Discussion Hopefully trying wellbutrin soon, what are other’s experiences with it?

[m3nhera]

Basically what the title says, I'm scared since I've never gotten meds for my depression before. I'm worried it could make my suicidal thoughts worse. Everyone is different but has this helped anyone here? Trying to recover has been scary for me. I don't know what it feels like to wake up and not immediately want to ctb, and I'm not sure I want to know. It feels unfamiliar.

 

[orpheus_]

It's generally considered a good medication, many people have positive experiences with it compared to SSRIs for example. It also has relatively few side effects and isn't known for causing emotional blunting like SSRIs sometimes do.

I have been on it for like half a year (but it was added to an ssri that I was already taking). I feel like it didn't influence my mood though I don't know because so much happened in my life that could have influenced it then that it's hard to judge.
But it definitely gave me more energy which I was lacking and also improved my motivation to do things. Doing things is much, much easier, and I need less emotional engagement/convincing myself something is worth it to actually do it.
I know that for some people it does positively affect their mood too and my psychiatrist said that sometimes to have this effect you need a higher dose.

The energizing effect can be overwhelming, though, when I feel bad in general because it's harder to escape into sleep and need to just stay with it and it sometimes I get more suicidal then.

There are cases when it makes people more suicidal in general. I'd say that if you have primarly anxiety-based issues, it might be not great for you because it's activating and can make anxiety and insomnia worse. But it depends on your individual reaction. It's generally quite good for people with apathetic, numb, low-energy kind of depression.

ALSO first few days after increasing the dose recently I felt really strange, like I was overly energetic and not feeling bad, more like neutral/maybe positive at times. Like I got a sudden shot of motivation to do a bunch of things. Good, but a bit surprising and overwhelming. I know it happened to some other people too but generally speaking antidepressants need a few weeks to start working (for me, after those 3-4 days I felt worse for like 2-3 weeks, but I was not more suicidal, then I returned to my baseline and then over the next weeks I gradually started feeling the actual, long term effects of the medication which were less intense)

So all in all it did help me though not with everything, but I'm glad I tried it. Good luck, I hope it works for you.

 

[m3nhera]

It's generally considered a good medication, many people have positive experiences with it compared to SSRIs for example. It also has relatively few side effects and isn't known for causing emotional blunting like SSRIs sometimes do.

I have been on it for like half a year (but it was added to an ssri that I was already taking). I feel like it didn't influence my mood though I don't know because so much happened in my life that could have influenced it then that it's hard to judge.
But it definitely gave me more energy which I was lacking and also improved my motivation to do things. Doing things is much, much easier, and I need less emotional engagement/convincing myself something is worth it to actually do it.
I know that for some people it does positively affect their mood too and my psychiatrist said that sometimes to have this effect you need a higher dose.

There are cases when it makes people more suicidal though. I'd say that if you have primarly anxiety-based issues, it might be not great for you because it's activating and can make anxiety and insomnia worse. But it depends on your individual reaction. It's generally quite good for people with apathetic, low-energy kind of depression.

ALSO first few days after increasing the dose recently I felt really strange, like I was overly energetic and not feeling bad, more like neutral/maybe positive at times. Like I got a sudden shot of motivation to do a bunch of things. Good, but a bit surprising and overwhelming. I know it happened to some other people too but generally speaking antidepressants need a few weeks to start working (for me, after those 3-4 days I returned to my baseline and then over the next weeks I gradually started feeling the actual, long term effects which were less intense)

So all in all it did help me though not with everything, but I'm glad I tried it. Good luck, I hope it works for you.

This is good to know, although nothing personal but I just realized I'm an idiot for asking this on a suicide forum. For anyone who this really worked for, they wouldn't be on this website. Even though you had a good experience, I can only assume you still struggle with some stuff since you're here. You said it didn't help with everything too. Would it be good for depression that isn't super numb or anxious but more like intense agony and torture??

 

[orpheus_]

This is good to know, although nothing personal but I just realized I'm an idiot for asking this on a suicide forum. For anyone who this really worked for, they wouldn't be on this website. Even though you had a good experience, I can only assume you still struggle with some stuff since you're here. You said it didn't help with everything too. Would it be good for depression that isn't super numb or anxious but more like intense agony and torture??

I think recovery is not a 0/1 thing, sometimes it's about going from "absolutely terrible" to "decent but still bad sometimes". But you are right that because of the nature of this place, most people you meet here are not going to have good experiences with medication. Still I don't think asking here is completely dumb. You still get some outlook on how it might work, just keep in mind that the perspective is a bit, well, skewed towards one end.

I personally still have many issues but it's not as bad as it used to be. I came to this forum for ctb methods, now I *mostly* visit for the recovery section and basically suicide is not my first-line plan. But I admit that medications did not fix everything.

Would it be good for depression that isn't super numb or anxious but more like intense agony and torture??

I think it could be good, like I said if your main struggle isn't anxiety it will probably not harm you at least. But you might need a higher dose because, as far as I know, its actual influence on feelings usually comes at 300mg at least (the starting dose is usually 150mg).

For me what helped for intense agony were SSRIs. Generally combining bupropion + SSRI/SNRI is common because bupropion influences noradrenaline and dopamine and SSRIs/SNRIs influence serotonin. So with this combination you kind of get something for all three main systems that depression impairs.
Might be worth discussing this option with your doctor if bupropion alone won't work, still there's a chance that it will help without SSRIs and I hope it will be the case for you

 

[FoxSauce]

I took it for a few months but started to havw frequent migraines so I stopped taking it.

 

[Otter55]

Basically what the title says, I'm scared since I've never gotten meds for my depression before. I'm worried it could make my suicidal thoughts worse. Everyone is different but has this helped anyone here? Trying to recover has been scary for me. I don't know what it feels like to wake up and not immediately want to ctb, and I'm not sure I want to know. It feels unfamiliar.

wellbrutin might help. Made me sick

 

[m3nhera]

wellbrutin might help. Made me sick

I'm sorry it made you sick, can you elaborate on that?

I think recovery is not a 0/1 thing, sometimes it's about going from "absolutely terrible" to "decent but still bad sometimes". But you are right that because of the nature of this place, most people you meet here are not going to have good experiences with medication. Still I don't think asking here is completely dumb. You still get some outlook on how it might work, just keep in mind that the perspective is a bit, well, skewed towards one end.

I personally still have many issues but it's not as bad as it used to be. I came to this forum for ctb methods, now I *mostly* visit for the recovery section and basically suicide is not my first-line plan. But I admit that medications did not fix everything.


I think it could be good, like I said if your main struggle isn't anxiety it will probably not harm you at least. But you might need a higher dose because, as far as I know, its actual influence on feelings usually comes at 300mg at least (the starting dose is usually 150mg).

For me what helped for intense agony were SSRIs. Generally combining bupropion + SSRI/SNRI is common because bupropion influences noradrenaline and dopamine and SSRIs/SNRIs influence serotonin. So with this combination you kind of get something for all three main systems that depression impairs.
Might be worth discussing this option with your doctor if bupropion alone won't work, still there's a chance that it will help without SSRIs and I hope it will be the case for you

I'm aware of this deep down but I just hate the thought of trying SSRIs, so many shitty side effects I refuse to deal with. Also do you know if wellbutrin will make the voices worse?

 

[Pg.964]

(To preface i have treatment resistant depression) Ive taken it many times for several months. For me, the biggest factor was the appetite decrease. I lost like 20 lbs in one month. I'm still on it and it hasn't helped my depression but at least it doesn't make it worse. Just makes you a bit foggy. I did once have a seizure while on it but I'm 90% sure it wasn't the meds.
I think its one of the best, but talk to your doctor about the possibility of auvelity. I used to take it when I lived in the US and its a mix of bupropion and dextromerthophan. I think that one worked better for me. I hope it works better for you, good luck friend

 

[m3nhera]

(To preface i have treatment resistant depression) Ive taken it many times for several months. For me, the biggest factor was the appetite decrease. I lost like 20 lbs in one month. I'm still on it and it hasn't helped my depression but at least it doesn't make it worse. Just makes you a bit foggy. I did once have a seizure while on it but I'm 90% sure it wasn't the meds.
I think its one of the best, but talk to your doctor about the possibility of auvelity. I used to take it when I lived in the US and its a mix of bupropion and dextromerthophan. I think that one worked better for me. I hope it works better for you, good luck friend

Why are you still on it if it doesn't help your depression? Just curious. Also I'm not worried about appetite decrease, they said that about my adhd meds and I didn't lose a pound. I'm overweight anyways so wouldn't be the end of the world if I lost some weight. Meds don't seem to make me eat less though, and if they do, once they wear off I'm just hungry again and eat enough to cancel out whatever the pills apparently do for appetite.

 

[Pg.964]

Why are you still on it if it doesn't help your depression? Just curious. Also I'm not worried about appetite decrease, they said that about my adhd meds and I didn't lose a pound. I'm overweight anyways so wouldn't be the end of the world if I lost some weight. Meds don't seem to make me eat less though, and if they do, once they wear off I'm just hungry again and eat enough to cancel out whatever the pills apparently do for appetite.

It helps curb my appetite

 

[Lookingtoflyfree]

It didn't help me and gave me tremendous anxiety, but it can be worth trying.

 

[m3nhera]

It didn't help me and gave me tremendous anxiety, but it can be worth trying.

I'm scared now it's just that SSRIs have side effects I don't wanna deal with

 

[broken serenity]

Anxiety is manageable or barely noticed at lower doses (i think they had me on 100-150 the last two winters). Appetite decreased and sex drive went up, which was kinda nice. I preferred it over SSRIs which fucked up my libido hard and made me less focused... This helped a bit with my ADHD and even made quitting smoking and caffeine easier. My mood changes with the seasons tho so I'm tired of going on and off it. Oh and anger went up once spring rolled around, but then I'm not depressed. IDK ymmv but it's worth a shot. It doesn't cure my winter depression but it makes it possible for me to function at like a full time work level.

 

[m3nhera]

Anxiety is manageable or barely noticed at lower doses (i think they had me on 100-150 the last two winters). Appetite decreased and sex drive went up, which was kinda nice. I preferred it over SSRIs which fucked up my libido hard and made me less focused... This helped a bit with my ADHD and even made quitting smoking and caffeine easier. My mood changes with the seasons tho so I'm tired of going on and off it. Oh and anger went up once spring rolled around, but then I'm not depressed. IDK ymmv but it's worth a shot. It doesn't cure my winter depression but it makes it possible for me to function at like a full time work level.

I'm already on adhd meds. I can function, but I want to be able to tolerate life. I don't want to get meds just to still be depressed. Does it make it less tolerable at least for you? There's a difference between functioning vs actually tolerating life. Does it make you want to live? Or maybe that's a dumb question, if you are on SaSu. Most people here are suicidal(me included) obviously, given the nature of this site.

 

[broken serenity]

It helped me not wanna die as much, but no meds are gonna fix that. I find my si gets more manageable the richer and more supportive my social life is. I would recommend community well before drugs.

 

[Lookingtoflyfree]

I'm scared now it's just that SSRIs have side effects I don't wanna deal with

multiple SSRIs gave me life long side effects and I think they're very problematic - only good for short term use to get you out of a depression for a few months.

I think they're prescribed to prevent most people from killing themselves so the systems have enough workers to keep it going.

 

[broken_stoic]

So I am have been on . . . alot of different meds for depression/anxiety over the last fifteen or so years and tend to be one of those people who gets terrible side effects and moderate to minimal benefit from most things, so take this with a grain of salt.

Meds, in general, take a bit of trial and error. They also take time to get into your system and work and have side effects (hopefully) go away. They also take time to get out of your system. I am currently on wellbutrin (extended release - keep that in mind, there are two or three versions of wellbutrin). It's actually working ok, perhaps better than most stuff I've been on with mostly bearable side effects. I think it did increase my anxiety for a bit, but I'm also on stuff for my anxiety and ptsd, so it's not too bad.

Just make sure to communicate with your doctor. If you are up for it, keeping a very basic journal of how you felt before and during trying a new medication can really help doctors find a medication that helps or tune the dosage. If you can't just make sure you have regular appointments and let your provider know how you are doing.