536 replies to this topic

[ShadyLady]

Hey, FN...so sorry about your ratnest today! Thank God you read the label! Interesting to note that we both had severe reaction to the generic C:(( Can you return the script to the pharm & have them look up your rx history? Wouldnt that show you have only been prescribed brand & note you are allergic to generic? It should not matter that a 'new' psych prescribed the medication without noting on the script 'No Generic' since you had been taking the same medication from another psych before, right?! I only mention this as I had a similar problem several(?) years ago & returned to the generic to the pharmacy and explained the situation, very similar to yours, and they looked it up after I 'stood my ground' without a loaded weapon, of course;) &saw the 'notes' about Brand Only from previous rxs & refilled with the brand...they did not even want the generic back as they cannot for obvious reasons, I suppose:/ May be worth a try if it is the same pharmacy you have used with the prior doctor's rx...just a thought as I can inly imagine the bullshit you will have to deal with @ the clinic and/or the new dr.

[FiveNotions]

Good idea, CS, but nope .. it's a totally new rx from a totally new shrink ... the fact that my first clinic shrink wrote "brand only" applies only to the rxs he wrote for me ... new shrink, whole new ball game ...

That's ok, I'm actually looking forward to heading to the clinic and letting this gal see what she says "doesn't exist" looks like in person ...

[ShadyLady]

TFL, as in the 'Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood' teehee;) I am thinking about you & sending cyber hugs for strength & courage for you with your son's upcoming wedding! I have read several of your posts & know this is coming up as I've seen the date is around birthday on the 7th of August which I'm dreading:( I will keep you in my prayers, feeble & scattered as they are, as I know you are struggling with the trip & wanting it to be over before it even begins!! What if the trip of seeing both your sons & the wedding turns out to be the best event you have experienced since being off the C dope?! Your posts are so kind, thoughtful & heartfelt that surely Liz deserves a truly memorable a time of sharing joy with her sons that she has rightly earned through the trials of C discontinuation?! Right;))?! God bless you from one the Ya-Ya's in your world, Rebecca

[ShadyLady]

FN..well that 'totally' sucks except for your attitude of turning lemons into lemonade! I think the experience today is more a positive negative! Teehee;)

[ShadyLady]

FN, probably not the right topic:/ to post/ask about the Wellbutrin but whatever!! Did you start taking the Wellbutrin before or after stopping the C? I am really struggling @ 44 days off:(( I have not posted in a couple weeks(?) as the sleepless nights & severe leg/arm nerve pain is eating me alive! I believe I am trying to convince myself that I was not experiencing this severity whilst on the C but I also have to remember that I have stopped a couple other meds too close together & do not know which symptoms of withdrawal are related to what drug!! Why were you prescribed the Wellbutrin, if you don't mind answering?

[DoneWithCrap]

8 better than 11. Going in the right direction. D
I still do the crying thing, and the oh my god I can't do this anymore thing, but on the whole I am feeling better.
Found this
“E.L. Doctorow said once said that 'Writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.' You don't have to see where you're going, you don't have to see your destination or everything you will pass along the way. You just have to see two or three feet ahead of you. This is right up there with the best advice on writing, or life, I have ever heard.
Anne lamott

I needed this!!!
Thank you

[TryinginFL]

Rebecca,

 

Thank you for your kind and loving words...

 

Yes, I am hoping that this trip will be much better than I have been anticipating - maybe living as a hermit for over 6 months has instilled a fear of travel and being so far from home.  I also have never left my dogs for such a long period of time. 

 

Thank you also for your prayers and you remain in mine as I know that you are going through a terrible time right now.  You should start seeing some good days now and then within the next week or so - just remember to be kind to yourself - don't overdo or that damn withdrawal will come right back and bite you!

 

Take care, my dear cyber friend,

 

Liz

[FiveNotions]

CymSik, heck, you can ask me anything ...

Wellbutrin is an sdri... selective dopamine reuptake inhibitor. It works very differently than the ssri's, which act on serotonin.

Dopamine is the neurotransmitter associated with reward-motivated behavior. From what I understand, Wellbutrin is not as frequently prescribed as ssri's, because not that many people have specific dopamine-deficient depression. That's the kind where you may think about doing something, want to do something but just can't make the connection to actually do it ....zero motivation, zero "zip," and no energy.

Serotonin is the "feel good" neurotransmitter. Serotonin deficient depression involves the sense of sadness, anxiety, loss of appetite, insomnia, no joy in anything. Ssri's are also used to treat pain .. fibro, osteoarthritis, etc.

(If I'm off base here, FH and TM, let me know, please.)

I was prescribed the Wellbutrin about 7 or 8 years before Cymbalta ... way back in the late 1990s.... 1996 or 97, I think ... I'd just come through a brief but disastrous marriage to a narcissist, moved back to DC, changed careers from law to librarianship, started a new job and started grad school for the MLIS. I was starting a new life, and excited about doing so.
 
I wasn't sad, anxious, down or gloomy. I wanted to do things, had lots of interest, but just couldn't make the connection between the idea to do something in my brain and actually getting my body to do it ... zero energy.

The shrink I had at the time tried me on two ssris, paxil and celexa. Neither one did anything, except make me gain weight. So, she deduced that my depression was of the dopamine-deficient kind and prescribed Wellbutrin. It worked wonderfully for me, no side effects, and I returned to my typical energetic and enthusiastic self.
 
I now think that I should have stayed on it for no more than 6 months, just while I got therapy ... but, the shrink and therapist both told me it'd be "for life."
 
So, I'm still on it. The only problems I've ever had are the 3 times I was prescribed the generic ... 2005, when it sent me to the hospital with projectile vomiting and seizures; 2007, when it caused a psychotic episode; and last November when it almost caused another psychotic episode. I ended up on Cymbalta as a result.
 
My plan is to try weaning off the Wellbutrin after I've been off the Cymbalta for at least a year, maybe more. But if it turns out that I still do actually need to be on it, I'm okay with that.

[Carleeta]

My negative for today is that it seems I'm about to be forced to spend a day or so "cold turkey" off the Wellbutrin xl 300 that I still take ...
 
I stopped at the pharmacy on my way to church, to pick up my rx renewal ... at the counter when I picked it up I confirmed with the gal that it was the brand, not the generic (to which I have horrendous reactions), she said yes. But, I didn't personally check the bottle. (Dumb.)
 
So, after I was out of the store, I got some water and was about to take one from the new bottle, and just happened to notice that the label said "bupropion" .... and, it's the one made by Actavis ... this is the exact generic of the Wellbutrin that almost put me into a psychotic episode late last November -- that happened just about a week before I had my similar "encounter" with the generic Cymbalta, which is why I quit that stuff cold turkey. FiveNotions...OMG I wish there was something I could do to help you. It seems as though you have no other choice but to just walk in there tomorrow and get straight to the point of why you are in there. I am saying a prayer for you so you could get through the night with some peaceful rest...
Prayers and thoughts to you
 
So, this means that my new shrink at the clinic ignored the first clinic shrink's file notes and what I told her about my reaction to the generic, and went right ahead and prescribed it anyway. (I was hospitalized twice from run-ins with the Teva generic of Wellbutrin that's now been taken off the market.)

I could call the clinic tomorrow ... but, she doesn't take calls, only messages ... and, she told me that she "tries" to return messages within 48 hours, but can't guarantee that she will be able to do so.

So, I'm going to do a "walk-in first thing in the morning ... and just sit there until she sees me ... it'll be a good "show and tell" for her ... she can see what cold turkey withdrawal really looks like ...
 
The moral of this story is .... ALWAYS read the labels on new rxs while standing right at the pharmacy counter ... don't ever rely on just what the pharmacist or pharm tech says ... AND, don't ever run out of meds before picking up the refills...

[FiveNotions]

Thanks, Carleeta! I'll be okay ... Wellbutrin has a half-life of anywhere from aprox. 12-30 hours ... the extended release that I use runs towards the longer half-life. I'm already feeling some effects -- my pupils are constricting a bit. But the effects wouldn't start to get bad until late tomorrow night, and even then, nothing compared to crapalta. Also, this time around I've got the diazepam handy, so I'll take a dose before bed.

I'll be at the clinic at 8 a.m. when they open tomorrow, standing right where I'll see the shrink when she walks through the staff entrance.

[ShadyLady]

FN...This forum and the members are the best gift I have ever received!! You have no idea the impact of your explanation of dopamine deficiency is a description of myself that I have been unable to connect! Several years ago, a great GP I was seeing told me that studies were done showing a dopamine deficiency in people diagnosed with fibromyalgia...nothing more was said or done as he became chronically ill & sold his practice, young doctor in his late 40's! Never thought any more about it until recently, i.e. the reason I asked you about the Wellbutrin after reading your post today!! I have been beating myself up terribly with 'the kind where you may think about doing something...' and hating the paralysis that accompanies the repetitive attempts to be productive on any level. I am probably not make sense to anyone reading this:( except myself! Uuurrgh, but Eureka!! I have an appt with my psych in a couple weeks, which I've been dreading, but the Wellbutrin gives me hope & strength to tell him about stopping the Cym, Adderall & Lunesta since my last appt 3 months ago! Woohoo:))). I am going to research more on Wellbutrin as well...THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR CONTRIBUTING SO FAITHFULLY TO THIS FORUM & those of us that are newer in the discontinuation recovery!!! I may even get some sleep tonite with the hope that there can be a brighter tomorrow in the midst of this storm & the wreckage it has caused! Oh, may God bless you richly in all things, Rebecca

[thismoment]

FN

I hope your visit to the doc goes well.

[gail]

FN, so sorry here. I wish I could wire you a bottle of this which I have and never took.

 

Good luck today, thinking of you.

[TryinginFL]

FN....

 

Hope you are not still sitting in that Clinic - it is now 1150 am - and either have, or on your way to getting your new RX!!

[FiveNotions]

Hi all, I just got home. The positive, which I guess I should post in the other thread, is that I got a month supply of the brand wellbutrin. Yay! After quite a saga at the clinic and a bit of struggle with the pharm techs at the pharmacy, the pharmacist came over, took one look at me, and said she was going to refill the brand rx, without authorization, and deal with the "paperwork and problems" later ...

 

All in all, it was a most interesting and "informative" few hours...

 

The clinic walk-in was a no-go. They only take walk-ins from 5 pm to 10 pm, and on Mondays-Wednesdays, there is no shrink there, so anything shrink-related has to wait until Thursday evening, or go to the one remaining ER in DC that takes Medicaid patients...Two armed guards at the front desk were there turning people away ... and I was in far far better shape than the rest of the folks needing the shrink. Out front of the clinic there were about 30 folks sitting the steps and benches, all in various stages of schizo and psychotic episodes ... the guards were there to break up fights, etc...

 

Also, in the lobby of the clinic I saw that they've put up big signs, warning about drug-resistant tuberculosis, scabies, foot-and-mouth disease and head lice ... anyone coughing is handed a mask, and the pictures of the scabies and other stuff are truly gross ... I asked what that was about, and they wouldn't tell me...

 

The Target pharmacy where I go had similar signs up ... I asked the pharmacist, and she said that the new wave of illegals that the gov't is allowing into the country are bringing these diseases with them ... she said that these folks are being allowed into the country with no health screenings (contrary to what the news reports say), and are being dispersed to cities around the country ... apparently about 500 (or more) have  been sent here to DC, and are being "warehoused" (her word not mine) here at abandoned/closed public schools ... clinics, pharmacies and ER's have been alerted ...

 

Wow!

[ShadyLady]

Great news in that the pharmer took some authority & refilled with brand!! Other than gratitude at getting the needed brand, I don't know how you managed to witness the literal insanity taking place around you...I have a visual from your description & tears are flowing at the f'dupness (my word) we are confronted with in the medical community! What's wrong is right & what's right is wrong!

I will weep a little while & then pick up the phone, that green monster that lurks on the counter:(, and make two appointments. One to see an endocrinologist for Hashimoto's that I've not followed up with on quarterly bloodwork & the other appointment with a psychologist to help me sort out the ruin I've created & allowed whilst on the C-rack for the last 10 years!

Glad you slayed a dragon today, Sista! Now maybe go lay down with a lamb for awhile;)

[FiveNotions]

Bravo on making those phone calls, Cym!

 

I don't have a "lamb" to lie down with, but I've got three cats and a teddy bear ... nap time!

[Clara]

Yay, glad you got your rx! The crap that's being brought in by illegal immigrants just scares the crap outta me! Our gov here in SC says they were brought into our state but, will not tell her where! ARG!!!! What is our world coming to? I need to STOP watching the news! All my best to all on the forum! I'm hangin' in and hangin' on with ya!!!!

[Jones]

Your story is a real eye opener.

I too am happy you got the right meds. I had a similar experience with Effexor and had to end up paying full price for the replacement Only after a full melt down in the pharmacy. The pharmacist told me it was a law they had to use generics. This wasn't a new prescription, they just did it one day.

You may have already tried this but could you have that generic name out on your profile at the pharmacy as an allergy ? I have some in mine. It may work if your prescriptions is changed again. Just maybe. Ha

[thismoment]

FN

 

Great story- what a day! 

[TryinginFL]

FN...

 

Congratulations on getting your RX!!  Sorry you had to go through such a horrible scene in order to do so.  I don't think I would have handled it as well.

 

Hope you got your nap and are feeling rested - you sure have accomplished a lot today!

[Flossy]

So sick of waking up nauseous, headachy and feeling crappy! Just generally sick of being held back by feeling sick! What does wellness feel like? I forget! 😔

[FiveNotions]

yep, another "excellent adventure" ... now every time I cough, I'm gonna' think I've got untreatable tb; every time I itch, I'll think I've got scabies; and the lice and foot/mouth disease ... well, yuck ...

[FiveNotions]

Flossy, wellness feels like ... the first day you wake up and realize you don't have a headache ... or, that you go a day without nausea ... wellness is what you feel each and every time you don't feel a symptom, or feel it less than the day before ...

BTW, could you be eating too much solid/heavy food? ... you're certainly far ahead of where I was with eating ... I could handle just liquids for the first month ... broth, herb tea, ginger ale, water ... and a few solids like saltine crackers and dry toast ... anything else, and up it came ...

[Carleeta]

yep, another "excellent adventure" ... now every time I cough, I'm gonna' think I've got untreatable tb; every time I itch, I'll think I've got scabies; and the lice and foot/mouth disease ... well, yuck ...

FiveNotions...No, No, No, now don't worry about TB, or scabies, lice, foot and mouth diseases...You need quite a bit of CLOSE exposer to an individual who has any of these issues....Second, use all antibiotic soap dispensers wherever you see one when entering and exiting stores, restaurants, clinics, buildings, and etc., carry a bottle in your purse...eat Probiotic yogurt... ...Third, all these conditions are treatable.  I don't want you to worry..ok?  

[FiveNotions]

You are such a dear, Carleeta! I was mostly being sarcastic ... although today I had a chance to chat with one of the clinic nurses ... she lives in my apartment building ... a wonderful woman, from Ethiopia ... she said they've had "in service" trainings recently on all those conditions ... and next week, the "featured" training is on ebola, as the CDC has sent out warnings to all docs in the US ...
 
I'm thinking along the lines of an "all-occasion" biohazard suit.. suitable for office and casual wear ... http://hosted.ap.org...iosuit/?SITE=AP 

[TryinginFL]

FN

 

Love the suit - blue is my favorite color!

[fishinghat]

Well, lets talk about negatives. My increase in hydroxyzine has taken care of about 80% of that sudden attack of panic I had. I seemed to have stabilized at that level. Some agitation but mostly feel grungy (is that a word?). So I was sitting here this morning debating. Was this from the Ativan withdrawal and will it fade? Unlikely I would have that strong a reaction from a 1% drop AND it has been 2 weeks since that drop. All my gastric symptoms are long gone and this panic shows no sign of backing off. It makes me think that I may not be able to further wean off the Ativan at this time.

So I decided I might move up my next psychiatrist appointment and get his input. He is definitely the best 'shrink' I have ever had. Well about that time the phone rings and it is my dr office. Is it possible they new what I was thinking? No such luck. My dr is taking over the inhouse psych ward at the hospital and I am being assigned to a new dr. %$#*&(@. And you can quote me on that!! It has been twelve years I have been fighting this anxiety and this will be my 6th psychiatrist. Great timing. This just adds to my panic and stress. But I have my ducks in a row and if this guy doesn't believe in Cymbalta withdrawal or believes in staying on these meds for life then I will just have to find my 7th shrink. Urgg. Keep your fingers crossed for me and thanks for listening.

[brzghoff]

FH: that sounds like a lot to wrestle with, i am so sorry. anxiety is a tough struggle, doing that also, but certainly not for 12 years, only for the 11 weeks off the C. that's a lot of p-docs! my therapist recommended a psych to me so i'm firing my current one, only one i've had for 18 years. i am hoping he will be more reasonable since my therp said he likes him.