Wellbutrin and lamictal

I stopped taking wellbutrin xl 150 mg and lamictal 200 mg 3 days ago cold turkey because there is no way to cut thewelbutrin tablet in half and take it safely. The first day wasn't bad at all. I felt better than I have felt in years and years. Then yesterday I felt okay, but not as good as I did on the first day. Today I woke up feeling like I have the flu. Every single bone, joint and muscle in my body aches. I feel fine one minute and the next minute the room feels like it's spinning and the body aches return. My psychiatrist started me on all of this poison,,, oops, I mean, medications 2 years ago. I had lost a child and had gone into a deep depression which led to severe anorrhexia. He started me out on Lamictal and Lexapro and after a year of awful side effects from the lexapro(especially sexual side effects=no desire at all) he finally switched me to the wellbutrin xl and told me that it would help better than the lexapro. At my last appointment, 1 week ago, I asked him when and if I would ever be able to go off of these meds. And he told me that I am probably a "lifer". He refused to hear anything about my stopping or weaning off of these meds. So, after my 3 minute office visit and prescription refills written out I left the office. I did not take the prescription to the pharmacy because I decided then and there that the only reason he and a lot of other psychs put people on these outrageously priced prescriptions(the lamictal is $140 a month and the wellbutrin xl is $170 and that is for the generic per moth) is because they get HUGE incentives from the pharmaceutical companies to keep us on them. I will not go back on the meds ever again. I am tired of living in a drugged up state. I want to feel alive again like I felt before I ever started taking this crap.

I've been taking WB xl 150mg for 12 days. I also take Effexor XR and Lamictal to treat bipolar. I've been feeling so depressed for about 4 weeks without any cause and I wanted to stop smoking. My doctor thought maybe I was experiencing SAD. I totally withdrew from my friends and would only leave the house to go to work. I just felt numb and like I couldn't get out of bed. I started feeling better almost immediately after starting WB! I did have a splitting headache and neck pain for about a week but now it's completely gone! My smoking cravings were gone within 3-4 days. I have no desire to pick up a cigarette even if I think about it for a while. I feel very calm yet extremely focused and energetic. My numbness is gone and it feels great to be able to cry and experience emotions again. I am LESS angry and I've quit snapping at people - which I used to do constantly. I still wake up several times during the night, which is new, but I try to rest during the day and go to bed earlier. My hunger does go up and down - sometimes I eat everything, other times I have no appetite. Really the only big side effect I have at this point is muscle and joint pain. There is no miracle pill. Sometimes you have to use mind over matter also.

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

My son and I have both taken Welbutrin. I didn't really notice a lot of side effects. I know that it did not effect my sex drive which other meds did. I lost weight, lost interest in drinking alcohol, lost interest in smoking. Had more energy,
My son has had some different things happen to him. He gets real sharpe headache pains in the left top of his head. They come and go away within about 30 seconds. Has anyone ever had that problem? He tried getting off of the meds and experenced all these body pains. It drove him nuts so he went back on welbutrin. The body pains have gone away, but the head pains came back. The doctor said the head pains would go away if he took his meds regular.

I am having the same side effect as Guest, #11307 who asked about the brand vs. generic. (Wellbutrin sr vs. bupropion sr). I was perscribed 150 mg XL and was filled with generic bupropion SR 150. This is my first time taking it so I don't know if the branded one would be different.

I've been taking it for about a month and last week began to have itchy areas on the palms of my hands, my upper back and arms. Oral benadryl was providing relief. However in the last three days I've been suffering actual hives and welts, so I'm going to go off of it until I can talk to my doctor.

I have bi-polar II with ADD and have been on Lamictal and a small dose of Celexa for over a year. Depression got better but not the ADD so he added WB for that. I tried Straterra but it made me feel really wierd.

Other than the hives, I haven't noticed any other side effects from adding WB. I'd really like to find something that can help me with ADD.

Is this an allergic reaction?

jerkiness of arms and legs, headaches, hair loss and thinning (as in thick to fine), brain fog - have trouble remembering simple things like someone's name, my sleep is all screwed up, have been taking 450 mgs Wellbutrin XL for several years, decided to go off. Also take Effexor XR and Lamictal - may go off Effexor too, Lamictal helps with mood swings (I am Bipolar II) - not sure if it is causing any of the problems or not, only been on it 6 months - 100 mg. Any one else on this combinatio? The hair loss is what concerns me most, I'm only 54 - not ready to look like my grandmother!

hi Janeanne, I have taken Wellbutrin for several yrs and seems the best AD for me. I did not notice memory loss, now I have, but is from the Lamictal and Neurontin. Am hoping to get rid of one of them. What you might be interested in is that I began taking the time release300 in AM and felt in a fog-like disconnected for a few hrs in the AM. Went back to the 150 3X a day and went away. Began taking 2 150 in the AM (pdoc thinks the later dose may be adding to not getting to sleep) and 150 later in afternoon and noticed in AM feeling the same way. Had to stop doing it 2 weeks when had to learn some new programs at work and needed to be sharp in AM. Lindagail

I've been on Wellbutrin for two weeks tomorrow. I feel like I am getting acne. I was on Lithium for six years and got acne from it, but have been off of Lithium for about 6-1/2 months and have had clear skin (almost entirely, anyway) since then. Since I started on Wellbutrin (I am taking Lamictal as well), I have had pimples on my face. I also feel strange and disoriented, kind of like my head is in the clouds or something. I feel so strange. I guess Wellbutrin is supposed to help with ADD, but if I had ADD before, I feel like I have it more so now. I feel drugged and just not myself. Just kind of ding-y and doofy.