Wellbutrin and pounding heart

During the three weeks I was using 150 mg. Wellbutrin, ringing in the ears gradually increased, mild headaches on top of my head, occasional light spasms around my mouth, constipation, and bladder problems. My sleep was unaffected, and my depression did not lift. My dose was increased to 300 mg, and by the fourth day, I was having serious facial spasms, intense headaches, louder and constant ringing in the ears, almost 'round-the-clock wakefulness, anxiety, difficulty thinking and completing sentences, pounding heart, amplification of sounds, jitters and quaking. I felt like a car, perpetually idling so roughly that all my parts were about to rattle right off the chassis. On the fifth day I took nothing. I've had some chills, a little nausea, headache, neck-ache (Isn't that weird?!) and some ringing, but at a lower volume that's hardly noticeable. This is the fourth day with no Wellbutrin, and I haven't had facial spasms at all in the past couple of days, have less nausea, and the very funky smell produced in my urine from the second week I was on the meds has calmed down. If I'm still in a depression it's been overshadowed by the most awful side effects I could have imagined. It felt like the spector of death was overtaking my body by day four of that 300 mg. dose. I had been on a hefty dose of Zoloft daily for almost ten years and never experienced anything unpleasant other than weight gain, my reason for trying to switch meds because I couldn't quit putting on weight no matter what. I am going to try SAM-e, and suggest that anyone looking for a natural alternative, with the prospect of few and insignificant side effects, do an online search. Whether I find success with the SAM-e, or if it falls short of what I need, I'll post here to let you know what happens. A month ago I thought the depression was the end of the world; I think the cure was worse than the disease.

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