Wellbutrin... Appropriate for somebody with an anxiety disorder?

[Hayate]

I am currently on Risperdal, Klonopin and Depakote.

I have chronic anhedonia (could be Dysthymia). Although my current meds prevent me from freaking the hell out at everything. It seems to be making my depression/anhedonia much much worse especially the Depakote. Certainly much more than the Risperdal and Klonpoin which do not seem to have any side effects at all right now.

I have a hunch hes trying to "bring me down" before "bringing me back up" if that makes any sense. The increased depression from the Depakote is really dragging me down. I have the urge to call my pdoc and say "I'm more depressed"..."could you please prescribe something with my current meds so I can function?".

I talked to him during the last session about what could help the depression and he said he has had the best track record for "anhedonia" with buproprion/wellbutrin. I remember years back When a nurse practitioner put me on Wellbutrin SR. After one 150mg dose of that stuff I was in my boxers with the windows open while it was 25 degrees farenheight outside wearing nothing but boxers. ...I'm looking for depression relief...not an ecstasy trip.

All I can remember is how strong that 150mg dose was. I am guessing his plan is to get my moods stabilized on Risperdal,Depakote and Klonopin. Could the correct doses of my current meds block out the Wellbutrin hot flash/freak out? I know the Depakote and Risperdal are low,low,low,low dose right now so It might not be enough to prevent the antidepressant freak out.

He also mentioned Zoloft,Celexa,and Lexapro and even Vybrid. To be honest I don't like the SSRI's because of the emotional numbing they cause me. I would rather do a Wellbutrin than one of those things.

Does the pdoc know what he is doing or am I just way too impatient for some depression relief? A little bit of both? lol

Any input,anecdotes, opinions, similar experiences would be very helpful for me at this time.

[muriel]

Depakote can definitely not be exactly helpful for depression at some doses. I had to lower my dose because it seemed to be worsening some depression.

I love Wellbutrin and it's THE BOMB for anhedonia and the sort of amotivational side for depression for me, but I'm also anxious as fuck, so it's something I can only take when my anxiety is really well-controlled.

Since you're on Depakote and Risperdal and can move up on both, it's worth a shot trying Wellbutrin with the expectation that you may need to tweak one of those. Alternately, you could ask your doc about temporarily increasing your Klonopin usage to cover some of the startup anxiety and weirdness from Wellbutrin. It's a good med for a lot of people, but startup can be a bitch.

I don't know, I'd give it a try if I were you. You could also try the XL formulation because it's more even or even the immediate release formulation because it's available in low doses. If you really want to give this drug a try, there are options.

[null0trooper]

Does the pdoc know what he is doing or am I just way too impatient for some depression relief? A little bit of both? lol

Any input,anecdotes, opinions, similar experiences would be very helpful for me at this time.

Being a bit impatient for relief isn't that unusual, and it's not much more unusual for it to take a while to realize that the pdoc to run away from is the one who has the perfect treatment plan from the start (even the ones that just about always work always fail for somebody)!

On another board I used to read a lot, it was fairly common for folks to be put on a Wellbutrin/Klonopin combination because of the risk of increased anxiety and irritability (and the seizure risk - which benzos are still used to control). So yes, Wellbutrin *can* work for people dealing with an anxiety disorder, although you may do better on something like Cymbalta that also affects serotonin. Or not. I didn't. (Then again, adding Klonopin to my Wellbutrin dose was not an option - different crazy meds for different crazy people!)

[Anna]

Wellbutrin does cause anxiety in some people, but not all. Titration can be a bit rough, but going slowly there can help. As will being on other meds, possibly. I couldn't take wellbutrin before being dx BP, to stop smoking, without precipitating a manic episode (didn't know what it was at the time, just knew I should probably STOP taking that med, was freaking out) but did just fine on it thereafter, even at higher doses.

Anna

[Cattitude]

I have GAD and I didn't find Wellbutrin increased my anxiety. However, I did become agitated and hypomanic and they took me off of it. I'm on Effexor, but this doesn't totally take care of my depression, so my pdoc also prescribed Lamictal. Maybe that would help you, along with the meds you're already on.

If you've already freaked out on Wellbutrin you may want to avoid it - depends on the dose you were on. "Freaking out" is a known side effect for some people on Wellbutrin. You may tolerate it better on a lower dose.

Wellbutrin is frequently prescribed with SSRI's because the two interact and can produce a better result in some people. Cymbalta or Effexor (SNRI's) are also used this way.

Another drug that's sometimes prescribed as part of a cocktail is paliperidone (Ambien). My pdoc has added it to my cocktail recently because I'm really going through a bad time with depression. However, it can have some heavy side effects including lactation for some ppl. My doc is kind of fishing around for stuff that works, because I've tried so many types of AD and they either didn't work or stopped working.

[muriel]

Another drug that's sometimes prescribed as part of a cocktail is paliperidone (Ambien). My pdoc has added it to my cocktail recently because I'm really going through a bad time with depression. However, it can have some heavy side effects including lactation for some ppl. My doc is kind of fishing around for stuff that works, because I've tried so many types of AD and they either didn't work or stopped working.

Paliperidone is Invega, not Ambien. It is a patent-extender for Risperdal, basically. It is an AAP that is very similar (identical) to the Risperdal the OP is already taking. It is not an antidepressant, though sometimes AAPs can help with depression.

Ambien is a hypnotic drug used for sleep, not depression, and its generic name is Zolpidem.

Please double check your posts for factual information if you're not sure.

[Cattitude]

Another drug that's sometimes prescribed as part of a cocktail is paliperidone (Ambien). My pdoc has added it to my cocktail recently because I'm really going through a bad time with depression. However, it can have some heavy side effects including lactation for some ppl. My doc is kind of fishing around for stuff that works, because I've tried so many types of AD and they either didn't work or stopped working.

Paliperidone is Invega, not Ambien. It is a patent-extender for Risperdal, basically. It is an AAP that is very similar (identical) to the Risperdal the OP is already taking. It is not an antidepressant, though sometimes AAPs can help with depression.

Ambien is a hypnotic drug used for sleep, not depression, and its generic name is Zolpidem.

Please double check your posts for factual information if you're not sure.

Umm... I have both meds sitting here on the table next to me and I got the names mixed up. Sorry about any confusion.

Re Ambien: I goofed, I should have said "Imovane" which is the brand name for zopiclone in Canada. However, I understand that several similar hypnotics are marketed under different names in other countries.

Re Invega: My pdoc told me he was prescribing it off-label to help with depression because my current meds for depression (Effexor and lamotrigine - yes I know L is not "supposed" to be an antidepressant) aren't doing the job.

BTW some of us do make mistakes.

[muriel]

Re Ambien: the generic name on the pill bottle next to me (marked Ambien) is zopiclone. However, I understand that several similar hypnotics are marketed under the name Ambien. I'm in Canada, so perhaps it's different in your country.

No.

Zolpidem is Ambien or Stilnox in most countries as far as I can tell.

http://www.drugs.com/ambien.html

Zopiclone is Imovane in Canada and Zimovane in the UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zopiclone

If you are taking Zopiclone, you are not taking Ambien. They're similar drugs, but they're not the same. It is not legal to market several drugs under one name in the US or Canada as far as I know, and I can't think of one instance of this being the case in any other country.

Re Invega: My pdoc told me he was prescribing it off-label to help with depression because my current meds for depression (Effexor and lamotrigine - yes I know L is not "supposed" to be an antidepressant) aren't doing the job.

Actually, lamotrigine is prescribed mainly for bipolar depression, I didn't argue with you about that. And yes, AAPs are often used to treat depressive symptoms. I wasn't debating that either.

BTW I found your comment "Please double-check your posts for factual information..." a bit patronizing. Some of us do make mistakes.

I don't care if you found it patronizing. We owe it to each other as a community to double or triple check our facts so that people don't get bad information. You've just made two posts in this thread that gave incorrect drug names, which could be potentially harmful to another user. When I make a statement of fact, I know I can find studies, a website, something to back up my statements. Most of the time, I check to make sure what I'm saying is correct even if I'm sure of it.

[Cattitude]

Re Ambien: the generic name on the pill bottle next to me (marked Ambien) is zopiclone. However, I understand that several similar hypnotics are marketed under the name Ambien. I'm in Canada, so perhaps it's different in your country.

No.

Zolpidem is Ambien or Stilnox in most countries as far as I can tell.

http://www.drugs.com/ambien.html

Zopiclone is Imovane in Canada and Zimovane in the UK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zopiclone

If you are taking Zopiclone, you are not taking Ambien. They're similar drugs, but they're not the same.

Re Invega: My pdoc told me he was prescribing it off-label to help with depression because my current meds for depression (Effexor and lamotrigine - yes I know L is not "supposed" to be an antidepressant) aren't doing the job.

Actually, lamotrigine is prescribed mainly for bipolar depression, I didn't argue with you about that. And yes, AAPs are often used to treat depressive symptoms. I wasn't debating that either.

BTW I found your comment "Please double-check your posts for factual information..." a bit patronizing. Some of us do make mistakes.

I don't care if you found it patronizing. We owe it to each other as a community to double or triple check our facts so that people don't get bad information. You've just made two posts in this thread that gave incorrect drug names, which could be potentially harmful to another user. When I make a statement of fact, I know I can find studies, a website, something to back up my statements. Most of the time, I check to make sure what I'm saying is correct even if I'm sure of it.

1. We also owe it to each other as a community to treat each other with respect, and refrain from being rude or patronizing.

2. Re "harmful to another user" - don't you think the user will go to their pdoc to be prescribed any medication? Surely the pdoc would catch any errors.

3. As I mentioned, people do make mistakes, and while I thank you for pointing mine out (I realize your intentions were good), your info would be more effective if it weren't followed up with an offensive remark.

4. I did edit my second post, as I realized right away that I'd made another mistake. When the facts seemed wrong I did look them up here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zopiclone Unfortunately you had already posted your reply before you had a chance to see the edit.

I've said my peace. I have no interest in engaging in a slugfest, so I will politely withdraw. If I've made any further errors here, I apologize in advance.

[crtclms]

Cattitiude, never contradict muriel. You wouldn't like her when she's angry.

Anyway, back to the OP.

I have GAD and take Wellbutrin and Xanax. I have taken Wellbutrin for over 20 years, but my GAD did not rise to the level of needing treatment until 7 years ago. My pdoc has just started mumbling about taking me off the Wellbutrin, but he didn't at my last visit, so maybe it was a one time mumble.

[muriel]

Cattitiude, never contradict muriel. You wouldn't like her when she's angry.

Waitaminnit.

Contradict me all you want, I don't care. I'm often wrong. But it's just really important that people post good factual information. I'm sorry, I just don't want to see Crazyboards turn into a place Yahoo! Answers and other places on the internet where information that's completely wrong gets spread as fact. Since the site's inception, we've asked people to always be able to back up their assertions with peer-reviewed studies and other sources of factual information. It's just the right way to do things.

*shrug* Since being on Depakote it's harder for me to get into royal cunt mode anyway.

I don't know what else I can do but say please and thank you when asking people to post to the standards of the community to make it more palatable. Perhaps I need to start offering sexual favors?

[crtclms]

Um, I was making a Hulk joke.

As a segue back to the original poster, remember?

[muriel]

Oh!

Sorry.

I'm actually too young for the hulk. Or something. And maybe the Royal Cunt is turned on.

*sigh*

[Indigo 'n dye]

I'm actually too young for the hulk. Or something. And maybe the Royal Cunt is turned on.

*sigh*

And, I am too old, however I love the Royal Cunt and look forward to her public appearances. Being the RED QUEEN, I always anticipate either following or preceding her Cunt Highness.