1. < Depression & Anxiety

Getting off Wellbutrin with least amount of withdrawal or side effects

Posted by peggygris @peggygris, Apr 26, 2017

I have been on Wellbutrin for depression 20 years. It is no longer working. How do I go about stopping it with the least amount of withdrawal or side effects?

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Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Aug 16, 2021
In reply to @vfrifr "May I suggest the book "The Anti-Depressant Solution" by Dr. Joseph Glenmullen. According to the book..." + (show)
@vfrifr

May I suggest the book "The Anti-Depressant Solution" by Dr. Joseph Glenmullen. According to the book he has spent 30 years with Harvard Medicail School. He specializes in helping people slowly (and I do stress SLOWLY) discontinue taking drugs like Wellburtin. Please be sure to share information in the book with your doctor!

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Thank you for the book recommendation, @vfrifr. You are right to underline "slowly". Do you have first-hand experience with tapering off a medication?

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2 replies
vfrifr | @vfrifr | Aug 17, 2021
In reply to @colleenyoung "Thank you for the book recommendation, @vfrifr. You are right to underline "slowly". Do you have..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

Thank you for the book recommendation, @vfrifr. You are right to underline "slowly". Do you have first-hand experience with tapering off a medication?

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Yes, I am tapering off 25mg of Zoloft. I am one of the special 4% who expereinced severe heart palpitations. The first 3 tapers following doctors instruction were complete and total misery. (One taper put me in the hosptial for a day because I was so weak.) That only got me down to 7 mg. The doctors could not understand why I could not quite cold turkey. One even said it was the nocebo effect and I should discuss the issue with my psychotherapist to discuss just accepting the tapers. I did a considerable amount of reasearch on my own. Finding the book was only one piece of valuable information I found. Once I accepted (which is different that realized) that the tapering how much and when I taper is decided by my body, not the doctor, I relaxed about tapering. Thanks to the book, I was able to determine how much to taper, comfortably! The amount I taper is 0.4mg. My latest taper was from 6.0mg to 5.6mg. I started that taper on August 8th, 2021. Today (August 17th, 2021) my withdrawal effects are barely noticable.

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1 reply
mjfalk3 | @mjfalk3 | Aug 18, 2021
In reply to @bustrbrwn22 "@mjfalk3. I am so sorry for your experience and your posting helped me in knowing I’m..." + (show)
@bustrbrwn22

@mjfalk3. I am so sorry for your experience and your posting helped me in knowing I’m not the only one doctors won’t help. I was taking it so personally and wondering what was I doing wrong. Your comment lessened that feeling just a tiny bit in me.

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How are you doing now?

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1 reply
bustrbrwn22 | @bustrbrwn22 | Aug 18, 2021
In reply to @mjfalk3 "How are you doing now?" + (show)
@mjfalk3

How are you doing now?

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@mjfalk3. That is so thoughtful of you to ask. I’d prefer to PM you if that’s ok since I’m sure it’s very tiresome for people to hear my various autoimmune and neuropathy issues.

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1 reply
yellowdoggirl | @yellowdoggirl | Aug 18, 2021
In reply to @vfrifr "Yes, I am tapering off 25mg of Zoloft. I am one of the special 4% who..." + (show)
@vfrifr

Yes, I am tapering off 25mg of Zoloft. I am one of the special 4% who expereinced severe heart palpitations. The first 3 tapers following doctors instruction were complete and total misery. (One taper put me in the hosptial for a day because I was so weak.) That only got me down to 7 mg. The doctors could not understand why I could not quite cold turkey. One even said it was the nocebo effect and I should discuss the issue with my psychotherapist to discuss just accepting the tapers. I did a considerable amount of reasearch on my own. Finding the book was only one piece of valuable information I found. Once I accepted (which is different that realized) that the tapering how much and when I taper is decided by my body, not the doctor, I relaxed about tapering. Thanks to the book, I was able to determine how much to taper, comfortably! The amount I taper is 0.4mg. My latest taper was from 6.0mg to 5.6mg. I started that taper on August 8th, 2021. Today (August 17th, 2021) my withdrawal effects are barely noticable.

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Reply comment to @vfrifr , I used that book to get myself off Zoloft, too. It was a miserable process, but totally worth it. It was absolutely the only book I could find after a long search that gave clear, reasonable instructions. One, which I held in mind but didn't have to resort to, was to get the drug in a liquid form so the final titers could be nearly infinitesimal. I appreciated being validated in my feelings and in the difficulty of the process. At a couple points along the way, I was so anxious and agitated that I COULD NOT sit down!
I am just writing to offer encouragement, to say it can be done, and I found it totally worth all the effort.
Good luck to you, brave one!

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1 reply
mjfalk3 | @mjfalk3 | Aug 18, 2021
In reply to @colleenyoung "Thank you for the book recommendation, @vfrifr. You are right to underline "slowly". Do you have..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

Thank you for the book recommendation, @vfrifr. You are right to underline "slowly". Do you have first-hand experience with tapering off a medication?

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Just ordered.

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1 reply
mjfalk3 | @mjfalk3 | Aug 18, 2021
In reply to @bustrbrwn22 "@mjfalk3. That is so thoughtful of you to ask. I’d prefer to PM you if that’s..." + (show)
@bustrbrwn22

@mjfalk3. That is so thoughtful of you to ask. I’d prefer to PM you if that’s ok since I’m sure it’s very tiresome for people to hear my various autoimmune and neuropathy issues.

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It’s okay

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vfrifr | @vfrifr | Aug 18, 2021
In reply to @yellowdoggirl "Reply comment to @vfrifr , I used that book to get myself off Zoloft, too. It..." + (show)
@yellowdoggirl

Reply comment to @vfrifr , I used that book to get myself off Zoloft, too. It was a miserable process, but totally worth it. It was absolutely the only book I could find after a long search that gave clear, reasonable instructions. One, which I held in mind but didn't have to resort to, was to get the drug in a liquid form so the final titers could be nearly infinitesimal. I appreciated being validated in my feelings and in the difficulty of the process. At a couple points along the way, I was so anxious and agitated that I COULD NOT sit down!
I am just writing to offer encouragement, to say it can be done, and I found it totally worth all the effort.
Good luck to you, brave one!

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Thank you for posting your story! Very happy to hear my story validated your feels! That is so important. Thank you for the encouragement!! The words are appreciated more than I can say!

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vfrifr | @vfrifr | Aug 18, 2021
In reply to @mjfalk3 "Just ordered." + (show)
@mjfalk3

Just ordered.

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You are welcome! Hope the book is helpful to you! Please let us know.

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rucker25 | @rucker25 | Oct 2, 2022

I’m am tapering off wellbutrin beacuse its causes me trouble swallowing. I have been reducing my dose by 25mg every two weeks. I am down to 75mg an extremely sick. I am having spells of extreme anxiety, crying spells, but the worst part is my left side keep going numb amd my whole body feels off. When i try yo go to sleep i get more anxiety beacuse my brain racing and I’m jolted awake. Can anyone help or relate?

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