switch from zoloft (sertraline) to wellbutrin (bupropion)

[tep983]

Need to know I'm not alone and if these feeling will go away!!!  Ok, my story in a nutshell.  I got on 50mg Zoloft generic last May so I was on it for about 10 months because I was slightly depressed w/ major anxiety-(stressors being 2 young hyper kids - whom I love like crazy but my hubby works evenings 5 days out of the week so I'm alone w/ them alot and we have a 6 mnth old puppy, I do not get as much time w/ hubby as i'd like, my job is high stress, very demanding and I have been on Mandatory Overtime for over a year now (about 7 hrs a week) but it was up to 10 extra hrs a week!!!! I felt this hyperventilating feeling all the time- shortness of breath, racing heart, can't catch my breath- I'm assuming they were panic attacks-all day long.  Anyway- I have loved the Zoloft so much, it calmed me down and gave me the patience to think about stuff before overreacting and I've never been happier and the panic attacks went away.  The one and only downside I had about the Zoloft was the weight gain- I gained 25-30 lbs and this alone is making me down on myself again.  I did some research and found Wellbutrin (generic) and mentioned it to to my Dr.  She advised we could try it in regards to avoiding the weight gain and there's really no chance of this w/ wellbutrin.  Well, I was advised to wean myself off the Zoloft in 3 days ...took half my pill for 3 nights and on the 4th morning I started 150mg of Wellbutrin (Bupropion).  This Monday will be 2 weeks that I have been on the Bupropion and it has been a living hell so far.  The panic attacks have came back, I'm very irritable, short fused and cry at the drop of a dime-then immediately feel guilty afterwards.  I am so scared that the bupropion is not going to work- I don't want to gain anymore weight and at the same time- I can't keep putting my family through this miserable version of me- I'm so mean and I don't like myself/my attitude.  I loved myself when I was on Zoloft but the weight gain was a deal breaker for me.  Please please respond if anyone else has gone through this and if there is a light at the end of the tunnel w/ the Bupropion.  I don't know if what I'm experiencing is the "real me" or the side effects of coming of Zoloft or the bupropion not working??? I know its only been 2 weeks but I can't waste my time on this drug if I don't think it will help me.  I've heard so much contradicting information on wellbutrin- my parents were on it and it made them happy/quit smoking, I've heard it doesn't touch anxiety and can cause sudden outrages???, but I've also heard that it has helped some people w/ both depression and minor anxiety.  Help??

[cbucks]

I have been taking Zoloft for 8 years at around 50-75 mg (highest dose). I have gone down a couple times to 25 mg to see how I do and each time was unsuccessful finding myself depressed and anxious and feeling as though I needed the help of Zoloft. This last year I had noticed that I was experiencing a lot of negative side effects of Zoloft and not a lot of positives. It wasn't even helping my depression anymore. I had no emotions really and my friends and family would talk about how my personality has completely changed over the last couple years. I finally decided I did not want to be on Zoloft anymore and asked my doctor about Welbutrin. Right now I am on 150 mg XR per day and have completely weaned off Zoloft. It has been 2 weeks now of just the Welbutrin and I am about as miserable as I was on Zoloft. I have "brain zaps" all day long, am super fatigued, irritable, and feel like the littlest thing will make me cry. I am planning on giving it a month before I go back to doctor and in the meantime am trying to get into a psychiatrist to find the best fit for me. I'm ready to feel better and go back to who I was. For others experiencing these types of symptoms I highly recommend taking extra vitamins and supplements to help ease the symptoms, like magnesium, vitamin D and vitamin C.

[CCC333]

Been on Zoloft 150mg upto 200mg for approx 10 years. Has recent thyroid removal and taking synthroid, calcium and Vit D for past 3 months. New lab test reveal extremely underacttive thyroid so synthroid dose increases along w recommended Wellbutrin XL to control further depression I was feeling. I assumed I was to immediately replace the Zoloft w the Wellbutrin, I've had life altering change in emotion and behavior and I don't recognize myself. Increase of synthroid has led me to the hyper active side which means a total of 15 hrs of sleep in 4 days. Broke down in grocery store today, felt like I was going to have a stroke. Doc says sleep deprivation, not related to thyroid meds, could be Wellbutrin? Could be abrupt stop of Zoloft?

[sliding]

Did I understand right, that your dr. said sleep disturbance wouldn't be related to the higher thyroid meds? I would think it probably would be related. (I know someone with complete thyroid removal and they tell me they've never felt quite right about the replacement with synthroid, always feeling too wound-up or too sluggish.)
It could be all those things, really--the increased synthroid, the abrubt stop of one med, and the addition of the other.
All those meds are very powerful and I feel like dr's really don't have a clue what they're really giving us-- they've probably never had their thyroid removed, or tried to take or tried to come off of any of the anti-depressants!!!!

[hunter_021112]

Thanks for this topic, after trying several times to quite Zoloft I know now what I was experiencing is normal and might take longer then a week or two to subside. Wish me luck. Thanks so much for this thread everyone :)

[Pinky228]

Thanks for your comment. You have not idea how beneficial was for me! I would love to explain my feelings but my English is very limited. Than you again!

[SokoNC]

I have been on zoloft for about 5 years.  Up to 100 mg at one point. For the lat 2 years or so i have been at 75mg. Earlier this year i tried to wean of zoloft. I dropped by 25mg every 2 weeks. Then 12.5 or a quarter of a top mg tablet for a week.  The withdrawls were unbearable. Went back up to 75mg until 3 days ago. 1 month ago i felt so severely empty unmotivated and depressed that i decided to start taking bupropion which i still had leftover from giving it a try about 2 years ago. It seemed to help within a few days. I have been taking it for 1 month. 3 days ago i ran out of my zoloft. I havent refilled the prescription. So far i feel fantastic. I feel that i have been lifted out a dense fog. I have motivation, am laughing genuinley and am more talkative. I have experienced some restless legs and anxiety at nightitme. Im hoping not to experience the typical zoloft withdrawls since i have been on bupropion for a month now. I hope this helps!

[Mimiwich]

I know exactly what you are referring to Elly!  I experienced that same sensation when weaning off Zoloft.  I also became very depressed and hyper emotional, crying, crying.  I even lost my temper when talking to my Dr's nurse, which is not like me at all.  Sad to say I decided to continue with Zoloft and will most likely take it for the rest of my life.
I would love to switch to Wellbutrin, but too afraid of going thru the withdrawal of Zoloft.

I give Terra222 much credit for sticking it out this long.  I agree with her totally, it takes months to wean yourself off of Zoloft, not days or week like the Dr.'s tell us.

[terra222]

I have been on Zoloft for about 4 years and I had it slightly increased over the last year from 50mg to 100mg.  I informed my Dr. that I was experiencing some sexual side effects and felt that it was too much of an interference with me and my relationship.  He suggested I go back down to 50mg, but I really wasn't interested since I had already tried that (without telling him). So he suggested the Wellbutrin... which I was completely game for, but knew that I was going to have issues with withdrawls from Zoloft.  

So I was started taking the 150mg Wellbutrin along with 50mg of Zoloft for about a month and then the next month 150mg Wellbutrin along with 25mg of Zoloft.  Now that I am only taking Wellbutrin - it's been about 2 weeks - I feel that the panics attacks are back and I'm a bit lightheaded daily.  I want to feel better so I think this is still a "withdrawl" from the Zoloft, but if it doesn't get better in a month I will head back to the Dr.  I think Dr.'s try to minimize the "withdrawl" possibility with patients, but it's still a chemical reaction that your body is no longer having so this is something I completely expected - which is the reason I chose to wean myself longer than the 2 weeks that the Dr. recommended.

I think everyone will experience some sort of withdrawl from Zoloft, it's the severity that varies from person to person.  So if you look up withdrawls from Zoloft, you will find that you are not alone.  The only thing I am focusing on now is making sure that my reactions, feelings, symptoms, etc. don't last more than 1 month while ONLY on Wellbutrin.  Withdrawls can last quite a long time from Zoloft, every time I cut the dosage I could tell that I was going to through withdrawls for atleast a week.

I hope this helps you identify what may be going on.  Since I have tried multiple times (before this) to stop taking Zoloft, I'm pretty familiar with the feelings that occur when not having it in your system.  It makes you feel that you will always feel this crazy and there is no hope... but if you can get through a couple weeks you should see the light at the end of the tunnel.  I just warned everyone that they may need to leave me alone if I get too "ragey".

[Kgmard]

Thank you so much. Your description of the experience helped me so much.

[AnxiousNoMore]

I use Ativan when needed. I can feel a panic attack coming. This may sound silly, but you can put a rubber band around your wrist and flip it when you feel anxious. I also will tap my thumb (on one hand) on every finger and count as I go. This does distract my mind and sometimes I can overcome the anxiety attack before it hits me full force

[AnxiousNoMore]

Deep breaths can also be usefully distracting. There are different ways to do this, but when I am laying down trying to relax for sleep, I imagine the inhale goes through my lungs into my feet, then I imagine the exhale settles my body into the bed.

[specialmom]

All of these things help. As long as you use ativan ONLY when you are about to have a panic attack, is it a good thing and that sounds like you are smart about that. Do you take anything like an SSRI too?

[Beccanine]

I was on Wellbutrin and Zoloft for over a decade and it worked beautifully for me… they are very different drugs though so switching from Zoloft to Wellbutrin is confusing to me. Wellbutrin is an activator so will definitely cause anxiety to come back. Zoloft is more calming… maybe stay on the Zoloft and see??? Your weight isn’t as important as your happiness and your kids will be grown and gone before you know it so please be kind up yourself and do whatever you need to do to love your self as you are… talk to a psychiatrist if you’re not already. Doctors don’t seem to be able to prescribe these drugs very effectively in my opinion

[DanielAgarr]

Hi
Thank u so much for getting back to me quick !  Really appreciate it !  U did give me a great answer :).i actually have been on the generic zoloft and one of the things i noticed is it doenst work like the original. I took the name brand many years back and it worked wonders. This generic for the last 4 months has been soo soo.  Here and there  :(.  When i first took it about 10 years ago for about a year

[tep983]

Hey!  I’m glad you asked!  I have been on the Wellbutrin now for several years and haven’t looked back!  It was super tough at first yes, but it was worth it. I do have to say tho, I did notice a difference with the generic, I felt it wasn’t doing enough for me so we upped it to 300mg, still wasn’t feeling a change. This could’ve just been me- the generic works for some people but I asked my Dr to write “dispense as written” so that I could get the actual name brand Wellbutrin. Lucky for me, I have an insurance program that covers the name brand full price- otherwise it can get pricey. But I honesty noticed a difference with the name brand. I did lose all the weight that I gained when on Zoloft and I’ve kept it off!  The only downside to Wellbutrin is it doesn’t treat the anxiety as well as Zoloft did, but it’s manageable. I have no depression and have felt like myself. I probably could come off it because I’m at a good point in my life, but I’m scared to.  I feel like it helps me, be me and not let things affect me so much emotionally. I’m honestly a lifer lol. But to answer your question, yes it all worked out in the end and I’m currently on 300mg name brand Wellbutrin. If ur on the generic, try it out for couple months and maybe up your dosage if you don’t feel it’s working.  I had panic attack on the generic for some reason- but I also noticed and didn’t like how it seemed every bottle I got each month- the drug was manufactured by a different company eaxh time-  we don’t know the fillers they’re using and if it’s the same with each company. So I chose to try the name brand.  I would make the name brand you’re last resort- but I’m very happy on it. Thank you for the question and I hope my response helps ease some of your anxiety about the switch over. It will get better I promise!  :). Good luck!

[DanielAgarr]

Hi
Thank u so much for getting back to me quick !  Really appreciate it !  U did give me a great answer :).i actually have been on the generic zoloft and one of the things i noticed is it doenst work like the original. I took the name brand many years back and it worked wonders. This generic for the last 4 months has been soo soo.  Here and there  :(.  When i first took it about 10 years ago for about a year it worked amazingly.  I was like "why is this not working the same ???"  I had a feeling it was the generic, so I tried getting the BRAND and my insurance would only cover a small part of it. I KNOW the generic is SUCKY but I stuck it out anyway.  So I asked my doctor to switch me and she suggested W.  So took Z for 12.5 for a week (which ODDLY enough felt better on it ) don't know if it was my head BUT I was LOL.  So w for 3 days has been sooo hellish. So TODAY I actualy took 12.5 Z again and back to normal.   But I am a warrior and need to fight thru the W again.  I just needed a day of peace if you know what I mean.  I just hope the generic will work WELL if not ill be having the same issue I had with the generic Z.   The doctor only gave me 75mg a day since small dosages seem to work for me.   So lets see .. I will keep you posted.  

    thanks so much !!

[Paxiled]

I think your current problem is Zoloft withdrawal.  Wellbutrin is the most stimulating of all antidepressants short of taking speed, and for most people who have anxiety as their main problem it's too much for them but it can be great for those with depression.  But the symptoms you're describing and the fact it went away when you went back on the Zoloft suggests you are suffering withdrawal from quitting the Zoloft too swiftly.  Even though you have been on a very small dose of Zoloft, quitting these meds can be very hard.  I'm not completely sure of this because you didn't feel anything when you cut your dose in half, but most people feel great at first when they start to stop taking an antidepressant.  This is because their brain and body are working naturally again instead of artificially, and the side effects go away.  But when the withdrawal starts, it can be really really hard.  It's also hard to start a new drug before you've successfully stopped the old one, especially when the new drug, as in your case, is in a different category of antidepressant.  Perhaps slowing down the taper off the Zoloft will make this easier, though Wellbutrin can be a tough drug for anxiety sufferers to take.

[DanielAgarr]

As the day progressed i started to feel sooooooooooooo freaking miserable !!   Worse than being offff zoloft.  Moody , agressive , emotional , tired , just crappy alll around. And the next few days havent helped either.  So i am literally about to go  back on zoloft cause i just cant handle feeling this way. Its HORRID. I FEEL LIKE MY BRAIN IS BEING PLAYED WITH.  In any case i went on line to see if anyone had the same situation and came across your post which now made me understand what i am going thru . But i am wondering if i will be feeling good again or just hit the Zoloft .  Also did u gain any weight on the Wellbutrin.  I work out a lot and take lots of vitamins but on this Wellbutrin train these 4 days have been HEEEEEELLISH.  Thanks so much !

[tep983]

Hey!  I’m glad you asked!  I have been on the Wellbutrin now for several years and haven’t looked back!  It was super tough at first yes, but it was worth it. I do have to say tho, I did notice a difference with the generic, I felt it wasn’t doing enough for me so we upped it to 300mg, still wasn’t feeling a change. This could’ve just been me- the generic works for some people but I asked my Dr to write “dispense as written” so that I could get the actual name brand Wellbutrin. Lucky for me, I have an insurance program that covers the name brand full price- otherwise it can get pricey. But I honesty noticed a difference with the name brand. I did lose all the weight that I gained when on Zoloft and I’ve kept it off!  The only downside to Wellbutrin is it doesn’t treat the anxiety as well as Zoloft did, but it’s manageable. I have no depression and have felt like myself. I probably could come off it because I’m at a good point in my life, but I’m scared to.  I feel like it helps me, be me and not let things affect me so much emotionally. I’m honestly a lifer lol. But to answer your question, yes it all worked out in the end and I’m currently on 300mg name brand Wellbutrin. If ur on the generic, try it out for couple months and maybe up your dosage if you don’t feel it’s working.  I had panic attack on the generic for some reason- but I also noticed and didn’t like how it seemed every bottle I got each month- the drug was manufactured by a different company eaxh time-  we don’t know the fillers they’re using and if it’s the same with each company. So I chose to try the name brand.  I would make the name brand you’re last resort- but I’m very happy on it. Thank you for the question and I hope my response helps ease some of your anxiety about the switch over. It will get better I promise!  :). Good luck!

[DanielAgarr]

Hi , i know your post is from some year back. So i was wondering did the wellbutrin ever settle in ok.   I found your post very helpful.   I was actually on zoloft 25mg for about 6 month. When i went back for my physical i noticed i had gained a little weight.  So i asked my doctor if we could try something different and she suggested Wellbutrin. So she said take 12.5 of zoloft for about 7 days then start the W.  Well even cutting back to 12.5 i was still feeling pretty good.  So i decided to only start with 75m of W and WOW

[Scarlett2247]

Update..as the day went on I became very anxious and pain increased. Don't know if the pain was because only took 1/2 of usual Tramadol dose and anxiety was Wellbutrin? ? But it was not a good place..Has anyone tried Adderral for depression?

[cbucks]

I have taken adderall ( 5 mg a day) for depression before and found it really helpful. A lot of my anxiety and depression was linked to the fact that I would be to down or anxious to get anything done which would make me more depressed and anxious. I had to stop adderall because i couldn't sleep but it is something that helped me.

[Scarlett2247]

Hello everyone....I'm new and not sure if anyone on this site can help but I just started Wellbutrin today and also took one flexerile three hrs later...I take one 50 mil. Tramadol 25mil in morn and 25mil in afternoon..I am trying to come off Tram..been on for seven yrs..Does anyone know if it's ok to not take tram at all now..since low dose?  Or should I just take one half?  Will I have withdrawals if I just don't take it..also is it ok to take tram with Well butrin until I can cut down more?  Thank you!

[Lossefalme]

Yep, Brain_cooties...I needed to hear what you wrote too!!  Been on 150 mg of Zoloft for about 4 years now...the sexual side-effects and weight issues were just too much, so my doc and I decided to switch to Wellbutrin...I JUST weaned off the zoloft after 2 weeks, and am on 150 mg of Wellbutrin, and let me tell you - I'm an emotional basketcase again.  Haven't been like this in years.  Crying at the drop of a hat...holy CRAP I did NOT miss this!!!!   I'm in a calmer state at the moment, so I can assess the situation and realize that Brain_cooties is RIGHT ON, and I just have to give my beat-up brain time to adapt to the Wellbutrin and embrace it and I WILL BE FINE!!!!   In the meantime I may offend several people and scream a bit, but at least I warned everyone that I was changing my meds :)   We CAN do this...just keep coming to positive forums like this...hug your dog/cat/turtle/iguana/wookiee/house elf, etc...do yourself and EVERYONE a huge favor and curl up at home, reading some good books or watching some good movies.   Do NOT drink (TRUST ME on that one), and if you NEED HELP - FIND IT.  <3  Good luck to everyone!!!

[Loveandlight768]

Hi there how did you go with the change?Are you off the Zoloft and how do you feel on the wellbrutin?

[Kgmard]

I am so glad I stumbled upon this site. Iv was on 100-mg of zoloft, gained weight, sexual sideeffects killed me. My doctor however cut me cold turkey and started meon 150 wellebutrin. It has been about 2 weeks of living hell. Such bad dizziness, vertigo, uncontrollable crying bouts. I did not know the switch was the reason. Please tell me how long this lasts? Second is the switch worth it and do you like the Welibutrin better? What side effects do you have now that you are stabilized on Welibutrin. Thank you,  kgmard

[No_Nickname_]

I have been taking Zoloft for only a few months. They started me at 25mg and eventually worked me up to 100mg. In those short months, I gained almost 30lbs. With an upcoming vacation, the weight gain was making my anxiety worse even though the Zoloft was helping my depression. I finally talked to my doctor, who switched me to Wellbutrin. He advised that I start taking the Wllbutrin immediately and then taper off the Zoloft over 2 weeks. Being in a hurry to lose weight, I only tapered for 5 days (obviously a stupid decision). Today was my first day off of it and I've felt completely out of my body all day. Brain zaps, muscle cramps, vertigo and dizzyness, slight nausea, no appetite, slow moving, confusion, crying bouts, mood swings and extreme depression... All day. It's been horrible.

Brain_Cooties, it's now 7pm my time and I finally got scared enough to do some research and find out if it was withdrawal or the Wellbutrin. Your comment made me cry (I am, of course, over emotional right now). But what I mean is... what you said was exactly what I needed. I actually feel like I can get through this now, no matter how horrible it seems. This one day has been complete hell, and I know it's not over yet but... I know it'll be over soon enough, now. Thank you. Thank you so much.

[Brain_Cooties]

I have been on zoloft for 18 years.  I slowly went up from 25mg to 200mg for a combination of anxiety and depression.   I am now suffering from something called sertraline poop out which basically means that it is no longer working.   I attempted to wean off at 33 years of age and was unable to do it because of the withdrawals.   Now at 45 I have to do it because it simply no longer works as it once did.  I will start wellbutrin tomorrow after 1 week of stopping the zoloft.  Because I knew what to expect, I think that was half the battle because then it isn't as scary.  I have basically felt like I have a bad flu....achy, tired, sad, not hungry, etc.  The brain zaps are real as is the dizzyness.  I also had one day where one hand was shaking on its own but that went away. I did hallucinate once but it was short lived.  I also have had some memory problems.  Keep in mind that sertraline is not something that is supposed to be in your body.  You fed it to your brain to make it feel good and now you are taking it away.   Your brain is now acting like a petulant child and trying every trick it can to get you to take it again.  Be stronger than the drug.  Yes it hurts, yes your family will think you've lost your mind for a while,  but if we all talk about it,  perhaps more education will help feed more patience and understanding with the process.   Hang in there!

[MadMat]

Have been on Zoloft 150 per day 2 years for service anxiety, last 5 days went cold turkey as the lost of sex drive makes me feel less of a man, sex is good, wont to live again and fell alive, if this process increases my anxiety so be it as its no point going through life as a zombie with no sex

[Elly_Rocky]

Did you have any of the "brain zaps" while transitioning over? im transitioning from zoloft to wellbutrin & feel like my eyes kinda skip a beat, like they stop when i turn my head & have to "restart"? Are those brain zaps?? It makes me feel nauseous & kinda dizzy sometimes

[JLB3713]

This definitely could be withdrawal from the Zoloft and not the Wellbutrin. Zoloft is an SSRI and Wellbutrin is an atypical antidepressant...it's hard to transition from one drug to another when they're not from the same "family." I did manage to transition from Abilify (an antipsychotic) to Wellbutrin last fall so it can done but it was a rough few weeks. If the symptoms don't seem to be easing up at all you should go back to your doctor. Not all antidepressants will make you gain weight. It all seems to depend on each person's unique body chemistry. I've been on just about all of them over the past 20 years and the only one that made me gain was Pristiq. Good luck to you.

[sps78652]

Switched from Zoloft to Wellbutrin last week. At first thought it was amazing, something finally woke me up. Then it all went very, very wrong. Happy to have lived through the episode, what they describe as suicidal thoughts, doesn't do justice to the craziness I went through. Been 4 day since the last dose, was only on it for 5 days, and the ears are still ringing.

[Zoolander48]

Generic Wellbutrin is so controversial many doctors refuse to prescribe it. Name brand is (now) so expensive (avg 1000 bucks a month) few people can afford it, other than from one Canadian pharmacy @ $50 month. Just another endless example of big pharma playing with peoples lives and the government allowing $ it to happen.

[Dolphinleiker]

I have never taken Zoloft but i am currently taking Wellbutrin SR100mg. Yes, Wellbutrin can cause outrage if the dosage is too high. At one point my doctor put me on 300mg and it cause my to have bouts or rage and it was really hard on me and my husband. so, they knocked it back down to 100MG. Its possible that the 150MG is too much for you as your doctor about bring down the dosage tell them that its causing you to have rage. It should not cause anxiety because it actually helps with some anxiety disorders. I hope this helps.