Arild: Tapering Wellbutrin because of high sensitivity. Then hopefully coming off Lamictal.

[Arild]

Hi.

 

Born in 1971.

I’m a very sensitive guy and have had depressions on and off basically my whole life.

 

Was voluntarily commited to a psych ward in 2003 after severe suicidal thoughts. There I was put on Efexor which stabilized things.
After being released a psychiatrist added Lamictal and told me I should use it for the rest of my life.

In 2018 I self tapered off Efexor because of sleeping problems which really affected my relationship. Dreaming, screaming, kicking etc.
Went well the first three or four months, then I got eager and tapered the rest too fast. After six months I couldn’t handle it and got a psychiatrist. First he put me on Brintellix which didn’t help. Another psychiatrist took a DNA test to find out what antidepressant would work, resulting in Wellbutrin.

Wellbutrin really helped and my life definitely changed for the better for the next couple of years.

 

I’m a car nut. Most of my life has evolved around classic cars and motorsport.
From 2021 I've gradually reacted really badly to exhaust, gasoline fumes etc. Basically CO2 poisoning symtoms becoming worse and worse. On a bad day just being passed by a single car on the street could make me dizzy. Tried astma medicine which only helped for a short while. We couldn’t find any other cause.

Having basically my whole life revolving around cars, career, hobby all my friends etc, this was a huge problem.
By the end of 2023 I feared having to move to a cabin in the woods!

I now suspect Wellbutrin may be at least some of the cause.
Far from sure, but I have to find out.

 

We’ve got generally good public healthcare here in Norway. But as sensitivity to fumes isn’t a documented side effect of Wellbutrin I don’t get a public psychiatrist. Private psychiatrist is very expensive! So then I started googling … and here we are.

 

Tapering off Wellbutrin has gone well so far. Down from 150 to 20mg in 2,5 months.
I definitely don’t react as badly to cars as before.
Hopefully I’ll be off Wellbutrin some time this summer and we can conclude.

Now having read up on antidepressants I really want to come off Lamictal as well.
Starting when we have concluded on Wellbutrin and fumes.
I’m on 300mg Lamictal now and will try 10% off every mont to begin with.

 

Does anyone have experience with Wellbutrin and high sensitivity to fumes?

[Carmie]

Welcome @Arild

 

Sounds like cars have been a real passion for you, I’m sorry about your sensitivities. The fumes definitely aren’t good for one’s health. Whether your sensitivity to fumes now is related to meds or not, no one would be able to say, but seeing that your sensitivity has gotten better as you’ve lowered your dose, you never know. A lot of us become hypersensitive to all sorts of things because of these meds. That being said, breathing in fumes all the time really isn’t ideal, can you wear a mask or something? 

 

Please don’t taper too quickly though, you sound like you’re going way too fast. Even if withdrawals don’t hit you hard straight away, they can hit you later. It’s recommended to taper by no more than 10% of the last dose each time. I’m glad you’re deciding to taper off the Lamictal after the Wellbutrin, as it’s best to only taper one medication at a time.

 

Can you please put in your drug signature. Just go to the top of the introductions page, you’ll see a thread asking you to start a topic about yourself. There’s a link in the first paragraph that will show you how to do a signature. Thanks.

 

Wishing you all the best on your tapering and I hope your sensitivities continue to subside💛

[Arild]

Thanx for great answer Carmie 🙂
Signature fixed.

Although to quick tapering Wellbutrin it's going quite well so far, after I stopped skipping doses (before discovering SA) and started cutting pills instead. Some fatigue but not too bad. I can work 3-4 days a week, just like I've done for the last 5 years.
150mg seems to be the smallest available Wellbutrin dose here in Norway.
Got a scale today and will start cutting and weighing properly. Will taper more slowly.

Having read up I really want to come off Lamictal, after Wellbutrin of course.
Concentration and memory loss has become a severe problem over the years.
I'm 52 years old now and hope to experience the real me before reaching 55.

Lamictal seems to be way harder to come off for most people, so I'm going for 10% hyperbolic.

 

[j1290]

On 4/13/2024 at 3:31 PM, Arild said:

Although to quick tapering Wellbutrin it's going quite well so far, after I stopped skipping doses (before discovering SA) and started cutting pills instead.

FWIW, one of the tricky parts is it can catch up with you months after your last dose.  I'm one of the unlucky people that had a hard time tapering Wellbutrin, but I was on it 20 years or so.   I'm hoping your taper is smooth sailing, and congratulations getting off of Effexor!