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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 25 of 38. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by baracuda on February 17, 2008, at 2:36:19
after 3 years of success with zoloft, i finally overcame my fear and talked to my doc about maybe addressing the fact that i no longer have much pleasure in my life, even though everything on paper seems wonderful. I don't have severe depression anymore, but no enjoyment either, just kind of monotone. (im taking 100 mgs of zoloft)
he suggested adding wellbutrin at 150 mgs for 3 days and then 300 after that if the side effects were not horrible. the first day i took it i felt like i was on exctasy. it was fabulous.the next day i got all excited to take my wellbutrin again, so i decided to take half of my zoloft and 150 of the wellbutrin and then went to the gym for my morning workout. i had major anger issues and was super annoyed and irritable and had to cut my workout time in half, on the way home thinking that maybe it was the lower dosage of the zoloft that was causing my anger issue to return so i ended up taking the other half of the pill. by the afternoon i was ok again, not angry anymore and actually able to laugh at how ridiculous it was to be mad at something so silly. this morning i took my regular dosage of zoloft 100 mg and the 150 of wellbutrin and after my workout i felt like i was walking in the clouds. it was wonderful. but that feeling leaves pretty fast and then im back to feeling blah again.
im so sad at feeling blah and i want so much to feel the joy again and more frequent. I'm only on day 3 of the 150 wellbutrin but the doc said to cut my zoloft in half and then take the 300 mg of wellbutrin but im afraid of my anger issues coming back if i cut the dose again. and doc is on vacation for a week :(
any insight? is 100 zoloft and 300 wellbutrin together too much? or is that something that is kind of regular? thanks for reading my babbling post.
Posted by bleauberry on February 17, 2008, at 2:36:20
In reply to zoloft + wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on February 16, 2008, at 1:32:56
From my own experiences I can say that it would be wise not to mess with the zoloft dose at this point. What has been working, well, keep it there. Don't change a thing in the zoloft department. Maybe in a couple months, but not now. As you have already seen, when something weird happens you don't know which med is at fault. One change at a time.
The blah feeling you have is common with serotonin meds. The theory is that it crowds out the action of dopamine, or that dopamine receptors actually starting uptaking serotonin instead since there is so much of it. The trick is to somehow boost dopamine up to the same standards as serotonin. Wellbutrin is one of the drugs that can do that.
I don't know if you are on regular wellbutrin, sustained release, or extended release. I think generally speaking people do best on the extended release. The others can wear off too quick.
You may indeed need to go to a higher dose. I think the doc is rushing things. Stay at 150mg, or switch to 150mg extended release, for at least 2 weeks. Then maybe increase it. Don't mess with zoloft at all.
If all goes well, then in a few months you can decide whether to lower zoloft or not. Personally I think if something is working pretty good, don't mess with it. It may never work again. Happens a lot. Keep it as it is. So even though all of us want to consider ourselves healed, or think we don't need the drugs anymore, or we just don't want to be on drugs anymore, so often the worst thing to do is stop the drugs or lower the doses.
If the whole thing poops out or just isn't working well, that is a different story. But when all is fairly good, don't rock the boat, even though it is tempting to.
Posted by baracuda on February 17, 2008, at 2:36:20
In reply to Re: zoloft + wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by bleauberry on February 16, 2008, at 20:58:20
thank you so much for your kind and encouraging thoughts! I was just thinking this morning that maybe I should stay at this dosage for at least a week to kind of give myself a chance to adapt. it seems to be working well, I had one mild dizzy spell on the first day but sofar no other s/e thank goodness! oh btw i'm on SR because my insurance only covers generic brands and i think xl is still name brand only? I'm not sure though...
Posted by DuckDuckGoose on February 17, 2008, at 19:26:17
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on February 17, 2008, at 2:36:20
I am in your exact same situation. I've been on 100mg of zoloft for about ten years. the past couple of years, I've felt very lethargic and unmotivated. my pdoc put me on 150mg xl. this proved to be a little much for me and ramped up my anxiety. I am now on 75mg regular wellbutrin. I like the xl better, but cannot tolerate the higher dose at this point. I agree that you should definitely keep the zoloft at the same level - at least for 4-6 weeks. 150mg of wellbutrin may be all you need - give it time.
Posted by Phillipa on February 17, 2008, at 23:42:31
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by bleauberry on February 17, 2008, at 2:36:20
Seriouly I don't know anything other than extended release acts longer is it in wellbutrin more potent? Phillipa
Posted by baracuda on February 18, 2008, at 18:03:31
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by bleauberry on February 17, 2008, at 2:36:20
day 5 on wellbutrin - I actually felt little or no side effects so I went ahead and kept my zoloft dosage the same and continued taking the wellbutrin SR two times per day, 150 in the morning, 150 8 hours later. I find that I get almost sleepy when 3-4 comes around.
I feel just a bit lightheaded but overall ok. Not as bad as when I started lexapro, but that was long ago and never helped me any.
one good thing that I noticed is that it makes my ambien kick in super fast and i actually am waking up 7 hours later which is amazing since my whole life I've been a 12 hour sleeper even on zoloft.
there would be nights when i was on only zoloft that the ambien wouldnt even work and i would be up for 2 days straight before i was able to sleep even a couple of hours.
I am having to fight off urges to binge eat too. I have read on various boards that meds make you gain weight but I think that its the ability to not binge that makes you gain weight. after i was on zoloft I was able to actually go on jenny craig and loose 32 lbs and just started going to the gym. I'm weighing in every week so I've got my hand on the pulse of my eating. If I start to gain weight for a few weeks in a row then I will attribute it to the meds but as long as I stay within reasonable calorie intake and exercise I am assuming that the meds wont miraculously make me gain weight.
ok that's all for now.
Posted by baracuda on February 18, 2008, at 18:06:21
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on February 18, 2008, at 18:03:31
I forgot to add these comments on day 5 vs day 1. I no longer feel the overwhelmingly lovely feeling anymore, I am back to the equilibrium blah-ish feeling.
I am having less of the bruxism and feel some relief in my jaw clenching issues.
I had some clumsy episodes the last couple of days and actually had a difficult time saying what I wanted and had to stop and think about it for a second. I don't know if thats medication related or if it was just me being spazy that day.
Posted by baracuda on February 20, 2008, at 12:49:23
In reply to zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on February 17, 2008, at 2:36:19
day 7
last night my ears started ringing. does it go away?I've been crying last night and this morning because i adopted a dog and had to give her back because she bit my roommate and i am so sad and cant stop crying.
Posted by baracuda on February 20, 2008, at 17:50:22
In reply to zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on February 17, 2008, at 2:36:19
day 7
feeling dizzy, light headed & spacey. cried alot today.
Posted by baracuda on February 21, 2008, at 15:11:08
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on February 20, 2008, at 17:50:22
day 8
i feel just slightly dizzy/ear ringing, had a bit of insomnia even with 10mg of ambien last night - fell asleep fast but woke up at 3 am & hard to get back to sleep...but I did eventually.the dizziness is less today than it was yesterday.
Posted by baracuda on February 22, 2008, at 23:46:35
In reply to zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on February 17, 2008, at 2:36:19
the weird ringing in my ears only happens within the hour of taking the dose.
day 9.
Posted by baracuda on February 24, 2008, at 0:46:09
In reply to zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on February 17, 2008, at 2:36:19
day 10
ringing in my ears around time dosage is due (morning, afternoon & before bed). No change in mood. that sucks.
Posted by baracuda on February 25, 2008, at 10:11:56
In reply to zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on February 17, 2008, at 2:36:19
mild ear ringing. felt super focused yesterday. amazingly cleared a pile of paperwork that I had been avoiding for years...
Posted by baracuda on February 28, 2008, at 20:25:36
In reply to zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on February 17, 2008, at 2:36:19
day 13
depressed today, spent a good portion of the day on the couch. bummer.
Posted by baracuda on March 2, 2008, at 20:51:11
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on February 28, 2008, at 20:25:36
day 16. had a great weekend. have 1 hive on the backside of my leg though. scalp itches. blah.
Posted by baracuda on March 3, 2008, at 20:44:21
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on March 2, 2008, at 20:51:11
day 17
mild itching after 2nd dose. other than that I don't see any difference in my state of mind - my appetite is gone though. And i gained 3 lbs. how is that possible??
Posted by Phillipa on March 3, 2008, at 21:34:39
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on March 3, 2008, at 20:44:21
Activity level the same and liquids? Love Phillipa
Posted by baracuda on March 4, 2008, at 23:50:40
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on March 3, 2008, at 20:44:21
day 18
very mellow. heavy nausea. no appetite. dehydrated but drinking water seems like alot of work. jogged 1 mile this morning. doc said today that he can see a big difference in my demeanor, but that he only wants me to be on wellbutrin for 9 months at most.
Posted by Phillipa on March 5, 2008, at 19:00:18
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on March 4, 2008, at 23:50:40
Barracuda does he see positive changes in your demeanor? And jogging l mile a day is great. Although the fluids may not seem important they are maybe gatoraid since you using electrolytes with the jogging. Why does he only want you on wellbutrin for nine months did he say? Love Phillipa
Posted by baracuda on March 6, 2008, at 0:42:36
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage?? » baracuda, posted by Phillipa on March 5, 2008, at 19:00:18
he said that he wanted to put me on a 9 month trial because i am having a hard time dealing with stress in my life and he is hoping that i will be able to handle it more with added wellbutrin. I don't know, i just know that i am really liking the results sofar. I have been much more rational and personable and actually wanting to go out whereas before i didn't want to go anywhere.
today i got a half dollar size hive on my knee. i tried to ignore it and not think about it and it went away after 30 minutes. another thing today was that while shopping at marshal's i smelled a horrible awful odor that was almost making me want to vomit, so bad that i had to leave the store and couldnt figure out why anyone could stay in there. my sense of smell is very heightened.
i don't need 12 hours of sleep anymore, even on zoloft i needed 12 hours at least, now i can stay up until 11 pm and wake up at 7 am refreshed - although with the help of zoloft.
i lost 2 of the lbs i had gained, so maybe it was a fluctuation thing.
i also find that it's hard to drink water, but im thirsty. it's hard for me to eat too, i am experiencing a major appetite loss, and i don't like it.
my jaw/yawn thing seems to be under control.
i think maybe im taking too much at 300 mgs with the zoloft and maybe that is why the hives came. i also have tremors but the weird thing is that they are somewhat pleasurable. or comforting. its hard to explain.
thanks to everyone for your concern and support btw. :)
Posted by Phillipa on March 6, 2008, at 19:25:32
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on March 6, 2008, at 0:42:36
Barracuda that was so clear and well written do you have a copy machine or copy it and show it to your doc. To me I feel you are saying you feel better but having some troubling side effects. If so does your doc know as maybe your'e right and a lower dose might help. Overall you're sleeping, feeling well rested but some anxiety with the hives. Hives can be an allergic reaction why not let the doc know and maybe if it's addressed you will be more at peace? Love Phillipa
Posted by baracuda on March 6, 2008, at 21:35:33
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on March 6, 2008, at 0:42:36
today i took a claritin mid-morning to address the itchyness - it seems to work, also i didn't take my afternoon dosage, im going to reduce back down to 150mg and see if the side effects subside a bit. sofar no tremors, my appetite is back, i was able to eat dinner with no problem and my sugar craving curbed. yay.
Posted by baracuda on March 6, 2008, at 21:37:58
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on March 6, 2008, at 21:35:33
day 20. no hives, no anxiety, no bruxism, lowered dosage, no itching, no weird yawning effects. kind of mellow, but all in all today is a good day :)
Posted by Phillipa on March 6, 2008, at 21:50:06
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on March 6, 2008, at 21:37:58
Fantastic!!!!!Phillipa
Posted by baracuda on March 7, 2008, at 23:57:35
In reply to Re: zoloft wellbutrin - dosage??, posted by baracuda on March 6, 2008, at 21:37:58
day 21, no hives, no jittering, super mellow but almost lackidasical too - unmotivated and unproductive. :(
150 1x daily
no claritin today either
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