![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Snoozy on May 24, 2003, at 1:23:40
I've been on Wellbutrin for 3 or 4 years, at 400mg for most of that time. When I first started it, I did have insomnia and irritability, but that went away. Since last fall, I have been excessively sleepy and tired, sometimes sleeping 13-15 hours a day.
A member of my family has suggested that maybe the Wellbutrin is causing the drowsiness. I looked it up on medline, and drowsiness is listed as one of the less common side effects, but way behind the agitation, anxiety and insomnia.
Of course, I could be suffering from the rare effects of extreme distrust and false beliefs that cannot be changed by facts ;)
I don't remember hearing anyone talk about Wellbutrin making them drowsy. And if it did make a person drowsy, would that be a side effect from the beginning?
I'm just wondering if anyone has had experience or heard of drowsiness from Wellbutrin. Thanks!
Posted by medlib on May 25, 2003, at 16:52:05
In reply to Drowsiness a Wellbutrin side effect??, posted by Snoozy on May 24, 2003, at 1:23:40
Hi Snoozy--
Since Wellbutrin didn't make you drowsy in the beginning, I doubt that it is doing so now. I know that this isn't what you want to hear, but you may be experiencing med "poop-out" and a return of symptoms. As you may know, sleeping 13-15 h/day is a cardinal sign of atypical depression. If W. were the culprit, you'd expect the soporific effects of a given dose to last a much shorter time. I don't know your med history, but adding an SRI to the W. might help. I take my W. with Effexor. Take care---medlib
Posted by Ritch on May 27, 2003, at 10:11:53
In reply to Drowsiness a Wellbutrin side effect??, posted by Snoozy on May 24, 2003, at 1:23:40
> I've been on Wellbutrin for 3 or 4 years, at 400mg for most of that time. When I first started it, I did have insomnia and irritability, but that went away. Since last fall, I have been excessively sleepy and tired, sometimes sleeping 13-15 hours a day.
>
> A member of my family has suggested that maybe the Wellbutrin is causing the drowsiness. I looked it up on medline, and drowsiness is listed as one of the less common side effects, but way behind the agitation, anxiety and insomnia.
>
> Of course, I could be suffering from the rare effects of extreme distrust and false beliefs that cannot be changed by facts ;)
>
> I don't remember hearing anyone talk about Wellbutrin making them drowsy. And if it did make a person drowsy, would that be a side effect from the beginning?
>
> I'm just wondering if anyone has had experience or heard of drowsiness from Wellbutrin. Thanks!
Snoozy, I've been on three different higher-dose WB trials and experienced something of what you talking about. But, I attribute it to a very light "twilight" sleep that the WB seems to produce for me. There would be tossing and turning at times, and my brain was still wide awake working on problems, even though I was "out". It was like resting my eyes and daydreaming or something. If the WB is depriving your sleep in some way (when you are supposed to be sleeping), you might be over-"sleeping" in the AM to compensate (?).
Posted by MB on May 27, 2003, at 13:04:14
In reply to Drowsiness a Wellbutrin side effect??, posted by Snoozy on May 24, 2003, at 1:23:40
when I first started Wellbutrin years ago, it made me extremely agitated and irritible. It was like drinking a quadruple espresso and smoking six cigarettes at the same time. Then that part mellowed out and it worked well for quite a while. The only problem was that i was getting intolerably fatigued and sleepy during the day. I would want to fall asleep any time I wasn't standing. I don't think it was poop-out or break-trhough depression, because my mood was great...I just couldn't stay awake. I'm almost sure it was the Wellbutrin because I stopped the medication and instantly felt better and more energized (until the depression returned two weeks later). One thing you might want to take note of is how much caffeine/coffee you're drinking. Ironically, whenever I'd try to medicate my daytime sleepiness/fatigue with a cup of coffee, the effect was paridoxical: I became almost narcoleptic. I remember one time being awakened by a friend to find myself passed out at the Starbucks in a puddle of drool. I had been out for an hour. The last thing I remembered was finishing an americano.
In fact I'm wondering if anyone else has had this paridoxical reaction to caffeine while on ADs (this also used to happen to me on Paxil...the more coffee I'd drink to wake up, the more sleepy I'd get).
MB
> I've been on Wellbutrin for 3 or 4 years, at 400mg for most of that time. When I first started it, I did have insomnia and irritability, but that went away. Since last fall, I have been excessively sleepy and tired, sometimes sleeping 13-15 hours a day.
>
> A member of my family has suggested that maybe the Wellbutrin is causing the drowsiness. I looked it up on medline, and drowsiness is listed as one of the less common side effects, but way behind the agitation, anxiety and insomnia.
>
> Of course, I could be suffering from the rare effects of extreme distrust and false beliefs that cannot be changed by facts ;)
>
> I don't remember hearing anyone talk about Wellbutrin making them drowsy. And if it did make a person drowsy, would that be a side effect from the beginning?
>
> I'm just wondering if anyone has had experience or heard of drowsiness from Wellbutrin. Thanks!
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.