looking for info on antidepressants like wellbutrin

[bmacd]

A close friend of mine gets bad depression when she goes back to school. I won't be able to see her for at least 4 months to check up on her. She has a history of breast cancer in her family. She doesn't eat when she gets depressed, and she'll work out (exercise) until she thinks she's not fat anymore, and then she'll eat b/c she's so hungry and end up throwing it up b/c her stomach can't handle it.

I think antidepressants will help her, but we both need more information on them. She has a fear that it will create complications later down the road with having children, and that's her biggest problem with taking them. She knows she has a problem...and we're ready to goto the doctor together, but she wants more info first.

Thanks

-=bmacd=-

 

[bmacd]

nobody?

-=bmacd=-

 

[GasX]

google?

 

[Bryophyte]

As far as I know, Wellbutrin is not known to interfere with fertility. I don't think it is known to be a terratogen. I would warn her not to drink while on it, though. They really really aren't kidding when they say on the prescription bottle not to drink alcoholic beverages. I know from experience.

One of the main risks while on it is seizures. They are very, very rare, but they can happen. Everything I read seemed to imply that if you do have a seizure, it shouldn't cause any kind of permanent damage to you, but you want to know about it so you can stop taking it if you have one.

I had panic attacks at night if I took the full dosage my doctor prescribed (2/day), so I only take 1/day when I'm on it. I'm not taking it right now.

I think that what she is doing to her body with her anorectic and bullimic eating patterns and her compulsive exercising is going to do more to harm her ability to have children than taking an antidepressant, but that's something she needs to explore with her doctor. I'm not a doctor or a pharmacist. Her doctor may decide to put her on an SSRI (selective seratonin reuptake inhibitor) instead of Wellbutrin. That would be something like Zoloft or Paxil or Prozac.

 

[bmacd]

thank you for your excellent post Bryophyte

-=bmacd=-

 

[bmacd]

anybody else?

-=bmacd=-

 

[h8red]

Typically wellbutrin is not prescribed to people with either seizure disorders or eating disorders. I would classify your friend as maybe having an eating disorder but I'm not an MD.

There are quite a few other antidepressants on the market that should work well for her though. Anti-depressants typically take anywhere from 4-6 weeks to start working so it is something that she should talk to her doctor about now for the impending school year. The other misconception is that once you start feeling better, you can stop taking the drugs. This is not the case. She should maintain on the med for at least 9 months to a year but since she is in school I would recommend taking it year round until out of school. After school (or when she and MD decide to stop taking) she would need to slowly wean off the med.

There aren't any studies that show long term side effects on pregnancy as far as I know so I can't say that it will be 100% safe but I do know women who continue to take antidepressants while they are pregnant. It is a risk/benefit ratio that she would have to talk with her MD about. So I would say right now, with our current knowledge, antidepressants shouldn't cause any long term problems with having children.

There are quite a bunch of them on the market right now and most are fairly expensive if she has to pay cash. If paying cash I would recommend fluoxetine (generic prozac) because it is the least expensive. If she has drug insurance I have seen a lot of people with good success/not many side effect problems taking Lexapro.

Other (non-inclusive) antidepressants:
Celexa
Cymbalta (brand new one - I have no idea how this one will end up working for people)
Effexor
Paxil (paxil has a geneic but it is very expensive right now)
Zoloft
Wellbutrin (has a generic but don't think this is the one for her)

ask away if you have any further questions

 

[Ausm]

Wellbutrin is also perscribed to help people quit smoking.


Ausm

 

[Haps]

I think your friend should go see her Doctor. Medication may not be the answer. She may need to see a therapist. Her problems could be chemical but odds are they are not.