Irritability

[Tara]

I have heard many people talk about being very irritable while taking Wellbutrin. When I was on it (3 different time in the past 5 years) I too felt very irritable. I also had positive results from it too. I often wonder if it was the actaul medication that caused me to be irritable or if it was because I was more aware of my surroundings. Sometimes living in that fog his its benefits...lol

[healthwiz]

When I started Welbutrin, about 6 years ago, it was given to me initially at a higher dose, and I was so irritable that I really started blasting people with very little provocation. I called my dr about it, and said that I thought the medicine was making me unstable, and that I didn't trust my anger control on it. So he said that was a side effect from too high a dose. He reduced my dose and that dissappeared for the most part.

however, I have been on and off welbutrin a few times since then. Each time I have restarted welbutrin, I have had more trouble with getting split second temper attacks......it lasts a moment really...and now we (my kids and spouse) just laugh about it...because its not really anger..its just an impulsive reaction to the situation. For ex: Last night I was playing a game with my daughter, a board game, and she was whining..which I hate, and finally I said "ok, enough whining! I'm not playing anymore....and she said "I'm not playing anymore either!" and we quit playing and she took the pieces off the board very deliverately. About 2 minutes later I started to laugh and asked her if she wanted to restart over and play the game properly....and we reviewed the rules, agreed on the rules, and played. But first we laughed, knowingly, how silly we were acting.

The first day or 2 or 3 seems to be hte worst time for that, when I just restart welbutrin or change the dose, that is when I'm most likely to rant and rave unnecessarily. It gets better after that, but Istill do it a little. When I realize what I'm doing I tend to stop, and then in a minute try to laugh about it and carry on as usual.

Jon

[healthwiz]

PS..the positives:: I am much better on welbutrin than off welbutrin...on the whole....I forgot to mention that overall I am doing much better with it. It helps my mood, it keeps me able to pay better attention, keeps me from brooding and focusing on negative things, I'm more positive. When I brood, of the medicine, my gosh, I can brood about something that has no relevance or little relevance to today....it could be something ancient....and there is no need to be in that stte of mind. Its a chemical thing that makes me brood on the negative....although behavioral therapy, cognitive therapy can really improve that tendency...the predisposition in my case is chemical in nature. I don't know how related that is to the ADD diagnosis...but it sure seems that many people with ADD have a high preponderance to experience depression. Removing the depressive aspect seems to really improve my quality of life and makes dealing with the concentration issues much easier. My concentration also improves dramatically on Welbutrin....so its a combination of positive effects, and a little negative effect from the stimulant effect of the welbutrin, to get angry a little too quickly.

Also, I want to respond to the "more awareness" "les fog" thing. Yes, the fog is really a blanket covering our eyes from the real world outside and the real feelings inside. I find in the fog I am much less vognizant of what is really going on inside my mind and emotions...and where that might be coming from. I also find in the fog that learning lessons from everyday life is much more difficult. When I make a mistake while in the fog, ?i amy regret it, but I don't feel that I make as many postive lessons out of an error, but when the fog is lifted I notice a tendency to learn from my mistakes and move on, rather than staying in a state of regret and pity and anger. I also noticed that anger that has been staying around for a long time often dissipates and goes into a proper perspective, often of some past event that has little relevance on today...things go into perspective....rather than everything crashing the gates of my cionsiousness at once, they take on a more realistic sense of priority.

So the fog does disguise much and leaves me in a dark place, dealing with things (emotional monsters) that may not even exist outside of the fog.

Since my judgement seems to be impaired when untreated with medicine, I am a big proponent of treatment with medicine. The problem is when not taking medicine, its hard for me to remember what is wrong with the state of mind I am in. Its not until I take medicine that I get a sense of perspective and can say to myself, that was a bad place I was at mentally and emotionally before. But while I'm in the fog, that is very hard to recognize, because there is nothing else to compare the experience to.

[atomx]

I've noticed this irritability on Wellbutrin too, but as you mention, it does seem to be split second irritation. It's not like I'm raging all the time. In fact, I almost wonder if these brief flashes of anger aren't the "normal" behavior that we're experiencing for the first time. IE, it's normal to get angry -- the abnormal state is a passive acceptance of anything and everything. As long as you don't react/overreact to these anger flashes... Well in my experience, the benefits of Wellbutrin FAR outweigh the drawbacks...

On the down side, if I miss a few doses, I get VERY irritable and grumpy. I will snap at people for no reason. In my opinion -- THIS is a much more "abnormal" anger -- I will sulk and glower and brood and just bite the head off of anyone who crosses my path. This is unusual for me -- before I ever went on Wellbutrin, I would almost never get angry (which I believe is abnormal...)

-- Tom

[redletterruth]

My son is on wellbutrin and depakote. He has had bursts of rage (before the meds) and the combo seem to make him less angry but he does have outbursts occasionally. Reading your posts is letting me know maybe I can just let the more ridiculous outbursts slide...like water off a ducks back.
thanks!
--claudia

[Blaana]

My teenage son is on wellbutrin. He started on 75mg and was doing well on that dose for several months but was a little depressed so it was recently increased to 150mg. At first he seemed better, but then he seemed to become very impatient and easily angered. He told me a couple of weeks ago that he was having trouble remembering words. Now this week he seems sad, withdrawn and quiet. We went to see his doctor yesterday and he decreased his dose to 100mg. I am worried about him. I'm wondering if his symptoms are a result of too much medication or could it be something else. He also has ADD.

[Andrew]

Blaana,

2 things to remember...

1. People get used to medication...so the medication may actually not be as effective as before.
2. As a teenager, your son's body is going through some chemical changes. Changes that can alter the way his medications used to work.

If the reduction in meds doesnt help, I would suggest talking to your son's doctor about the possibility of changing meds.

Much luck & hang in there, Blaana. You're not alone in this. Let us know what happens.

[Blaana]

Thank you Andrew!

Well, my son went without the wellbutrin for 2 days and started back today on 100mg. I could tell that he was better last night.

[cobweb]

Blaana, I had the same reaction to the welbutrin and i'm 52. I started at 150mg 1x a day with an increase after a week to 2x a day. I loved the meds, they worked great. Then about 8 or 9 months later I started feeling anxiety, depression and became physically ill. The dr reduced it to 1 x a day again and i was geat for about a week. Then it all started again for me. I ended up having to come off the wellbutrin and was switched to adderall. I really liked the effect of the wellbutrin better but the drs and I were totally stumped by this reaction. They even had me take a blood test for liver and thyroid function to be sure it wasn't caused by a malfunction in those areas. Now at least some one else has had a similar reaction. I don't feel so alone in it. Thanks for posting.

[atomx]

The body attempts to maintain equilibrium; taking too much of a med can cause the brain to attempt to "downregulate" (reduce the levels) of the corresponding neurotransmitter. Sometimes this leads to reduced effectiveness over time.

One of the joys of neuromedicine, and very well known in the depression discussion forums...

-- Tom

[Garry]

I dont see may people speak of Dexadrine here. I was on it for a year and I loved it

It gave me a clear mind and My body was totally relaxed

to relaxed though didnt get around to doing anything as I was too stoned or whacked as I call it on my happy pills


I went off it when I started driving Big Truck as I need to have my reaction time at its peak


Sure do miss being totally whacked though with the doctors and government kiss of approval

I now use it on an as needed basis when I want to have a clear mind

Side affects (nothing to serious accept that our sex life suffered as my body was too relaxed Grin )

(go figure huh something that works but the cost was tremendous Grin)

[fasttalkingmom]

I'm going to see my Doctor in a couple weeks. I've been taking Welbutrin now for about 9 months. I've been finding that for the past month it's not working for me. I have been very irritabile !

And now after reading these post I see some have had this problem with the Welbutrin. This would explain some of my behavor lately !

Paula

[joanrdtobe]

I have been on Wellbutrin for several years now....Yes I can be irritable definitely....BUT I think the rewards...less depression...better motivation....are worth it.....On some days when I have forgotten to take my meds until late in the day, I can definitely notice not having taken it....

[cobweb]

I started back on Wellbutrin a few weeks ago and really like the way it works for me again but am asking to reduce it to 100mg once a day instead of 150 once a day. I have been needing to take a break from it for a day every now and then, because of some side effects, and think the lower dose would be better. Other than that it works great.

[joanrdtobe]

Cobweb: I have to say I agree with you....my "brain" feels good on it....so much better now than it did for SOOOOO many years before I found the stuff (or it found me).....