Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 427298

Shown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.

Wellbutrin - what's the beef, sir?

Posted by Dan Perkins on December 10, 2004, at 14:03:18

What's the deal w/Wellbutrin? I did take it a while ago, but I don't really remember how well it worked and why I stopped taking it. There had to be something wrong with it because I did stop taking it eventually. The problem is that all I can remember about the drug was that it did give me some energy, curbed my appetite and didn't make me impotent (all positive things). But there had to be something wrong w/it because I did stop taking it.

What I am asking in this convoluted way is: what are the pros and cons of Wellbutrin vs. other antidepressants?

Thanks

Re: Wellbutrin - what's the beef, sir?

Posted by sailor on December 10, 2004, at 23:27:52

In reply to Wellbutrin - what's the beef, sir?, posted by Dan Perkins on December 10, 2004, at 14:03:18

Dan--I promise I'm not following you around! Just happened to notice your post on WB after I answered your later one. WB is very intriguing to many of us depressives because of its alleged dopaminergic effect, along with boosting norepinephrine. I tried it 3 times up untila couple years ago, always with the same response:
1) noticeable improvement within a couple of days 2)amazing improvement (felt like it was the perfect AD!) after about a week. 3) Fairly sudden loss of effect--crash and burn by week three, no improvement with increasing dose 4) couldn't make it to week four because depression became worse than when I started.

Some posters speculate that WB actually depletes dopamine reserves, after the initial effect of facilitating dopamine synaptic effect. That's a scary thought when you consider that dopamine reserves naturally decline with age anyway.

I used to be considered "gifted" but the more I read about this stuff, the less I really understand. I'm not even sure anymore about the whole catecholamine theory of mood disorders. It only "explains" a subset of the spectrum of disorders, and for those it seems to explain, the proper drug response that is implied by the "explanation" only works for a fraction of the population.

That leaves a lot of guesswork. Does anyone out there share my suspicion that thoughtful analysis of large numbers of "anecdotal reports" may be more valuable than the current "scientific theories" about what's wrong with us and what will help?

Wow, I'm sidetracking! Someone tell me how I can sustain the "day three" experience of my Wellbutrin trials. P docs I've seen haven't a clue about it. Still searching...hope all of us live long enough to see a more complete science of mood and brain function. Regards, Sailor

Re: Wellbutrin - what's the beef, sir?

Posted by Dan Perkins on December 11, 2004, at 7:35:27

In reply to Re: Wellbutrin - what's the beef, sir?, posted by sailor on December 10, 2004, at 23:27:52

> Does anyone out there share my suspicion that thoughtful analysis of large numbers of "anecdotal reports" may be more valuable than the current "scientific theories" about what's wrong with us and what will help?

First of all, I really agree with the idea that a collection of "anecdotal reports" is more valuable than the scientific theories (and the studies that back them up) about what is wrong with us and what will help. This is pretty much how I research any drug that I am considering, but surveying what others who have taken them think of them.

I use websites like this one and remedyfind.com and askapatient.com to see how well patients are doing on different meds - not well more often than not. I just don't trust what doctors have to say, they more often than not have learned everything they know about a particular drug from the pharmaceutical sales rep who visits their offices and dishes out free samples like the low level drug pushers that they are.

As far as the Wellbutrin, your experience is refreshing my memory about how I did on the drug. I think I improved at first (and pretty quickly at that) but then my mood sank. I tried to regain the original high by adding Lexapro, but that only worked for a time then gave out as well.

thanks

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