Can I Use Wellbutrin While I Wean Off of Effexor?

[FeelingFat]

Several years ago, I took Wellbutrin for PMS and depression.  After a few years, it seemed to become ineffective, and I quit taking it.  Upon experiencing significant difficulty with depression and fatigue, a few years later, some different medications were prescribed to address these issues--first Celexa, then Effexor.

I have been on Effexor for depression and fatigue for about two years now.  I insisted on switching to something other than Celexa, because I seemed to be gaining weight with it, although it worked well on the depression.  My doctor assured me that Effexor would NOT cause weight gain.

Two years of being on Effexor later, I have gained about 60 lbs!  I have always maintained that I was not eating that much and I try to exercise every day, but I have gone from a size 10 to a size 18!  This is entirely unacceptable.  I moved out of state and have been to a new doctor, who assured me that Effexor would not be the cause of my weight gain, and as it turns out, I do have a low thyroid, which is being treated with Levoxyl.  The Levoxyl seems to do nothing whatsoever--it is certainly not causing me to lose weight.  The Effexor seems to work well on depression and fatigue, but I cannot tolerate this weight gain.  It is ruining my social life and clothes budget!  After reading a number of comments from Effexor users on the internet, it became clear that I am not the only one who appears to be gaining significant weight from Effexor.

I would like to go off Effexor, but am fearful of the negative consequences to the depression/fatigue issue.  I was wondering if I could start re-taking Wellbutrin as I decreased my Effexor dosage--or would there be negative consequences from mixing the two?  Also, does Wellbutrin cause weight gain?  Do patients who go off of Effexor lose the weight once they stop taking it, or do they have to work/diet it off just as if they had been overeating all this time?  Would taking more Levoxyl help with weight loss?  I asked my doctor this, and he said my thyroid level looked fine and he did not want me to increase my Levoxyl dosage.  I would like a second opinion and any recommendations you might have regarding treatment for the depression/fatigue and the weight gain.   Also, what kind of doctor should I be going to?  The doctors prescibing these meds have both been internal medicine doctors.  The weight gain is creating enormous stress and embarrassment in my life!

Thank you for any help or direction you can give me,

FeelingFat

[Roger Gould, M.D.]

there are a number of questions. Let's see if we can deal with them one at a time.  Most doctors would agree with your internist that if you have regulated your thyroid to a normal level, you should not increase your dose in order to get more rapid weight loss. It is dangerous to your health.

If you have gained weight you can only lose it by diet and exercise. Going of of effexor is not sufficient.

If you are going to go off Effexor, it should be over a 3-4 week period.  You should check with your doctor, but currently there is no reason you can't be on wellbutrin while going off of effexor, so using both in lower doses might be your answer.

The specialist you should be seeing is a psychopharmacologist, who is a psychiatrist with special training in medication management.  Under all circumstances, any changes should be made under the supervision of a doctor.

[HOTROD327]

I was on 225 mg of Effexor. I have been taking this for over two years and the doctor has put me on Wellbutrin SR 150 mg. I had to take the wellbutrin 150 with the effexor 3 75 mg tabs for 1 week then wellbutrin 150 with effexor 2 75 mg tabs for 2 weeks then wellbutrin 150 with 1 75 mg tabs for 2 weeks then wellbutrin 150 alone no effexor. I have had the worse case of withdrawls in my life, dizziness, lost feeling, cant think, weird strange dissconnected feeling.Effexor is not supposed to be addictive but ot gives you these f***ed up feelings. It feels like back when I was addicted to Xanex and I came off them which is a true narcottic which wasn't near this bad. I wish the medical department and the gov. would get their stuff straight. I can smoke pot for years and have the same effects and better controll of my life than on this medicine but the gov. wants to have controll over us. Also you can quit pot and not have all these withdrawls!!!!!!

[Kurt Cobain]

Please, PLEASE, check my post on jennjenn's thread "Effexor XR and pregnancy" before you even THINK about coming off of Effexor.  I truly think that even if I grew as large as Fat ******* (from the "Austin Powers" movies) I would NEVER AGAIN consider stopping Effexor.  It is a very, very strange drug that is unlike any other SSRI produced to date. . .the withdrawals almost make it seem like the Effexor itself (or maybe the drug manufacturer) doesn't WANT you to stop. . .not to sound too paranoid, but please read my post and search the Internet.  You may be very surprised by what you find.

peace,

Kurt

[Mpresiv]

Hello

I have read some of the articles on this page and I wanted to tell you about my experience on effexor. I'm a 23 year old male and took effexor for about three years. The reason I was on the drug was for depression. Throughout the time I took effexor, I really didn't see any signs of the drug helping me. The only thing I noticed was that I got a better nights sleep. Over the next year or so my depression decreased. I strongly believe that this is the cause of me talking more with my doctor and family about my situation. Also, I lost a very close friend of mine in an accident. You would think this would cause me to be more depressed, but actually, it helped me. It helped me realize that the things I was being depressed over was just petty stuff, and that "life" is simply more important. Around six months ago I decided that I was going to stop taking effexor. So I stopped effexor cold turkey. I can't actually describe what I felt like when I did this. To make it short...my ears started ringing, I had trouble concentrating, my mouth got very dry, my vision was blurred at times, and the thing I hated the most...I had trouble sleeping and I had terrible nightmares. Coming from a person that can fall asleep at the drop of a hat and someone that hardly ever dreams, this was quite scary. It was so bad that I would go for 3 or 4 days without sleep! Simply because I could not fall asleep. Whenever I did finally get some sleep, it would be for just 3 or 4 hours and I would wake up very scared. And I would wake up not knowing that I had fallen asleep. I went on without effexor for a full week then I notified my doctor. He told me to get back on the effexor, and the next time I seen him he would start cutting my dosages. Within two days or so, all of my withdrawls stopped. I started sleeping and the other side effects were gone. This goes to show you that effexor was the cause. To make a long story short, my doctor cut my dosages for a period of a month or more until I was finally off of effexor. Some of the side effects came back for a short amount of time, but finally got better. When you go through the withdrawls, you start to think that they will never go away. But if you do it the right way, they will.

If you have any questions, fill free to email me.
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[dvda]

i have been on effexor for about 2 yrs and i have noticed a 30-40 lb. weight gain. the medicine works but it seems like i am gaining weight and fat never burns off. i am as active as i used to be before i started taking the medicine, my diets the same, so i dont know what the deal is. it seems like this is a popular med, and i feel pretty good but want to try something else though.