[Jen]

Hi there. This is not a question about depression and weight loss exactly but I was interested to know if anyone takes this med and if you can tell me about the side effects. My husband was taking Paxil for several months and while it did wonders with his mood he was not happy about the sexual side effects. He started Wellbutrin on Sunday and he's been quite dizzy on and off ever since. I was wondering if there is anyone here who has taken this med and had the dizziness and how long did it take to get over it? Also he did not sleep well at all last night and was that a side effect for anyone as well? The dr told him to take this in the morning rather than at night but I wonder if it would be better at night instead. does anyone have any first hand experience with this med?

[Horizons Girl]

Be careful! My exprience with this med was thoughts of suicide.

I, too, thought that the sexual side effects of other antidepressants were something I could avoid with Wellbutrin.

So one summer day I was driving along and I suddenly realized that my thoughts were constantly dwelling on how much better off everyone and I would be if I were not around. I stopped the wellbutrin and the thoughts went away.

I am a counselor and recognized the side effect pretty quickly. Tell you husband to be vigilent regarding this med. It works wonders for some people but it's not for everyone.

[Jen]

I think you can say the same for just about any kind of antidepressant but thanks for the warning.

[marbleflys]

I was not able to tolerate Wellbutrin very well, I think I stuck with it for 2 or 3 months, 2 years prior......it did keep me from falling asleep and staying asleep at night (leading to MORE trips to the fridge)....I was told to take in AM also. I do remember feeling "jumpy".

[teapotdynamo]

I also took Wellbutrin for at least a year to "boost" another antidepressant I was taking, and it made me EXTREMELY jumpy and irritable. I remember that I had this weird habit of bouncing my leg up and down when I sat that went away completely when I went off the Wellbutrin.

On the upside, it definitely helped me quit smoking.

Definitely worth monitoring how he responds to it!

[VeggieGoneCrazy]

Just thought you should hear from someone who has had an excellent response to Wellbutrin. I've been on it for about 4 years now, and about 6 months ago started the XL. I've had no serious side effects. I think the worse thing is dry mouth - I have to make sure I'm drinking extra water, but that's not always a bad thing.

I can't remember how I felt when I first started, but it's fairly normal if I recall to feel "strange" for 4-5 days. Another thing to consider is his dose might be a bit to high for him.

But anyway, I just wanted to say this has worked wonders for me personally.

Good luck!

[Jen]

If you don't mind me asking what dosages were you taking and how did the side effects change with the dose? My husband has just started with one tab and supposed to increase to 2 tabs after a week. So far just the dizziness and difficulty sleeping is all he has experienced.

Marbleflys - did you take anything at night to help you sleep and did it help? I would like to get him something for sleeping, was just going to try something over the counter which is mostly all Benadryl anyways if you read the labels.

[teapotdynamo]

Jen, I know you didn't ask me specifically, but I had trouble sleeping, too, and they gave me Trazadone, another antidepressant with a side effect of drowsiness. Sometimes I took just a quarter of a pill, and I could sleep all night!

[Jen]

My husband has taken Trazadone and it didn't seem to work for him so I don't know if something over the counter will work if that doesn't. I've taken it too and half will give me a really good night's sleep.

[teapotdynamo]

A whole, on the other hand, and I'm a zombie the next day!!!

[marbleflys]

Trazadone doesn't do diddly for me, I've seen every informercial ever made that comes on in the middle of the night! (I especially like the one for "colon-cleansing" where they say that John Wayne had a 40 lb. blockage in his colon when they autopsied him.....talk about scare-tactics and all this time i thought he expired of lung cancer?)

Back to topic after that bit of trivia........I take 1 mg of Ativan (lorazepam) to stop my nighttime anxiety and help me sleep, but I've built up tolerance over the past year so I just stop it for a couple of weeks and tough it out....I also take Ambien 10 mg. but i only get about 5-6 hours out of that too.

2-4 mg. of Valium will really work, but then I am like the walking dead the next day and my thought process is blurred, not good for work.

Benydril sometimes works and Zyrtec acts like valium on me.

sometime what works best is 2-3 shots of Jack Daniels (not with the meds, with diet ginger-ale).

Of course the most sensible thing to do is when I cut out all caffiene after noon, not work myself into a froth at night and practice deep breathing and other relaxation techniques.......

[Klengkeek]

I just got taken off the wellbutrin as I was taking celexa also. They took me off because I have trouble sleeping. I would go 2 or 3 days with just an hour or so. Make sure to check with the doc. However you need to understand that you body is going through a chemical change when you get on this medication. Always keep close eye as I am only speaking from my experience with it.

[MoveMoveMove]

I love my Wellbutrin. I started on Paxil in 2000 and it made me extremely suicidal (almost to the point of needing to be hospitalized) and left me with a twitch that still comes back when I'm really upset. NIGHTMARE. It turns out that I suffered some of the side effects that they don't tell you about because they only happened to about 1% of patients.

Wellbutrin, on the other hand, has worked really well for me. I started off on 300 mg a day and have cut back to 200 mg which I take at night. I never had problems of any kind with it. I was scared to try it after my Paxil experience. The doctor told me that anti-depressants are trial and error until you find the one that works for you, but I really didn't want to chance another round of the effects I had on Paxil. I knew though that I needed something. Thankfully I found the right one on my second try.

[Jen]

thanks everyone for their replies. Marcia, you are 100% right, what works for someone might not work for someone else particularly when it comes to antidepressants because you never know which of the side effects will hit you and how long it will take for your body to get used to the med. My husband hates going through this stuff and usually wants to quit taking the med. I have been doing my best to keep reassuring him that it might only take a few days before the effects subside. I hope that the antidepressant effects kick in soon as he's been so miserable to live with and his mood is terrible. I need the Valium at this point! Well he's going to try Benadryl tonight for his sleeping and see how that works. If it doesn't work he may have to get a prescription though the Jack Daniel's might be a faster solution!

[Jen]

Just wanted to update this. My husband is still having some dizziness but it doesn't seem too bad, it's not like he is passing out or falling down. The insomnia is still bad. Last night he took Ativan which he says didn't work well but he seemed rather refreshed this morning, better than he's been other mornings. Yesterday though he was quite agitated and angry and upset which kind of freaked me out a bit as I haven't seen this side of him in a really long time. I was reading in a drug book that these are not unusual for the first few days of taking Wellbutrin. So I'm hoping that things will start to smooth out soon. He'll up his dosage on Sunday so I don't know if that is going to make the dizziness better or worse.