i am on wellbutrin xl....please help me

By Stacey Monday, August 25, 2008

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i have been suffering with anxiety/panic attacks for 8 years now. i used to be on paxil cr and after 3 years i took myself off (it took me a year to do that). Everything was going fine until a month ago and then the anxiety came back with a vengance. my doctor has put me on 150mg of wellbutrin xl and i am scared to death right now. i have had the increased pulse rate as high as 115 beats per minute AT REST, the strangest anixety attacks i have ever felt, uncontrollable crying, mood swings,.....you name it and i am having it. i have read that wellbutrin xl is not good to prescribe for people with anxiety mental disorders....so why did my doctor give this to me and whay am i feeling this way? is this a normal feeling after 5 days? will it eventually go away? i never felt this kind of stuff when i started taking my paxil or during the whole 3 years of being on it....what is going on? can someone please give me some information?

Thanks To Whoever Can Help Me,

Stacey

Comments (7) | Add comment

Beth

8/31/08 8:44am

Hi Stacey,

I can empathize with you... For me I also suffer from anxiety/panic attacks for as many yrs. as your self. You may want to discuss trying different meds. w/ your Dr. I have been on and off many antidepressants over time, and it is a trial and error process until you find something that works for you.

I have come to realize that you have to be your own advocate when it comes to mental health issues. It can be frustrating but you can find something that works best for you.

Good luck to you

Beth

Anonymous

9/25/08 5:56pm

Have you been checked for Bipolar disorder?

Stacey

9/25/08 10:33pm

bipolar?????? no i am not bipolar - my anxiety/panic comes from a hormone imbalance. i have too many hormones running through my body when i am ovulating and when my cycle starts. my doctor gave me the wellbutrin for the anxiety but more so for help to quit smoking because i cannot take any stimulants (chantix) because it triggers my anxiety. hopefully after february of 2009 all of this will be better because i am getting a complete hysto and my gyn and i are thinking that this will help my issues and because i have raging hormones we are thinking that i may be the one in a few people that won't have to have a hrt - hence the anxiety from hormones. but bipolar i am not. anxiety is a hereditary problem passed on from generation to generation and several people in my family have this problem. i just wanted to see if the wellbutrin was supposed to make me feel the way it was. i have been taken off of it and i am not on any meds and i am doing fine for now - i am ovulating right now and i do get small bouts of anxiety but they are fully controllable. for now i just have to wait it out until feb. comes and see what happens after i have my hysto. just remember that just because someone has anxiety issues doesn't mean that they have a more serious problem like bipolarism - i don't have the horrible mood swings or the suicidal thoughts tht the majority of bipolars have.....do some research and you will see that anxiety doesn't equal bipolar.

Anonymous

9/26/08 10:06am

Sorry hon I didn't mean to insult you. I work for a psychiatrist and sometimes antidepressants can cause bad side effects for bipolar people. I have the same problem with anxiety/panic attacks. My gyn says hormones - and I've had a partial hypsterectomy years ago- and my PCP says depression (wrong). You probably need Xanax or Klonopin to help the anxiety- but it is addictive. Again, didn't mean to insult you. I know anxiety is hereditary but no one in my family has it.

Sue

DEBBIE

9/26/08 3:52pm

MY COMMENT TO PERSON ABOVE GET A NEW DR ONE THAT WILL HELP YOU ZANAX HAS DONE WONDERS FOR ME I WAS PUT ON WELLBUTRIN AFTER LOSING BOTH MY CHILDREN TO CANCER WITH-IN 1 YR DAUGHTER 32 SON 30 RUN AWAY FROM WELLBUTRIN I BECAME A TOTAL ZOMBIE OR A TOTAL NUT THAT MEDICATION IS SEVERELY DANGEROUS AND SHOULD BE BANNED I STOPPED ALL N MY OWN ONLY TO FIND MYSELF AGAIN NO MORE ANGER ,RAGE ,DEPRESSION ,FEAR ,LONELYNESS, YES I DO HAVE SOME VERY TIGHT EMOTIONS DUE TO MY LOSES BUT DR'S TRYING TO SUPRESS MY MIND SO I DON'T THINK OF MY CHILDREN I WAS READY TO GO WITH THEM WHEN THE MEDICATION WAS WORKING BUT AFTER STOPPING BECAME MORE STABLE AND REALISED THEY ARE GONE AND NO MEDICATION WILL BRING THEM BACK, I STILL WANT TO LIVE LIFE AS WELL AS CAN BE SO I SAY RUN RUN RUN FROM WELLBUTRIN THANK YOU DEBBIE IN FLA

Stacey

9/26/08 4:47pm

yeah that med is crazy - after 3 days it sent me into a total tail spin - anger, rage, anxiety, etc. i took myself off of it after the 3rd day and decided that since my anxiety comes from too many hormones i would just deal with it when i am ovulating and when i start my cycle. i am getting a complete hysto next year and hopefully that will help me. i am so sorry to hear that you lost both of your children. i hope things get better for you - keep taking your xanax i know it does wonders for me when i need to take it. just know that one day you will see your kids again - hopefully not any time soon :). they are watching over you and they are keeping you safe - i am sure that they are helping you get through all of this and just remember things have to and will get better. that is my new motto. thank you for the comment and i hope you are having a great day. ttyl

stacey

paula

3/ 7/12 6:47pm

I have read your post, and I have had the exact same thing happen to me while taking wellbutrin. I have panic/anxiety associated with depression and within a week of taking wellbutrin, I had severe memory problems (short and long term) and balled my head off when hearing something mildly sad, had problems dealing with negative feedback from people and became enraged when I did get negative feedback and felt more depressed than before I started to take it. It stimulated me so much that I had a constant "deer in headlights" look on my facial expression. It has been 6 years since I first took it and am still having problems with anger, memory and elevated emtions but it is slowly getting better. It also made me skip my menstrual periods on a regular basis so I suspect it effected my hormonal levels or parts of the brain which controls hormone production. I was never like this before I took wellbutrin, got along with everyone, no conflicts, no memory problems. My life has suffered because of taking wellbutrin. The should put a warning label for MD's to make them aware of these adverse reactions for people with anxiety related disorders.

i am on wellbutrin xl....please help me

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