ireneC - my tiny Wellbutrin nightmare

[ireneC]

Hey everyone,

 

I just registered. I've been reading the site for a few weeks and it's really helped me to keep my spirits up. There is a lot of great information and support on here, and I'm really happy to be a member now.

 

My medication history:

 

I've been taking Lithium (900mg) and risperdol (0.5mg) for several years as long-term mood stabilizers. These ones haven't been an issue. About three months ago, in June, I started taking Wellbutrin XL (generic) 150mg to help me quit smoking. I took it for about six weeks and suffered a lot of different side effects, especially anxiety attacks, nervousness, irritability, and trouble sleeping. At the time I was also taking Concerta 18mg for ADHD, which I discontinued because of the overlapping anxiety with the Wellbutrin (it wasn't a medication that I took every day, and I hadn't had any issues with it in the past).

 

My taper:

 

By the sixth week, had been suffering big panic attacks daily for about two of those weeks. I spoke with my doctor and he advised me to take it every other day for a week and then discontinue, which I did (because of the extended release, and it was the lowest dose already).

 

My withdrawal/where I'm at now:

 

It's been forty days since I discontinued. After a day of really intense anxiety and a few days of flu-like symptoms, I felt okay and I felt like I was done. About a week after this, I started getting panic attacks again. I'm an anxious person but I've never been one to get panic attacks regularly. I made it through a few weeks of the same issues, but it got worse, and soon I was having crippling anxiety over everything as a baseline on top of panic attacks. This continued on for a few more weeks. Currently I'm sitting at, mild anxiety all the time, random panic attacks and constant derealization & depersonalization. It's gotten so bad that I ended up on short term disability because I work with heavy equipment and I don't feel safe operating it like this. I keep feeling really hopeless and scared, even though I know it's just temporary. It's been hard too because I've never read a story about Wellbutrin that was this bad. I'm really hoping it goes away soon, and i've been trying to stay busy at home, exercise, read, and take care of myself by eating healthily. Unfortunately I was not able to quit smoking! Thank you for reading.

 

Edit: I wanted to mention also that I've been using low dose L-Theanine when the anxiety gets to be too much, and powdered glycine in warm tea at night to help me sleep. These have been a lifesaver so far.

[bubble]

Hello Irene and welcome to SA.

 

I'm happy that you found the forum helpful.

 

I have entered the drugs you were taking at one point into a drug interactions checker and here is the report:

 

Interactions between your selected drugs

lithium ↔ bupropion

Applies to: lithium, Wellbutrin (bupropion)

BuPROPion may cause seizures, especially at higher dosages, and combining it with other medications that can also cause seizures such as lithium may increase that risk. The interaction may be more likely if you are elderly, undergoing alcohol or drug withdrawal, have a history of seizures, or have a condition affecting the central nervous system such as a brain tumor or head trauma. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with these medications. Also avoid driving or operating hazardous machinery until you know how the medications affect you. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

Switch to professional interaction data

bupropion ↔ methylphenidate

Applies to: Wellbutrin (bupropion), Concerta (methylphenidate)

BuPROPion may cause seizures, especially at higher dosages, and combining it with other medications that can also cause seizures such as methylphenidate may increase that risk. The interaction may be more likely if you are elderly, undergoing alcohol or drug withdrawal, have a history of seizures, or have a condition affecting the central nervous system such as a brain tumor or head trauma. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol while being treated with these medications. Also avoid driving or operating hazardous machinery until you know how the medications affect you. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions or concerns. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

Switch to professional interaction data

bupropion ↔ risperidone

Applies to: Wellbutrin (bupropion), Risperdal (risperidone)

Talk to your doctor before using buPROPion together with risperiDONE. Combining these medications may increase the risk of seizures, which may occur rarely with either medication. In addition, buPROPion can increase the blood levels of risperiDONE, which may increase other side effects. You may be more likely to experience seizures with these medications if you are elderly, undergoing alcohol or drug withdrawal, have a history of seizures, or have a condition affecting the central nervous system such as a brain tumor or head trauma. Your doctor may be able to prescribe alternatives that do not interact, or you may need a dose adjustment or more frequent monitoring by your doctor to safely use both medications. You should avoid or limit the use of alcohol during treatment. It is important to tell your doctor about all other medications you use, including vitamins and herbs. Do not stop using any medications without first talking to your doctor.

​

No Wonder that you felt the symptoms that you describe.

 

Alternating doses to taper is a very bad idea which stresses the CNS a lot.

 

Although you were taking Welbutrin for a relatively short period perios of time, your brain is different to that of other people due to your general drug history. Obviosuly there were many interactions with risperdal and lithium which makes your current situation so challenging.

 

It's great that you are doing so well in the way of self-care. Things should settle down but it might take a while.

 

I believe other members might have additional helpful remarks.

 

Many people do better with fish oil and magnesium supplements, see
http://survivinganti...acids-fish-oil/
http://survivinganti...hannel-blocker/​

 

Also if you would please add a signature block with all of your usage and tapering information it would be really helpful.  That way we can see at a glance all the information we need to make suggestions.

 

 Please put your withdrawal history in your signature

 

Once again, welcome.

 

Bubble

[Altostrata]

Welcome, IreneC.

 

It sounds like you have withdrawal symptoms from Wellbutrin and possibly Concerta (how often were you taking it?). You might reinstate Wellbutrin at a very low dose, such as 10mg, which would not be as big an interaction risk.

 

See What is withdrawal syndrome?
 
About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

How to take a small dose of Wellbutrin Tips for tapering off Wellbutrin, SR, XR, XL (buproprion)

[ireneC]

Hello Irene and welcome to SA.

 

I'm happy that you found the forum helpful.

 

I have entered the drugs you were taking at one point into a drug interactions checker and here is the report:

 

[snip]

​

No Wonder that you felt the symptoms that you describe.

 

Alternating doses to taper is a very bad idea which stresses the CNS a lot.

 

Although you were taking Welbutrin for a relatively short period perios of time, your brain is different to that of other people due to your general drug history. Obviosuly there were many interactions with risperdal and lithium which makes your current situation so challenging.

 

It's great that you are doing so well in the way of self-care. Things should settle down but it might take a while.

 

I believe other members might have additional helpful remarks.

 

Many people do better with fish oil and magnesium supplements, see

http://survivinganti...acids-fish-oil/

http://survivinganti...hannel-blocker/​

 

Also if you would please add a signature block with all of your usage and tapering information it would be really helpful.  That way we can see at a glance all the information we need to make suggestions.

 

 Please put your withdrawal history in your signature

 

Once again, welcome.

 

Bubble

 

​

 

Thanks very much for your response and for your welcome. I've added my information to my signature block.

 

I had no idea there were so many interactions with the combination of medications I was taking! I'm actually really shocked, I would not have even bothered to try Wellbutrin if I'd known about it. It did feel a lot (and still does) like my brain is feeling an electrical tingle. It makes a lot more sense now that it affected me the way it did, thank you for shedding light on this!

 

I haven't been taking fish oil or magnesium but if it's something that's going to help I'll definitely make it out to the shop tomorrow and pick some up. Thanks again!

[ireneC]

Welcome, IreneC.

 

It sounds like you have withdrawal symptoms from Wellbutrin and possibly Concerta (how often were you taking it?). You might reinstate Wellbutrin at a very low dose, such as 10mg, which would not be as big an interaction risk.

 

See What is withdrawal syndrome?

 

About reinstating and stabilizing to reduce withdrawal symptoms

 

How to take a small dose of Wellbutrin Tips for tapering off Wellbutrin, SR, XR, XL (buproprion)

 

Hi Altostrata,

 

I was taking Concerta daily excluding weekends and had been for about three years. In the past I'd stopped taking it for weeks at a time without issue, but, under different circumstances (no Wellbutrin). I now know there's a strong interaction, is it possible it's making my withdrawal from Wellbutrin worse?

 

Thank you for the link to the reinstating/stabilizing thread. My withdrawal is pretty bad and progress is really slow and uncomfortable; I'm actually seeing my psychiatrist in a couple of days. There's a compounding pharmacy near his office, so I think I could get a liquid suspension made up. I'll read through the threads again and decide on the best course of action.

[DavidStone]

Welcome to the forum. You will get better. Many others have before you. I know it may be difficult to believe that during the bad spots but...it's true. At some point this will all just be a bad memory for you.

[oskcajga]

Hey everyone,

 

I just registered. I've been reading the site for a few weeks and it's really helped me to keep my spirits up. There is a lot of great information and support on here, and I'm really happy to be a member now.

 

My medication history:

 

I've been taking Lithium (900mg) and risperdol (0.5mg) for several years as long-term mood stabilizers. These ones haven't been an issue. About three months ago, in June, I started taking Wellbutrin XL (generic) 150mg to help me quit smoking. I took it for about six weeks and suffered a lot of different side effects, especially anxiety attacks, nervousness, irritability, and trouble sleeping. At the time I was also taking Concerta 18mg for ADHD, which I discontinued because of the overlapping anxiety with the Wellbutrin (it wasn't a medication that I took every day, and I hadn't had any issues with it in the past).

 

My taper:

 

By the sixth week, had been suffering big panic attacks daily for about two of those weeks. I spoke with my doctor and he advised me to take it every other day for a week and then discontinue, which I did (because of the extended release, and it was the lowest dose already).

 

My withdrawal/where I'm at now:

 

It's been forty days since I discontinued. After a day of really intense anxiety and a few days of flu-like symptoms, I felt okay and I felt like I was done. About a week after this, I started getting panic attacks again. I'm an anxious person but I've never been one to get panic attacks regularly. I made it through a few weeks of the same issues, but it got worse, and soon I was having crippling anxiety over everything as a baseline on top of panic attacks. This continued on for a few more weeks. Currently I'm sitting at, mild anxiety all the time, random panic attacks and constant derealization & depersonalization. It's gotten so bad that I ended up on short term disability because I work with heavy equipment and I don't feel safe operating it like this. I keep feeling really hopeless and scared, even though I know it's just temporary. It's been hard too because I've never read a story about Wellbutrin that was this bad. I'm really hoping it goes away soon, and i've been trying to stay busy at home, exercise, read, and take care of myself by eating healthily. Unfortunately I was not able to quit smoking! Thank you for reading.

 

Edit: I wanted to mention also that I've been using low dose L-Theanine when the anxiety gets to be too much, and powdered glycine in warm tea at night to help me sleep. These have been a lifesaver so far.

 

I had severe panic attacks and dp/dr myself - after about 6 months I was mostly recovered, and after 9 months I had my last panic attack.  I never had a history of panic attacks before this.

 

So my advice is this:  wait.  Don't take any new drugs, don't change your dosage, don't do anything other than take care of yourself and eat healthy and get some mild exercise.  Time will heal you, I am sure of it.

[ireneC]

Thank you for your comments and support DavidStone and oskcajga... it's so hard to remember that it's temporary, especially in the middle of feeling horrible, especially with DP/DR. I've never had it before and it's been incredibly scary!! This site has been a great tool to remind myself that is temporary, though.

 

Today I picked up some liquid fish oil providing 2750mg of DHA and 250mg of EPA per 1 tsp serving. I'm not too well versed on fish oil supplements but the lady at the shop explained that DHA is for supporting the brain and nervous system and EPA is for joints and inflammation. I'm not sure how spot on this is but I took my first dose this morning. I took a full dose because I've taken fish oil in the past, and I've taken it during my withdrawal with no ill effects.

 

I didn't think I'd notice anything, but it made me really really tired and helped with my anxiety within a couple of hours. One big problem I've had during my withdrawal is being unable to sleep, and not being rested when I do sleep. But I had a couple hours' nap this afternoon and woke up feeling refreshed for the first time in a while that I can remember. I picked up some magnesium 300mg as well, and I'll be taking it tonight before bed.

 

Still unsure about whether to go back on a very low dose of Wellbutrin to help ease my symptoms or just continue on with my supplements and exercise. I'm six weeks out from my last full dose now. The fish oil actually made such a huge difference for me that I kind of just want to wait it out from here. Yesterday I was of a completely different mind lol.

[oskcajga]

Thank you for your comments and support DavidStone and oskcajga... it's so hard to remember that it's temporary, especially in the middle of feeling horrible, especially with DP/DR. I've never had it before and it's been incredibly scary!! This site has been a great tool to remind myself that is temporary, though.

 

Today I picked up some liquid fish oil providing 2750mg of DHA and 250mg of EPA per 1 tsp serving. I'm not too well versed on fish oil supplements but the lady at the shop explained that DHA is for supporting the brain and nervous system and EPA is for joints and inflammation. I'm not sure how spot on this is but I took my first dose this morning. I took a full dose because I've taken fish oil in the past, and I've taken it during my withdrawal with no ill effects.

 

I didn't think I'd notice anything, but it made me really really tired and helped with my anxiety within a couple of hours. One big problem I've had during my withdrawal is being unable to sleep, and not being rested when I do sleep. But I had a couple hours' nap this afternoon and woke up feeling refreshed for the first time in a while that I can remember. I picked up some magnesium 300mg as well, and I'll be taking it tonight before bed.

 

Still unsure about whether to go back on a very low dose of Wellbutrin to help ease my symptoms or just continue on with my supplements and exercise. I'm six weeks out from my last full dose now. The fish oil actually made such a huge difference for me that I kind of just want to wait it out from here. Yesterday I was of a completely different mind lol.

If you do decide to reinstate a small dose, make sure it's very small - like 1-5 mg at most. 

[Altostrata]

I had remarkable results from fish oil, too. You may wish to take it at night.

 

You must have really needed some omega-3 fatty acids.

[DavidStone]

I know what you mean about the DP/DR. For me it's been one of the more disturbing symptoms and I haven't had it much. I wasn't certain what to call it or what it was until I found the forum. Best thing to remember when your going through that is your not alone many of us are in the same boat feeling the same things as well. Glad the fish oil is helping.

[ireneC]

Thanks y'all for your support! It's much much appreciated.

 

I was able to make it to my psych's office yesterday after postponing my appointment. I've been doing a little better since starting the fish oil and magnesium, but still having a lot of issues with DP/DR. He doesn't feel my symptoms are withdrawal related (which I disagree with) and offered some different medications to help with the anxiety. I told him I was very wary of SSRIs and benzodiazepines, so I ended up with a prescription for low-dose Seroquel. I'm really iffy about taking it, too, but I wanted to at least go and see what he thought. I don't think I'll be taking it unless things get unbearable, and I don't feel as though they'll get worse from here.

 

Just gonna keep doing what I'm doing and try to be patient as my body and brain heals.