Posted by CarolAnn on November 29, 1999, at 14:20:22
In reply to Fat, depressed and frustrated, posted by Trish on November 28, 1999, at 21:05:11
Trish, at the time I was put on Wellbutrin, my Dr. took me off Prozac. Now, Wellbutrin is WELL documented to cause weight LOSS in people, yet I started gaining(15 pounds in 6 wks so far) as soon as I was off the prozac. I just kept(still do but not as much) having very intense cravings for sweets, even to the point of waking up in the middle of the night and HAVING to have cookies, cake, ect.
I came to a theory of why this was happening and my Dr. actually agreed with me! My theory is that when I went off Prozac(which increases serotonin) I started craving sweets for the huge amounts of carbohydrates, which have been documented as increasing serotonin level(this is why cravings are so common during PMS or stressful times). The point is that stopping the Prozac lowered my serotonin level so much that I was subconsciously using excess carbohydrates to get the serotonin level back up. Anyway, when I explained this to my pschiatrist, he put me on Serzone because it is a drug that increases serotonin. So now I take 400mgs Wellbutrin and 225mgs Serzone each day. So far I haven't noticed a lot of difference in my depression, but after 3wks, the serzone is beginning to tone down my sweet cravings. Vivactil is supposed to increase energy, so it is probably just a matter of giving it enough time to work(6-8 wks). Also, given your symptoms, I think you should talk to your Dr. about *adding* one of the serotonin affecting drugs to the Vivactil. Good luck! CarolAnn
poster:CarolAnn
thread:15895
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19991123/msgs/15928.html