Ion Posted January 1, 2018 Share Posted January 1, 2018 I've been on 450mg of bupropion for 2 weeks now, and I'm not tolerating it very well. 300 was fine, but 450 has been really difficult. I'm having really severe headaches and my suspicion is that it is connected with the med change. I'm trying to figure out how long to stick it out in order to give it a fair try before reducing the dose. I'm determined to prove to my pdoc that I'm compliant, but I don't think I can get to the 4-6 week mark with this. I can't see the pdoc for another 2 months, but I could probably see my primary care in the next 1-2 weeks. I just really want to give this the best possible shot and I can't figure out what that means in these conditions Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ion Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 I forgot to add that my blood pressure is elevated on this 132/89 (previously 115/75) and that has been my pdoc's main caution about this med. I don't know if that changes things. My blood pressure hasn't reached the high level, but it has gone up. It's even harder to think clearly and make decisions with this kind of head pain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ion Posted January 1, 2018 Author Share Posted January 1, 2018 Typing all that out really helped me organize my thoughts and I'm going to get telehealth to tell me what I should do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit37 Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Well, yes, 4-6 weeks is the optimal time for seeing if s/e's lessen, but if it's a health hazard, as with your blood pressure, I think personally I'd ditch the higher dose. I mean, blood pressure is nothing to fuck around with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceberg Posted January 2, 2018 Share Posted January 2, 2018 Was the 300 helping? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saintalto Posted January 3, 2018 Share Posted January 3, 2018 I know you could see your primary doctor soon, but can you call your psychiatrist and leave a message about what’s going on right away? Often times things can be done over the phone, they can call in a scrip change for you if they decided to lower the dose again etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ion Posted January 3, 2018 Author Share Posted January 3, 2018 Telehealth said see a Dr in the next 24 hours, the Dr (at Emerg because of the holiday) said it wasn't dangerous to stay on the 450, but didn't say much more. I stuck with 450 yesterday, but I hit my limit for how much pain I could stand and I reduced the dose today. I've got an appointment with my primary care, but it's over 2 weeks away. A week after the dose change to 300 I had about 4 days symptom free. About 3 days after the change to 450 I had about 2 days with periods of no symptoms. The rest of the time on bupropion I don't feel significantly different than before I was on it. This is best response I've had from a med so far, but I don't yet know if it's a med to keep or a clue about other meds to try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thunder Posted January 4, 2018 Share Posted January 4, 2018 Obviously, I can't give medical advice, but if it were me, I probably would drop back down to 300 mg and keep trying to contact your pdoc. It sounds like the headaches were bad enough to impede your functioning and if they were new and severe, I don't think I personally would try to ride them out the 4-6 weeks usually considered a fair trial. You're still able to go back up to 450 mg and try again if your pdoc does really think this is what you should do, especially if they have some recommendation for mitigating the headaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ion Posted January 6, 2018 Author Share Posted January 6, 2018 I'm feeling a lot better a few days after decreasing the dose. The fast pulse improved right away and the headaches improved steadily over a few days. My blood pressure is still 134/90, but that started before the other symptoms, so it make sense for it to take longer to get back to normal. I feel relieved to not have to battle that level of side-effects still. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argh Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 (edited) . Edited September 17, 2020 by argh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ion Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 In the 100-120 range. Not dangerous, but quite uncomfortable. At the 300mg dose I'm having moderate headaches most of the time, which is also rough but I've been able to tolerate it and my pdoc appointment is in a few weeks. I think the bupropion trial has given really good info about what to try next, but the bupropion itself doesn't seem to be a great fit for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
argh Posted February 16, 2018 Share Posted February 16, 2018 (edited) . Edited September 17, 2020 by argh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ion Posted February 17, 2018 Author Share Posted February 17, 2018 At the time I looked up to see whether the increased BP could be causing the headaches and likely not. They probably have a common cause. I can't tolerate caffeine either, so I suspect that meds acting on norepinephrine may be a bad fit for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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