View Full Version : Lexapro, Adderall, Wellbutrin


lmnboston
03-20-06, 01:59 PM
Hi all, I'm new to this board and have a few, assumedly redundant
questions to ask. First off, I'm on my second week of Lexapro - 10mg
(for depression, manic tendencies, and GAD). I started taking the
medication in the morning but found myself suffering from increasing
fatigue as each day passed. Last night, for the first time, I opted to
take the medication at approx. 6:30 pm. I had a difficult time
arrousing from my sleep this morning, but I can not yet attribute that
to the Lex. I know with drugs it is more or less a "to each his own"
mentality when it comes to deciding at what time one should take his or
her prescriptions, but I am looking for any suggestions.




Also, at the same time that I started taking Lexapro, I re-introduced
Adderall into my system. While I was in college I was on approx. 10-20
mg upwards (and i mean upwards) of Adderall 3 times a day. I had a
hard time balancing that prescription since I saved the majority of the
medication for late at night when I intended on doing
research/assignments. That prescription drained me as I could not for
the life of me take it as it was prescribed, and in turn lost a lot of
sleep and mental power. I shunned that drug for many a year
thereafter.


However after talking with my doctor, who is convinced that a lot of my
disorganized behavior both outwards and mental stems from ADHD, decided
that now, being at a different time and place in my life, would be a
good time to re-introduce Adderall into my system - but this time via a
time-released capsule.


She started me out on 15mg Adderall XR. My thoughts are much more
manageable, and combined with the Lexapro, the Adderall does not appear
to give me the ups and downs that it use to, nor do I suffer (see
above) from insomina. In turn, I'm hoping that the amphetamine nature
of Adderall will combat any metabolic issues that Lexapro might invite.
However - to date -(which is 2 weeks on lex) i have lost approx 8 lbs.
Has anyone ever been on Lexapro and Adderall at the same time. I
believe I will increase my Adderall doseage as the effects seem to wane
fairly early on.


Lastly, I was previously prescribed Wellbutrin, but came off it due to
the fact that it didn't do much if anything for my depression and/or
anxiety. However, it did give me a slight "go get 'em" feel and
inspired a bit of motivation out of me. I have read that Wellbutrin is
often prescribed alongside Lexapro and like-SSRI's in order to fight
fatigue and sexual side effects. EEK the sexual side effects are
somewhat frightening... I am planning to discuss this with my doctor in
attempts to boost my overall energy levels and less-than-pleasing sex
drive. Has anyone attempted this combination and if so, have you
noticed a lift in your sexual life? My sex life was at it's peak prior
to starting lexapro and I finally got to a place at which I felt
comfortable with my body...I would be heartbroken if Lexapro - while
making me on the surface happy - took this away from me.
Thanks for the input!

chameleon
03-20-06, 02:16 PM
Hi Imnboston, and welcome to the forums.
I took that combination and the Wellbutrin more than fixed what the others did to my sex drive.
Now I'm off all meds and my sex drive isn't as high as it was when I was on Wellbutrin.
As to your sleep problems, I cannot answer because my doc put me on klonopin too to battle my insomnia.
Good luck!

tekunoroji
05-01-06, 11:23 AM
I don't take WB, but I'm on 50mg of Adderall and 10mg of Lexapro per day. I'm experiencing the sleepiness and difficulty getting up in the morning, too. :( In fact, if I don't take Adderall (usually on the weekend), I literally sit like a blob on the couch all day. It's terrible!

I mentioned this to my psychiatrist, and she recommended I start taking the Lex right before bed. So I did. No difference really. Yesterday was the worst. I slept 10 hours, and within 2 hours of waking up, I could barely keep my eyes open. I fell asleep on the couch with the TV blaring. I woke up a couple of hours later and went to BED! Slept another 10 hours and could barely wake up this morning. In fact, I still feel really out of it. I'm not physically tired in the same way you would be if you hadn't gotten enough sleep... it's like some kind of bizarre sedation.

In my last session, my doc said we might switch me to Prozac since it tends to have less of a sedating effect. But, she wanted me to give it another week or two on Lex since it seems to FINALLY be working.