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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by 3 Beer Effect on April 23, 2002, at 23:33:26
I was considering asking for Wellbutrin SR instead of Dexedrine for my Adult ADD. Is Wellbutrin SR in normal doses (300 mg/day) as effective as Ritalin or Dexedrine or Adderall in normal doses (10-20 mg 2x per day)?
The main reason I was interested in Wellbutrin SR is that I have a nagging Major Depression that Lamictal 150 mg/day therapy doesn't seem to be doing anything for. (I can't tolerate SSRIs, Effexor, Remeron).
But I also have Adult ADD & major trouble getting out of bed in the morning, so with Wellbutrin I figure I could knock out two birds with one stone (although Dexedrine (I take 'Dextrostat') seems to be a good anti-depressant, but at only 4 hrs just doesn't last long enough).One possible problem with this scenario is that I overdosed on Soma (Carispodal) a couple of years ago & had 3 seizures- should I forget about taking Wellbutrin SR because of this one drug related seizure incident?
3 Beers.....
Posted by Ritch on April 24, 2002, at 0:22:29
In reply to Wellbutrin SR Adult ADD- as effective as Rit/Dex?, posted by 3 Beer Effect on April 23, 2002, at 23:33:26
> I was considering asking for Wellbutrin SR instead of Dexedrine for my Adult ADD. Is Wellbutrin SR in normal doses (300 mg/day) as effective as Ritalin or Dexedrine or Adderall in normal doses (10-20 mg 2x per day)?
>
> The main reason I was interested in Wellbutrin SR is that I have a nagging Major Depression that Lamictal 150 mg/day therapy doesn't seem to be doing anything for. (I can't tolerate SSRIs, Effexor, Remeron).
> But I also have Adult ADD & major trouble getting out of bed in the morning, so with Wellbutrin I figure I could knock out two birds with one stone (although Dexedrine (I take 'Dextrostat') seems to be a good anti-depressant, but at only 4 hrs just doesn't last long enough).
>
> One possible problem with this scenario is that I overdosed on Soma (Carispodal) a couple of years ago & had 3 seizures- should I forget about taking Wellbutrin SR because of this one drug related seizure incident?
>
> 3 Beers.....3BE,
I would consider a combo of Wellbutrin+Nortripytline (10-25mg/day). WB by itself didn't help my ADHD that much. Adderall has been the best thing for ADHD that I taken, thus far, followed by Nortrip. WB also worsened my social anxiety, whereas nortrip. seemed to settle it. If you are concerned about the seizure thing you might try just 75mg twice daily at first and see how that works.
Mitch
Posted by BLPBart on April 24, 2002, at 0:48:03
In reply to Wellbutrin SR Adult ADD- as effective as Rit/Dex?, posted by 3 Beer Effect on April 23, 2002, at 23:33:26
> I was considering asking for Wellbutrin SR instead of Dexedrine for my Adult ADD. Is Wellbutrin SR in normal doses (300 mg/day) as effective as Ritalin or Dexedrine or Adderall in normal doses (10-20 mg 2x per day)?
>
> The main reason I was interested in Wellbutrin SR is that I have a nagging Major Depression that Lamictal 150 mg/day therapy doesn't seem to be doing anything for. (I can't tolerate SSRIs, Effexor, Remeron).
> But I also have Adult ADD & major trouble getting out of bed in the morning, so with Wellbutrin I figure I could knock out two birds with one stone (although Dexedrine (I take 'Dextrostat') seems to be a good anti-depressant, but at only 4 hrs just doesn't last long enough).
>
> One possible problem with this scenario is that I overdosed on Soma (Carispodal) a couple of years ago & had 3 seizures- should I forget about taking Wellbutrin SR because of this one drug related seizure incident?
>
> 3 Beers.....I started taking prozac when I was first dx with depression a couple of years ago. Being someone like you who had always had a terrible time getting out of bed, this was a bad thing because I got extremely lethargic on it to the point where instead of having a really hard time getting out of bed, I became the hardest thing I did all day. My doc added wellbutrin SR 300 mg/day to try to counteract it and it didn't help at all so I dropped the prozac entirely. When the prozac wore off, I noticed an increase in my ability to concentrate on things at work and not get so distracted. It was about this time that I started researching the stimulants because of my problems with being tired which lifted when I went off the prozac, but not entirely. In my reading, I came across the info on ADD and discussed it with my doc because I thought I might have it. He agreed that the fact that I had seen an improvement in concentration on the wellbutrin might indicate that I had it so he agreed to try a stimulant. I ended up after some trial and error on 40 mg/day dexedrine SR in addition to the wellbutrin SR. So, I guess for me I didn't find that wellbutrin alone could handle it but I did notice some improvement.
Posted by katekite on April 24, 2002, at 20:56:04
In reply to Wellbutrin SR Adult ADD- as effective as Rit/Dex?, posted by 3 Beer Effect on April 23, 2002, at 23:33:26
According to Dr. Sogn, the psychiatrist over on the webmd add ask a doctor forum, the dose of wellbutrin used to treat add generally has to be the very high end for at least 6-8 weeks before one sees a response, for ADD, although one could see a response for depression and accompanying concentration probs long before that. A smaller percentage of people respond to wellbutrin than the stimulants, for ADD, but that some of those who respond do do really well once they are up at the high end, I think it was at least 300 if not 450 a day. I am recalling the number 30%, don't know if Dr. Sogn said it or saw that figure somewhere else, on the percentage of ADD adults that feel their ADD is adequately treated by Wellbutrin. There are a number of informative posts from him on that site about wellbutrin.
As far as seizures go, I think if your seizures were limited to a particular reason and haven't recurred at all in any way in years wellbutrin would still be an option. I say that because I had a grand mal seizure as a teenager from trauma, and docs were happy to prescribe wellbutrin at 150 to start, for depression. That's just my personal experience.
kate
Posted by Bekka H. on April 24, 2002, at 21:21:10
In reply to Wellbutrin SR Adult ADD- as effective as Rit/Dex?, posted by 3 Beer Effect on April 23, 2002, at 23:33:26
Hi 3 Beers,
I think Wellbutrin is certainly worth a try. You and I seem to react quite differently to some of these meds (for example, you said Lamictal mellows you, but it gives me insomnia!), so it's possible that you would not have the problems I had on Wellbutrin.
Wellbutrin is pretty good for depression, but it gave me insomnia, palpitations and high blood pressure, even though it's supposed to have a fairly benign cardiovascular profile. Dexedrine, on the hand, has never given me insomnia or high blood pressure.
If you do try it, give it some time. I found that it took a few weeks for me to adjust to being off the amphetamines. It takes a while for the receptors to down-regulate. In addition, being on stimulants, which usually cause an immediate (or nearly-immediate) response, can lead one to think that all drugs should work that quickly, but they don't.
Posted by jay beck on June 7, 2003, at 0:15:47
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin SR Adult ADD- as effective as Rit/Dex?, posted by katekite on April 24, 2002, at 20:56:04
Stimulants and amphetimines are always more effective then anything eles on the market now for add/adhd
This is the end of the thread.
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