Did Wellbutrin stop working for me after 4 weeks?

[J04KlM]

When i was on week 3 of 150 mg Wellbutrin, the depresion lifted and i felt better. Motivation and energy came back. Depression wasn't all completely gone though, so i wanted to increase the dosage to 300 mg. At the end of week 4 however, i had a massive anxiety panic attack because of something i read online that really confused me. So whole week 5 i spent with massive anxiety, screaming, crying and loss of joy. Obsessing over what i read. 

3 days ago I contacted my phsyciatrist, and decided to increase Wellbutrin to 300 mg and Seroquel to 100 mg. Since then i've been feeling  lethargic, empty and demotivated. Just like how i felt before i started on Wellbutrin.

Does this indicate that Wellbutrin stopped working for me? Or could it be the Seroquel making me feel like this?

[jt07]

It's unlikely that it stopped working. Wellbutrin is one of two meds that I know of that has a rocky titration (the other being Lamictal) so it is perfectly normal to have a string of very good days followed by a crash and a string of bad days while titrating up. It took about a month after I hit 300 mg for things to level out for me.

[J04KlM]

It's unlikely that it stopped working. Wellbutrin is one of two meds that I know of that has a rocky titration (the other being Lamictal) so it is perfectly normal to have a string of very good days followed by a crash and a string of bad days while titrating up. It took about a month after I hit 300 mg for things to level out for me.

I've seen stories that Wellbutrin can increase anxiety and OCD symptoms, that's probably what happened to me when i had my anxiety attack. Seroquel was increased to 100 mg to calm me down, it has calmed down the anxiety but now i don't really feel any of the positive effects of Wellbutrin anymore. Since Seroquel is a dopamine antagonist you think it's cancelling out the stimulation from Wellbutrin?

[melissaw72]

Is it IR or SR?  SR stopped working for me, but I have no problem with the IR.

[J04KlM]

Is it IR or SR?  SR stopped working for me, but I have no problem with the IR.

It's XL. How long did it take for SR to stop working for you?

[melissaw72]

Is it IR or SR?  SR stopped working for me, but I have no problem with the IR.

It's XL. How long did it take for SR to stop working for you?

I really don't remember.  I was on it for awhile, maybe a couple years (?).  And then suddenly it was like I wasn't taking it anymore.

[jt07]

 Since Seroquel is a dopamine antagonist you think it's cancelling out the stimulation from Wellbutrin?

Seroquel doesn't really affect dopamine at doses below 300 - 400 mg. At 100 mg, it is still mostly an antihistamine with a little serotonin action.

[J04KlM]

 Since Seroquel is a dopamine antagonist you think it's cancelling out the stimulation from Wellbutrin?

Seroquel doesn't really affect dopamine at doses below 300 - 400 mg. At 100 mg, it is still mostly an antihistamine with a little serotonin action.

So i'm not feeling any of Wellbutrin's effects anymore for another reason?

[jt07]

 Since Seroquel is a dopamine antagonist you think it's cancelling out the stimulation from Wellbutrin?

Seroquel doesn't really affect dopamine at doses below 300 - 400 mg. At 100 mg, it is still mostly an antihistamine with a little serotonin action.

So i'm not feeling any of Wellbutrin's effects anymore for another reason?

Give it time. You need to give it a good 4-6 weeks at 300 mg.

[J04KlM]

It's been 2 weeks now since Wellbutrin's positive effects abandoned me, and 1 week since i increased to 300 mg.

In total i've been on Wellbutrin for 6 weeks now. I might just come to the conclusion that i just had a placebo... nothing more. :/

Now i really don't know where to go next, if Wellbutrin didn't reduce my anhedonia then what will?

Edited August 20, 2015 by J04KlM

[jt07]

If you've just increased to 300 mg a week ago, you have to give it 3-5 more weeks before you will know whether it is going to work or not. It's far, far too early to reach a decision on it.

[J04KlM]

If you've just increased to 300 mg a week ago, you have to give it 3-5 more weeks before you will know whether it is going to work or not. It's far, far too early to reach a decision on it.

It just seems like it should've worked by now, if i wait 3-5 more weeks then i've been on Wellbutrin for 8-11 weeks. Did it take that long for it to finally kick in for you?

[jt07]

It didn't work for me until I was on 300 mg for a month ... almost literally to the day. It did nothing for me at lower doses.

[San]

Not working doesn't mean it was a placebo. Placeo's are actually scientifically proven to work, even if you know its a placebo. Don't quote me on this, but there are many articles out there. Why would a pharmacy give you a fake pill?

Meds stop working sometimes. Things in life change, situations. It could be a lot of things. It may just not be the med for you. Some "poop out".

[cjbernardo2]

Hello, 

I wanted to share my experience with Wellbutrin over the last year or so-how it worked initially, completely crapped out, and how I resurrected it's effects.

 

After no success with years of experimenting with SSRI's, I was finally prescribed Wellbutrin.  I won't spend much time on how miraculous it was for me, but suffice to say it changed my life. 

 

Then after 3 or 4 months, everything started to wear off.  I was heartbroken, and sent down a deep depression.

 

Again I will spare the details of the journey, but I became absolutely set on fixing this issue.

I am incredibly thankful that I discovered 2 solutions that brought back the effectiveness of the medication.  I know that many people will take issue with the first solution, but if you are as desperate as i was, you will try anything.

 

LONG STORY SUPER SHORT (contact me if you want more details)

 

The first thing I researched was manufacturing defects.  I found that they are rare for prescription medications, but they do occur.  I reqested a change in manufacturer in my generic Wellbutrin, and the changeover was instantanious and unmistakeable.  

1a..The original manufacturer of my meds was Impax.  Once I switched to another manufacturer (who i cannot recall at the moment) the effectiveness returned

1b.  I live in spanish harlem, and at the time, i was trying to support local businesses by buying meds from a mom and pop pharmacy.  It might be possible that they are not as well supervised as chain pharmacies and 

had given me expired medication or something like that.

1c.  the other possibility is that the common knowledge about generics is wrong. It's possible that the switch from one variant of the drug to another brought back its effectiveness. I have a backround in meds and know that most pharmacists will tell you this is not true.

 

The second discovery was that supplements of the amino acid Tyrosine brought back roughly 70% of the effectiveness of the original effect.  I don't know if this would work for everybody. I think it worked for me because my digestive system is pretty screwed up.  I have issues with gluten, and I am also lactose intolerant. My personal belief is that my body is not able to manufacture the dopamine that I need because of an inability to digest or absorb the necessary amino acids. At the moment I take 1000 mg every day on top of my 450 mg of Wellbutrin. I have also been experimenting with something called DopaBean, and will continue to see what increases efficacy even further.

I use this brand at the moment.

 

https://www.amazon.com/NOW-L-tyrosine-500mg-120-Capsules/dp/B0013OUPSE/ref=sr_1_5_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1496095021&sr=1-5&keywords=tyrosine&th=1

 

PLEASE contact me if you have further questions.

 

cjbernardo2@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

Virus-free. www.avast.com

[browri]

@J04KlM You can try brand name Aplenzin as well. It's a bromide salt instead of a chloride salt like Wellbutrin. This should theoretically affect the reactivity of the molecule in the digestive tract. Also trailing on what @cjbernardo2 said, the Wellbutrin XL generics specifically are known to suck some major ass. Taking Aplenzin is one way to get on brand without fighting with your insurance over taking brand name Wellbutrin which is available as a generic unlike Aplenzin.

[notloki]

Increasing to 450 mg is one option. Many report it does not kick in until 450mg. It did not for me until 450 mg and has been working for decades

[BrianOCD]

If you had "good weeks" while on Wellbutrin I would probably stay on it and stay positive.  Some people don't even get that.

These drugs aren't really like getting high or anything, you're still gonna have good days and bad days.  The drugs try to make the bad days not so so bad.