Wellbutrin beginning taper

[Wellytaper]

I have been taking Wellbutrin 150 since last January. I k is the site recommends a 10-15% decrease, and I have an appt with my doctor in a few weeks to be prescribed the 100mg instant release so that I can make a liquid and decrease with precision. My question is that approx 10% of my aggregate weekly mg would be decreased if I skipped one dose a week. Would that be an acceptable way to start? Since I’m on a low dose, could I go straight from 150 to 100 and hold there for a while? Anyone have experience with that? I am fairly resilient to withdrawal — in my youth I Ct’Ed Xanax and heroin and obviously survived. I don’t want to trigger a major depressive episode though. 

[Onmyway]

11 hours ago, Wellytaper said:

My question is that approx 10% of my aggregate weekly mg would be decreased if I skipped one dose a week.

Would that be an acceptable way to start?

 

No. That is the worst way to taper. Also, when you get the immediate release tablets you need to take the medicine multiple times a day - keeping a consistent level of the drug in your system is very important.  

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/22958-never-skip-doses-to-taper/

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/1024-why-taper-by-10-of-my-dosage/

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/877-tips-for-tapering-off-bupropion-wellbutrin-ir-sr-xr-xl-zyban/

 

11 hours ago, Wellytaper said:

Since I’m on a low dose, could I go straight from 150 to 100 and hold there for a while? Anyone have experience with that? I am fairly resilient to withdrawal — in my youth I Ct’Ed Xanax and heroin and obviously survived.

 

Low doses are the hardest to taper as the medicine is very potent at the lower doses. And 150 is not a low dose of Wellbutrin, not sure why you think that it is. 

The fact that you CT'ed other things before puts you at a higher risk of withdrawal and believe you me, regular depression is nothing compared to the potential intensity of withdrawal which in addition to depression can come with numerous physical and mental withdrawal symptoms. 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/27800-hypersensitivity-and-kindling/

 

Please summarize your drug history as outlined below: 

https://www.survivingantidepressants.org/topic/28240-how-to-summarize-your-drug-history-in-your-signature/

 

 

[Wellytaper]

 

Saw my doctor last week to be prescribed Wellbutrin 75mg IR. I'm documenting here to try to psych myself up and I guess review where I'm at.

I've dealt with depression for nearly my entire life. Childhood sexual abuse survivor, parent with PTSD, depression, and alcoholism, etc. My parent with depression was against psych meds. He self-medicated with alcohol and marijuana. I did the same, from ages 21-31.

 

My depression was episodic -- I would have severe, piercing, depressive episodes about every other month. I thought about suicide constantly. It was like my religion, a constant existential struggle that suffused my entire life. It probably built a large part of my worldview and personality. In January of 2021, during a seriously stressful time in my life where I was trying to accomplish a lot, I finally decided to try antidepressants. The stakes were too high at that point to be crippled by my depression, which at the time I was. That, and I had reached the end of my endurance. After 15 years, I just wanted to experience life without constantly having to pull myself out of a deep dark hole of crushing psychic agony. After more than a decade of depression, during all of my formative years, it felt like my depression and suicidality were hardwired. I felt locked into my patterns of thought. I got on 150mg of Wellbutrin. It was hell getting on, and I was honestly disturbed by it. Severe agitation, cognitive issues, cut myself though I never had before. It was rough. I stayed the course because Wellbutrin was my only hope. It was the only antidepressant I would consider taking; it was my one shot. Incidentally, at the height of the agitation etc. I was experiencing, I could not take it any more and started looking for a solution. I found that antidepressants like Wellbutrin upregulate activating neurotransmitters before the brain can adjust and upregulate GABA neurotransmitters to compensate. I bought an N-Acetyl Cysteine supplement (precursor to GABA) and within and hour or two of taking it I felt better. So that's how I weathered the Wellbutrin on-ramp.

 

I entered a time of my life where I started saying "I used to struggle with depression..." That said, it's hard to tell whether the improvement in my depression was Wellbutrin, because a lot of things changed in my life around that time. I finally got out of grad school, started working, and stopped having to hang around campus all day, which I hated. I got a lot of control over my life back. Then again, I know as well as anyone that you can have the exact life you want and everything can be perfect and it's still possible to build your own hell out of it; it's possible Wellbutrin is the reason I haven't done that. I still have the occasional depressive week or weekend if I am stressed about something. Sometimes life is like that; I don't know anyone who can bear it all the time. But I haven't been suicidal. It feels like I have a floor to my depression. There is more distance between me and my emotions. This bothered me at first, but I thought that given my daily drinking, I probably shouldn't complain about not feeling my feelings -- it would be like complaining about a cold when your foot it stuck in a beartrap. Sometimes I get brain zaps when falling asleep. I have tremors in my head, neck, and hands though, to be fair, I I always had that. It just feels like Wellbutrin encourages it. I think that it does affect my memory and cognitive abilities. And as much as there is a floor, there is also a ceiling. I saw someone describe it as like having "subtle shackles on my mind." I think I'm ready to get off.

 

I've made a lot of changes, and I think things will be different now. I knew the entire time I struggled with my mental health what I needed to do to help my depression, which was to stop drinking, get more (really any) exercise, and get outside/get some vitamin D. That, and build myself a life I didn't hate. I started journaling, I have a nascent exercise routine, I take my vitamins, and I stopped drinking in July. I meditate daily. I started taking Evening Primrose Oil for pms, which definitely primed the ground for some bad depression in the past. I also realized in the last few years that I probably have some kind of sensory processing disorder. I learned my limitations surrounding that and I account for it in my life. I know that if I have a high-impact day or week, it might set off a depressive episode and I'm going to need time to recover. So, I have a whole arsenal of coping mechanisms going into this, and I also have a routine that I hope will avoid depression almost entirely, barring breakthrough times when I am just really stressed. The idea is not to struggle, but evade.

 

I'm going to take the rest of November and December to acclimate to 75mg IR. I'll begin a liquid taper from 150mg to 135 in January and the plan is to hold for a month and drop again. I've got Vit D, Omega 3, multivitamin, and magnesium. The ace up my sleeve is ketamine. I have it in oral form. I'm not sure if anyone has experience using that to withdraw from an antidepressant here. If not, I'll document my uses for reference. I've found it to be possibly more helpful than Wellbutrin. It really broke up a lot of ingrained thought patterns, and allows me to get some perspective and relief in really tough times. I am scared that the same episodes of depression will resume; I'm not afraid I'll kill myself, just afraid of the pain of it. I feel like I did 15 years of my life walking on a broken leg. It took everything in me to keep going, again, and again, and again. I'm not sure if I regret it -- obviously a lot of people took the other route and got on antidepressants much earlier, with different struggles and different costs. Now I just hope that with a really slow taper and all the changes I've made in my life, I can keep all the good things without the fogginess and brain zaps, etc. from Wellbutrin.

 

[Onmyway]

Hi @Wellytaper, 

thank you for sharing your story. It seems like life has been quite difficult for you. I am sorry you had to go through all of that. I am glad that you are taking charge of your health and implementing good habits such as exercise and meditation. 

 

One thing to know is that during withdrawal you may become sensitive to supplements and other psych drugs so we do encourage people not to take any - including alcohol - 0 alcohol is the safest amount during withdrawal. 

 

Our view on other psychoactive drugs is the same. If you do take ketamine, that is at your own risk. There is a thread here with people having had it and you can check it out and put your experiences there if you do take it. 

 

I am a bit worried about the brain zaps - they are usually a symptom of withdrawal. Do you get them if you skip a dose or if you don't take your dose on time? As I said earlier, if you are taking the IR wellbutrin, you need to be very very diligent to divide your dose and take it multiple times a day. 

 

@Wellytaper, can you pls summarize your drug history as shown  below. We want to know at various times what drugs/combinations of drugs/supplements you were taking. As much detail as possible especially for the last couple of years.