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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Effexor to Wellbutrin
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD), bipolar disorder, dementia, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic, personality disorders, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), schizophrenia, stress, transitions, and work problems.
Effexor to Wellbutrin
by bo, Jan 26, 2000 12:00AM
well, now 3 weeks and 1 day from switching from 187.5 mg of Effexor XR daily to Wellbutrin 150 mg twice a day (total of 300mg) Whew, the effects of going off Effexor were BRUTAL! to say the least. At this time I feel only dizzyness and lightheaded from what I would suppose is the wellbutrin. At this point I feel I have completely returned to the moods I was experiencing before I started taking the Effexor, they were just simple sadness, fatigue, maliase, more of less just a feeling of bla, bla, bla. The effexorXR was wonderful and I felt great!!!!! BUT gained 45 pounds on it in 8 months. Thus the change to wellbutrin (which I heard I should lose the weight from). My question is this: Have I simply not been on the Wellbutrin long enough to feel the effects of it? And I have not lost an ounce of weight that I have gained from the effexor. Can I expect to lose it when the effects of the wellbutrin takes effect? Maybe the doctor should raise my dosage?
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS M.D.-SW, Jan 27, 2000 12:00AM
Dear Bo,
It may take 4-6 weeks to feel the effects of the Wellbutrin.
The average dose of Wellbutrin is 300mg, but some patient need 150mg, three times a day.
It is unfortunate you gained 45 pounds in 8 months. Wellbutrin will not magically remove the 45 pounds. Wellbutrin does not induce weight loss, it simply doesn't cause weight gain. A proper diet and appropriate exercise are needed. Remember, it took 8 months to gain the weight, it will take time.
Best Wishes,
HFHS M.D.-SW
It may take 4-6 weeks to feel the effects of the Wellbutrin.
The average dose of Wellbutrin is 300mg, but some patient need 150mg, three times a day.
It is unfortunate you gained 45 pounds in 8 months. Wellbutrin will not magically remove the 45 pounds. Wellbutrin does not induce weight loss, it simply doesn't cause weight gain. A proper diet and appropriate exercise are needed. Remember, it took 8 months to gain the weight, it will take time.
Best Wishes,
HFHS M.D.-SW
I was on Zoloft, 150mg, then 200mg for over a year. At the same time I started Wellbutrin, first 150mg, then 300mg. Before each dosage increase I started displaying most of the classic depressive symptoms, so I was miserable. After the peak dosage of both, I tapered off Wellbutrin, and began to feel a little more normal. With both, I felt as though I wasn't really "there", even through my son's wedding. That left me on 200mg of Zoloft, and for six months I was in a downward spiral. I couldn't leave the house, I had no interests, I couldn't do things I loved...reading and the computer, and basically insulated myself, wanting to have no contact with Family and Friends. I have just recently tapered off Zoloft while concurrently starting EffexorXR, now with the dosage at 150mg/day.
I am hoping for the best, I can't tell too much yet, but my Daliesque mind is is providing me with numerous vivid Dali-type dreams nightly, which often during the day leave me feeling strange. I also have many perspiration attacks, and get real flushed. Fortunately they don't last long.
I'd welcome any input on this medication and symptoms.