Long-trying to ween from Wellbutrin, not going well
hgoodale
member
I don't know if this is a rant, a request for encouragement or a pity party, but I need to complain!
I have been on a combo of Wellbutrin and Prozac for the past 6 years for chronic clinical depression. It's been severe in the past.
I tried to come off of my meds last summer prior to starting IUI. We ended up miscarrying twins and I went back up to my full dose of both meds (300mg wellbutrin/40 Prozac)
I am almost 15 weeks (natural conception!) and I have been trying (with help from my doc) to ween from the wellbutrin. I started out too quickly (down to half the dose in 3 weeks) and ended up in the hospital with a terrible migraine and constant vomiting. We think I was having withdrawals.
I upp'ed my meds by a little and am now trying to come down 25 mgs at a time every 7-10 days. I am currently at 200mg/day and am scheduled to go to 175mgs in a few days. I'm experiencing migraines again and nausea. My Dr gave me 8 percocet to help (over a month ago), and I have been taking 1/2 a pill as needed here and there. It's helped, but I'm running out and the lower I go, the more I feel like I need it. *No, I'm not addicted to it, it just helps bring the migraine down a few notches so I can function*
While in the ER, Doc mentioned going cold turkey, dealing with withdrawals for awhile and putting me on pain meds in the meantime. I think this is a BAD BAD idea (what if I get addicted then?), but I'm so sick of dealing with all this crap daily, that I'm slightly considering the cold turkey without meds. I DON'T WANT TO PUT MY BABY IN DANGER just because I am miserable though.
Emotionally, I'm doing ok. I have my hormonal moments and I'm sure I could be doing better, but hubs and I are pretty proud that I have gotten down by 100mgs/day so far and doing well other than the headaches and puking...
I don't know if this makes any sense whatsoever, but I don't know what to do.
I have another apt with my OBGYN on the 3rd to discuss the progress.
I want to eventually come off of the Prozac as well, but we're tackling one at a time. My ultimate goal is to be off meds 1 month prior to birth so that baby and I are free of the meds at birthtime and baby will not (hopefully) experience any symptoms.
There are SO many pros and cons to all of this 
Re: Long-trying to ween from Wellbutrin, not going well
The ED doc is not a psychiatrist, so PLEASE don't take his advice of stopping your meds cold turkey. These medications aren't his specialty. Antidepressants work by increasing the number of neurotransmitters in your brain. After taking them for awhile, your body adjusts, and comes to depend on the med to make these neurotransmitters available. This is why all psych meds should be weaned slowly. Stopping them all at once could cause a serious downswing in your mood, not to mention all the other fun side effects.
(I'm saying this as a psych nurse and someone who has taken Wellbutrin for about 15 years.)