Wellbutrin and irritability

For about eight months or so I have been experiencing pretty intense anxiety. Thus, I was prescribed the generic Clonopin (Clonozepam). After building a tolerance to the increasing dosages I was prescribed, I found myself needing to take up to 10 mg daily. I became as many people told me, "a zombie". I developed extreme depression and constant bad thoughts. After talking to my doctor i was prescribed Paxil. I did not like this whatsoever so about two months ago I stopped taking the Clonopin abruptly. I experienced pretty severe withdrawals, or what i thought to be withdrawals (shaking, sweating, very irritable, constant pain, and anxiety). It was absolute torture. After talking to my doctor i was then prescribed Xanax, which i am currently on. My depression seems to have stayed constant. It was suggested to me to take Wellbutrin rather than Paxil, which of course i would have to wean off from my 100mg a day. Two weeks ago, or so, i started taking the Wellbutrin at 150mg once a day in the morning. After the first week or so i felt "up" more or less, in comparison to how i had been feeling. I began to research about possible side effects. I didn't really find many except mildy vivid dreams and anxiety, which threw me for a loop since i was trying to fight that, right? Well, after the first week i had been lowered on the Paxil to 50mg daily and raised to 300mg of Wellbutrin, once a day in the morning around 7am. I am now on my second week of the anti-depressant, but ironically i feel as if i am more depressed, just in other ways. I feel very lethargic, and i feel as if i am to be very "spacey". I'm not quite sure if it is the mixture of the medications or one in particular. But the most noticeable side effects of the Wellbutrin have been IRRITABILITY!!, veryyyyy indecisive, and ridiculously vivid dreams with little to no meaning. They seem to last for weeks on end at times, and i often find it hard to differentiate what is a dream and what is reality. By no means am i trying to say that this medication will not work for you. Anything to make someone feel better. Whatever works for you is great and you should persue it! Any suggestions or comments to this would be great. And is anyone feeling the same side effects??

Cameron

I have been taking the generic form of Wellbutrin (social anxiety with a touch of ADHD) for just over six months and as much as I hate to admit it, I believe that the bad is finally, convincingly, outweighing the good.
The good things that came along with 150mg of the SR every morning at 11:00: Weight loss (but only after an initial one month period of eating every form or carbohydrate I could find), it seems to brighten the whites of my otherwise cloudy eyes, helped me maintain conversations with people that I would have normally cut off early, and possibly--but only possibly--helps me focus (although the hyper focus that I used to get via the ADHD is gone. Completely. Non-existent.)
Which brings me to the bad: This goes against most of what I've read other people experience on Wellbutrin but lethargy has set in. And it feels like it's here to stay. It's not really a sedated lethargy but more of a false contentment that everything is just fine the way it is. No progression, no improvement, and looking to the future is almost impossible through the fog. I too, during the first two or three weeks, had the speedy, productive reaction to the medication. But that has subsided. Next, hair loss has become a concern. I'm in my thirties and it could be just how it goes but I truly doubt it. Mild constipation may seem bearable but I miss regularity more than I have time to describe. Ringing in the ears. Impaired memory. Confusion. Forgetfulness to a fault. Mild hives on the back. Irritability. A marked shortness of breath. After one month on Wellbutrin, I could barely run a mile on the treadmill when I've been accustomed to flying through three to five with ease. I feel weak, vulnerable even. Working out has therefore fallen to the wayside. And last, but probably the worst, this medication has seemed to cultivate a serious craving for other drugs. I can't explain it but I can't take it anymore either.
Like most people on a medication, I have read numerous posts and some people share some of my concerns but mostly, it seems that the people who report in are the speedy folks on day two or week two. That is, in my opinion, only a bit helpful, since these effects are usually short-lived. Wellbutrin started out with promise but while parts of me look into the mirror and see an improvement, underneath it all, I know that it is purely a nicely dressed form of prescribed avoidance.
I haven't posted this to discourage anyone. If it works for you--great. Really. But I also haven't read anyone's experience that matched my own so I figured it might help someone who is going through any of the same. Good luck.

I have been on 150 mg of Wellbutrin XL for a little more than 3 weeks. I am also taking 100 mg of Lamictal a day just upped that dose yesterday from 50 mg both to treat bipolar disorder (which I am not thoroughly convinced I have!) I can't tell which drug is causing which side effect, they both cause a lot of the same things. I have experienced strange dreams and horrible nightmares, itchy skin, hair loss (which I believe is from the Lamictal), acne on my face, back and shoulders, extreme mood swings and irritability, extreme fatigue, difficulty with hand-eye coordination, difficulty with words (speaking and writing), generally fuzzy headed, dizziness, waking at night with a pounding heart, joint and muscle soreness, heavy period that has lasted a lot longer than normal, stuffy nose, hacking cough and that about does it.

Basically, it sucks and I want to go off at least the Lamictal and see if the Wellbutrin is kinder on it's own. I just don't think this is going to work for me. It's been pretty rough the last few weeks, I hope I can come up with something I can tolerate.

good luck all!
~A

I have chronic neck and back pain. My Doctor put me on Wellbutrin to help me quit smoking with the theory being my circulation would improve and the damaged areas in my back might heal.
I don't know if I will make it. I don't care if I have to quit smoking. I know I should anyway. The problem is the side effects. He took me off Xanax when he put me on Wellbutrin and my panic attacks started to come back, so I went back on the Xanax. But the worst side effect is the irritability.
I have to use every ounce of strength I have not to snap at people. I see my Doctor on Monday and I hope he has an answer. This is no way to live. Even simple things make me angry and want to fly off the handle.

I have been on Bupropion SR for about a month now. I had severe depression stemming from past incidents that I was unable to get over on my own. I started at 150 mg once a day and the first 2 days I felt nothing. The third day I caught myself grinning and laughing! However, on the 5th day, my doctor upped it to 150 mg twice a day. After the fourth day of that I started feeling irritable and tired. After a week of it I started feeling dizzy, nausea, anxiety, shaky, and just generally weird. I went to a different doctor and told her the symptoms and she reduced me to 100 mg twice a day. The dizziness is gone but the irritability is still present although manageable if I just think before I speak. I also have lost about 5 pounds. I notice that some days I have no appetite and others I am ravenous. The worst side effect so far is the anxiety. I have never had it before and now when the least little event or conflict is present I start getting a churning feeling in my stomach and restlessness. As for insomnia, I do stay up too late but once I force myself into bed I pass right out. I get sleepy around 2:00pm which is when I take the second pill and sometimes can't stop myself from falling asleep at my computer at work. My dreams were more intense and lucid when I was on 300mg a day but they seem to have gone back to normal now.

I am on my fourth day weaning off Wellbutrin after two weeks of every other day. (I have been on 150 mg.) I went on it to combat sexual/lack of energy side effects of Paxil. Went off Paxil (which was HELL) in Sept. Liked the energizing effects of Wellbutrin, but in the past few months I have been very, very irritable, argumentative, prone to road-rage, etc. I am getting married in four months and want to make it to my wedding day! I also have been getting heart palpitations, itchiness and insomnia. But the killer for me is the mind racing and irritability. I am incredibly fatigued without my "speed," but I'm looking forward to being a sweet, if a bit sleepy, person again.

My MD gave me Wellbutrin samples to try to combat my depression resulting from legal woes back in Feb 2004. I took the med for about 2 days with no side effects. But on the 3rd day, I had a shot of whiskey - which I was not aware alcohol was a no-no when you're on these drugs, so I suffered a near seizure while driving on the freeway. My bp went up to almost 200/130 and I had to take Toprol after that episode. The things I remember the most while I was on Wellbutrin was that my adrenaline seemed to always be on overdrive, dry mouth, dizziness, high alertness and irritability.

I can totally relate to the headaches, because recently I went off of my zoloft 100mg and I am still taking the 150mg of wellbutrin sr and I recently have had the sweating, irritability, terrible headaches especiallly in the morning when I wake up. Do you feel I should stop taking wellbutrin as well? Please let me know what are the side effects is I stop taking the WB SR.

Jenny

Tried Wellbutrin XR for a month or so. Incredible irritability. Also, road rage. It helped me focus and I got a lot done, but can't handle the side effects.

It also seemed to make me paranoid; feared the neighbors and found it very hard to trust even my own family.

never taken wellbutrin xl 300 mg...my plastic surgeron gave it to me to quit smoking......Just by reading this site and all the side effects are scaring me...and yes i drink,,,Should i even consider trying this.?? or just go by the patch..???
theres more neg than pos on this site...

it relieved alot of deppression and irritability. i have some short term memory loss. i take 150mg twice a day.the first day i was euphoric after that i felt more like myself before the break down.have been on it a year or so i feel real stability.