Welbutrin
I am wanting to hear anything anyone can tell me about this med, any reactions positive or negative your child might have had from it, or anything else. My 16 y.o is at an assesment center (Long story) where they are considering putting him on Welbutrin to help him quit smoking...
--Janice from MA
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I can tell you about my personal experience. I had been on Effexor for a couple of years for neuropathic pain and depression. I became hypomanic,, then depressed. So primary doc switched me to Welbutrin based on the premise that it is safe for BP (I was still not quite dx'd). Well, after a couple months I became hypomanic again. I have seen others develop mania on Welbutrin as well. Both of those meds made me feel "zingy", kind of like too much caffeine. I guess that was a red flag....
--
Brenda,50, CABF Parent to Parent Volunteer
Mom to A, 16, BP, Tourette's, OCD, ADHD: Eskalith CR, Trilafon, Lamictal, Seroquel, Cytomel
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Older daughter was on Wellbutrin - dose got too high and she got seizures. At the time, she was so very unstable and well... everything was awful.
For the younger daughter, when she got on it, it helped her tremendously. It not only helped with depression, it helped her cognitively - helped her alertness and even seemed to diminish her acting overdosed on her Seroquel. She took it for over 10 years, until very recently.
For ME, I tried it briefly (for stress-related symptoms), and it caused me to wake in the middle of the night with my heart beating fast, immediately followed by feelings of anxiety. Whew - I didn't like that at all.
It did not cause withdrawal symptoms for any of us the way some of the other antidepressants did, nor weight gain, etc. side-effects.
--
"Naomi"
Older dd: teen-onset bipolar: Off meds and over withdrawal symptoms. After over 13 years - STABLE! Treated: Sleep, Candida, food sensitivities, nutritional needs, extra thyroid.
Younger dd: Childhood-onset schizoaffective, with disabling migraines since infancy. Also off antipsychotic and meds for migraines. Stable - no hallucinations. Treated for multiple endocrine problems, food sensitivities, nutritional/mitochondrial needs, gut issues, SLEEP issues.
BTW, when the older daughter was on the Wellbutrin, her smoking actually did cut back to about 3 cigarettes per day.
--
"Naomi"
Older dd: teen-onset bipolar: Off meds and over withdrawal symptoms. After over 13 years - STABLE! Treated: Sleep, Candida, food sensitivities, nutritional needs, extra thyroid.
Younger dd: Childhood-onset schizoaffective, with disabling migraines since infancy. Also off antipsychotic and meds for migraines. Stable - no hallucinations. Treated for multiple endocrine problems, food sensitivities, nutritional/mitochondrial needs, gut issues, SLEEP issues.
Janice,
I'm coming to this discussion kind of late, but I can offer my own personal experience. I have taken celexa for about 12 years. Last summer, I requested my doctor suggest an alternative b/c of side effects, so he prescribed welbutrin. I was on it all summer and felt like I was falling apart. I did taper off the celexa and titrate up the welbutrin. Now, part of that may have been the struggles with a bp child and a toddler, but I do believe it had a negative effect. I cried ALL the time. I was extremely irritable and slept whenever I could. And my mouth dried out so much that my lips constantly cracked which was painful. After a few months, I went back to the celexa and the extreme of all that went away.
My bp son just started taking welbutrin, so it remains to be seen how he will do on it. Even though he was dx'd bp, he has always been more depressed than manic. The lamictal seems to be working for him much better than the previously tried trileptal, but we felt the depressive aspect needed a little boost. So far, so good, but time will tell.
--
Angelia - wife of Craig and mom to two boys adopted at birth
Nicholas, 6: BP NOS
Meds: welbutrin 150 mg, lamictal 200 mg
OT/ST - 1/wk
Tdoc - 1/every other week
Attending mainstream kindergarten in private school
Luke, 3