Get in here if you've ever taken Effexor or Wellbutrin or...

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Cipralex.


My shrink says I'm probably going to be prescribed Effexor (venlafaxine), and maybe Wellbutrin (bupropion), and maybe escitalopram-- Cipralex (aka Lexapro, Escertia).


I was on Celexa (citalopram) for not even 4 months, and it suddenly stopped working! It worked wonderfully before-- first making me giddy and bringing me up so much; I couldn't get the smile off my face and I felt empowered, like I could make a difference in my life, like I COULD find stimulation. Then it went away, tapering offf, but by then the long-term antidepressant effect was kicking in... I still had bad days, but never so bad I felt immediately at risk. Then suddenly it stopped. I feel horrible all the time. When I ran out I didn't bother to ask for more beause I didn't think it was working ny more. Bad idea. I'm such an idiot! I thought it was bad before I went off it... that continued for 3 days with no side effects. On the 4th and 5th days I was off it I felt LIKE I WAS GOING TO DIE IMMEDIATELY AND GO TO HELL! AND NEVER COME BACK! And never see my family or friends again. From desperation to depression; I was and am VERY NEAR my beaking point. I need something that works FAST. I should have STAYED on the Celexa while the other stuff starts to work. I am SUCH AN IDIOT. I knew better, but then I FORGOT. I'm going to get myself KILLED.

Well, I'm on effexor, but it took a few weeks for it to really get going. Once it did though, it took away the suicidal urges and left me remarkably more like myself.

Good luck.

My husband has AS and took Wellbutrin for a few months. It is known in our home as "Hellbutrin".

i am on bupropion now. but i only started taking it a week ago. the doctor says i wont feel any effect during the first two weeks. but they always say that. with the few ssris and snris i had so far, there was no effect that came after a few weeks.
i dont know if or how much the bupropion is helping me. if there is some effect, then it is so little that i cant tell whether it is the bupropion or just some positive events in my live that im having lately (i'm moving out from home now, finally, being 22 years old, rented an apartment together with a friend of mine. don't know if it was a good idea to move in with somebody as NT as he is).

PM me in a few weeks and i can tell you how everything went (the bupropion and the moving out )

before bupropion, i was on a very uncommon and not well known med called amantadine. it does some dopamine action. gave me lots of drive for a few days, was happier than ever, then suddenly stopped working. meds against depression are not very well understood. im going start some behavioral psychotherapy as soon as possible. sounds very bad, but i am running out of ideas of what to do with my situation. two years ago, had a lot of faith in meds, now im thinking differently.

Effexor raised my blood pressure to anormal high levels (180, when the average is 110 and 130 is considered risky). That gave me the worst headaches one can imagine, so I changed to Celexa... it's hard to tell if it was really effective as I also changed a lot of my behaviors during that time to overcome my depression. Still, today Im feeling ok and Celexa never gave me any bad side effects (stopped using it 3 years ago or so). When I stopped using it, it was not an issue either.

I've been on Effexor for about 4 years. I have no side effects and live a normal life. But I would like to have the freedom to stop taking the meds, at some stage. Please be aware of the withdrawal side effects from Effexor. Extremely difficult to stop once you've started. If you do a Google, you'll find many anecdotes supporting this. I've recently tapered down to the smallest dose possible before I start counting grains to reduce it further. Its a bit like coming off heroin!

I took Effexor for about three months, it did nothing to help me and just increased my stress levels, so I threw it all in the trash. YMMV.

I've heard that Wellbutrin isn't approved as a depression treatment in Australia, which is a pity because I'd really like to try it.
So instead I've been stuck with Zoloft and Cipramil in the past. Both were so so.........

I took citalopram for one year. It was ok but made me feel aggressive. I am coming off it right now and withdrawing has been a bit of a depressive hell-ride but Im glad to be off the citalopram now.

I have taken both. I thought the Effexor was great when i took it. It made me feel really good at times. the problem was that i was breaking out in a severe rash from it. took me several months to figure that one out. Now i am on wellbutrin. Sometimes i forget to eat when i take it. It makes me a little more high strung, so i am on 25 mg on zoloft with it. It really takes the edge off the depression and helps me function a little more in social situations.

I've been on bupropion for about 3 years, now, at a pretty large dosage. It's been much better than Effexor, at least for me. The only side effect I notice is that I get nasty body odor about 5 hours after I've taken it. Sometimes I'll also feel easily agitated, or shaky, but not that often. I tapered off of it about 9 months ago, but I slowly got anxious and crazy again, so I'm back to my usual dosage. One of the advantages of it is that it doesn't screw with my already mediocre libido. SSRIs and Effexor effectively neutered me.

Thank you all so much for your help! What happened is, he represcriberd the Celexa... 20 mg again for 2 weeks, 30 for 2 weeks, after that 40. I'm taking 40 now because I feel truly awful. I'm wondering if I should take 60. I have no side effects.


I know I need Ritalin or some better stimulant! See my learning-the-hard-way thread in the Autism Discussion forum!

Lexapro==Celexa, just more expensive.

Same thing goes for Prilosec vs. Nexium.

I want to try Bupropion.