Posted by Racer on September 10, 2006, at 10:36:20
In reply to FEEL HOPELESS......NEED OPINIONS PLEASE, posted by tjeffries on September 10, 2006, at 7:17:04
First of all, while Wellbutrin does seem to work faster than the SSRIs, that still means a few weeks. Not a few days, but a few weeks. So, give it a chance. Truly -- it kicked in for me towards two and a half weeks at about 300 mg, if I remember correctly. And I didn't get out of bed one day saying, "Wow, I've got pep and vim!" I got out of bed one morning, feeling no different in any way, then noticed I was singing silly songs I made up while cooking breakfast. That was a good hint for me that it was doing something...
And having taken the SSRIs and Cymbalta doesn't mean you're out of options if the Wellbutrin doesn't work. It only means that SSRIs and Cymbalta haven't worked for you. It also doesn't mean that a combination of Wellbutrin and SSRIs wouldn't work. All it means is that SSRIs on their own, at the doses you've tried so far, have not worked. Could be you never hit a therapeutic level. Could be you didn't stay on them long enough to benefit. Could be space aliens crept into your kitchen at night and replaced them with placebos... (OK, that last one was only there to make you smile. I hope it worked...)
Believe me -- I know it's hard. Back when I started Cymbalta, I was so anxious and freaked out by the drug, that the only thing that kept me on it was a good friend of mine who called me every single day from halfway across the country and reminded me that at that point I'd have had overwhelming adverse effects from a Flintstones chewable vitamin. I do know it's hard. Give it a chance, though.
And, if Wellbutrin isn't going to be your friend, there are a lot more drugs out there, ranging from TCAs and MAOI -- which are less friendly in some people's eyes -- to Remeron and Effexor, to augmenting agents combined with an SSRI or Wellbutrin.
Good luck. And I hope it kicks in for you.
poster:Racer
thread:684664
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060909/msgs/684690.html