Hello - I Am Wondering About The Medication Wellbutrin .

Posted on Sat, 18 Apr 2020

Question: Hello - I am wondering about the medication Wellbutrin. I will start and say i am EXTREMELY sensitive to medications - even at the absolute lowest doses I am affected by them and it is not easy to use meds because of this. However I do suffer with some anxiety and depression and have been trying out different things for a long time to see if something works well for me. I had started with wellbutrin (I also need to lose weight and my doctor thought it would also help there) - and I started at the very tiny dose of only 75 mg per day and this worked out well for me for about 2 weeks. I was happier and more energized and less hungry for sugar. But then i began to feel a bit anxious with intrusive thoughts and also had some stomach pains. I was wondering, is there a way of knowing lowest possible dose for this medication. I know that is lowest that is perscribed but i wonder about it. maybe i can take a third of that or something even less so I can have a little of the effect but not full. Please advise.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ashok Kumar Choudhary (17 hours later)

Brief Answer:
I think you are using lowest dose

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for using Healthcaremagic.

I read your query and understand your concerns.

Although there is no way to know the lowest dose of Wellbutrin with use of laboratory but two things can be used to know the lowest possible effective dose.

Firstly you got the effect initially and that was sustained over a period of time in regard to depression clearly suggests that you are on the effective dose of medication.

Since the side effects are not obvious by this time except stomach ache, it also indicates that there is no problem with current dose. This is because side effects are obvious within a period of one week and anything appearing after a week without change of dose is probably not related with medication.

Thirdly reemergence of intrusive thoughts and anxiety is expected as wellbutrin is not effective against anxiety and intrusive thoughts.

Considering these factors I feel you are already using optimum dose of wellbutrin and there is no change required. However I feel a low dose of SSRI can be added to counter the intrusive and anxiety symptoms.

I hope this helps you.
Feel free to write back to me if you have more questions.
Thanks and regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Ashok Kumar Choudhary (1 hour later)

Ok what is the medication I can add that is best for anxiety - which SSRI do u suggest goes best with wellbutrin?

Answered by Dr. Dr. Ashok Kumar Choudhary (2 days later)

Brief Answer:
Escitalopram 2.5 mg or Citalopram 5 mg is one of the best options

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for follow up.

Although every SSRI have merit in your case but I feel two most suitable options include either 2.5 mg Escitalopram or 5 mg Citalopram.

Both the medications have good effects on anxiety and cause lest bothersome side effects for most individuals.

I hope this helps you further.
Thanks and regards.

Note: For further guidance on mental health, Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar