wellbutrin xl and side effects

[Ariesbaby3260]

hi. i recently started wellbutrin xl for anxiety. i'm having upset stomach and nausea. i've been on it for 5 days now. is this just a side effect? or allergic reaction?

[Ariesbaby3260]

i understand. makes sense. it's so confusing. you always hear on ads and such that depression "hurts"...so i just assumed it to be true.

[Ariesbaby3260]

is this in reference to depression/anxiety causing pain?

[AnxiousNoMore]

Dep and anx don't create pain. Can you elaborate on my suggestions earlier about diagnosis etc?

[Paxiled]

Anxiety and depression can absolutely cause pain, at least if you believe doctors.  If they can't find any other reason, they attribute it to anxiety or depression.  There are several reasons for this -- most antidepressants can cause pain as a side effect and because they make magnesium less easily absorbed because they use the magnesium pathway to get to the brain.  If being anxious interferes with sleep, that can cause pain.  If it makes you constrict your muscles, it can cause pain (and can cause headaches if you constrict your blood vessels).  So yes, it can lead to chronic pain, but so can a whole lot of things in life.  What I was saying is, people who suffer anxiety or depression also get all the problems everyone else gets -- some things can be caused by anxiety but you always have to rule out physiological causes first if it's possible to do so or you're not treating the right thing.  In my case, I have a lot of pain that has real causes but doesn't heal and hurts more than doctors think it should.  They think that's a neurological problem caused by the intense anxiety I've had since quitting Paxil caused it.  But they have no idea why it's there, where it's coming from physiologically, or how to treat it, only that I shouldn't be hurting as much as I am from what they're seeing.  So I have pain because of things I've done in life but it's been greatly intensified by chronic intense anxiety.  Very hard to diagnose properly, but if you've just got a pulled muscle or torn cartilage, then whether or not you have anxiety you still have to get that fixed or you'll still hurt.

[AnxiousNoMore]

Whatever, but since it is all self-diagnosis any pain may be a separate issue so not anxiety like she thinks. I still think the focus should be on therapy and diagnosis instead of trying to do it on her own which is self-diagnosis.
Those suggestions have been ignored in the discussion, so I will leave this thread and hope things work out for Aries.

[Ariesbaby3260]

this is the first one i have tried. i actually can't stand medicine or drugs. my general dr put me on this. i feel bad. when i did my original mental health screening it was abnormal for depression. i feel like my anxiety is causing me depression because i can't control it. i'm a hypochondriac.

[Ariesbaby3260]

it's terrible. i spend all day and night googling symptoms that i may have and assume i have them. i have spent so much money on doctor visits. even though i have been told i'm fine, i have a hard time believing it. i even got angry that my daughter has a lingering cough from a cold. everything is just spiraling out of control. i constantly feel like my throat is closing up on me. i'm just tired.

[AnxiousNoMore]

You might not even be depressed, just unhappy with the way some things appear, so try therapy now too.

A one on one discussion with a professional can sometimes bring out causes of emotional issues that can be worked on. Meds are supposed to be a last resort but if you haven't tried therapy then you have missed what should be your first action.

No one can diagnose you from here, but you listed some issues like hypochondria so the first thing they will tell you is to stop Googling for disease. You are hoping to find some comforting answers on Google, but instead it is guaranteed to upset you - any symptom you type into Google will find you a person who died from it, even a thumbtack clot that went to the brain. So the best thing you can do for yourself immediately is to stop Googling.

[Paxiled]

Wise counsel.  I always tell people, don't Google symptoms because every symptom is part of some disease you don't have.  Google can be very useful after you have a diagnosis and a suggested treatment, because then you can educate yourself about the specific things you're facing and tell whether your doctor seems to know his stuff.  Yours doesn't, to me at least.  I agree with the above, you should have been sent to a therapist first.  And hypochondria isn't a disease, it's just one form of anxiety.  But know that depression often causes anxiety.  A good therapist can tell you what you might have, especially if you see a psychologist -- of all the professions, that's the one that requires by far the most rigorous study of mental illness.

[Ariesbaby3260]

Thanks! But is it normal to feel as if you are always in pain. I find i have so many muscle aches and pain.

[Paxiled]

Well, it depends on what you do and how old you are.  If you've been very athletic when young, well, you're probably going to hurt when you're old.  If you're doing a lot of burdensome work, then pain follows.  If you do things incorrectly, pain is the body saying something's wrong.  In other words, there is no normal, there's only you, and if there's no reason for it, then it's not normal.  

[Paxiled]

This is one of the most common side effects of antidepressants.  Either it goes away or it doesn't.  I would also ask, what meds have you tried?  How bad is your anxiety and have you tried therapy for it?  And I would discuss this med with your psychiatrist -- this drug isn't usually used for anxiety, it's usually used only for depression as it's a very stimulating drug and can cause anxiety.  There might be a very good reason why your psychiatrist thinks this is a good choice for you, but I'm only suggesting you have to be a partner in this, many doctors really don't understand the differences between these drugs, especially general practice docs.  But if this drug was well chosen for you and you think it's going to help, give it some time and see if the stomach problems go away,  If they don't, it's not the right med for you and look into something else.