I've been taking 200 mg of Wellbutrin SR a day for about 2 months. My initial response to it was amazing. as the weeks passed, I have noticed that my attention is much more stable; I have the ability to sit down and (try! to) get things done, 8 times out of 10, my ability to ground myself in situations has improved. Most of all my depression is gone, and my motivation has increased. But I am still having trouble concentrating at work and at school. The littlest things will distract me, my mind jumps around still, I rarely complete anything I start 100 percent, I can't sit down and enjoy reading a book, or watching a movie without getting up, etc. Am I expecting too much out of medication in general? I am wondering if a stimulant in addition to the Wellbutrin would be of benefit to me.

I jumped my dose up to 250 mgs a day at my one month mark. The side effects were horrible, and that dose change seemed to reverse all of the positive effects that I had initially experienced when first taking Wellbutrin. After reducing the dose back to 200 mgs a day, I felt stable again. I am reluctant to go off of Wellbutrin because it has helped my anxiety and depression immensely. Should I talk to my doctor about adding a stimulant in to the mix? I feel like Wellbutrin is great at increasing motivation to TRY and focus, but does little for actually helping with my attention problems.

Basically I am looking for advice. Would adding a stimulant to Wellbutrin decrease either drugs effectiveness? Is it safe? Beneficial? Help!

Hi,
Many folks are on Wellbutrin or other anti-depressant and a stim.
Your doctor will most likely set you up if there is no concerns about Bi-polar or other comorbidities.
I like Vyv and Wellb. the wellb evens out the end of day rundown from the Vyv wearing out. Some folks get depression like symptoms from the yo-yo effect of being on or off stims. Wellb works well for some to even things out.
My doc says that many are like you and me in that 300mg is too much. The best level is the one that works for you. I do well on 150 and 200mg. 300 fries my memory.
Talk to your doc, you have a lot of company...Ken

why is that a larger dosage of the well would fry one's memory? I've had the same issue, guess that means I should take less

My doctor explained to me that the Wellbutrin was causing my brain to be stimulated in the wrong areas instead of the right ones. Too much dopamine recycling too fast. I would literally sit at my computer at work and not be able to do anything for long periods of time but sit there. I felt lethargic and slowed down. It was definitely a weird experience.

Does taking both Wellbutrin and a stimulant lower your seizure threshold? What are the indications that one would be susceptable to a seizure? I have been in recovery from Bulimia for over a year, and it is no longer a problem for me. Is this still a co-morbid condition that would prevent me from taking both medicines?

yes wellbutrin in higher doses does lower the seizure threshold . yes a past eating disorder can aggravate this condition and theoretically increase your chances for seizure. Oh and regarding my question, yes sometimes the wellbutrin really dulled me down and I felt slow as you described, I was taking 150xl. I'm not sure , sometimes I would be able to think more clearly , so I'm not certain if taking less would help

I'm on 450mg XL. I had the sluggish dull feeling normally, so I figured it couldn't be worse. And I was right. The WB has helped with my depression a lot, which is great, but now that I have more motivation I find that trying to do something is still really hard because my mind is always racing.

I started taking ~10mg of Adderall XR (I try to take half of my 20mg pill) along with the WB and so far it's okay. I'll have to give it a few more days to really know. Plus, it's been giving me insomnia and it's final exams week so I can't truly know how it's doing until I am back to normal conditions. 20mg was way too much for me and when I took about 5-8mg I didn't feel much.

war

your saying the well or adderall or together gave you insomnia... This is the reason I stopped wellbutrin, that and coupled by the fact on 150xl around 7pm I was dead in my tracks, I'm thinking thats when the wellbutrin wore off after taking it around noon daily. That was enough to make me discontinue. I figured I'd stop the wellbutrin and catch up back on my normal sleep patterns and then figure it out from there on. Sleep is important and a very important aspect to referencing the effectiveness of my adhd meds and what is causing what. Right now , "right this moment" after a week off the wellbutrin I'm just now starting to feel very productive. I'm certain I had some depressive issues and wellbutrin was helping in many ways , I'm just not sure what regiment to continue with.

Adderall gave me insomnia with and without WB. Wellbutrin gave me weird sleeping patterns, though. I'd wake up at night a few times. I'd be able to fall asleep easily, but I could never get into a deep sleep, so I was still tired. I think that's mostly going away now, though.

So far I like what WB is doing, but I need more and it looks like the Adderall is starting to do its job. I'll have to give it a few more days to really see if I'm just imagining it or if I really am more productive, but I think it is better.

I've been off wellbutrin for a full week now, I know it helped me with impulse control and damper my hyperactivity but I felt mentally a bit slower. I'm not sure if I should have upped the dose and stayed at 300 for longer. I mean I can always restart the process. Attention is such a bear sometimes to maintain, but once your calm and have it it's like a gift from god. I'm not sure if the wellbutrin has helped me focus that much but it did make me less hyper. Actually being hyper isn't all that bad, kind of fun sometimes

I never had problems being hyper. In fact when I took stimulants the first time felt almost as if my body was trying to reject the medicine because otherwise I would actually want to get up and do things. :p

But I am definitely feeling the effects of the Adderall. I just spent the past hour writing an essay with almost 0 distractions. I have NEVER been able to do that. Just sit down and write. It was always "start paragraph, check email, start 2nd paragraph, go on wikipedia, start conclusion, etc." in small chunks until it was eventually done at 4am.

As far as I can tell the WB only helped with my depression.

mkasey,

I have a quick question. I have a young family member who is still struggling with bulimia. I was wondering what you found successful in getting control of your condition? Did your doc put you on Wellbutrin for the bulimia or ADHD? Thanks


My doctor explained to me that the Wellbutrin was causing my brain to be stimulated in the wrong areas instead of the right ones. Too much dopamine recycling too fast. I would literally sit at my computer at work and not be able to do anything for long periods of time but sit there. I felt lethargic and slowed down. It was definitely a weird experience.

Does taking both Wellbutrin and a stimulant lower your seizure threshold? What are the indications that one would be susceptable to a seizure? I have been in recovery from Bulimia for over a year, and it is no longer a problem for me. Is this still a co-morbid condition that would prevent me from taking both medicines?

Wellbutrin is an aneretic, and cuts appetite - not sure how it could be perscribed for bulemia. Lit reccomends avoiding if you have an eating disorder. A SSRI would be a better option as it increases appetite.

I'm so happy to hear the positive feedback on Wellbutrin. Even some of the things that may seem negative to some of you, are positive for me - or will be if everything works out. I just started on 150mg yesterday, so I've taken two pills so far. I'm already getting a "placebo" effect from the positive things I'm reading. I also take Concerta, 81mg per day total.

While the Concerta helps, I feel this constant void deep within me. I know it's depression, and I know that it stems from both my ADHD and the fact that I am a recovering addict (mainly opiates). I was once put on Effexor, and that made me a little 'too' happy, if you know what I mean...I'm talking MANIC. So I stopped. And the void came back. I hate the yo-yo effect (I'm also taking 8mg of Suboxone per day) and I want something in the background keeping me stable throughout the day. I hope the Wellbutrin works. I think it will.

nixon,

wellbutrin may be a good option for you regarding that it is quite stimulating and should help lift you considerably out of depression.

X Posted the the Vyvanse Forum:

Was going to post this in a separate thread, but this one seems to fit the bill

Updated blog (http://www.ilostmybeer.com/2009/02/11/going-to-twice-a-day-with-a-wellbutrin-kicker/):

Well this isn’t what I expected from my follow up with my Doctor today. Aside from feeling overall good and very creative, I don’t think the Vyvanse is doing great in term of my focus. I have been on 70mg for 2 weeks now and have not gotten the all day coverage as I had hope. I do feel good on it and all the side effects have since diminished, but I do find myself scatterbrained through out the day even though the desire to be productive is there. Don’t get me wrong, I am much better on the meds than off, but before I went to the doctor, I tried 100mgs for two days. I didn’t notice any difference in coverage with a 100mg dosage, but I did have issues sleeping and a headache.
I went to the doctor today happy with Vyvanse even though it wasn’t perfect, the lack of side effects and the boost I do get does help. I really did not want to move to Ritalin or another drug. I told the doctor all the positive things that I was experiencing and let hime know it wasn’t all day coverage, but it was helping. He was caught off gaurd by my synopisis and told me he expected a much better progress report, although he did say I am not the first person he has seen with similar experiences.
He is moving me to 70mgs twice a day, which I kind of expected and am interested to try, but he caught me off guard with a 300mg script for Wellbutrin. He said he has had good results with this combo in othe patients. I always thought that Wellbutrin was an anti-depressant and i have never had any issues with depression, ever. Actually I am definately a glass half full guy, optimist, realist and humorous. I rarely get down on myself or in a funk.
So what can I expect on Wellbutrin as Well as Vyvanse? Anybody have any thoughts otherwise? When do I take the Wellbutrin?