 105/70. I can't recall how high it got, but after I cut my coffee consumption down to two CUPS a day I remember that I was around 120/80.)

-WS

[Dandelioness]

I'm on Effexor 300mg and Zyban 300mg (australian version of wellbutrin).

It has helped with energy levels, not a lot but noticably. Its been 3 weeks.

The only thing i was worried about is the increased risk of seizures, my psychiatrist said this amount combo makes my risk 1 in 1000. But i decided it was worth the risk as i'm almost out of options.

[mrsmom]

Hi...I've been on Wellbutrin (150 mg SR) for a number of years for depression but have had increasing anxiety. Pdoc started me on Cymbalta but I did not do well on that...very foggy, nausea, extreme fatigue.

Now I'm on Wellbutrin and Pristiq (plus Adderall for ADD) and wondering how others are doing with WB Pristiq combo. What were your side effects like, how long did they last, and when did you feel like the combo was working? Did you adjust your AB dose when adding the Pristiq?

Or, did it not work and you gave up Prestiq?

I'm on Day 2 of Prestiq/WB; very hot and sweaty, dizzy on and off, brain foggy, a bit tired, but I did actually have the motivation to clean and put away a few things in spite of feeling brain-foggy and tired.

Interested to hear other's experiences. TIA!

Hi. I just started taking 50 mg of pristiq in addition to 300 mg of wellbutrin. I'm on day 4 and it sucks. I'm nauseous, haven't slept, and have zero energy. I think I was better off before adding the pristiq. Ugh. This sucks. My doc said to cut the pills in half for a week and then go back up to a whole pill a day. She wants me to do that and ride it out for 2 weeks and see if things improve. They'd better cuz I'm not feeling better, which is the goal of taking medicine, right?

[mrsmom]

Hi...I've been on Wellbutrin (150 mg SR) for a number of years for depression but have had increasing anxiety. Pdoc started me on Cymbalta but I did not do well on that...very foggy, nausea, extreme fatigue.

Now I'm on Wellbutrin and Pristiq (plus Adderall for ADD) and wondering how others are doing with WB Pristiq combo. What were your side effects like, how long did they last, and when did you feel like the combo was working? Did you adjust your AB dose when adding the Pristiq?

Or, did it not work and you gave up Prestiq?

I'm on Day 2 of Prestiq/WB; very hot and sweaty, dizzy on and off, brain foggy, a bit tired, but I did actually have the motivation to clean and put away a few things in spite of feeling brain-foggy and tired.

Interested to hear other's experiences. TIA!

Hi. I just started taking 50 mg of pristiq in addition to 300 mg of wellbutrin. I'm on day 4 and it sucks. I'm nauseous, haven't slept, and have zero energy. I think I was better off before adding the pristiq. Ugh. This sucks. My doc said to cut the pills in half for a week and then go back up to a whole pill a day. She wants me to do that and ride it out for 2 weeks and see if things improve. They'd better cuz I'm not feeling better, which is the goal of taking medicine, right?

I forgot to take my meds on Day 6 because of a myriad of reasons but that night I got so sick and felt like I was having withdrawals or something. It was awful. Is it possible to suffer from withdrawals after only being on the drug for 4 days and then only missing 1 day? Needless to say, I took a full dose again the next day and felt like I started all over with the side effects, just when the nausea had started to lessen on day 5 and I actually had a bit of ambition. Ugh. My son had to be taken to the doctor first thing this morning so my meds once again got forgotten (that really doesn't happen to me this often, I swear) and my stomach is upset again. I'm leery about taking the pristiq again tomorrow for fear the side effects will be back. If I start it again, and don't forget again, will they really go away and I'll begin to feel better in a week or so? I can't do this for 3 or 4 months like I've read some of you have. I can suffer for a week if I know there's a light at the end of the tunnel, but 3 months just isn't possible for me. Any advice?

[warpysaint]

I'm on Effexor 300mg and Zyban 300mg (australian version of wellbutrin).

It has helped with energy levels, not a lot but noticably. Its been 3 weeks.

The only thing i was worried about is the increased risk of seizures, my psychiatrist said this amount combo makes my risk 1 in 1000. But i decided it was worth the risk as i'm almost out of options.

Hey there, Wren, I'm that 1 in a 1000, so I guess you're covered....... but really, if you are taking any Benzo drugs (valium, xanax, ativan, etc) or you drink fairly regularly, DO NOT STOP SUDDENLY. Discuss with your doc if the benzos are warranted, and either taper VERY slowly or stick to them. As for the alcohol if you consume tell your doc, and come up with a plan to cut that out. Wellbutrin and alcohol do not mix. Hopefully none of this applies to you, but since you expressed concern about seizures, and I ended a date night with my wife in the ER, I thought I'd share.

-WS

[zeke]

I have taken 300 mg of Wellbutrin for 2.5 years. The first 1-1.5 were great. I had been on Zoloft for 5 years then Celexa for 5 years, then switched to WB due to the sexual side effects, weight gain and lethargy. About a year ago I started getting depressed, probably because of some life events (which are still going on), and finally decided to see about increasing my dose this week. My Dr. prescribed Pristiq rather than increase the WB. I didn't expect that but I will try it. Thought I might bump up this thread to see if anyone else with the same combo would speak up. I'm very curious about what this will be like. I'm a little worried about having some of the weight/sex side effects I did on Celexa and Zoloft.

[mom2pg]

I am on Effexor XR(sister drug to Pristique) and Wellbutrin. The combo definitely has helped me. The dr. added Wellbutrin to the Effexor after the Effexor kinda pooped out on me. It was a little anxiety provoking to start but that only lasted about 1 week, now I am not having any. I haven't gained back all of my libido, but it is better and I have lost about 5 lbs so far. I would definitely reccomend it.

[nkh786]

Hi,

I just started taking Wellbutrin SR 150 mg with Pristiq 50 mg that I have been on for a couple months now. I have been on it for two days and its made me irrtiable, annoyed easily, my heart beats really fast almost seems like palpitations. Anyone else having similar side effects, any info or advice would help.

thanks!

[Tallguy76]

I take 300mg of Wellbutrin and 150mg of pristiq.