Can't tell if this is me or this is the meds.
June 7, 2017 5:39 AM Subscribe
I'm taking some meds, and I can't figure out if I'm experiencing side effects -- and if I am, if I should keep on with it to see if things will change. Wellbutrin inside.
Recently I decided my anxiety was firmly in the category of "too much" and I went to my doctor, who is basically pretty great. He said we should try Effexor, which he prescribed and I took for three days before I was more or less not sleeping for any real amount of time, and then I had a full blown anxiety attack. I quit Effexor after three days.
Went back to the drawing board, doctor prescribed Wellbutrin. This is a name I know! I have friends who take this and who are super happy about it. My friend the therapist says, this is probably a good one. I'm on what would be my 6th day of Wellbutrin and yesterday, and today, I woke up with Pronounced Anxiety Symptoms. This kind of thing doesn't happen to me -- I woke up at 5am totally awake, with tightness in my chest and the good old swirling thoughts of negativity. I took 1/4 a xanax and managed another hour and a half of sleep, but I am still feeling super edgy, and I was crazy edgy all day yesterday. It was my definition of hell.
While there are stressors in my life, this is not usually what my anxiety does -- I can't FALL asleep, I have negative thoughts that won't stop, I occasionally am so paralyzed by the despair of it all that I can't function for at most a day -- some episodes have been very bad, some milder, but there are things happening here that are out of the norm for me. I've done some reading and I can't tell (unlike with Effexor) if this is the Wellbutrin, and if it is, should I keep at it until I've been on the drug longer for it to kick in and help me feel better? I am super tempted to quit today, because this is worse than being anxious without it.
Extra detail: I work out 3-5 days a week depending on how life works out (usually more not less) and my diet is pretty good. I don't think exercise is going to make a difference here, in other words.
Recently I decided my anxiety was firmly in the category of "too much" and I went to my doctor, who is basically pretty great. He said we should try Effexor, which he prescribed and I took for three days before I was more or less not sleeping for any real amount of time, and then I had a full blown anxiety attack. I quit Effexor after three days.
Went back to the drawing board, doctor prescribed Wellbutrin. This is a name I know! I have friends who take this and who are super happy about it. My friend the therapist says, this is probably a good one. I'm on what would be my 6th day of Wellbutrin and yesterday, and today, I woke up with Pronounced Anxiety Symptoms. This kind of thing doesn't happen to me -- I woke up at 5am totally awake, with tightness in my chest and the good old swirling thoughts of negativity. I took 1/4 a xanax and managed another hour and a half of sleep, but I am still feeling super edgy, and I was crazy edgy all day yesterday. It was my definition of hell.
While there are stressors in my life, this is not usually what my anxiety does -- I can't FALL asleep, I have negative thoughts that won't stop, I occasionally am so paralyzed by the despair of it all that I can't function for at most a day -- some episodes have been very bad, some milder, but there are things happening here that are out of the norm for me. I've done some reading and I can't tell (unlike with Effexor) if this is the Wellbutrin, and if it is, should I keep at it until I've been on the drug longer for it to kick in and help me feel better? I am super tempted to quit today, because this is worse than being anxious without it.
Extra detail: I work out 3-5 days a week depending on how life works out (usually more not less) and my diet is pretty good. I don't think exercise is going to make a difference here, in other words.
Yeah, I found Wellbutrin too "activating." By activating, I mean that by day two I was sobbing with rage because the sun was shining too much. It's a thing.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 5:47 AM on June 7, 2017 [20 favorites]
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 5:47 AM on June 7, 2017 [20 favorites]
In any event, call your prescriber first thing this morning and let them know what's going on.
posted by radicalawyer at 5:53 AM on June 7, 2017
posted by radicalawyer at 5:53 AM on June 7, 2017
IANAD, but I'm surprised you've been prescribed Wellbutrin for anxiety. I don't believe it's been FDA approved to treat anxiety, and anxiety's a common side effect of it. When I first started Wellbutrin, and when I increased my dose, I was noticeably speedier for a few days. (I have more anxiety than I used to, too, but I don't know if that's the medication or coincidence.)
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:02 AM on June 7, 2017 [14 favorites]
posted by Metroid Baby at 6:02 AM on June 7, 2017 [14 favorites]
Wellbutrin inhibits norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake and is devoid of clinically significant serotonergic effects like SSRIs, which are generally helpful for certain types of depression. Thus the common side effects of SSRIs are not present. But, anxiety may be exacerbated by Wellbutrin due to its activity. For example, increased dopamine is linked to addiction and OCD behaviors as well as paranoia. If you suffer from depression, increasing dopamine and norepinephrine can be helpful because these neurotransmittors are likely lower. However for anxiety it may exacerbate that condition. As an anxiety leaning person I have taken SSRIs, Wellbutrin and a combination of both. The SSRIs just stop working for me after a couple of months and increasing the dose just lead to worsening of side effects. Wellbutrin on its own didn't seem to do anything. I had a neurotransmittor profile done by urine analysis and it showed my Dopamine levels were extremely high. I'm not sure of the validity of this test but my psychiatrist felt the test has been helpful in directing treatment to a degree. Anyway, I am now taking Baclofen and it has helped my anxiety and productivity tremendously. I don't feel nearly as paranoid. I haven't had the urine test to check neurotransmittor levels to confirm if there is a correlation. Baclofen isn't normally prescribed for anxiety but rather as a muscle relaxer. It has minimal to no side effects at a low dose. It's been around for 80 years and has an extremely good safety profile plus it is very cheap, nonnarcotic, nonbenzo. There is no chance for a patent renewal so basically no pharmaceutical company will do trials on it for anxiety. It's been a life changer for me. There is a lot of internet information on using Baclofen to treat anxiety, particularly for people who self-medicate anxiety with alcohol.
I guess my advice would be to either stick with the drugs your Dr. prescribes to see if you can even out or see if they will prescribe something else until you find a good fit.
posted by waving at 6:06 AM on June 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
I guess my advice would be to either stick with the drugs your Dr. prescribes to see if you can even out or see if they will prescribe something else until you find a good fit.
posted by waving at 6:06 AM on June 7, 2017 [3 favorites]
After being on the generic brand of Wellbutrin for around 2 years, I had to go off of it because despite the energy it gave me, and the lift in my mood - it made me angrier and definintely more anxious. everyone is different, but Wellbutrin certainly did not help my anxiety.
posted by Dressed to Kill at 6:17 AM on June 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
posted by Dressed to Kill at 6:17 AM on June 7, 2017 [2 favorites]
I was prescribed Wellbutrin as an anti-depressant. I quit cold turkey on it after a week, because it worsened my anxiety to the point that I was sitting on the edge of a couch biting my nails, having panic attacks, extremely fast heart beat. I'll second that I'm surprised you were prescribed Wellbutrin for anxiety - I was prescribed it for depression but it has a well-known side effect of increasing anxiety for many people. It's supposed to make you want to get up and do things - but for me it just made me so jittery that I couldn't decide on anything to do.
posted by peacheater at 6:22 AM on June 7, 2017
posted by peacheater at 6:22 AM on June 7, 2017
Yeah, another one here in the "Wellbutrin made me more anxious" camp. And oddly enough, when I took it many years ago, it didn't seem to have that kind of effect on me. Go figure.
As a side note, the medication that my doctor has prescribed for anxiety for me of late is propanolol. I was very skeptical at first, but it has helped me more than any other medication as far as my anxiety symptoms. YMMV.
posted by strelitzia at 6:38 AM on June 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
As a side note, the medication that my doctor has prescribed for anxiety for me of late is propanolol. I was very skeptical at first, but it has helped me more than any other medication as far as my anxiety symptoms. YMMV.
posted by strelitzia at 6:38 AM on June 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
I agree with others that Wellbutrin isn't good for anxiety. I just started Wellbutrin two weeks ago for depression and ADD issues and yeah, it's a major stimulant. So much so that I willingly quit caffeine which is something I have NEVER done before.
I love the energy I'm getting from it but I do have to keep it in check because I also have anxiety. I have been on an SSRI for years that helps with that, in addition to CBT therapy (do you do this? Every doctor I've seen has said one of the primary treatment protocols for anxiety is CBT or DBT therapy).
I would go back to your doctor and question whether Wellbutrin is a good idea for you.
posted by joan_holloway at 7:03 AM on June 7, 2017
I love the energy I'm getting from it but I do have to keep it in check because I also have anxiety. I have been on an SSRI for years that helps with that, in addition to CBT therapy (do you do this? Every doctor I've seen has said one of the primary treatment protocols for anxiety is CBT or DBT therapy).
I would go back to your doctor and question whether Wellbutrin is a good idea for you.
posted by joan_holloway at 7:03 AM on June 7, 2017
Response by poster: Thank you, everyone. I'm stopping the medication for now because . . this is not great! And I called my doctor and I have an appointment next week. AskMe is so much better than the wider internet for basically everything. I googled around and just couldn't find anything that would answer me in any kind of straightforward manner. All your answers have been really helpful.
posted by Medieval Maven at 7:10 AM on June 7, 2017 [5 favorites]
posted by Medieval Maven at 7:10 AM on June 7, 2017 [5 favorites]
I took Wellbutrin for about a year and the reason I switched was because I started having "everything and everyone would be better off if I wasn't here" thoughts. I never had a suicide plan or anything beyond that vague thought, but my husband noticed I was "off" and it was only about a week or two of the intrusive thoughts.
Zoloft has been an amazing fit for me for the past seven or so years.
posted by cooker girl at 7:15 AM on June 7, 2017
Zoloft has been an amazing fit for me for the past seven or so years.
posted by cooker girl at 7:15 AM on June 7, 2017
I'm on Wellbutrin for depression and ADHD. I also have anxiety, and the Wellbutrin did increase it some when I first started. That side effect went away when I was also prescribed Buspar for anxiety and my system got used to the Wellbutrin--I think in about three days.
posted by Beethoven's Sith at 7:21 AM on June 7, 2017
posted by Beethoven's Sith at 7:21 AM on June 7, 2017
As several others have touched on, Wellbutrin can indeed ramp up anxiety.
It sounds from your post that you're seeing a GP for these prescriptions? I would highly suggest asking for a referral to a psychiatrist (and still continue treatment with your GP in the interim) .GP's aren't always super well trained to start digging into specific mental health drugs. Some are, and if that's the case, lucky you! But specializations exist for a reason, and if you're running into even baseline problems with kind of 'first line' medications, I would talk to a specialist.
There's a whole fleet of 'older' drugs that aren't really prescribed much anymore that aren't on most GP's radars, but can be used in place of many of the newer first line drugs out there, especially in really specific doses. For example, I've been prescribed Hydroxyzine for sleep/anxiety problems. It's an older drug that is kind of 'out of fashion' and my GP wasn't even really aware of it, while my psychiatrist was well versed in it's use. The reason it fell out of fashion, apparently, is that it's side effects include drowsiness and really deep sleep. Which, in your case, might be a desired effect.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:23 AM on June 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
It sounds from your post that you're seeing a GP for these prescriptions? I would highly suggest asking for a referral to a psychiatrist (and still continue treatment with your GP in the interim) .GP's aren't always super well trained to start digging into specific mental health drugs. Some are, and if that's the case, lucky you! But specializations exist for a reason, and if you're running into even baseline problems with kind of 'first line' medications, I would talk to a specialist.
There's a whole fleet of 'older' drugs that aren't really prescribed much anymore that aren't on most GP's radars, but can be used in place of many of the newer first line drugs out there, especially in really specific doses. For example, I've been prescribed Hydroxyzine for sleep/anxiety problems. It's an older drug that is kind of 'out of fashion' and my GP wasn't even really aware of it, while my psychiatrist was well versed in it's use. The reason it fell out of fashion, apparently, is that it's side effects include drowsiness and really deep sleep. Which, in your case, might be a desired effect.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:23 AM on June 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
That sounds like wellbutrin.
I know it's great for a lot of people, but I'm in the "tried it and it was awful" category.
posted by bile and syntax at 9:17 AM on June 7, 2017
I know it's great for a lot of people, but I'm in the "tried it and it was awful" category.
posted by bile and syntax at 9:17 AM on June 7, 2017
I tried Wellbutrin many years ago. It was amazing! I didn't even know my brain was able to function and pay attention. Unfortunately shortly after I started I had a massive panic attack. I was terrified of falling asleep and was convinced that if I closed my eyes I would not wake up. I had no idea what was happening to me. I stopped it immediately. Nothing has ever helped me focus in that way since then and I still have fond memories of it.
posted by mokeydraws at 12:54 PM on June 7, 2017
posted by mokeydraws at 12:54 PM on June 7, 2017
I have been on Wellbutrin for anxiety for a long time. It may not be the main use, but it definitely worked/works for me, FWIW.
I did finally fix a problematic side-effect that was causing me to either have trouble sleeping or wake up suddenly alert/etc in the middle of the night, however. That was, it turns out, due to taking the pill at night --- even though its a 24 hour pill, I do find that it has a more stimulating effect in the first 6 hours or so. I switched to taking it in the morning and have no more problems. Not sure when you take it but morning vs evening was a big difference for me.
posted by thefoxgod at 2:20 PM on June 7, 2017
I did finally fix a problematic side-effect that was causing me to either have trouble sleeping or wake up suddenly alert/etc in the middle of the night, however. That was, it turns out, due to taking the pill at night --- even though its a 24 hour pill, I do find that it has a more stimulating effect in the first 6 hours or so. I switched to taking it in the morning and have no more problems. Not sure when you take it but morning vs evening was a big difference for me.
posted by thefoxgod at 2:20 PM on June 7, 2017
Please don't stop your medications (any medications) without talking to your doctor about it first and following their advice about tapering off, if necessary.
posted by lazuli at 7:00 PM on June 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by lazuli at 7:00 PM on June 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
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posted by radicalawyer at 5:46 AM on June 7, 2017