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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by sharon7 on January 30, 2009, at 7:30:22
Good morning! This is my first time posting on this board. Seemed like a great place to ask my ?'s, though! I'm on 450mg Bupropion XL(generic for Wellbutrin) & 40mg Citalopram (generic for Celexa. That's 20 mg twice daily.)
I have not stopped taking the meds yet and am hesitant to do so. I am certain my pdoc and T neither would approve of my stopping them. (But you know how they are!) The reason Im thinking about stopping is, even on the meds, I am in a pretty deep depression now. Having a very hard time making it to work, have gained a bunch of weight, won't leave the house (or get dressed!) for days on end. (You get the idea.. depressed!) I guess Im wondering "how much worse can it be? Maybe the meds are responsible for the weight gain."
BUT.......... I am also heavily under the influence of marijuana for about the past 7 months. This, after stopping for 2 years! Im sure my pdoc and T would both say the marijuana is the problem, not the antidepressants. My dr's (for years) have not given me much hope of ever being able to live without something to treat the depression. I'd really like to prove them wrong.
As far as stopping the Wellbutrin, I'm encouraged at some of the post Ive read where people have experienced zero withdrawal when stopping Wellbutrin even after taking it for several years. As for the Celexa, I also saw some post saying that wasn't hard to come off of, either.
Thanks for your input! God bless. - Sharon (o:
Posted by Phillipa on January 30, 2009, at 10:18:03
In reply to Stopping Wellbutrin XL + Celexa, posted by sharon7 on January 30, 2009, at 7:30:22
Do you know why the pdoc has said you need ad's for life? Is it recurring depression more than one episode? Is sounds like somethings not working. How many ad's have you been on? Why two years of not trying something else if not working. Can't comment on marijuana as no experience. Phillipa
Posted by sharon7 on January 30, 2009, at 11:05:12
In reply to Re: Stopping Wellbutrin XL + Celexa » sharon7, posted by Phillipa on January 30, 2009, at 10:18:03
Thanks, Phillipa. In the past 5 years, I've been told by more than one pdoc (been to 2 in that time frame) that I will likely need to take some form of AD for the rest of my life. No, it's not a one time episode by any means. I've struggled with major depression for years. I've tried to stop meds before, and I'll be okay for a while, start saying things like "what do those pdoc's know? See? They were wrong. I can live w/o them." I probably still felt okay for a while because I still had the meds in my system. But when it's gone, it's gone! The last time did not go well. That deep dark depression sat in again and I had to go back on meds, found a new pdoc (didn't want to go back to the one I was on before I took myself off,) and he's had me on the meds/doses I described for a little over a year now. He pretty much has the same opinion (unfortunately!) as my last pdoc, though. That with my history of depression (been off and on AD's for probably 20 years,there's some family
history,) it doesn't look good for my brain chemicals getting back to normal.I guess what I'm thinking now is that "well, if I'm depressed WHILE Im on the meds, why keep taking them? But it is different than when that black cloud settles in, but I'm still obviously in a very depressed state by my behavior. I think if I could adopt a healthy lifestyle then I would feel better and not need the meds, and of course the pot has to go.
It may very well be that the pot is the entire problem right now. Im smoking heavily, getting more lazy, more fat, missing more work, getting more isolated. Could be all related to starting back on the pot (hardcore) for the past 6 months or so.)
Thanks for listening and for your reply. (o:
Posted by Phillipa on January 30, 2009, at 12:31:23
In reply to Re: Stopping Wellbutrin XL + Celexa » Phillipa, posted by sharon7 on January 30, 2009, at 11:05:12
Sounds like you might be right about the pot could you cut it out and see if any improvement? Otherwise tend to agree with your pdocs. About the ad's for life have none worked? Phillipa
Posted by 49er on February 3, 2009, at 17:31:19
In reply to Stopping Wellbutrin XL + Celexa, posted by sharon7 on January 30, 2009, at 7:30:22
Hi Sharon,
As an FYI, I am sure my psychiatrist pegged me as needing to be on meds for life. I felt differently with serious side effects like a hearing loss, tinnitus, and a worsening of LD issues.
Anyway, I tapering very slowly from 4 meds down to 1 and have not relapsed.
The key is to taper slowly as most psychiatrists (not all) taper their patients too fast. You should taper drugs at 10% of the current dose every 3 to 6 weeks and taper one drug at a time.
You might be able to taper the Wellbutrin XL alot faster and logistically, you might not have any choice.
But with the Celexa, get the liquid form so you can do it by 10%. Do not taper this one too fast.
By the way, I feel again that many psychiatrists (not all) incorrectly maintain that people need to stay on meds for life as they confuse withdrawal symptoms with a relapse. Just my opinion but obviously, I feel strongly about that.
Marijuana could very well be causing your depression and you might want to take that out of the equation. But I feel that staying on psych meds long term definitely didn't help me at all.
Good luck.
49er
> Good morning! This is my first time posting on this board. Seemed like a great place to ask my ?'s, though! I'm on 450mg Bupropion XL(generic for Wellbutrin) & 40mg Citalopram (generic for Celexa. That's 20 mg twice daily.)
>
> I have not stopped taking the meds yet and am hesitant to do so. I am certain my pdoc and T neither would approve of my stopping them. (But you know how they are!) The reason Im thinking about stopping is, even on the meds, I am in a pretty deep depression now. Having a very hard time making it to work, have gained a bunch of weight, won't leave the house (or get dressed!) for days on end. (You get the idea.. depressed!) I guess Im wondering "how much worse can it be? Maybe the meds are responsible for the weight gain."
>
> BUT.......... I am also heavily under the influence of marijuana for about the past 7 months. This, after stopping for 2 years! Im sure my pdoc and T would both say the marijuana is the problem, not the antidepressants. My dr's (for years) have not given me much hope of ever being able to live without something to treat the depression. I'd really like to prove them wrong.
>
> As far as stopping the Wellbutrin, I'm encouraged at some of the post Ive read where people have experienced zero withdrawal when stopping Wellbutrin even after taking it for several years. As for the Celexa, I also saw some post saying that wasn't hard to come off of, either.
>
> Thanks for your input! God bless. - Sharon (o:
This is the end of the thread.
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