I have been taking 300mg of Wellbutrin for a few years and have decided to stop taking it since I ran out of my mail order supply. It's been about 2 weeks, and so far, I think i'm doing well, but I have had some shoulder pain, and numbness in my right hand.
Thank you in advnace for your help.
2007-09-24 02:47:27 · 1 answers · asked by David L 1 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Pain & Pain Management
I didn't have any side effects when I stopped. They had to switch me to another medicine - no problems!
2007-09-24 02:55:00 · answer #1 · answered by VTSOXFAN 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is not safe to stop any drug "cold turkey", especially ones that work in your brain such as Wellbutrin. And yes, there can be side effects. But since its already been 2 weeks, there isnt anything you can do. Just for next time, dont stop a medication without first consulting a doctor... or at least "stair step" down...(knock a couple mgs off every couple of days)
2007-09-24 02:56:53 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Each person will respond differently to stopping serotonin boosters, or Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI's). Whilst some people experience mild side-effects when stopping the drug, others will have horrendous side-effects from just lowering the dosage, since the neural seroto(ni)nergic system in the brain has become dependent on the actions of the (SSRI) anti-depressant (blocking the re-uptake carried out by "transporter proteins" carrying "mis-fired" serotonin across the plasma membrane back into the synapse of the firing serotonergic neuron).
By stopping cold turkey, serotonergic activity will drop drastically. Hence withdrawal side-effects may appear such as electrical surges/shocks in the head (brain shivers) and/or body, pins and needles on the skin, feelings as being on the verge of losing consciousness, blackouts, short term memory problems, etc.. Above mentioned side effects refer to epileptiform activity, or electrical discharges, in the brain. When dosages are cut back, (withdrawal) side-effects are at least minimized. No one should stop taking their medication cold turkey, but anti-depressant use should be tapered off very, very slowly.
withdrawal side effects is to wean off the medication. By reducing the dosage in small increments, your serotonergic system can gradually take over it's own natural serotonin producing activity and slowly adapt to living without the drug. This process may take up to a year or longer. Some doctors are halving the dose every week or two. We do not recommend to taper off that fast. Nor do we recommend to skip daily doses. Taper gradually with an absolute maximum of 5% per week.
2007-09-24 02:57:12 · answer #3 · answered by Cherokee Billie 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I've also recently stopped my 300 mg a day Wellbutrin. I haven't noticed any side effects so far that are bothersome, maybe a little insomnia & headaches. Do some research online, that's what I did. Good luck.
2007-09-27 06:46:34 · answer #4 · answered by niki 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋