About two months ago I strained my back. It triggered bad fibro symptoms that have been a bit overwhelming. I had just started volunteering at a therapeutic riding school, which I love, but had to quit. Now I'm always in pain in one form or another, lethargic and often foggy. The pain, isolation, disappointment, frustration... has triggered a depressive episode. I've been managing bipolar disorder for twenty years. Mine is the type where my problem is primarily with depression. I'm already on lamictal and Seroquel. My psychiatrist has prescribed wellbutrin. I've been on many medications, but was last on it fifteen years ago. Has anyone taken it? Did it have any affect on fibro in any way? Any info or input would be great. Thanks so much. :)
Hi Miriam,
I haven't heard anything about Wellbutrin used for 'Fibro' specifically, just the depression side of it. I had a bad reaction to it, but I tend to react to most psych meds. I'm also interested to hear if it affects anyone's fibro, I think we learn more here than we do from our doctors!
Renieā„
Hi Miriam. What Renie says is so true. We learn so much here! Thanks for your discussion as we will likely learn more!
It's really hard for me to find anti-depressants that work for me. Yes, I did give wellbutrin a try, but it was before fibro. I did not tolerate it well. I am also diagnosed bipolar. I have terrible anxiety problems and low lows. I completely understand what you mean about the pain, isolation, disappointment and frustration triggering depression. I think most of us here can relate. We work in and out of such times.
It would be great to know if this helps you. It sounds like your psychiatrist is on top of things. I have recently learned a scary lesson with medications. I like to recommend to everyone who is going to start a new medication to research it. It's hard when we are in such fatigue. Just google the 3 meds and see what you come up with. And/or, talk to your pharmacist about the drug combination.
Great topic. Please let us know how it goes!
Hugs,
LKitty
Hi Miriam,
I too was given Wellbutrin for depression, and had horrible side effects. At what my doctor said was the correct dose, I felt like a zombie--I could barely move and couldn't think at all. At a lower dose it made my heart beat so hard and loud it was hard to sleep. I know some people can take it without problems, however. I would advise taking it with care and immediately reporting any bad side effects to your doctor. If you do get side effects, I would ask him for a different anti-depressant. It took my doctors a while to figure out what the best anti-depressant for me was. Finally they put me on Prozac and it has been wonderful!! It really evens out my sleep patterns, making my pain and fatigue much less than it was. Plus I am actually happy, for no reason--that never happened before they found the right meds!
Good luck and don't be afraid to tell your doctor "no, I won't take that" if it effects you badly.
Gentle hugs, Kimberly :)
Thanks for the replies. :) I've been on every AD at least once. It's been 20 years of various med cocktails. I always do a ton of research. I'm an educated patient and luckily my psych doc talks with me and not at me. My depression is treatment resistant which means having to play musical meds. Things slowed down a bit after I got on Seroquel about seven years ago. It was for insomnia, but they now know it helps with depression. It actually helped my fibro. Then two years ago I had a complete breakdown and the way I respond to meds has changed. And unfortunately the Seroquel doesn't seem to be doing much for my fibro anymore either. My brain does weird things. I had never suffered from insomnia in my life. Then 12 years ago, out of the blue, I couldn't get to sleep one night. I've had to take meds to sleep every night since. It's so annoying how they feed off each other. Not sleeping well aggravates fibro, which makes it hard to sleep. Having disturbed sleep triggers anxiety and/or depression. And around it goes... Hope everyone is doing well.:)
So far I haven't had any serious side affects from the wellbutrin. I get a little lightheaded occasionally. My fibro is driving me bonkers. I wake up in pain and exhausted. It's become routine to take ibuprofen with my coffee. I went shopping yesterday and my back, arms and shoulder and elbows felt like I'd done an intense workout at the gym. Sigh....
I currently take welbutrin 300mg and have for 7 months. I love it. It doesn't cause you to gain weight like other depression meds. I have heard other people saying it made them jittery, but I personally have had no bad side effects.
Mine is generic. It's called bupropion made by the company Mylan. Sorry you're having trouble. I know how difficult and scary it can be. Good luck. :)