Posted by 8 Miles on January 17, 2004, at 17:40:10
In reply to Wellbutrin SR- IM SCARED! Is it any good?, posted by panic_attack on January 17, 2004, at 17:13:53
Hold on a second there! Are you SURE you have the SR and not the IR? There is a HUGE difference in how they work. You should NEVER, EVER break apart an SR or the new XL Wellbutrin. There are also immediate release pills (IR). These CAN be broken if deemed necessary. I think that if you have NEVER been on WB before, that even a dose of 200 SR is sort of a high starting dose. I started on the 150SR once a day and then twice a day. Years later, I tried boosting doses of 50-100 IR WB. Now, you did not specify WHY your where given the WB, nor what you were on before (if anything). That is rather salient information to know about.
As to the "safety" of WB, it IS associated with a *risk* of seizure (due to those that happened in patients when WB was initially prescribed at higher doses). You will also see warnings about other meds or chemicals (such as alcohol) that may "lower the seizure threshold". I don't think that there have been too many reported seizures in recent times at the current doses, but they have to list that as a possible side effect. Does WB work? Well, again, that would depend upon the reason it was prescribed to you. But when I started taking it in 1996, it blew the shoes off the SSRI meds that I had been taking. The main side effects that I have noticed are: potential to hurt your sleep (which can be fixed if you take the second dose earlier in the day).Jitters and chest tightness, which generally subside after a while of taking it. Appetite reduction and weight loss, which have actually been a GOOD thing for me. And some nervousness, which can be treated by adding a small dose of a Benzos. I recently tried to switch to the XL dose of 300mg, but it did not allow my body enough time to get the med out of my system before bedtime. So, I have gone back to 150mg SR twice daily. Basically, I have been using it for about 8 years w/o any problem significant enought to make me want to stop taking it. If you have MORE questions, you should contact your doc and ask all that you need to know so that you will feel comfortable about it. Hope that helps.8
poster:8 Miles
thread:301910
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040114/msgs/302094.html