roadie58

Thanks for the further information. That is really helpful.

shutterbug

Roadie....ha....I think I must have had a delayed libido reponse from my Wellies. Been on them for several months now and all the sudden it's like somebody turned on a switch and now I'm checking out every guy that comes my way...ha

Sucks. I want to stay single, but I'm craving affection. Actually, I think it's more a craving for the emotional than the physical.

Anywho....my depression is doing great. I saw one of my girlfriends tonight, who I haven't hung out with in about 6 months and she said it's like having a new friend and that she's never seen me like this...so confident and assertive and happy....or normal rather....

Just afraid I'm gunna hafta find me a man friend soon....lol...

roadie58

Thanks Shutterbug. I'm with ya on getting an outside opinion on the effect of the Wellies. I asked three friends whom I talk to frequently and see occasionally if they would pay particular attention to my 'moods'. It's hard to judge the results when I'm part of the experiment, y'know?

As for the guy thing, all I can tell you is that there's ways of taking care of the urges for now... For me, I'm not well enough to get 'emotionally entangled', so I just try to take care of the libido thing the best I can. I almost wish they didnt' have this effect, but I suppose it could be worse?

Time4Change

Exactly! When it's really quiet, that's when the tinnitus is at its loudest. Drives me nuts!
Me, too. All through my 30s I've enjoyed a strong libido, and it kept getting better and better, but then, all of a sudden ... nothing. The Effexor killed it. I was happy to start feeling my SAD (Social Anxiety Disorder) slowly going away, but I missed my libido a lot (so did my hubster). It's funny that shutterbug said it was like someone flipped a switch, because that's exactly what it felt like! It was like one day .... *click!* .... it's back! Whew! LOL! It took about three or four months of taking the Wellbutrin before I noticed the difference. With the Effexor it was immediate. Thankfully, it seems to be a good combo for me.
Exactly! I just yelled at our dogs last night. They were driving me nuts! I do notice I'm getting mood swings a bit here and there. I guess it's normal, though. Life, right? I have numbed my emotions for so long with opiates, I've forgotten how to deal with them. I've been off opiates for over seven months now, and it's a learning process every day, it seems. Thank God for NA and SR!
GOOD! Cuz I'd kill ya if you did! {just joshin' with ya, Sweetie!} You know suicide isn't the answer. Things WILL get better. There are lots of people who care about you ... and I'm one of them, Roadie. So hang in there, k? And I hope you'll continue updating this thread regularly, because it's a big help to me, and many others, I'm sure.

How ya feelin' today? I've got a monster headache right now. I slept like a rock, dreaming all night that I was painting cabinets in some shop (what the???)

Talk to you later.

Kelly

shutterbug

woah...i can't imagine what the Wellies would do if I wasn't on the Effexor too...I was having sex dreams ALL night (and I slept nearly 24 hours straight). Kinda embarrassing...I've stayed at a friends house the last couple nights and was sleeping on the living room couch so I just hope I wasn't humpin the pillows...haha.... that would be SUPER embarassing!

shutterbug

I haven't had a strong libido in about 5 years so this is weird.

bushleaguer

Time4Change and Shutterbug -

I have a question regarding Effexor.

I've been on most of the SSRIs (Paxil...Zoloft...Lexapro...Prozac) and did not get any relief from my anxiety (social and panic disorder). Well, when I was on Lexapro I did notice that I was more assertive, but I was very jittery (much the same way I was when I gave Wellbutrin a go). So when it came time to discuss another med, I dismissed Effexor because I had been on 4 serotonin meds and figured it wasn't worth the time/expense trying yet another. I do know that Effexor is a multiple reuptake inhibitor, but what also put me off from trying it was reading a lot of negative stuff about discontinuing it (apparently a lot of folks go through a nasty "discontinuation syndrome). I was wondering how you would rate your experience with it overall....and if you had gone off it, what the discontinuation was like.
My doctor and I are running out of options and I don't want to be on a benzo forever.

Thanks for the help....and I apologize in advance for veering off-topic.

Time4Change

Hahahaha!!! That's too cute!

I think I probably exaggerated a tad there with the word "strong" to describe my libido. But it's good, I guess. (Oh jeez, I don't know what I'm talking about here. I'll shut up now.) LOL!

*hmpf!* I wish my nightly dreams were sexual ones. *pout-pout*

Time4Change

Hey bushleaguer! Sorry, I guess we were posting at the same time. Hope you'll forgive a little playfulness here. Sometimes I get tired of being so intense. It's depressing! LOL! j/k

Anyway, I have also heard about people having big-time withdrawal problems when trying to stop Effexor. I haven't yet discontinued it, so I don't have any personal experience with that, but I do have a fellow NA friend who ran out of her Effexor and she called me in a panic, saying she was horribly ill and dizzy and foggy and didn't know what to do. She was able to get an urgent doctor appointment the next day and got back on it, but that did make me a little nervous, thinking about stopping it. But you know, I'm really just trying to take care of me "Just for today". Who knows, I may have to be on this forever. I'm not going to worry about the effects of coming off of it. I'll cross that bridge when/if I get there.

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles finding an SSRI that'll work for you. There sure are a lot of them out there now. What's working well for me right now is the combination of Effexor and Wellbutrin. So far so good. It just took a few months to become stable, and of course I also get one-on-one therapy and attend NA meetings nightly.

Good luck!

2dayzmuse

I've been on Wellbutrin XL 100 MG taken once a day for nearly 2 years now. When I first started taking it, I had loss of appetite, my mind would race and I couldn't sleep. Since then, the side effects have leveled out and I'm quite pleased with the results. I'm trying to remember how long it took before the effects subsided, but I can't really remember. I'm guessing about 6 weeks or so.

I feel emotionally leveled out. I don't fret, suffer from anxiety, or live in fear like I used to. I don't get angry very often. When I do, it quickly fades. That is an odd reaction for me since I lived most of my life boiling over with anger, mostly not knowing why. I'm very laid back now days, but by now means am I zombie like or feel drugged. I feel no apparent change in my energy level.

Although I still have many obstacles to face, I'm happy. Mainly because I'm grateful to be sober, also the meds are a considerable factor. I believe we all become irritable at times. That is a part of life. Over all, my emotions are better due to the meds and due to my recovery. It is my understanding that it takes 6 weeks for the medication to show results. Given time, I think some of your side effects will disappear and you will notice changes for the better.

Libido? I haven't noticed much change in that. (single) I have had tinitus since I was 12 years old. I suffered a head injury and the tinitus kicked in. I'm used to it now. I would think that silence was very loud. Now I know it was blood rushing in my ears.

I still don't have a big appetite. I don't eat much, but eat what I want, when I want. That is a welcomed side effect. I never had any nausea from taking the meds.

The most significant change I've noticed is my sleep pattern. I was a very light sleeper and would wake up often throughout the night. Mainly due to my alcohol use, but was always a familiar pattern. When I was asleep, I would have very memorable, vivid, outrageous dreams. Dreams I could remember for sometime after. I can remember dreams I had years and years ago.

Now, I fall asleep quickly and sleep through the night. I very seldom wake during the night. I'm out for the count. What I find odd is, I don't remember my dreams anymore. I miss that part of sleeping. I know I dream, but can't recall anything but slight bits and pieces, if anything at all. No fair. I have no other explanation as to why the opposite change in sleep patterns other than the meds. I hope my dreams return, but who knows? Obviously the medication has different effects on different people. Over all, I'm happy with the results.

I hope this helps you some. If you have any question, maybe I can answer. Take care...

velvet

I'm taking WellbutrinXL..150mg..once a day. But only have been on them about 11 days. I'm doing fine, so far. Not eating alot, but that's a good thing. I'm on the Wellbutrin to quit smoking, I was afraid I would gain weight. No moodiness, so far. I think since I'm not trying to quit drinking or drugs, I think maybe my side effects could be different. I'm just hoping that it stays this way...btw..I'm doing great with puttin those cigs down. I'm only smoking 3-4 cigs a day. And like the doctor said, they really taste bad now. I usually only take a couple drags and put it out. I think since I've been changing my routine...I find myself anxious when smoking, because I don't have the planned time for it. (I don't smoke in my house, so it's taking my time to smoke, now.)

shutterbug

Bushleaguer....I would rate my experience with Effexor/Cymbalta at about an 8 (on a scale of 1-10, and 10 being the best). I seem to do pretty well on it compared to the others. I did have to deal with the withdrawls when trying to previously come off the Cymbalta (Effexor's cousin), but if you do it slow enough it's really not that bad. There are a couple of threads on here that talk about the best ways to come off from these two meds. Actually....thus far....Effexor and Welbutrin seem to be the only ones that really help me. And to be honest, it could just be the Effexor working by iteself (since I've never been on just Welbutrin to know if it helps me that much).

You just never know which meds will help you....of the ones you listed, I've tried most of them with no success or unacceptable side-affects. Anyway, there are also a lot of non-med (or alternative) measures you can try in addition to meds to try and help reduce or squash your depression.

Hugs,
Jenna

roadie58

Have FUN!

roadie58

Bushleaguer sez: 'and I apologize in advance for veering off-topic.'

No prob, actually it is great that other anti-D's are being discussed here. I didn't know until I joined the 'club' LOL, that a lot of people have to double up on these meds, let alone the swapping around to get it right.

It's all good, we're helping each other.

Meanwhile, my sleep has gone from tossing to peaceful back to insomnia and agitation. ARRGGH

tkdan

I'm on 300mg Wellbutrin XL. I have not had any sleep problems. I have never slept more than six or seven hours a night. The difference from before I was on Wellutrin and now is that I was always tired before I started taking this med. Now I'm getting the same amount of sleep as before but I don't feel tired. I'm waiting a little longer to see if the Wellbutrin alone will help. I can tell a little difference in the way I feel and respond to situations. I increased to 300mg only about two weeks ago and I understand that sometimes it takes up to a month to feel the full effects. Anyone have any experience with this? I was on 150mg for a little over a month and the effects were minimal. On 150mg I was a little calmer but I would still get irritable quite easy. I have had no problems with side effects. My wife says I seem a bit more horny now. I don't know if it is the med. or the fact that I have more energy, or the combination. Anyway so far so good.

roadie58

When I first went on them the speedy, jittery side effects were too much, so I contacted Doc to see if I could stay on the 1x150 per day for a while (he'd wanted me to get to 2x 150 in a week).

I called back after week two and said side effects had lessened. He said GOOD, we'd never know if it was working or not (I'm taking the SR version which must be taken twice per day).

In your case, the upping of dose might be somewhat similar. Clinical trials show 300 to be the 'typical' dose. Some need more, some less. If you can withstand any side effects, might as well take the allowable max imho.

shutterbug

Well seeing as how I'm also single....my bed is more like and even though my eyes are wandering all over the place, it's all just candy I can't have - for several reasons, but mostly b/c I always get hurt in any attempt at a relationship and b/c by havign the weight that I do now it's not like anyone's knocking my door down (It's more like I'm the dog chasing the mail man just to get a little action, but I'm too slow to catch anyone....lol)

Seriously, I can feel some depression coming on b/c of this "awakening" and b/c once again I'm having to face the fact that I'm no longer desirable AND I'm not getting any better with age. Really this is my biggest source of envirnmental/mental depression in my life...oh well...maybe the makeover fairy will visit me someday and restore me to my pre-depression body.

Sorry to be such a downer. Your post was sweet.

roadie58

I saw Dr. today for my 30 day appt. He was VERY pleased at my progress. Said he takes a peek at people as they sit in waiting room and I looked like an entirely different person from a month ago. I had printed out my weekly 'journal' from the RemedyFind website, and he agreed that I'd experienced most of the side effects, but only temporarily and very mildly. He wants me to stay on my exact course of treatment for another 60 days. No med changes or additional scripts! YIIIPPPEEE, I'm so glad that we got the right one, right out of the gate. I told him I'd been dreading going through the script-go-round, and he said that my coke use and symptoms were classic dopamine problems and that it was easy to diagnose.

He checked and I hadn't lost much weight, but sure hadn't gained anymore. He prounounced that I should take up dating and sex with partner if I so desired, didn't see anything wrong with it at all. Good, I've got someone in mind already. He joked that I should be 'gentle' with them as I seemed pretty 'randy' talking about it.

THis is very good news for me. I've waited years to feel this good again.

bushleaguer

Thanks for the input of Effexor, everyone.

My doctor and I are giving another med. a shot for now, but I mentioned it to him and he said we can keep it "in the arsenal" for future consideration.

Roadie - great news on the success with Wellbutrin. Glad to hear you are doing so well. Keep up the great outlook!

1is2Many

I'm taking 150mg twice daily. I've been on it for almost 2 weeks, and don't notice any difference, yet. I am having some strange dreams and am eating like I have a tape worm, but I don't know if thats a result of new sobriety(12 days) or the Med.
I had one great day last week, but have been real depressed these last 3.