Posted by Ktemene on January 18, 2005, at 6:00:09
In reply to Starting WELLBUTRIN, posted by SDW on January 14, 2005, at 14:41:40
> I just started WELLBUTRIN several days ago. Doc wants me to take 150/day for one week then increase to 300 mg/day. I am very interested in individual experiences with this med and also what people have combined it with. I have also been taking MIRAPEX (3mg/day) and Amphetamine (ADDERALL). I have severe dysthymia with significant anhedonia, apathy, and fatigue. I used PARNATE for several years with great success but it is no longer effective.
> Thanks for any thoughts/advice.
> SDW
>
Hi Steve,Wellbutrin sounds like the right med for your symptoms. I have the same symptoms, and Wellbutrin helped me more than any other med I had taken up to that time. (Now I am taking 5mg Selegiline + DLPA and Remeron, and this combo works even better for me.) I had to go off Wellbutrin when I developed side effects when my dosage was increased to the maximum (450mg a day). My side effects were exceedingly rare (neck pain and memory loss), and you are *very* unlikely to have the same side effects. In my experience Wellbutrin was activating and also lifted mood and helped me concentrate. Some people do find they have increased levels of anger in the first few weeks, but most people get over it. (I did not have any increased anger when I went onto Wellbutrin, but then I was so lethargic at the time that I had forgotten what anger feels like.) There has been a lot of discussion of Wellbutrin start-up anger on this board; you will find a lot of comments on it if you do a search. CamW has some helpful comments on this subject at http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20030907/msgs/258102.html
Apart from increasing energy and concentration, Wellbutrin has at least two other big advantages. It appears to actually increase REM sleep, and it has no awful sexual side effects for most people. It fact, many people find that it is actually prosexual. (I have a friend who sometimes threatens to start a Wellbutrin Dating Society.)
I combined Wellbutrin with Adderall and Provigil with no problem. And when I went off Wellbutrin I had no discontinuation problems at all.
By the way, how have you done on Mirapex? Do you have any of the problems with sleep attacks?
Good luck,
Ktemene
poster:Ktemene
thread:442169
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050113/msgs/443615.html