hi. I'm living in Columbus, Ohio, and there are no support groups near me so I thought I'd give this a try.

I have dysthymia (minor but chronic depression) and I took paxil for years with great results, but the weight gain was too much for me to handle.

I've switched to wellbutrin which helped me lose the majority of the weight, but it doesn't work as well. I'm already taking 450 mg a day (the max dosage allowed) but I'm just not responding as well as I did with paxil.

I refuse to switch back and I'm really having trouble finding anyone who can tolerate me, much less understand what this feels like.

I suppose I just wanted to test the waters and see if I get a response to this.
Hope to hear from somebody.

First off welcome to healthboards. The majority of people here have dysthymia, some of us are going through major depressive disorders at this particular moment, so your definately not alone.

Have you spoken to your doctor about wellbutrin being ineffective? I am unsure of another antidepressant that does not have the weight gain side effect

take care
trg247

There might be another drug but some natural side effects of wellbutrin are increased metabolism and decreased appetite. So even better!

However, the increase in my depression (or decrease in the effectiveness of the drug, whatever) is starting to irritate me, and I'm not sure how much longer I can go without beating someone with a stick.

Any volunteers in the name of good mental health?

Yes from lots of people's experiences Wellbutrin does not work as well as anti-depressants like Paxil, Prozac, Zoloft....and more. The SSRI anti-depressant medications. They seem stronger then Wellbutrin. Wellbutrin is known for not having hardly any side effects but it doesn't work as well. I started taking Wellbutrin XL a few months ago and it seemed like it lifted my depression but I got very irritable and angry at the same time. May be what you are experiencing. My doctor added Zoloft 50mg and that really helped balance me out. It did make me tired so I lowered the dose to 25 mg and I feel great now. Maybe if you could get just a very small dose of something like Zoloft or one of the other SSRI's it would help better then just the Wellbutrin but since it's such a low dose shouldn't make you gain weight. I haven't gained any weight on it yet.

Hi Kari,
It's so good to know you're feeling great. That made my night. Keep it up!
Have a good night and a better tomorrow.

Talk again soon I hope.......Take Care............Connie

Hi Connie,
Glad to know I made your night. Yeah the 25 mg of Zoloft seems to be just enough to help me without having any side effects at all. It's also getting warmer here so I went for a walk outside today and that really helps my mood.

Kari

Lindsay,
There are lots of people who come to this board regularly so we end up knowing one another a little. Just like you just saw I have talked to Connie many times before. This depression one seems to be one of the busier ones and I always get a response when I post on here. There's lots of people who are in the same situation and can understand and give there experience. I hope you like it here. I know I do it's helped me lots.

Kari

Hi Lindsey,

Guess I'm late to the "party" here, but want to add my welcome as well.

It's good to know the Wellbutrin has helped with taking of the lbs. that you picked up on other meds. At least there's that. What has been popping up more and more often is a combination of Wellbutrin with another antidepressant to offset the stuff that one or the other doesn't target. So far I think I've seen it with Zoloft, Lexapro, maybe Effexor... and it seems to do the trick according to a number of the posters who've tried this. It helps to be working with a psychiatrist, but it sounds like perhaps you already are. If I keep seeing this combo thing working for people I might have to ask my psychx about it too.

Keep us posted,

Hi Lindsay, this is my first time here. I also took Paxil plus other meds for Fibromyalgia & gained 45 pounds in less than 5 months. I am now taking Effexor in place of the Paxil & it has helped more than the Paxil, plus a added bonus of not gaining anymore weight. I have now lost 19 pounds. Everybody is different but talk with your Doctor about the weight gain & let him know it is bothering you & you would like to try something else besides Paxil. Good Luck, & hope you will be feeling a lot better soon.

Hi Lindsay, this is my first time here. I also took Paxil plus other meds for Fibromyalgia & gained 45 pounds in less than 5 months. I am now taking Effexor in place of the Paxil & it has helped more than the Paxil, plus a added bonus of not gaining anymore weight. I have now lost 19 pounds. Everybody is different but talk with your Doctor about the weight gain & let him know it is bothering you & you would like to try something else besides Paxil. Good Luck, & hope you will be feeling a lot better soon.