I have been trying different meds for my severe ADHD (this diet helps greatly, but I am very severe and still need extra help in controlling it), and I finally found one that worked - Wellbutrin. I have so much focus and mental clarity it's amazing, plus it
helps me to think rationally and control my compulsive behaviors like compulsive spending and nailbiting - it's great. HOWEVER - in the first two weeks on it I gained 15 POUNDS!!!!! I have been in
maintenance for 3 years, no problems mainting, I didn't change my eating habits at all, so I know it's the Wellbutrin. It makes me mad, because the stats say that it may cause weight loss *or* gain and a higher percentage loose weight on it - why do I have to do the opposite!
However, I've gone back to induction for the past two weeks, faced the dreaded "e" word (I hate excercise) and rode my bike and walked more, plus I felt really bloated, so I think it's mostly water retention, and I am drinking way more water, and taking Hawthorn, B6, Vitamin C and an herbal diuretic, and now I feel way less bloated and have dropped 2 pounds. I am winning against this drug induced weight gain and at least not gaining any more - scared me at first becuase my clothes were all skin tight and I had this recurring nightmare I'd gain it all back and be fat again, and I certainly don't want that. After 3 years of enjoying being thin, that would be a cruel fate indeed! (But the benefits from the Wellbutrin are so fantastic, it would be a hard choice to choose between being fat or being productive, alert and on top of things!).
When I went to the doctor a couple of months ago after reading about all the benifits of Wellbutrin and told him I wanted to switch to it, he said he had far more success with Effexor, kept singing it's praises and really wanted me to try that instead (sometimes I wonder if Doctors get kickbacks from some drugs the way they promote some and not others). Well it made me
tired all the time, killed my creativity and flatlined my emotions, so after a month I talked the Doctor into letting me try Wellbutrin, and it's the closest thing to a miracle drug I've ever found.
Other than the weight gain, it has been an awesome month and I
really love this drug. I am getting alot more done in a day and able to keep track of a lot (a good thing because two people at my day job just quit without much notice, and while we are looking for more staff, it may take a while, so in the meantime I am now doing the work of three people (at the busiest time of year in my industry) and I am coping - I am stressed and look forward to having more staff/less work - but coping none the less rather than freaking out and not being able to handle it all.
And with the compulsiveness, I find I am more able to stop and think rationally - if I see something I really like, I am able to question, "do I really need that right now, can it wait, can I get it cheaper elsewhere", etc., and several times in the past few weeks I have walked out of stores without buying something I really thought I wanted (and would have just mindlessly bought in the past) and either found something better or cheaper
elsewhere later or realized after a day or so that I really didn't need it anyways. And I paid alot of our bills - I've had this bad habit of getting paid, putting off (or forgetting) to pay the bills, spend the money and then I'm always behind on the bills or paying them with Visa and going further into debt. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and think I can turn a corner and get on top of my finances and debt - I've never felt
that way before.
I also feel so happy and positive on the Wellbutrin. I never thought I was depressed before - just kind of anxious and upset when things didn't turn out or go the way I planned (which I thought was the hyperness), but besides the focus and alertness on Wellbutrin, I have this sense of peace and happiness, and a feeling that everything will work out eventually, not a sense of panic and dread, especailly with my finances.
As for Tina's Doctor telling her to eat tons of Carbs while on Paxil - nothing could be worse advise!! Sugar and starch cause depression and anxiety - I think this Doctor is just towing the pharmecuedical company's line as they want you to stay depressed and keep buying/needing thier product. The fact that Debbie has had sucess with Paxil and eaten low carb proves that point. I've never felt as positive and healthy as when I switched to low carb, and for that reason, more than the thinness, I would never go back to eating starchy carbs. Never! I'd switch doctors or anything else to keep eating this way!
Has anyone else experienced weight gain on anti-depressants, and how did they deal with it!
Crystal in Saskatoon