pleasantpeach: sold my soul to Zoloft and Wellbutrin and I want out

[pleasantpeach]

Hi all, 

 

First off, thank you for reading this if you are!

 

Second- nice to meet you, I really feel like I am at a dead end. So many doctors have failed me in so many ways and I'm so tired of dealing with this. I'm so glad I stumbled upon this website.

 

Going to try to sum up my experience with my depression and treatment journey. 

To start, I've been anxious since I was a kid but only began to realize the weight of my debilitating depression in my late teens/early 20's. In December 2016 I began seeking treatment- therapy for a few months and eventually found a psychiatrist. He prescribed me Lexapro 10mg, since my mom is on it/has been for 10 years; but Lexapro made me feel crazy - like I couldn't be alone and I was scared to do anything and everything. Psychiatrist had me go off cold turkey after almost a full month, until my next appointment a week from then. I was the most depressed I had ever felt and it was scary but I knew it was all chemically induced from stopping the pill.

 

A week later, first week of January 2017 he put me on 50mg of Zoloft which was soon upped to 100mg after a week of taking it. It brought me back to a neutral point emotionally, no longer wanted to die, etc. My sex drive was so low though, and i brought that up 3 more visits, when he put me on 150mg of bupropion/Welbutrin. This solved that problem and this medicine combination had me feeling myself for the first time in a very long time. But it really didn't last too long. A few months in I began getting almost daily headaches so my doctor raised my Zoloft to 150mg in July 2017. That would be lowered back to 100mg in September 2017.

 

Much time has passed and I've been simply getting by on my meds, not paying too much mind but constantly wondering if I'm only on them because I'm physiologically dependent on them.

 

In November 2018, I sought out therapy again, but no longer had a psychiatrist to manage my meds (I saw a few psychiatrists in the interim but they wanted to up my dosages and I felt they weren't taking into consideration any side effects I was mentioning that were now making my antidepressant experience quite miserable). In January 2019, I began experiencing absolutely debilitating migraines many times a month, and after monitoring it for over a year now I can't identify the exact triggers. In October 2019, I saw a primary care doctor for the feelings of dullness and emotional blunting I was thinking was from my meds. She upped my Bupropion to 300mg and I got a little more motivated for life again, but it was so short lived and felt very chemically induced. Like a manic constantly needing to be occupied by something, I'll be watching TV while playing a video game WHILE on instagram or something on my phone. It's wild how hard it is for my brain to just be calm since the dose has been upped. Problem is, she went out of practice literally months into seeing her. Every time I lock in a new doctor, they seem to no longer be at the healthcare facility anymore and it's so exhausting having to find a new doctor to explain all of this to every. single. time. especially when I don't even know if they're actually listening to what I have to say or if they just want to write me a script and send me on my way. 

 

In the last 2 years, I have dropped so many friends because i've lost all interest in them as people and I was kind of easily able to move on with my life and be okay with being by my lonesome. I feel less emotionally drained and less worried about social situations in general. I fight with myself about these feelings though, in my head, almost all day every day because I have never been like this. This isn't me. I don't know what I like to do anymore. I am so physically fatigued and I'm 24 and relatively a healthy individual with the exception of what I eat lol. 

 

Anyway, I hope this group can help me find some peace with this journey. Thank you if you've read this far.

[Gridley]

Welcome to SA, pleasantpeach.    Thanks for doing your signature.  Could you add to your signature the type of Wellbutrin you're on (SR, XR, XL)? Use this link:

 

Account Settings – Create or Edit a signature.

 

As you probably know, we're a site for tapering off psychiatric drugs and helping members cope with withdrawal.  Are you interested in tapering either the Wellbutrin or the Zoloft and, if so, which one.  We generally recommend tapering the more activating drug first, which in your case seems to be the Wellbutrin?  Is the dulling effect the only side effect you're having from the Zoloft?  

 

Taking multiple psych drugs? Which drug to taper first?

 

If you are interested in tapering, we'll be happy to help you.

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system. 

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

This is your Introduction topic, where you can ask questions and connect with other members.  We're glad you found your way here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pleasantpeach]

@Gridley - thank you so much! I'm very interested in tapering and would like to slowly get off both zoloft and welbutrin, but wasn't sure which one to start with.  

 

as far as zoloft side effects go, i honestly can't fully distinguish my medication side effects from one another (zoloft vs. welbutrin) at this point. when i first started it, it had killed my libido until welbutrin came into the picture. now i just feel kind of like this emotionless boring person who prefers to stay indoors and shut out social interactions. 

 

i also am wondering what are the best ways to go about cutting pills and weighing them out to achieve an accurate dosage? 

 

lastly, i don't have a set time frame for how long i want to do this, and am torn between some of the few different options i'm seeing. i am unemployed right now and living with my mom, so ideally this is the best time for me to be doing the taper to begin with. i'm really open to anything that will allow progress to be slow and least risky!

[Gridley]

@pleasantpeach

 

As far as which drug to taper first, as I said, we recommend tapering the more activating drug first.  From your initial post it seems that the Wellbutrin is the more activating, so you could consider going off it first.  We recommend tapering only one drug at a time.  Otherwise, if problems arise, you won't know the cause.

 

Our basic taper is to to reduce by no more than 10% of your current dose every four weeks. 

 

Why taper by 10% of my dosage?

 

This link is specifically about tapering Wellbutrin and contains detailed instructions, including (conveniently) a section on how to taper Wellbutrin XL 300mg.  I'd suggest you read the whole post, as it is an excellent tutorial on tapering Wellbutrin.  As the post details, Wellbutrin is one drug where it, for some people, may be possible to taper faster than the standard 10% rate.

 

Tips for tapering off buproprion (Wellbutrin, SR, XR, XL)

 

We don't recommend a lot of supplements on SA, as many members report being sensitive to them due to our over-reactive nervous systems, but two supplements that we do recommend are magnesium and omega 3 (fish oil). Many people find these to be calming to the nervous system. 

 

Magnesium, nature's calcium channel blocker 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) 

 

Add in one at a time and at a low dose in case you do experience problems.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pleasantpeach]

@Gridley hi again- i'm sorry for bothering you at all!

i got my wellbutrin XL 300mg adjusted as you recommended, so it is now 150mg Wellbutrin XL + two 75mg wellbutrin IR. 

 

i just talked to my pharmacist about how to split this up but i honestly don't think they understand how i want to taper- he wanted me cut it by 25%, and i know that won't work for me. 

 

i know you are just a person and not a pharmacist but how would you best advise i split this dosage up during my day? 1 150MG XL + 1 75MG IR in the AM, and 12 hours later 1 75mg IR? (that's what i was told), any help is so appreciated lol

[Gridley]

@pleasantpeach

 

The link I sent you recommends doing it this way.

 

"a 150mg Wellbutrin XL tablet in the morning, a 75mg Wellbutrin IR tablet in the afternoon, and the second Wellbutrin IR tablet in the evening."   You could do this for a week before starting to taper to get used to the new regimen.  

 

Then, when you start the taper,  follow the tapering instructions in the link I sent you--  

Tips for tapering off buproprion (Wellbutrin, SR, XR, XL)

 

The instructions are in this section of the link:

 

"Example: Tapering off 300mg Wellbutrin XL"