# Effexor vs wellbutrin?



## lyla (Oct 4, 2012)

I was on fluoxetine (prozac) for two years and it worked great for my social anxiety, but I also gained about 20lbs my second year on it (it was also my freshmen year of college so I’m not sure I can attribute all of the weight gain to the anti depressant). Anyway, I took myself off of the Prozac and was fine at first, but my social anxiety issues have gradually crept back into my life and I’m at a pretty low point. I started Wellbutrin about a year ago to help with depression, but it hasn’t really done anything for my social anxiety (definitely hasn’t had the same effect that Prozac did). I have also been battling with an eating disorder for the past 8 years, working with a therapist and nutritionist, I am 5’7 and 120 lbs, finally at a weight that I am happy with that is also healthy. I do not want to go back on Prozac because of my experience with weight gain on it, and also because I have read that weight gain is typical with most SSRIs. I tried wellbutrin because it doesn’t have the weight gain side effect, but it hasn’t helped with my social anxiety at all. Anyway, I am switching from wellbutrin to effexor and I was wondering if effexor has helped anyone out there with his or her social anxiety issues and how it compares to prozac, for anyone who has experienced the effects of both drugs?


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

Prozac is also used for weight loss purposes... You need to count kilocalories 

If Prozac worked well, I would go back onto that and keep (strict) track of your food intake.


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## FullEffect256 (Aug 8, 2012)

yea i would go back to what worked. like you said it was freshman year, everyone gains weight freshman year. and worst case, at 5'7" 120lbs, it couldn't hurt for you to gain a bit more : )


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

Note that alcoholic beverages also contain (a lot of) kcals


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## swim (Apr 4, 2011)

wellbutrin might have helped you losing weight, effexor is the gold standard for GAD but it could make you gain some weight.


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## PaxBritannica (Dec 10, 2012)

Why not go back on prozac and wellbutrin at the same time? Wellbutrin and effexor are different classes of medicine. They are compatible, prozac causes a little weight gain in some people, wellbutrin causes a little weight loss in some people. Prozac reduces sexual drive, wellbutrin increases it. 

But any weight gain with prozac in all studies has only been approx 4lbs or less, so is that really a reason to stop prozac if it works for you? It may sound bizarre, but prozac, a tablet no begger than a pin-head doesn't cause weight gain, eating too much food does


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

swim said:


> wellbutrin might have helped you losing weight, *effexor is the gold standard for GAD* but it could make you gain some weight.


I highly disagree. I was on Effexor for quite a while. It is not any better than an SSRI really until you reach dosages above 225 mg, that's when the NRI effects start to kick in.

From experience I would take and SSRI+Wellbutrin over an SNRI any day. Again, just my experience.

As to your question of Effexor vs. Prozac, I have been on both, I preferred Effexor because Prozac greatly aggravated depression and anxiety symptoms for me. I didn't find Effexor very useful though either, just not as bad as Prozac is all.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

istayhome said:


> From experience I would take and SSRI+Wellbutrin over an SNRI any day. Again, just my experience.


Why? Logically one would think that wellbutrin is stronger than effexor cause wellbutrin boost DA and NE while effexor only boost NE and DA only in very high doses.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

thundercats said:


> Why? Logically one would think that wellbutrin is stronger than effexor cause wellbutrin boost DA and NE while effexor only boost NE and DA only in very high doses.


Yeah, that's what I said. For depression that does not respond to an SSRI alone I have found that adding Wellbutrin, a DNRI , to it is much more effective than switching to an SNRI alone.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

I have been on wellbutrin alone and a SSRI alone and none of them did anything. I wonder how big are the chances that if I had combined them all of a sudden it would have worked when taking it alone didn't do anything?
Should each drug when used alone not at least have had some effect? 
If not then my doc messed it up cause he never tried a combo which makes me kinda angry right now. :mum


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

thundercats said:


> I have been on wellbutrin alone and a SSRI alone and none of them did anything. I wonder how big are the chances that if I had combined them all of a sudden it would have worked when taking it alone didn't do anything?
> Should each drug when used alone not at least have had some effect?
> *If not then my doc messed it up cause he never tried a combo which makes me kinda angry right now. :mum*


Take some responsibility for your own care dude. Instead of being angry with your doctor why don't you start taking charge of your situation and try some medications and combos that might actually help you. I know you won't though because you are to scared that if you take an antidepressant just once then it might have some horrible effect on you.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

When I see my doc the talk time is not very long and usually he only makes a suggestion at the end so that I basically have no time to ask many more questions. I also don't know if making own suggestions and trying combos would work or wether I should just take what he suggests.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

thundercats said:


> I have been on wellbutrin alone and a SSRI alone and none of them did anything. I wonder how big are the chances that if I had combined them all of a sudden it would have worked when taking it alone didn't do anything?
> Should each drug when used alone not at least have had some effect?
> If not then my doc messed it up cause he never tried a combo which makes me kinda angry right now. :mum


If both drugs separately didn't do anything, then common sense dictates that combining them would still result in them not doing anything. 0 + 0 is still 0.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

thundercats said:


> When I see my doc the talk time is not very long and usually he only makes a suggestion at the end so that I basically have no time to ask many more questions. I also don't know if making own suggestions and trying combos would work or wether I should just take what he suggests.


You are paying him or her for a service, you sound as if it's the other way around. If you want to make suggestions or ask questions, for the love of God, do so! He or she is probably annoyed as well because of your passivity. Most doctors light up when you ask them questions.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Inshallah said:


> If both drugs separately didn't do anything, then common sense dictates that combining them would still result in them not doing anything. 0 + 0 is still 0.


Not sure if this is right. According to Stahl you could take a SSRI and it doesn't work cause there's too little serotonine in the first place. Adding buspar then makes the whole thing work. If that's true then you can never know if something sucked entirely or if it would have magically worked when combined with something else. That's scary.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

thundercats said:


> Not sure if this is right. According to Stahl you could take a SSRI and it doesn't work cause there's too little serotonine in the first place. Adding buspar then makes the whole thing work.* If that's true then you can never know if something sucked entirely or if it would have magically worked when combined with something else. That's scary*.


What on earth is scary about that? Why do you even talk about medications anymore, it's not like you're going to take any. I think your best bet is to forget about medication altogether, keep an eye on the therapy subforum and start pursuing therapy options to help you. Unless you are scared of therapy as well.

Combining medications is weird. I took Luvox and Wellbutrin and had no positive results. Mainly because I have never had any positive results with an SSRI. Finally I stopped all SSRI's and now I am taking Lamictal which has been incredibly helpful. I added Wellbutrin to that and it made a huge difference. As for Buspar, combined with an SSRI or not it does absolutely nothing for me. Probably because SSRI's do nothing for me and Buspar is only indicated for mild to moderate anxiety without panic attacks whereas I have severe anxiety with panic attacks, so Buspar has no chance of helping me.

But combining medications can make a huge difference as I exemplified above. Two medications that do nothing on their own can be very useful when combined.

Thundercats, I will echo what I and others have said to you. You are sitting around angry and afraid while doing nothing and expecting a doctor to read your mind and provide you with a perfect remedy that has been proven to be 1,000,000% safe and effective. Try telling your doctor everything and taking some f-ing medications that might help you.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

The problem is I don't have time to try out 20 different combos. To do this I would have needed to start years earlier. That's depressing. How am I supposed to figure out what kind of combos I should try in relatively little time? I could as well throw a dice. 

And when I now think that maybe those drugs I have tried out without success celexa,remeron,wellbutrin could have worked in a combo situation then this means that I have not gained any information at all. Then I can't even say if these drugs suck entirely for me or only as mono therapy.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

If drug A doesn't work, and drug B doesn't work, combining them still won't work because there is nothing that works. And if the combination does work, then the drugs individually worked as well.

If Stahl, or any psychiatrist for that matter, is talking about an SSRI-Wellbutrin combination, you have someone on an SSRI firstly, for whom the SSRI helped but not enough, and then Wellbutrin is added. If the SSRI didn't do anything, then keeping it and adding other things to it doesn't make sense. It has to at least have some therapeutic effect. 

What would make sense is adding something that gives more material for the SSRI to work with, but neither Buspar, nor Wellbutrin, nor one of the prescription stimulants is it.

Maybe we're lost in semantics here but for me "doesn't work" means just that, it doesn't do anything useful. Adding another drug to this will result at best in the therapeutic effects of the added drug, while taking the first drug for no reason whatsoever other than filling other people's wallets.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

Then maybe there simply is nothing which works for me. I mean I tried SSRI, NASSA and NDRI. I got the major NTs covered and nothing seemed to work.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

thundercats said:


> Then maybe there simply is nothing which works for me. I mean I tried SSRI, NASSA and NDRI. I got the major NTs covered and nothing seemed to work.


Apparently you are completely clueless as to the complexity of psychiatry and neurophysiology. You've tried three whole medications all of which are pretty benign when you seem to have a pretty severe condition. I do hope that you get some help.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

Inshallah said:


> If drug A doesn't work, and drug B doesn't work, combining them still won't work because there is nothing that works. And if the combination does work, then the drugs individually worked as well.
> 
> If Stahl, or any psychiatrist for that matter, is talking about an SSRI-Wellbutrin combination, you have someone on an SSRI firstly, for whom the SSRI helped but not enough, and then Wellbutrin is added. If the SSRI didn't do anything, then keeping it and adding other things to it doesn't make sense. It has to at least have some therapeutic effect.
> 
> ...


I agree with you for the most part, but there is a little more to it.

For example many people find an ssri ineffective at treating depression and get increased anxiety from said SSRI. But if they add Buspar to the SSRI then the combination will improve their depression and reduce their anxiety. But neither drug alone would have any positive effect. I believe that it is the antagonism of 5-ht3a added to the SSRI effect that causes this. Whereas either drug on there own would be ineffective.

I guess that is the one example I can think of in which two drugs which on their own would do nothing but when combined can be effective.

Other than that, I do agree that if a drug is useless it might as well be scrapped.

What I have found though is that when one drug isn't doing very much. adding another appropriate medication can make an incredibly effective combination which works much better than looking for a singular medication that does it all. In my case Lamictal worked a little bit for me at relieving depression. I added Wellbutrin to it and it made an enormous difference. Whereas in the past I had taken wellbutrin and found it completely useless. So I think if someone is treatment resistant and they find a med that works a little but is not fully effective it is a good idea to try augmenting that medication before they completely scrap it altogether.

That's just my opinion after several years of working on treatment resistant depression.


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

thundercats said:


> Then maybe there simply is nothing which works for me. I mean I tried SSRI, NASSA and NDRI. I got the major NTs covered and nothing seemed to work.


You're far from alone though


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

istayhome said:


> I agree with you for the most part, but there is a little more to it.
> 
> For example many people find an ssri ineffective at treating depression and get increased anxiety from said SSRI. But if they add Buspar to the SSRI then the combination will improve their depression and reduce their anxiety. But neither drug alone would have any positive effect. I believe that it is the antagonism of 5-ht3a added to the SSRI effect that causes this. Whereas either drug on there own would be ineffective.
> 
> ...


Certainly!


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

That sucks! This means you'd have to try every drug which doesn't work on its own in all kinds of combinations.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

thundercats said:


> That sucks! This means you'd have to try every drug which doesn't work on its own in all kinds of combinations.


Dude, you're fearing the worst case scenario. You have only tried three medications. The next one you try might be miraculous. Why don't you quit being afraid and do something to help yourself. You act like getting relief is going to be a definite impossibility for you or at the very least nearly impossible. Hold out a little hope instead acting like the sky is falling. This has gotten beyond ridiculous.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

But I don't even know which one I should try next. I mean maybe a different SSRI would work. But my doc always moves to a new class each time. This could be good, but it could also be bad. Maybe I should have tried more than one SSRI. Or at least a combo. zoloft + remeron or zoloft + wellbutrin sounds interesting. But remeron and wellbutrin didn't work for me as mono therapy so maybe they also wouldn't work in a combo. I also didn't like how remeron made me tired. Or maybe remeron + wellbutrin would work who knows. I wish I had time to test all these combos but I don't have that much time.


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

thundercats said:


> But I don't even know which one I should try next. I mean maybe a different SSRI would work. But my doc always moves to a new class each time. This could be good, but it could also be bad. Maybe I should have tried more than one SSRI. Or at least a combo. zoloft + remeron or zoloft + wellbutrin sounds interesting. But remeron and wellbutrin didn't work for me as mono therapy so maybe they also wouldn't work in a combo. I also didn't like how remeron made me tired. Or maybe remeron + wellbutrin would work who knows. I* wish I had time to test all these combos but I don't have that much time.*


You keep saying that you don't have enough time. Why not? You have an entire lifetime to work on getting better. what is this time limit that creates a barrier for you, disabling you from trying any medications?


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

@Thundercats 

Do your own research. Don't blindly trust your docter. Try staying in the same class for abit maybe you will find something that maybe more tolarable or more effective. Befor moving to another class that might be more dangerous.

Why don't you try prozac like you said you were interested in that and it long halflife almost grarantees that start up sides effects and withdraw sydrome will be minimal. i think it maybe beneifical. For scared or paranoid thoughts that could be low serotonin.


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

I'm more inclined towards zoloft than prozac. But I also don't know if the more stimulating SSRI would be good for me. Maybe they make me restless which I already am often times. It's really hard for me to even figure out what kind of a drug effect I need. I don't want something sedating which makes you tired but I also don't want something which makes you restless. I just want something which makes you kinda not depressed and more happy.


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## GotAnxiety (Oct 14, 2011)

I highly doubt that zoloft or prozac causes anymore more restlessness then lexapro. Lexapro really bad for that. But those first 2 work on dopamine a bit and that used for hyperactivity. So maybe they won't be as bad. I'll be starting Zoloft shortly myself here. Ultimately how well these drugs work is depending on how badly depressed you are or how damaged your brain is. The worster your condition the better they will work. I guess my condition must be bad cause every ssri has worked for me so far.


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## PaxBritannica (Dec 10, 2012)

Well 'istayathome' you seem to have all the medical complicated knowledge available in the western world - so what if an SSRI; NASSA, or NDRI hasn't worked on me, I have grief. I'm still sad


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

PaxBritannica said:


> Well 'istayathome' you seem to have all the medical complicated knowledge available in the western world - so what if an SSRI; NASSA, or NDRI hasn't worked on me, I have grief. I'm still sad


Hey, I actually have minimal medical knowledge compared to all that is available in the western world. I know a handful of pre-med knowledge (anatomy & physiology) and then what I've learned from reading based on my interests and what was/is pertinent to me. If there is anyone who has all the medical complicated knowledge available in the western world I might like to meet them, although they would likely be a very strange person, I'm sure I'd feel very inferior and my social phobia would kick in at which point I would probably escape the situation by myself and leave them to entertain all of the 'normal' people. Maybe I could introduce them to everyone I know who has medical problems so that they could receive some good advice.

Anyways Pax, I could offer advice the best I can. From what you've said, you're suffering from SAD? Any other comorbid disorders? So you've tried an SSRI, Mirtazapine (I assume?) and an NDRI (likely Wellbutrin?...or Ritalin?... or Cocaine?) Anyways did you try any or all of these in combination or all of them solo? How did they each effect you? Most useful, least useful? Negative or positive effects? Tell me more about your condition, history, diagnosis, severity, how it effects your life and lifestyle, etc. What do you want from a Medication? Stimulating/activating or do you want a drug that helps you slow down and mellow out. What kind of side effects do you not mind, what are you unwilling to tolerate as a possible side effect.

I guess you don't need to write all of that down, but just give us a general idea so we can offer you the best advice.

Best wishes man!


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## PaxBritannica (Dec 10, 2012)

Lol I get you don't get english sarcasm


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

PaxBritannica said:


> Lol I get you don't get english sarcasm


I don't really understand now. I understood that your previous statement was sarcastic, but what I don't understand is why you were sarcastic with me in the first place? Would you like to explain?


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## istayhome (Apr 4, 2012)

thundercats said:


> I have been on wellbutrin alone and a SSRI alone and none of them did anything. I wonder how big are the chances that if I had combined them all of a sudden it would have worked when taking it alone didn't do anything?
> Should each drug when used alone not at least have had some effect?
> If not then my doc messed it up cause he never tried a combo which makes me kinda angry right now. :mum


What condition(s) are you seeking treatment for? I think that you said SAD, GAD and OCD? I am surprised that you ever tried Bupropion for those conditions. I mean first of all you're lucky that it didn't kill you, after all around 1 in 1000 patents who take it may have an epelectic seizure. But I imagine it could have exacerbated your OCD and anxiety, Prozac is also not an ideal SSRI for those conditions. If you decide to grow a tiny pair of cat balls and take medicine then I would suggest finding a different pdoc, and don't whine about how a new one might not be any better than your current one, jusst see a different pdoc... even though it doesn't make sense to you.



thundercats said:


> Then maybe there simply is nothing which works for me. I mean I tried SSRI, NASSA and NDRI. I got the major NTs covered and nothing seemed to work.


Indeed after trying less than 3% of the different psych meds and having no success, it makes perfect sense that you are a hopeless case. Damn!


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## thundercats (Mar 12, 2012)

istayhome said:


> What condition(s) are you seeking treatment for? I think that you said SAD, GAD and OCD? I am surprised that you ever tried Bupropion for those conditions. I mean first of all you're lucky that it didn't kill you, after all around 1 in 1000 patents who take it may have an epelectic seizure. But I imagine it could have exacerbated your OCD and anxiety, Prozac is also not an ideal SSRI for those conditions. If you decide to grow a tiny pair of cat balls and take medicine then I would suggest finding a different pdoc, and don't whine about how a new one might not be any better than your current one, jusst see a different pdoc... even though it doesn't make sense to you.


Then what should I have taken instead? I'm also asking myself if my doc is making the right choices. Since there isn't much talk time he also doesn't know that much about me. I mean I don't just go in there on the first time and then give him a list with everything I have. Who knows, if he writes down all this stuff on his medical bill then the insurance saves all this data and then it sounds as if I'm totally disturbed. I don't want to have like 10 different psychiatric diagnoses. :roll

The more stuff I take which doesn't do zilch for me the more I begin to think that these drugs simply suck. I could as well have taken placebos. :mum


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## Inshallah (May 11, 2011)

They follow (or should follow) standard steps so you got the same treatment we all got. Just make sure they don't repeatedly put you on meds from the same class, which some tend to do. 

You should also be somewhere around tricyclics, MAOI's or ECT now?


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## HeHasSA (Jan 9, 2013)

*Effexor*

I recently tried Effexor. Effexor helped with muscle tension I will sometimes get when in crowded situations. I would say it kept me calmer inside. I didn't like the sexual side effect. That equated to absolutely no interest. So, I decided to stop Effexor. Relying on Metoprolol for now. Big help.

I tried Prozac some years ago. I felt nothing from it.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

effexor were great for my depression and the only thing to help with my eating issues and they made me LOSE weight not gain it. wellbutrin is known to cause weight loss but as for fluoxetine? i gained a ton of weight on those horror pills.


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## Staticnz (Mar 25, 2013)

SSRIs have really failed me big time. So I'm moving on to bupropion. I want to start by getting all of the SSRI gunk out of my system, so I'm going clean for a little bit. Then I'm going on bupropion, and I feel somewhat optimistic because I've been on SSRIs my whole life, and this is a different class of drug, so I'm looking weirdly looking forward to how it might make me feel different.

If it doesn't make a dent, I like all the ideas that istayathome has had. I can then test out augmenting it with some other stuff. Right now I have access to cymbalta and lexapro, but I'm getting off them, cos they just aren't doing it for me. 

But perhaps later, augmenting bupropion with one of them could be possible. Or maybe Lamictal, which I've never heard of. Or wikipedia says bupropion can be effective with celexa.

The main annoyance is I'm so tired of being depressed RIGHT NOW, that I just want to hurry the F up and try this stuff. I got the time, I'm just getting impatient. I don't expect it all to magically work. I just want to try it out. Do something different. RIGHT GODDAMNED NOW.

Oh well.

(waiting for bupropion in the mail)


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## usulmb (May 1, 2013)

If you think benzos are not up and down and fine for long term use when 90% of literature and we are talking large well conducted trials and sampling of people on long term benzo prescriptions;A:if prescribed for sleep initially increase time asleep and reduce nocturnal awakenings but reduce time in deep sleep which is of concern for older people who naturally have less deep sleep.B:tolerance to hypnotics generally makes them ineffective after 10 days unless dosage is constantly upped which is unwise as hypnotic benzodiazepines are as a rule more toxic i.e Nitrazepam,Temazepam.C: the anxiety reducing effects of this class of drug usually wane 3-4 weeks after starting treatment unless the dosage is upped .Dependance both physical and psychological usually develops if treatment (even at lower doses) is continued beyond 4-6 weeks.Abrupt cessation of treatment can lead to severe protracted withdrawal symptoms which in a number of individuals persists for months or leads to seizures,suicidal thoughts and persistent intractable insomnia.these are now generally accepted outcomes of medium -long term treatment with these drugs in a large majority of patients.Whilst these drugs can be useful for short term insomnia where other therapies have proven ineffective and the insomnia is debilitating and/or distressing.For the occasional treatment of panic attacks or stressful situations in suitable individuals (people with unstable personalities or histories of drug/alcohol abuse are unsuitable ) or to help (in detox under supervision ) in the relief of alcohol or opiate withdrawal.Try suddenly stopping your medication and i think you'll see there is most definitely a down.As regards suggesting treatments to doctors,yours may be open to this.But mine almost resents such suggestions and the one time i mentioned a new drug i'd read about,he asked if i'd finished medical school if not he would decide the most suitable therapy.A more sympathetic attitude to someone not in the best state of mind would be more helpful.


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## usulmb (May 1, 2013)

Inshallah said:


> If drug A doesn't work, and drug B doesn't work, combining them still won't work because there is nothing that works. And if the combination does work, then the drugs individually worked as well.
> 
> If Stahl, or any psychiatrist for that matter, is talking about an SSRI-Wellbutrin combination, you have someone on an SSRI firstly, for whom the SSRI helped but not enough, and then Wellbutrin is added. If the SSRI didn't do anything, then keeping it and adding other things to it doesn't make sense. It has to at least have some therapeutic effect.
> 
> ...


I tried every herb rumored to help with anxiety with no luck .One day i combined one with L-Theanine and bingo.I tried L-Theanine on its own and whilst it did have some effect it was nowhere near as good as with the passionflower:conclusion ;the combination of both had some sort of synergistic therapeutic effect or two chemicals combined and reinforced each others singular effects


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## wonderwoman2208 (Apr 10, 2014)

My experience with Effexor (Venlafluxine) is horrid, fine while on but made my BP so high I almost had a stroke, the withdrawal is worse than anything I've ever known so if you have something you know that works for you I'd try and stick with that.


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## ellespirit (Dec 2, 2012)

I still don't understand which one is the best


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## wildcherry876 (Feb 6, 2012)

I've tried Effexor. It worked pretty good for me (I have depression and SA), but the effects wore off eventually. Never tried wellbutrin.


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## CopingStrong (Jan 14, 2013)

swim said:


> wellbutrin might have helped you losing weight, *effexor is the gold standard for GAD* but it could make you gain some weight.


We all have our own opinions and mine is that Lexapro is the gold standard for GAD. I've tried them all and nothing worked close as good to escitalopram.


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## zeusko87 (Sep 30, 2014)

i would say effexor is better because wellbutrin is a sugar pill


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