Wellbutrin for BPD

Just to be clear SSRIs don't work for BPD but Wellbutrin IS NOT an ssri. It's a
An NDRI and deals not with serotonin but dopamine and norepinephrine.

Lost.. Wellbutrinis not an SRI; it effects Norepinephrine and Dopamine.

I think specific anti-depressants work better for each individual and largely doesn't have much to do with having BPD or not. It may be common for certain ones not to do well in patients with BPD but what if you're a part of that 2% that it does work well with? You really won't know until you keep trying ones until you find the one that works best for you personally.

cause and effect
why do you think bpd's go for other cluster B's?
because they want a thrill more than a stable relationship and future
life is about 2 things what you want and what you are willing to do to get it
jmho

My experience with Wellbutrin for BPD has been very positive.

For the first couple weeks I had dry mouth and frequent urination but it cleared up and I don't have any noticeable side effects. I don't recall any psychological side effects starting up.

I'm on 150mg. As some others have experienced, I've noticed a bottom to my lows, or even a "safety net" appear in that, when triggered, I still experience sadness or feelings of betrayal, etc but it is much more mild and way more short lived. If I do nothing about it, it eases way up within a few hours, or by the next day or two if something major happens, and with the more minor triggers like not receiving back a text message or something either it doesn't affect me anymore or a simple distraction gets it out of my mind and brings me back to center.

In terms of emotional regulation, it has done a lot.

To put it in context I'm a 30 year old male, and before I tried Wellbutrin I tried Seroquel, Paxil, and one other SSRI, and all three of them completely backfired. They had my anxiety and desperation at 10/10 and my thoughts in a feedback loop, squeezing my stomach and sending what felt like a jolt of devastation and adrenaline each time the thought looped back around. Before taking any medication, thoughts about a certain person that I missed, felt like I couldn't trust anymore, wasn't loved by, etc, had already felt like hearing the news that someone I cared about had died, but on an SSRI it was like I had just seen my best friend get their head shot off next to me or something.

So yes -- Wellbutrin combined with a 12 week DBT skills group and a year of therapy so far (Thank god for Canadian universal health care) has me feeling hopeful for the future.

Hope this helps!

I take it because the other anti depressants give me really bad side effects that never seem to wear off.

I have been on Xanax for years to the panic attack thing people talk about doesn't bother me since I am on Xanax. I had panic disorder before Wellbutrin.

But I mean, I take 300 mg a day and that's a high dose and I still think of suicide. Hating yourself can't be medicated away. It seems to keep me from actually self harming but there's been a couple times I've self harmed.

Weight loss. Yes. Appetite decrease...yes. I've lost 15 to 20 pounds in a year on it. I'm almost anorexic except I don't do it because I think I'm too over weight. I just am not hungry.

And to be honest, sometimes I self harm by going days with no food or water until I am so sick I get immune issues and start breaking out in cold sores. Self harm has many sides. I also have unprotected sex. Self harm.

I do get STD tests. I don't want to give someone else an STD. It's not like I want one, and I've never had one, but I just don't care if I do. So...all it did was cut down on my self harm of "cutting" I still do other bad things to myself.

I've been maxed out on Wellbutrin for over a year. But j am also prescribed an antidepressant and a beta blocker (prescribed for anxiety, not for heart).

Wellbutrin helped in getting things started in the sex department. However, I did find that I have to consume a lot of water because I get severe dry mouth. Also, it makes me really warm.

Honestly, there's no one pill fix and it reacts differently with everyone. Some gain weight, some lose. Some have increased libido, some also decreased.

I encourage you try it if you feel like you need a new medication regimen.though one thing that is very positive about Wellbutrin is that it has a longer half life than other antidepressants, which means if you forget to take it for a half of a day or a day, you're not likely to feel any side effects yet.

I was debating whether I should comment because my experience was not great, and I don't want to discourage anyone form trying Wellbutrin if there's no other option available. Like all meds, it's very hit/miss and also preexisting health and hormonal conditions can change how a medication works for you. [Being hypothyroid/having adrenal fatigue is what I suspect causes so many issues with drugs for me, including this one.]

Anyway. To sum up my Wellbutrin experience in a sentence: I felt like I was experiencing the same nagging paranoia, restlessness, and mild dissociation I have felt after consuming too much weed. Interestingly, both marijuana and Wellbutrin target dopamine receptors in your brain....it was definitely not a coincidence. In the end it only exacerbated my anxiety while also making me feel twitchy and disconnected. Very hard to put into words.

Wellbutrin has a rage side affect if I recall correctly. At least for me it made me rage. Another poster mentioned that it made their panic attacks worse and I agree with this as well. I am sensitive to medications worsening my anxiety though and isn’t out of the norm for me if I try to switch things up and land on a more stimulating medication.

LostAndFound wrote:The research is clear that people with bpd should NOT take sri's like wellbutrin or others.
"SSRIs were found effective in decreasing severity of depressed mood, anxiety and anger, mainly in subjects with a concomitant affective disorder."

But you know Wellbutrin isnt an SSRI, its an NDRI, right?