Shown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by amyw on August 12, 2000, at 20:47:25
I am writing about my 18 year old son who sufffers from severe depression and lots of physical symptoms such as severe cravings for food. At times he has had binges, but has never thrown up. Because of his exercise level, he is actually still thin.
He had a terrible year, was on homebound for a while, finally went back to school and graduated, but still felt awful. He had been on prozac and it was not helping much. Risperdal was added and that didn't help either.
He got frustrated and went off all meds os he could start something new.
Two weeks ago, he was prescribed wellbutrin SR 300 mgs and it was a miracle drug for him. He had more energy and could focus and felt so much better. Now two weeks has gone by and he feels like the effects are going away and he is really depressed about feeling so bad again. He had also been on adderall with his prozac and that stimulating effect also disappeared, but then it was after only 4 days.Has anyone had this experience? I am really worrried about him. Three days ago, he was ready to start college and was so confident and now he is scared it has stopped working.
How could somehting seem so miraculous and then wear off? He did have a hepaptitis shot for school and wondered if that could have played a part, but no one seems to think so.
PLEASE HELP with any experiences you have had.I also suffer from depression and anxiety and OCD, but prozac 40 mgs works for me.
Posted by Andre Allard on August 12, 2000, at 21:22:59
In reply to diminishing results of wellbutrin, posted by amyw on August 12, 2000, at 20:47:25
For me, when I begin a new med, I get an initial boost, which can sometimes be euphoric. Many other people experience this. It is a possibility that the initial boost has worn off for you son.
Also, your son might have been experiencing side effects of wellbutrin such as increased energy and activation. Side effects diminish within a week or two.
With regards to the med wearing off, this tends to happen after months of use - not after two weeks. The full effects of wellbutrin have not even taken place yet. Therefore, your son's condition could improve in the next week or two.
Later on in treatment there is always the option of increasing the dosage.
Posted by shar on August 12, 2000, at 22:21:22
In reply to Re: diminishing results of wellbutrin, posted by Andre Allard on August 12, 2000, at 21:22:59
I agree with Andre. Your son is probably dealing with some of the initial effects of Wellbutrin and needs to give it some weeks before getting too upset. Also, there is often some fine tuning involved in which his dosage may be decreased or increased, or the Wellbutrin augmented. But, that would probably be down the line a ways.
If he's getting some effect--ie, he's not in a severe depression--that is good. He may not have to worry about getting into a severe depression as long as he is keeping up with his meds. By all means, encourage him to keep on track, even if he isn't feeling great. If he can count on going off to school without having to worry about crashing down, that should ease his mind.
He should check with his doc as scheduled. It may be he will benefit with Wellbutrin and another kind of med (maybe an anti-anxiety or something else altogether). It's very important for him to keep his doc informed about what is going on.
And, PLEASE tell your son not to stop his meds cold turkey! Some people can have a Very Bad time when they do that.
Good luck, and comfort to your son,
Shar
Posted by Greg on August 12, 2000, at 22:25:39
In reply to diminishing results of wellbutrin, posted by amyw on August 12, 2000, at 20:47:25
Amy,
Welcome to Babble! You left a response up the list a ways about Wellbutrin (WB) poop-out. I figured I'd just answer here. I had the exact same reaction as your son but it lasted awhile longer. I felt great for about 1 1/2 months and then it started to taper off. Finally I was put on Prozac which had the same effect but for a shorter period of time. I've been on a pretty constant roller coaster with my meds for the last few months trying to find something that works. I'm currently taking Paxil, Tegretol and Lithium as an augmenter. So far, so good...
Two weeks is a pretty short time for the WB, it could just be a minor set-back. Most people here will tell you about the 6-8 week rule. A med should be given that long to really gain the full effect of it. WB is an "activator" for many people. It tends early on to get some people wired, and that sounds like what your son has been experiencing. That feeling does pass in time. I hope this doesn't sound bad, but could it be the loss of the wired feeling that is causing his current depression? I know that happened to me. When things started to mellow out on the WB, I was pretty bummed out about it. Remind your son that he shouldn't be looking for extreme highs with the med, but a balanced feeling. And tell him not give up hope, there are a lot of ADs to be tried and this one just might not be the one for him. I'm on my fifth AD and an still trying to find the right combination, I still remain confident that I will. It takes patience and baby steps.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have either here, or you can e-mail me at dcguy@home.com. I hope you will continue to let us know how things are going and you'll both be in my thoughts.
Hugs,
Greg> I am writing about my 18 year old son who sufffers from severe depression and lots of physical symptoms such as severe cravings for food. At times he has had binges, but has never thrown up. Because of his exercise level, he is actually still thin.
> He had a terrible year, was on homebound for a while, finally went back to school and graduated, but still felt awful. He had been on prozac and it was not helping much. Risperdal was added and that didn't help either.
> He got frustrated and went off all meds os he could start something new.
> Two weeks ago, he was prescribed wellbutrin SR 300 mgs and it was a miracle drug for him. He had more energy and could focus and felt so much better. Now two weeks has gone by and he feels like the effects are going away and he is really depressed about feeling so bad again. He had also been on adderall with his prozac and that stimulating effect also disappeared, but then it was after only 4 days.
>
> Has anyone had this experience? I am really worrried about him. Three days ago, he was ready to start college and was so confident and now he is scared it has stopped working.
>
> How could somehting seem so miraculous and then wear off? He did have a hepaptitis shot for school and wondered if that could have played a part, but no one seems to think so.
> PLEASE HELP with any experiences you have had.
>
> I also suffer from depression and anxiety and OCD, but prozac 40 mgs works for me.
Posted by Kath on August 13, 2000, at 9:55:01
In reply to diminishing results of wellbutrin, posted by amyw on August 12, 2000, at 20:47:25
Welcome
Welcome Amy,I have a 16 year old son, who has a different set of problems, but I know how hard it is as parents, when our kids are hurting.
Sounds like you're getting some good advice here. Please keep us 'posted'. I think it's really, really important that your son be really open with his doctor about what's happening & how he's feeling. I have found pharmacists also extremely helful & supportive.I'm taking Celexa & initially I feld WONDERFUL - spaced out to no end, but wow, great!! That levelled off & I though it wasn't working anymore. When I told my doc he said that alot of his patients experience that initially with anti-dep meds. He said that on Celexa the comment he hears most from patients when the drug has 'kicked in' (after 2 months or so) is that they feel like the used to feel, before they were depressed. The way I describe it for me is "I feel what feels like normal." My main symptom was intense anxiety all the time. If you imagine a radio with static all the time (the static for me, being anxiety) it's like my med took away the static. I still feel the whole range of emotions - happy, sad, angry, devastated, relaxed etc. but I'm on a basic "even keel". I understand from lots of sources that it really does TAKE TIME for the meds to do their work. It's very important to give them a chance. And that's SOOO HARD if you're feeling awful, especially if you get an initial "kickstart". I WANTED to feel like I'd felt those first few days. I would still LOVE to feel like that, but know that it doesn't work like that.
Best of luck. Keep in touch. Kath
> I am writing about my 18 year old son who sufffers from severe depression and lots of physical symptoms such as severe cravings for food. At times he has had binges, but has never thrown up. Because of his exercise level, he is actually still thin.
> He had a terrible year, was on homebound for a while, finally went back to school and graduated, but still felt awful. He had been on prozac and it was not helping much. Risperdal was added and that didn't help either.
> He got frustrated and went off all meds os he could start something new.
> Two weeks ago, he was prescribed wellbutrin SR 300 mgs and it was a miracle drug for him. He had more energy and could focus and felt so much better. Now two weeks has gone by and he feels like the effects are going away and he is really depressed about feeling so bad again. He had also been on adderall with his prozac and that stimulating effect also disappeared, but then it was after only 4 days.
>
> Has anyone had this experience? I am really worrried about him. Three days ago, he was ready to start college and was so confident and now he is scared it has stopped working.
>
> How could somehting seem so miraculous and then wear off? He did have a hepaptitis shot for school and wondered if that could have played a part, but no one seems to think so.
> PLEASE HELP with any experiences you have had.
>
> I also suffer from depression and anxiety and OCD, but prozac 40 mgs works for me.
Posted by Cam W. on August 13, 2000, at 10:22:07
In reply to diminishing results of wellbutrin, posted by amyw on August 12, 2000, at 20:47:25
Amy - Oops! I started reading from the top of the page and tried to answer your question up there. My annswer seems to be in step with my other board colleagues. You shouldn't worry about poop-out, yet.
Good luck - Cam
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