Posted by yellowbrickroad on January 4, 2005, at 18:28:01
In reply to Re: wellbutrin tight chest » stresser, posted by KaraS on January 4, 2005, at 18:06:40
I didn't have any side effects from it (other than really bad heartburn) until I'd been on it for over a year, then the paranoia (extreme and not a familiar feeling to me).
My doctor was dismissive at the time because he said that, if I had side effects, they would show up pretty quickly...that long-term studies didn't show any development of new side-effects.
The problem with that, I now realize, is that long-term studies are rarely more than 6 months into the future because of the expense of conducting them. And maybe the fact that I was taking it together with lithium may have played a role. Maybe not. Who knows. But the paranoia was real. (I certainly don't think the alternative...that all my neighbors were whispering about me...was likely true.)
When my dose was lowered, the paranoia went away. I actually stayed on the drug for another year after this, but at a reduced dose.
I am one of those people who has tried different courses of pharmacological therapy and had side effects with all of them. I guess there's no such thing, really, as having no side effects at all, and I was willing to stay on these medications for 1 1/2 to 2 years before switching (except for one because I kept falling asleep AT MY DESK and couldn't afford to get fired or I wouldn't have the insurance to pay for the drugs anyway).
However, I think the important thing is if the side-effect is tolerable and if it diminishes over time. Is the benefit worth the side effect?
If I had a side effect that caused me great distress, however, I would call my doctor's emergency number (or even poison control or an emergency nurse if it interfered with breathing, standing up, etc.).
I would hate to discourage anyone from seeking a course of therapy that worked for her, and a drug that is not tolerated by one person may be a God-send for another.
If it prevents normal functioning, then I would go off of it...but WITH supervision. Taking oneself off drugs cold turkey can pose physical and psychological problems (sometimes severe) of its own.
YBR
poster:yellowbrickroad
thread:436236
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050103/msgs/437797.html