Taking Wellbutrin XL for Depression but it's a deadly cycle
 

This is my first time on the forums, and I am just looking to start a discussion about taking Wellbutrin XL for depression, at the same time battling weight issues. I've been battling weight issues for as far back as I can remember my existence on this planet (I'm 28), which gets foggy around 5 years old. I could not get a good handle on it until age 16, but even still I go up and down. My weight issues have always revolved around my depression, and vice-a-verse. I guess you could call it, weight-depression or depression-weight. I've gone to see therapists, counselors, psychologists, and general doctors. I could go on and on...

Does anyone have any thoughts about the above?

Has anyone else been using anti-depressants, as well as battling with weight issues?

Ive taken wellbutrin in the past and successfully lost weight. Wellbutrin usually has an appetite supressing effect (which is why I was prescribed that before). My depression is a direct result of binge eating (BED). I binge -> I gain weight -> I get depressed....and it cycles like that. Ive been in therapy and started up again the end of last year. Like you, I've also been overweight my entire life and started diets in high school when my mom signed me up for Jenny Craig going into the 10th grade. From there its gone on to any and every diet/diet pill imaginable.

How do you do with therapy? For me a combination of therapy and medication (taking Luvox now - the brand not generic. Ive heard bad things about generic luvox) helps me keep binge eating under control. As a result, no depression.

I have also heard that Wellbutrin has an appetite suppressing effect also.

Hello, well today is my first day on Wellbutrin. And struggling with 50+ lbs of weight gain. Need to loose about 75 to be healthy again. Asked the Dr for it to quit my nasty smoking habit. But I'm hoping I can work on my weight as well. When I wake up in the morning my journey starts, no smoking and healthy eating. Wish me luck!

wishing you tons of luck and best wishes!! :crossed:

yourmusicmusedotcom, I have had very very good results with Wellbutrin XL. I had taken Lexapro before, with not good results at all! In fact it was the weight gain on Lexapro and my still-persistant general depression that drove me to the doctor to plead for something else.

On Wellbutrin XL, I found I had the incentive to do something (diet and exercise)

I myself haven't experienced the appetite-suppressing part however.

It curbs my appetite. I was at my thinnest when I was taking it, and also it helped me more than any other anti depressant. But I had a seizure so I was taken off of it for years and have gotten worse. But I found a new doctor who put me on aplenzin. Same thing as wellbutrin (bupropien) but a lower seizure risk. And once again my appetite is suppressed and have energy to exercise.

I don't know if it helps me depression or if I feel better because I lose weight, but I'm glad to be back on it.

in my case, the 3wks i was on it, i barely ate at all.

i wasn't depressed.
i wasn't hungry.
i wasn't happy.
i wasn't sad.

if my emotions were hooked up to a heart monitor, i'd be code blue. same reaction i had with anti-depressants before but worse.

so i flushed them all down the toilet.

Hi yourmusicmusedotcom - I was also successful losing weight while on Wellbutrin. Unfortunately, it made me very anxious and I couldn't stay on it. I definitely find my depression is tied to weight gain and I think they are definitely linked (one feeds the other). I hope it works for you!

I used Wellbutrin in conjunction with the Nicorette patch to quit smoking. Two years later, I'm still smoke free. It was a huge help for me and I can only hope it works as well for you!

I am currently back on Wellbutrin for anxiety and I've found that I've not lost or gained any weight. I am hoping that by developing healthier eating habits and exercising regularly, I can change that.

Best of luck to you! It is a difficult journey but is well worth it in the end. :D

Wellbutrin has been the only antidepressant that has worked for me personally but I also have ADHD.

(I was diagnosed as an adult, have taken several tests to confirm it. Just have to add this caveat because it's been difficult having ADHD, especially because of the reactions of other people. I try to just keep it to myself for the most part. Some people think it's fake, everyone thinks they have it, and it's a super popular diagnosis for kids who aren't living up to their parents' expectations.)

Anyway, Wellbutrin worked for me after years trying every kind of SSRI. It does increase anxiety, however, so is not recommended for anyone with anxiety problems. What it seems like, in my experience, is that it makes your heart rate increase so people with anxiety get more anxious because they feel more anxious physically. For me though, the shift in mood helped my anxiety which has typically been psychological rather than physical.

But medication + therapy has been my lifesaver. Good luck!!

Hi! I just started taking Wellbutrin XL a few weeks ago. I have always had depression, as far back as I remember. I started getting serious about treatment a few years ago and have taken prozac and lexapro and lamictal (as a mood stabilizer), but Wellbutrin was the first medication that actually helped me with my energy levels and motivation. I love it. And yes, it does have an suppressant effect on appetite, but of course if you're eating when you're not hungry, like I tend to do, then it won't help you lose weight.

Yourmusicmuse, are you currently in therapy?

What were your symptoms leading up to the seizure, if you don't mind me asking?

Stellamar-No. Not currently, although I will be seeing my doctor soon after having not seen her for 3 months. I'm sure she'll not be happy with me for not getting the counseling in conjunction with the Wellbutrin, as she strongly recommended. I've been in and out of counseling, as I mentioned before, and I am an analytical person. I know that I need to balance everything in my life, including my eating, relationships with family, husband and friends, work, etc. It's just that when the "dark clouds" come for me...they come. Sometimes the storm will last for a few hours, few days or months/years. I've seen better results with not having as many depression episodes while medicated rather than off medication. But even when I am medicated...there are days.

Vermontmom- I've tried Prozac (family thought I was a zombie), I think I was on Effexor (headaches), and then we settled on Wellbutrin XL. I do have the appetite suppression, nasty taste in my mouth, headaches, night sweats, some bowel issues. I know that may seem like a lot of side effects, but really I can deal with them if it means I can smile more, laugh, and be a part of life. I should mention that my family (my parents in particular) has not taken my depression serious -- it's only been in the last few years that they have mentioned it openly with me. My parents also did not have medical coverage the entire time while under their roof (they still don't unfortunately). It was only once I got to college and they had a medical center free for students that I was able to start getting treatment. Then, when I started work as a teacher, I had full coverage. That's another story in and of it's self-my short lived teaching career.