So my grief counselor has suggested I try Wellbutrin. Things have been especially bad for me lately because its coming up on the 1 year anniversary of my friend's suicide. We've also been exploring some buried emotions from my brother's death that I never really got over (apparently drowning them in alcohol didn't make them go away ;(. ). At this point I'm having difficulties experiencing any sort of emotion besides sadness.....most of my days are spent going through the motions and putting on a show for others and quite frankly I'm exhausted. She thinks the Wellbutrin will help me with the biochemical issues I may be having that are hindering my healing process. So I'm going in to see my PCP on Friday to get his OK for the Rx.

So anyone else taking it for depression? How's it working for you? Just wondering if there are any weight loss/weight gain/appetite issues I could expect by taking this medication. Any other weird side effects? I've taken Prozac and other SSRIs in the past for anxiety and stress, but the main problem was I could not sleep while on them. Not sleeping was worse than the reasons I was taking them in the first place so I had to stop.

I'm a therapist and have a lot of experience with psych meds. Wellbutrin is not an SSRI, it is an atypical antidepressant. It is generally prescribed for depression, SAD, ADHD and smoking cessation (sometimes also for people with binge eating/purging but that is a little controversial). It has waaaaaay fewer sexual side effects than SSRIs, often leads to a slightly lessened appetite and weight loss, and can be helpful for people with low energy and who have trouble with motivation and starting activities. People with histories of seizure disorder, who have recently been on an MAOI, have history of anxiety/panic attacks/manic episodes and who are anorectics should not take it. It is, honestly, one of the best tolerated antidepressants and is one that all of my patients who have used it have tolerated well.

Edited April 8, 201610 yr by SweetPotato

New development..... I have low testosterone....

http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/365296-low-testosterone/

Well, that could certainly make a difference in how you feel!

Y'know -- information is just fucking irreplaceable when someone's trying to diagnose and fix their health.

Over the years I've been taking 3 different SSRIs on and off for depression and anxiety. When it was time for another drug switch I told my primary that I also wanted to lose weight, so she prescribed Wellbutrin because one of the well known side effects is appetite suppression. For me, I felt the appetite suppression only in the first couple days of starting on it and then again when my dosage was increased. I'm still talking it post-op, but now I have crush it and take three times a day versus when I took only 1 daily extended release tablet. So far it's doing well for me, best of luck

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Over the years I've been taking 3 different SSRIs on and off for depression and anxiety. When it was time for another drug switch I told my primary that I also wanted to lose weight, so she prescribed Wellbutrin because one of the well known side effects is appetite suppression. For me, I felt the appetite suppression only in the first couple days of starting on it and then again when my dosage was increased. I'm still talking it post-op, but now I have crush it and take three times a day versus when I took only 1 daily extended release tablet. So far it's doing well for me, best of luck Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G925A using the BariatricPal App

Thanks for the input. Yeah, I haven't really noticed a decrease in appetite. Would have been a nice bonus, but oh well.... At this point I'm just glad I can sleep while taking it, unlike the SSRI's.

In the meantime I gotta say the Wellbutrin has been helping. It's by no means the "happy pill" some people speak of, I'm a long ways from experiencing happy sunshine days. But it did brighten my overall outlook from a pitch black hole to maybe a charcoal grey. Life doesn't seem quite so completely unbearable. With my therapist's help and getting my testosterone back in the normal range I'm looking forward to some more grey days.

Im post op 16 yrs and iv been on wellbutrin the whole time. It's helped me alot, with my Fibromyalgia and depression. At 1st it can make you feel jittery and a bit stutter a but it does pass. I hope you find something that helps ????

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@@Kindle - For no good particular reason, for the last couple of months I have noticed myself in depression. It seemed to be getting deeper for me. It was as if everything that went wrong would add an extra 5 pounds to my shoulders. Little stupid things were dragging me down.

So my doctor wrote a script for wellbutrin. I'm getting the initial start up side effects that are possible. Legs are restless (think Thumper from Bambi) and some hand tremors. The odd thing about the drug is you get a host of side effects early, but you don't know if its going to work for you for a while.

But the reason for the post is to share a piece of advice I found when researching the drug..."the drug is a tool to help get you to a place where you can actually deal with the issues that got you here." I thought that was good council. Something WLS people can relate to.

@@OKCPirate Did they do bloodwork? You might want to have your Vitamin D checked. Vit D deficiency can cause some of the depression symptoms. Other vitamin or Iron deficiency can cause the same.

@@OKCPirate Did they do bloodwork? You might want to have your Vitamin D checked. Vit D deficiency can cause some of the depression symptoms. Other vitamin or Iron deficiency can cause the same.

Yes, I take prescription strength Vitamin D and testosterone. The brain is a complicated organ. I'm just thankful we live in an age where we can try to make it better. It is both "art" as well as "science" but I have a good team working on it.

@@Kindle - ..."the drug is a tool to help get you to a place where you can actually deal with the issues that got you here." I thought that was good council. Something WLS people can relate to.

That is exactly what my therapist said. I was so far gone anything she tried to do to help would not be very effective. The Wellbutrin basically got me up to the starting gate.

As for those amped, jittery side effects, I definitely felt them for about the first 10 days. The biggest one was I could feel my heart pounding in my chest and I felt like I couldn't breath for 5-10 minutes about 4 hours after I'd taken my dose in the morning. But I don't notice anything anymore.

Kristen, my pcp mentioned the vit d and Iron, too. But I had just done my 2 year blood work and everything was perfect. We have since discovered I have low testosterone, so I'm hoping once I get that back in the normal range I can wean off the Wellbutrin.

Wishing you all the best, @@OKCPirate

@@Kindle - thank you. I am confident it will be all right. Spending time with the love of my life helps.

@@OKCPirate I am sorry you have the blues and I think wellbutrin is a terrific med once you get past the start up.

I started wellbutrin last summer; my anxiety was up and all these health issues were unpleasant. ..things just stacked up. I never got past the 150mg dose (typical is 300-450 per day) due to the side effects but it still helped. Sunny days, horse back riding and a fun boyfriend and a bunch of new friends (his circle ) have all left me feeling great so I am weaning myself off the wellbutrin new. If I notice not feeling good, I'll go back on...

I hope this helps people as much as it did me!

@@Kindle - For no good particular reason, for the last couple of months I have noticed myself in depression. It seemed to be getting deeper for me. It was as if everything that went wrong would add an extra 5 pounds to my shoulders. Little stupid things were dragging me down.

So my doctor wrote a script for wellbutrin. I'm getting the initial start up side effects that are possible. Legs are restless (think Thumper from Bambi) and some hand tremors. The odd thing about the drug is you get a host of side effects early, but you don't know if its going to work for you for a while.

But the reason for the post is to share a piece of advice I found when researching the drug..."the drug is a tool to help get you to a place where you can actually deal with the issues that got you here." I thought that was good council. Something WLS people can relate to.

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I am on wellbutrin and it was a lifesaver for me!!!

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I am so sorry to hear about your losses.

My thoughts and prayers go out to you, also a big hug❤️

I tried adding Wellbutrin to my meds and I loved it, except I had non stop creepy crawly legs. I'd get home from work at midnight, be up till 2 doing what ever i could to sleep and then be up with my kids at 6. Not a whole lot of sleep. Other than that it was good. I got off to switch to Pristiq, I'm not too happy with it, I may switch back to that again

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