Wellbutrin XL and Zoloft? - 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet Weight Loss Community

K G B · 02-19-2007, 07:47 PM

I have been taking Wellbutrin XL for about 1.5 years. Haven't been doing too great lately so my doctor suggested a combination of Wellbutrin XL and Zoloft. Has anyone else had experience with this combination? Thanks.

shrinkingchica · 02-19-2007, 08:59 PM

I had the combo 5 years ago. The Zoloft did not agree with me......I was getting out of control anxiety that was "I want to crawl out of my skin" horrible. So the Zoloft was dropped. I have been on Wellbutrin XL for 5 years and I am happy with it. Seems to work for me. The only side effect I have is mild dizziness.

Leenie · 02-20-2007, 08:44 AM

I've never had the combo of the two but I was on each of them. Zoloft made me insane.... Wellbutrin was good, no complaints.

Soontoberealme · 02-22-2007, 10:56 PM

I haven't been on the combo. Just recently started the Zoloft. Might I ask, how long were you on the Zoloft before you started experiencing side effects? I haven't had any side effects, other than, nothing seems to upset me or make me nervous anymore. I don't know if that is because of Zoloft, but I'm less emotional than I use to be.

Leenie · 02-23-2007, 08:55 AM

I think it was less than two weeks... pretty fast. I was suffering from post pardom depression on top of it all so maybe that had something to do with it.

Fat Junky · 02-28-2007, 09:36 PM

I just started Wellbutrin SR 3 weeks ago after 3 years on Lexapro. The Lexapro may have been keeping me fat???? Just now am feeling good on Wellbutrin and have never tried Zoloft. Keep us posted.

spunker · 03-01-2007, 11:24 PM

I never tried them together, but separately.

Zoloft was the first thing I was ever put on, and it really had no effect on me. They kept upping the dose, but nothing was changing.

A few years and several medications later, I was put on Wellbutrin SR and then XL. I handled the SR okay (with the exception of it lowering my blood pressure a lot) but was eventually switched over to the XL which, personally, I found to be a nightmare.

XL increased my anxiety tenfold. I couldn't sleep, became real jittery.

So far the lexapro has worked best for me, but it really does depend on the individual.

Update us if you can on how you are doing on it.

shrinkingchica, if you are feeling dizzy at all, I would keep a check on your blood pressure. One of the side effects is decreased blood pressure, which can cause dizziness.

I was getting dizzy often (dizziness started becoming more and more frequent after awhile) - whether I was sitting, standing, laying down, walking, etc. It turns out it was because of my blood pressure.

Even if it's been working well for you, I would still at least keep an eye on your blood pressure and mention it to your doctor, especially if it really becomes bothersome/increasing in frequency or intensity.

MyMaria · 03-03-2007, 05:50 PM

I was on wellbutrin for 5 years and it seemed like it stopped working. My doctor switched me to Effoxor and it seems to help.

Lore1 · 03-03-2007, 06:07 PM

Hi....I've been on Wellburtin and Zoloft for about 6 months. It was a change from other meds. The combo of Wellbutrin and Zoloft works VERY well for me as long as I remember to take it every day. I was used to Prozac which would take a while before it started leaving my system, but with the Wellbutrin/Zoloft combo, if I stop taking it for longer than 2 days, I definately feel it. Be careful with that.

shrinkingchica · 03-04-2007, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spunker

shrinkingchica, if you are feeling dizzy at all, I would keep a check on your blood pressure. One of the side effects is decreased blood pressure, which can cause dizziness.

I was getting dizzy often (dizziness started becoming more and more frequent after awhile) - whether I was sitting, standing, laying down, walking, etc. It turns out it was because of my blood pressure.

Even if it's been working well for you, I would still at least keep an eye on your blood pressure and mention it to your doctor, especially if it really becomes bothersome/increasing in frequency or intensity.

Whoa, I didn't realize that it could lead to decreased blood pressure! My usual reading has been like 90/60 and I had surgery a few days ago and I had a vegal reaction and my bp plummeted and the docs and nurses were happy when it got back up to 87/53.

Thanks so much for that heads up, I would have never thought it had something to do with the wellbutrin or anything........so really thank you!

spunker · 03-04-2007, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shrinkingchica

Whoa, I didn't realize that it could lead to decreased blood pressure! My usual reading has been like 90/60 and I had surgery a few days ago and I had a vegal reaction and my bp plummeted and the docs and nurses were happy when it got back up to 87/53.

Thanks so much for that heads up, I would have never thought it had something to do with the wellbutrin or anything........so really thank you!

I didn't realize it was the Wellbutrin until after the fact. I mean, I'd just be walking, and out of nowhere, I'd get dizzy. I knew dizziness was a sign of low blood pressure, but I didn't realize why, and I never said anything because I figured I was just being silly.

I ended up overdosing on Wellbutrin, which put my blood pressure down to 80/32. While in the hospital (psych), they checked blood pressure on a daily basis, and it was still low. After they saw it was continually low, they changed over my meds and my blood pressure normalized.

But I would definitely keep an eye on it though.

People go unaware of what these medications can do (and usually aren't informed). Granted, side effects are listed in the pamphlet, but how many people honestly read them?

The dizziness may or may not be related to wellbutrin, but it doesn't hurt to get it checked out.

That's scary that your blood pressure went way down, but glad they were able to get it back up. Are you doing/feeling better now?

LKBHouston · 03-05-2007, 10:37 PM

All - I have been on Zoloft for about 13 years and it has really helped me. On the other hand, the minute I started taking it, I started gaining weight. My doctor swears that there is only a 5% change of weight gain. I must be in that 5%. Anyway, it worked wonders for me, but be very attentive to how it impacts your weight.

Lisa

shrinkingchica · 03-06-2007, 06:04 PM

spunker- I hope that YOU are okay/better now that you are out of the hospital.

I am doing better now, I had a check up with my surgeon today and he was like "now, your not going to go vegal on me now are you? haha" But, I guess it is just a reaction that I am prone to and will just have to keep any health professionals aware of in future, as that was the second time in 8mos.

tigrre · 03-17-2007, 07:10 AM

you weren't that specific in HOW you're "doing too great lately" so I'll assume its depression. Anyways I was on Wellbutrin and Zoloft through most of high school and I did well on it, but after a while it just sort of quit working. But it was effective for several years so its done better than most drug combos I've been on. Anyways the "big three" for depression are Dopamine, Norepinephrine, and Serotonin. Without going into too much medical mumbo-jumbo for right now, I'll just explain it this way: the Wellbutrin is fixing your dopamine and norepinephrine issues and doesn't do much to help with the serotonin. Zoloft works exclusively with serotonin. So basically by taking this medication combo you'd be addressing all known major chemical causes of depression. If it were me, I'd try it out and know that there are a LOT of SSRI's (the category that Zoloft is in) so if you don't like Zoloft because of a side effect you can try Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Luvox, or Paxil...

shrinkingchica · 03-18-2007, 12:33 PM

Let me add that SSRI's are NOT recommended for those under 25 years of age and really actually up to under 30 (though, for some youngsters they are miracle drugs). Your brain is still growing until your late twenties and it seems that SSRIs have more of a negative impact than postive on those who are younger.
Paradoxically enough, those in their 70s+ show the greatest improvement under SSRI treatment.
Nobody really understands it all yet, but there is enough empirical evidicence to support a black box warning on these drugs for those under 25.

But, as always, everyone should CHECK WITH YOUR DOCTOR. They and you alone can find out what will work out best FOR YOU.