CanuckGuy
06-28-2011, 05:19 PM
First time posting to a forum like this. I was diagnosed with Health Anxiety a month or so ago and my GP decided it might be good to try some meds to "level out" the anxiousness while i get therapy for the source of my anxiety from my psychologist (psychologists in Canada are not allowed to prescribe meds).
I tried Cipralex (Lexapro for my American friends) (5 mg for first two days and then 10 MG on the third day) for 3 days and did not react well to it at all - bad side effects, increased anxiety.. GP prescribed me low dose of Clonazapam to take the edge off during what I was told could be a week to two week "adjustment" phase. Didn't really like the idea of taking one drug to counteract the effects of another. So after 3 days I asked her if it was OK if I stopped and she said yes.. not enough of it in my system to worry about withdrawal symptoms. Then she placed me on Wellburtin XL 150 saying it is not an SSRI and might help me also get off my additction to nicotine gum. Well from the first day on this drug my aggitation levels increased 5 fold.. I felt like I could not relax all day and insomnia at night - back to taking Clonazapam (Klonopin) just to get to sleep. Anyway after 4 days of this I decided enough is enough... Dr. told me I appear to have a low tolerance for these drugs and said I could stop taking the Wellburtin because the dose was small 150mg XL per day and I would likely have no real signifant withdrawal symptoms. I am on day 2 of not taking it and it was a bit rough today - still aggitated..tingling in arms and legs.. had to take .25mg of Clonazapam to take the edge off (which Dr. and Pharmacist told me was ok and would not result in me developing a dependancy) until the Wellburtin is out of my system which could take a few days.
Anyway just wanted to tell my story in case anyone else is going through this. I didn't think being on these for only a few days would have much of an effect when stopping but in my case they did. I am told not so much from withdrawal because they never really had a chance to do their work on altering my brain chemicals... but their active ingredients get in your system from day one and they manifest themselves until your system flushes them out. Im drinking as much water as I can in the hopes that that will speed up the process.
These drugs may work well for some people and I have read on many posts that people benefitted greatly from them but for me their side effects were too much to take - especially for someone with Health Anxiety and I have made the decision to swap therapy, exercise and positive thinking for drugs. But I agree with everyone do not stop taking these or any other drug of this type without consulting with your doctor and mine has been really great... we gave it a try.. it didnt work for me... onward and upward...
Just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience with Wellburtin after only taking it for a short time?
I tried Cipralex (Lexapro for my American friends) (5 mg for first two days and then 10 MG on the third day) for 3 days and did not react well to it at all - bad side effects, increased anxiety.. GP prescribed me low dose of Clonazapam to take the edge off during what I was told could be a week to two week "adjustment" phase. Didn't really like the idea of taking one drug to counteract the effects of another. So after 3 days I asked her if it was OK if I stopped and she said yes.. not enough of it in my system to worry about withdrawal symptoms. Then she placed me on Wellburtin XL 150 saying it is not an SSRI and might help me also get off my additction to nicotine gum. Well from the first day on this drug my aggitation levels increased 5 fold.. I felt like I could not relax all day and insomnia at night - back to taking Clonazapam (Klonopin) just to get to sleep. Anyway after 4 days of this I decided enough is enough... Dr. told me I appear to have a low tolerance for these drugs and said I could stop taking the Wellburtin because the dose was small 150mg XL per day and I would likely have no real signifant withdrawal symptoms. I am on day 2 of not taking it and it was a bit rough today - still aggitated..tingling in arms and legs.. had to take .25mg of Clonazapam to take the edge off (which Dr. and Pharmacist told me was ok and would not result in me developing a dependancy) until the Wellburtin is out of my system which could take a few days.
Anyway just wanted to tell my story in case anyone else is going through this. I didn't think being on these for only a few days would have much of an effect when stopping but in my case they did. I am told not so much from withdrawal because they never really had a chance to do their work on altering my brain chemicals... but their active ingredients get in your system from day one and they manifest themselves until your system flushes them out. Im drinking as much water as I can in the hopes that that will speed up the process.
These drugs may work well for some people and I have read on many posts that people benefitted greatly from them but for me their side effects were too much to take - especially for someone with Health Anxiety and I have made the decision to swap therapy, exercise and positive thinking for drugs. But I agree with everyone do not stop taking these or any other drug of this type without consulting with your doctor and mine has been really great... we gave it a try.. it didnt work for me... onward and upward...
Just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience with Wellburtin after only taking it for a short time?