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Old 09-22-2017, 11:34 AM
  # 30 (permalink)  
CptnBupropion
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 1
I just have to post here about how Wellbutrin (Buproprion) literally turned my life around and dispel any fearmongering about its use.

I have suffered with severe bipolar disorder and ADD since I was teen. I tried an SSRI about twenty years ago and really got into exercise, which helped. But I was still mostly depressed and ended up binge drinking and becoming addicted to pornography. Then in my thirties I turned to hardcore drug use (cocaine and eventually crack cocaine and meth) to deal with my feelings of self-hatred. The drugs made me feel absolutely amazing, but of course that came with a heavy price. My life slowly crumbled over the last few years. And lately my anxiety had ramped up, too. I couldn't even hold down a job anymore.

About a month ago, I got on Wellbutrin. Two weeks in, it's like a switch got flipped in my brain. My mood stabilized and I felt confident and motivated and energized. Everyone sees the difference. It's like I'm finally the person I was supposed to be. And, much to my surprise, my intense craving for crack and meth vanished. None of the usual triggers work anymore. I don't even have the urge to drink alcohol. I have to force myself to take a few sips in social settings.

Of course, Bupropion works by inhibiting reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine. These are the very neurochemicals that control pleasure, motivation, and addiction. And Bupropion can be abused; high doses act like cocaine. But at 300 mg/day, I don't want to abuse it. I'm stable, happy, focused. It has freed me from addiction and depression.

Maybe it will stop working eventually, but right now I'm just glad to have a reprieve from chasing cheap highs that destroy my savings and leave me feeling worthless when the high wears off. Maybe it's a crutch, but my damaged brain needs a crutch. I am getting my life back. I'll happily accept the risks involved with this drug since it is keeping me from even thinking about coke/crack and meth, which would destroy me a lot faster than Buproprion ever could.
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