Browse
Health Pages
Categories
I had been taking 300mg Welbutrin and 20mg Adderal for about two weeks. Last Saturday I had a seizure at the lake. I'm 31 and have never had a seizure in my life. It scared the hell out of my husband and everyone else. I was at a family reunion at the time. I ended up in the ER for a night. They told me it was the combination of the meds, plus the summer heat. No permanent damage but I do have to see the doc and change my meds. It was nice while the meds were working. I was able to have a cohesive conversation/argument with my mother and get more involved with what my kids were doing. You gotta understand, people like me dont want these medications to get high or lose weight. We need them to function in the world, so that we can be good mothers and fathers and wives and husbands. It isn't about a lack of energy, Its a lack of mental togetherness.
Reply
in my late teens i was prescribed a combination of adderall and wellbutrin [agreed upon by a small group of doctors i was seeing] to treat my combination of ADHD and depression. these two medications not only do *not* have negative interaction, but doctors seem to agree that they compliment one another, working well together.
Reply
Im a 26 yr old female. This is my experience. I was taking ritilin for about 18 years when it stopped working very well. Its extended dose lasted me about 3 hours total. When on ritilin I always battled with my weight but my ADD was handled well. I agree with the other people that ADD is serious and very hard to live with. So dont say that we need to get off our meds! In my sophmore year of college a friend convinced me I didnt need my meds and I tried stopping. First off you dont stop a controlled substance like adderall or ritilin cold turkey. And second I had been a straight a student my whole life.. and without ritilin I got my first D. So dont offer up advice about needing meds... The horrid feeling of lack of concentration is infuriating...its not something you can just live with! Ok well I started having depression issues so my doc prescribed welbutrin. So I was taking 40mg of ritilin twice a day and 150 mg of welbutrin as well. Those two in combination worked out fine for me. Then when ritilin got to the point that it was only lasting 3 hours my doc changed me to adderall. After adjusting the dosing a bit I am now on the extended Adderall 40mg a day once a day. The adderall itself is ok. I take it at 1030 in the morning and it lasts till about 330 or so. I think I prefer ritilin, but im not sure anymore. The adderall did wonders for my weight. I immediately lost 20lbs when I started taking it, but I also seem to not be able to get aroused sexually like I used to. Well I had laid off the welbutrin for a bit so we could see how just the adderall would affect me. I went back to Welbutrin and I had a very weird side effect. Nightmares. To the point that it was like night terror. I would wake up from the most horrific nightmares Ive ever had in my life. So I dropped the Welbutrin and I slept nightmare free. Tried the welbutrin again.. Horrid Nightmares. So I cant take the two together... But I know that they work for other people. As far as my ADD goes I dont know what to do anymore. Ritilin only lasts so long, Adderall keeps me from sleeping well (I dont sleep till like 2am) and I cant seem to get aroused even though im in a relatively new relationship and shouldnt be having problems. My short term memory has never been great. I can walk into a room and forget what I walked in for all the time. I constantly write notes to remind myself of things and then forget them anyway. Is there anyone out there in my situation that has found something that works for them? Im thinking about just going back to ritilin....
Reply
I take both med's also, and together they work very well for me. Each person may have a different outcome, because it may take awhile to get the right medications and dosages. Both Adderall and Wellbutrin are stimulants which affect Neurotransmitters, which are chemical messengers within the brain that facilitate communication between nerve cells.

You seem worried by the fact that your parents are forgetful. If the doctor is concerned about memory problems such as:
Alzheimer’s or Dimentia, he/she may be prescribing both medications, because both stimulate different parts of the brain.
1 type of Dimentia may appear as depression, which Wellbutrin may help. Here is a website and link to check out for much more information and actual SPECT brain images, that show the area's of the brain affected with various conditions before medication and after.
Please take a look at www.amenclinics.com, or check this link:

Your parents do not want to take more than the dosage given by the doctor,on either medication, as they both increase heart rate. You also have to limit the amount of caffeine intake, as well as cold/sinus medications with both medications.

Whatever your parents conditions may be, the doctor has prescribed these medications because he/she feels as though they need both. They should follow up with the doctor regularly so the doctor may monitor whether these medications and dosages are right for your parents, and if they need adjusting.

I would try to make sure your parents have pill boxes, to organize their pills for the week, then they would know if they had already taken a particular medication that day.
I hope this helps. ;-)
Reply
I am going to be 25 in 3 weeks and am on 150mg of Wellbutrin and 30mg of Adderall. My husband joined the Army 1 year ago, my parents divorced 3 years ago, and my brother divorced in December. So needless to say, I was put on Effexor for depression, anxiety, and panic attacks. I feel calm and breathe easier but feel like I am GAINING weight. I was born with Blount's disease and have had 3 knee surgeries so I do walk everyday and do the eliptical, but keeping weight off has been hard due to medical reasons. I also had very low metabolism and was always hungry. Once I reached 235 lbs at 5'11 I felt something had to change. I thought my forgetfulness was me getting old... even though I know I'm not. I would call someone and as the phone was ringing on the line I would be like shoot who did I just call? And thank God I would get their voicemail. Never could finish anything, would read books and for 2 or 3 pages think about something else and be like what did I just read and have to go back and reread. I can't sit without shaking my leg, tapping the steering wheel, tapping pen/pencil on tables. I wish I was diagnosed in HS my life would be so different right now. I couldn't read in school, I would sit down and try but my mind was always somewhere else. When I took tests I would read questions over and over, it took me forever!
My question is, is it possible that the wellbutrin isn't mixing well with Adderall? Should I maybe take Wellbutrin before bed and Adderall in am? I may try that and then go everyother day for the Wellbutrin... Please help!
Reply
.......i am a recovering methamphetamine and opiate addict and was placed on wellbutrin shortly after getting clean, i noticed simmular effects to amphetamines while taking wellbutrin and immediatly started abusing it. tbc.
Reply
Do you people not understand that your previous eating disorders or underage drinking or undiagnosed psychological problems (girl ripping her hair out) have little to with these safe and effective drugs. Sure, these drugs may compound existing problems that have gone untreated but they will not kill you or turn you into a psycho. They have helped a talented guy like me with trouble focusing and depression hang in there and do well in school.
Reply
-um, yea I don't think the wellbutrin or adderall had anything to do with you anger issues. lol.
Reply
Hi all, first off I am an ICU Nurse of several years, as well as someone who has been on adderall for ADD for about a year. This drug, like many has been abused by many and has also helped many. Taken as prescribed in most cases the stimulant effect tends to go away over time while the relief from symptoms of ADD remain. This is where the patient has to decide if she/he wants to be relieved of ADD or become a drug addict. The simple fact is that if you are taking this med for it's stimulant effect - you should not be. This is no different than someone in genuine pain who takes a narcotic pain reliever vs someone who seeks the drug to get high. I also think each person is biochemical unique, I can't tell you how many times I've seen heart medications cause heart attacks, or how often I've seen Ativan cause agitation in some people. So clearly no every - no, not ANY drug is for everyone. This drug does great things for many, some have reactions, some should probably avoid it to begin with and some seek it for the wrong reasons. If you have a history of anorexia or of past drug addiction especially to stimulants than you should proceed very carefully if at all and know that there are other options for both depression and ADD that don't act in he same way as adderall or welbutrin. Also, look at the common side effects - be aware of them and see if they are coming up for you whole on the med. The tricky thing with psychotrophics is that we can forget that the drug is casuing a problem and begin to feel hopeless - especially with antidepressants. This is especially true of suicidal thoughts, which are very commonly caused or at least aggravated by early use of antidepressants but can be stopped entirely and easily with a simple change in dose or to add or subtract something from one's prescription. Antidepressants, when dosed and chosen correctly can be miracle drugs, but if one is not very careful they can easily cause more harm than good like in the case of the earlier poster. The solution is awareness and communication, if something is going on that shouldn't, call your doctor! It is what you are paying him for! Call him at 2am, it's ok to do so! They want you to call them when something goes wrong so they can help you. In the ICU we think of medications as cars on a freeway, they are indispensable tools for helping a person heal/stay alive, by they have to be steered, monitored and used responsibly. You wouldn't want to put your car on cruise control and just let it keep on charging forward if you see the road closed ahead so if your body isn't doing something it should be Shen on a drug, take your self off cruise control and call the doc, maybe you have to change lanes or slow down/stop. Just food for thought. In my own case I am on adderall and until recently was taking chantix to quit smoking, for lots of people this is great but it made me very irritable, depressed and it caused a huge return if nit increase of my ADD symptoms. We found that somehow my nicotinic and dopinergic receptors were linked differently than other people and that the chantix was not only blocking nicotine but also my body's own dopamine as well as the adderall (which also causes a dopamine response for me). So while it's great for others not for me. Now I'm on adderall welbutrin, so far so good, we are moving forward carefully, I have noticed a slightly increased appetite suppression but I'm a little overweight and have never had appetite issues before so were are ok with this side effect for me, but if I was too skinny we would not be. So I guess I'm saying one size will never fit all especially with brain chemistry, it doesn't mean you are broken or your doctor is incompetent, it means you need to try something else - that's all. No one knows your body lime you do. Be aware of it and it will tell you if something is wrong, trust that, report that to your doctor and you will be surprised what problems you can solve.
Reply
I just wanted to clarify something I read within the postings. Generic compared to brand name is not in every way identical. The similarity between generic and brand name derivatives is that they both contain the same ACTIVE ingredients; they, however, do not contain the same exact ingredients or ratios.
(This is referenced by Mosby's 2011 Pharmacology and the Nursing Process, 6th Edition)
Reply
anonymous wrote:

Here's a different perspective. Mid 90's had bulimia - got over it (with new OCD tendencies introduced)and started working out. through the late 90's i would (3 times a day) take ephedrine, aspirin, and caffeine pill. Then I did steroids on top of that from 98 - 00. Once ephedrine was made illegal i switched to crystal meth for 1 year. every day except for the 3 day sleeping binges here and there. after i quit that - i went back to legal thermogenics every day like Xenadrine. Then I started adding Cocaine occasionally. To say i like to be 'sped' up is an understatement. I stopped ALL that in around 2005.

Come to now - I have anxiety, depression, OCD tendancies. ok fine. 20mg paxil per day for a few months. helps a little but sexual dysfunction. research says try Wellbutrin. I do. BAM. Next day - I have great energy like i haven't had in years - and anxiety is gone - it was great! that lasted for 2 weeks at 150mg of Wellbutrin. It was so good I asked for 300mg and started those. Within 2 days everything was gone. anxious again, no energy.

I went back to my 150mg Wellbutrin and nothing... I was so angry.

More research says Adderall for energy. I read all the horror and addiction stories. But I am not living forever with how i feel at the time - no way I can stay like that.

Get Adderall XR10mg. take it next morning with Wellbutin and BAM - everything is back! Energy, not anxious, confident. I was underwhelmed in the sense that it is nothing like real crystal meth, and to me - feels more like the come down of cocaine. but still - was feeling good!

For one week. then just nothing. I tried taking 20mg of Adderall and it was horrible. just made me sketchy and this time feeling like a bad come down from hard drugs. no good.

Appetite is not an issue for me since i am OCD about food - so even when i am not hungry i still eat my meals at the correct times etc... so i might lose weight, we'll see.

However - the adderall DOES greatly improve my strength at the gym. I still go religiously and have added 30 pound to my bench press that first week - and have kept it going.

SO as of tomorrow I think I will just try Wellbutrin again and see what happens. Anyways - I have the absolutely most addictive personalty in the world - i mean - my doctor had no reason to give me adderall and didn't want to but my 'inner fiend' came out telling him i used to have add at school when i was little etc.... i just needed to really see if it was as addictive as the web stories say - and for anyone that has done real meth for any long amount of time - it is not. So don't consider it a legal replacement.

I will continue to play with the doses as I did have a few weeks that were a total success and hope i can get that back...

If anything I will keep the Adderall for energy - like if i ever need to go dancing or some outdoor exercise - but otherwise it's not for me.




what you are is a lazy drug addict. You are using these drugs to try to compensate for something missing in your life/things you aren't doing correctly. You keep switching from different amphetamines thinking this is normal but its not. You continue to use these medications to gain "performance benefits" but are so dense you don't realize what you are doing to your brain. You can't continually keep pumping stimulants into your brain and body and think its not going to have a long lasting effect. You inject steroids into your body and guess what your testicles get a signal that says "you know what guys there's enough testosterone floating around I think I'm going to shut down" combined with the vasoconstrictive effects of all the stimulants => its no wonder you are having sexual dysfunction ( and possibly "size issues" due to shrinkage).

Get off these drugs, get a normal sleep cycle, drink teas and juices. You will get back your normal energy in time if you haven't complete screwed things up. Sure working out is going to be harder and dieting will be hard too, but its not suppose to be easy. You will notice you'll have a lot less shrinkage down there + not have so much thirst + less difficulty falling asleep etc etc.

These drugs are for people with low levels of neurotransmitters. The point is to bring them back to normal. IF you take them to have increased levels of neurotransmitters eventually the brain will adjust and decrease the endogenous production of NT ->> a whole host of problems.
Reply
Seriously? I am also an RN, and in school right now getting my DNP (doctorate in nursing practice). Part of the role of an RN is stepping in and advocating for patients, understanding side effects of medications, and knowing when to tell MDs (who are human, and make mistakes, despite their education) that they are wrong. I have had to step in and tell a doctor "no" both as an RN, and previously as a clinical microbiologist, when I could tell they were making an incorrect decision - and to humble myself would have meant seeing harm befall a patient. The former RN was correct - medications prescribed to the wrong patient can, indeed, cause harm.
Reply
In answer to the original question/inquiry:

I have major severe depression(unipolar) and i've been on Adderall for the past 3-4 years; it helps me focus, have motivation, concentrate, etc. About two weeks ago, I was prescribed Wellbutrin(150mg 1x a day) and so far, I'm not sure how it's working(no progression or change - negative or positive). However, given research, I'm giving it a minimum of 3 weeks. Medications can be instant or take time, it's unfortunately, trial and error. Finding the right medication and combination can change peoples lives and I want to find the right combination for myself so I can function and concentrate.

It's safe to take both together but it's obviously important your doctor knows your health, age, diagnosis(what kind of depression or anything accompanying), etc.

If Wellbutrin helps me, I'll post more later.
Reply
The only problem with the generic is BUDEPRION. Budeprion is known to screw people up. I took it and became violently ill. I took buproprion and was just fine. It's the fillers in the pill, not the medication itself.
Reply
omg! i feel like i just read my life history. Thank you whoever you are because you have answered my question about taking the two together.
Reply