if you are unhappy with the side effects of the medication absolutely talk to your doc about it and ask to explore other medication options.

i don't have any experience with wellbutrin, sorry i can't help with that.

good luck and keep us posted

Hi, fizzgig!

Thanks for the warm welcome.

I went to see my psychiatrist today and she took me off the danged Risperdal and switched me to Wellbutrin XL 150 mg/daily. I don;t know if its just me but I started feeling better only two hours or so after my first dose.

If my progress continues, Wellbutrin will be a resounding success for me!

Some of the meds I've been on have suppressed my libido entirely and the only reason I continued to take them was that the alternative was worse...

Another trouble is how long it takes to see results when changing meds; three weeks isn't nearly enough.

And then there's the meds that gradually stop working but make you feel crappy when you slowly (under a doctor's supervision) taper off them.

I've quit meds without doctors supervision too. Don't do that.

People's responses to meds differ. One of my brothers seems to have very similar symptoms to my own -- depression, OCD, etc. Meds that I've found helpful have made him miserable, and vice versa. Wellbutrin is on that list. I won't say which way so as not to prejudice you. It could work for you!

I hope you have someone you trust who can give you some feedback about your own mental state. In my own experience the ability to judge my own mental state is the first thing that flies out the window. From my personal perspective it's always the world that's changing around me, not the state of my own mind. Well, sometimes it IS the world that's increasingly suckage, but often as not it's just in my head.

Hoping to get off of it today! My appointment's at 8.

I'm sorry to hear your experience with Wellbutrin was so negative.

I DID read tremors are a rare side effect and my psychiatrist said to discontinue immediately if that happens to me. With only one dose under my belt, my experience has been very successful thus far!

And didn't want new side effects to be mistaken for withdrawal symptoms.

Get your doctor to check your thyroid and B-12 levels. Never know!

Thanks for the advice! That's good to know.

I see my psychiatrist next Friday. I'll ask her for a blood workup too. A little looky-loo can't hurt, right?

They send that off for my regular doctor to do.

Medication is just one step, however, therapy is also essential. I believe ( personal belief) that with medication one take care of the symptoms , but whatever is causing the depression is still there. I would go to a therapist who will assess and diagnose.

My depression is unrelated to either my environment or my history. Looking for "reasons" other than simple brain chemistry might make me crazier.

But untreated depression does cause certain habits of thinking that persist when my head is clear, my extreme pessimism for example. I can be a "happy pessimist," bringing misery with me wherever I go... Identifying these habits by therapy is useful.

I can't think of anything that is the source of my depression other than simple brain chemistry.