B
bigalxyz
New member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2008
- Messages
- 4
I have suffered from depression for most of my adult life. Breakdown in 2006 - major depression, anxiety, stress, unable to concentrate, often housebound, etc. + major sleep difficulties.
Treatment with fluoxetine, sertraline, mirtazipine, lofepramine and venlafaxine largely unsuccessful - did very little to ease depression & other symptoms.
Switched to bupropion (Wellbutrin). Initial dosage 150mg (SR formulation) per day, planning to double to 300mg per day after a couple of weeks.
Began treatment last Monday, 6 days ago. Initial response very promising, even after only about 24 hours. Mood lifted noticeably. Appetite dropped sharply (I overeat when depressed). Urge to smoke decreased, cigarettes provide no nicotine 'buzz' (wellbutrin is of course also used as an aid to smoking cessation). Anxiety level dropped sharply. Got a good night's sleep for the first time in months. I was amazed at how strong, and rapid, my response to this stuff had been.
Felt similarly good for the rest of the week. Gradual pick-up in energy levels, feeling more talkative, more expressive, outgoing, etc.
Friday night, heavy drinking session with a friend (I don't drink much nowadays - this was fairly unusual for me). I drove to his house, 150 miles away, and forgot to take any bupropion with me. I took the meds on Friday morning but missed the dose on Saturday morning.
Saturday - feeling rather hung over but not too bad. In the afternoon, I visited another friend of mine and his wife. Noticed I had strong urges to hug his wife and then noticed I was finding her presence a little sexually arousing, which hadn't really happened before. Drove home (2 hours). During the drive home, I started to feel a little strange. Mood levels fine - I was cheerful, singing, smiling, etc. - but I started to feel a bit 'too' good. I noticed I was driving faster & taking a few risks on the road. Nothing too extreme, but I did feel quite different. I felt unbreakable, as if nothing could hurt me. My mind was racing. Got home safely. Then saw a female friend and - like earlier - had a strong sexual urge as well as a feeling that I could take her if I wanted her, just like that, and that she would respond (and I am normally DESPERATELY shy when it comes to the opposite sex).
I went home again and took a bupropion pill. By then it was around 10pm on Saturday night (it's 3am on Sunday now). I noticed I was shivering a little bit - I felt a bit cold but I was shaking noticeably. My cat suddenly seemed a little irritating - he was scratching my leg (which hurt), miaowing constantly, etc. Suddenly, from nowhere, I screamed at him at the top of my voice to leave me alone and stop making all that noise. I then became very agitated indeed, breathing very quickly, etc. This persisted for about an hour and then I started to slowly calm down.
I'm awake now - I feel tired but a little 'wired'. I feel calm though - the agitation, restless, nervousness, irritability, etc. seem to have subsided, but I was badly shaken by what happened and I'm concerned to do what I can to ensure it doesn't happen again.
So...questions....
* Do the symptoms I experienced last night amount to an episode of mania?
* Is it possible that my dosage is too high and I need to ease back?
* Conversely, is it possible that these symptoms were caused by missing my normal daily dosage (I rather hope not!)
* To what extent might my alcohol intake on Friday night have contributed to all of this?
* What do I do next?!
Grateful for any advice,
Alan.
Treatment with fluoxetine, sertraline, mirtazipine, lofepramine and venlafaxine largely unsuccessful - did very little to ease depression & other symptoms.
Switched to bupropion (Wellbutrin). Initial dosage 150mg (SR formulation) per day, planning to double to 300mg per day after a couple of weeks.
Began treatment last Monday, 6 days ago. Initial response very promising, even after only about 24 hours. Mood lifted noticeably. Appetite dropped sharply (I overeat when depressed). Urge to smoke decreased, cigarettes provide no nicotine 'buzz' (wellbutrin is of course also used as an aid to smoking cessation). Anxiety level dropped sharply. Got a good night's sleep for the first time in months. I was amazed at how strong, and rapid, my response to this stuff had been.
Felt similarly good for the rest of the week. Gradual pick-up in energy levels, feeling more talkative, more expressive, outgoing, etc.
Friday night, heavy drinking session with a friend (I don't drink much nowadays - this was fairly unusual for me). I drove to his house, 150 miles away, and forgot to take any bupropion with me. I took the meds on Friday morning but missed the dose on Saturday morning.
Saturday - feeling rather hung over but not too bad. In the afternoon, I visited another friend of mine and his wife. Noticed I had strong urges to hug his wife and then noticed I was finding her presence a little sexually arousing, which hadn't really happened before. Drove home (2 hours). During the drive home, I started to feel a little strange. Mood levels fine - I was cheerful, singing, smiling, etc. - but I started to feel a bit 'too' good. I noticed I was driving faster & taking a few risks on the road. Nothing too extreme, but I did feel quite different. I felt unbreakable, as if nothing could hurt me. My mind was racing. Got home safely. Then saw a female friend and - like earlier - had a strong sexual urge as well as a feeling that I could take her if I wanted her, just like that, and that she would respond (and I am normally DESPERATELY shy when it comes to the opposite sex).
I went home again and took a bupropion pill. By then it was around 10pm on Saturday night (it's 3am on Sunday now). I noticed I was shivering a little bit - I felt a bit cold but I was shaking noticeably. My cat suddenly seemed a little irritating - he was scratching my leg (which hurt), miaowing constantly, etc. Suddenly, from nowhere, I screamed at him at the top of my voice to leave me alone and stop making all that noise. I then became very agitated indeed, breathing very quickly, etc. This persisted for about an hour and then I started to slowly calm down.
I'm awake now - I feel tired but a little 'wired'. I feel calm though - the agitation, restless, nervousness, irritability, etc. seem to have subsided, but I was badly shaken by what happened and I'm concerned to do what I can to ensure it doesn't happen again.
So...questions....
* Do the symptoms I experienced last night amount to an episode of mania?
* Is it possible that my dosage is too high and I need to ease back?
* Conversely, is it possible that these symptoms were caused by missing my normal daily dosage (I rather hope not!)
* To what extent might my alcohol intake on Friday night have contributed to all of this?
* What do I do next?!
Grateful for any advice,
Alan.
