Reaction to Welbutrin? Or something else?

[April2]

Hi. My 15 year old daughter's child psychiatrist started my daughter on Zoloft about 6 weeks ago. Last week when we saw him, my daughter was saying how tired she is and he suggested taking Welbutrin along with the Zoloft. He said it would work with the Zoloft and give her a little more energy. She agreed to try it. I got the prescription filled Saturday and gave her the standard Zoloft pill (at 100 mg) and then one of the Welbutrin (which was also 100 mg) on Sunday morning. She asked to stay home from church because she said she was real tired and felt dizzy. I wondered if it was from the Welbutrin but my daughter thought it might be because she hadn't had a lot of sleep the night before. So we left it at that. The next day I gave her both pills again and sent her off to school. She told me later that she almost passed out in first period class. I asked her what happened. She said she went up to the teacher's desk to ask something and all of a sudden got real thirsty and felt like she was going to pass out, so she immediately went and sat back down. She said she broke out in a cold sweat and couldn't see or hear anything for a minute. She laid her head on her desk and felt like she had passed out for a minute. Her teacher brought her some cold water and she said she felt better after she drank it. She was ok the rest of the day.
I tried to call the child psychiatrist but still haven't heard back from him. I was afraid to give her another dose today so I only gave her the Zoloft and not the Welbutrin today.
Does this sound like she had a bad reaction to the Welbutrin? And is it something that just goes away once her body adjusts to it? Should he have started her on a lower dosage? Does anyone here take Welbutrin who can perhaps give me some insight here? I don't know if I should just have not given it to her today or not but I was afraid to give it to her again until I talked to the doctor.
It almost sounds like her blood sugar got too low so I did ask her if she had eaten breakfast and she said she did. Is there something else that she should be doing to help keep this from happening again? What do you all think?
I'm still waiting to hear back from the doctor. I would love to hear from others who have taken or are on Welbutrin and get your feedback. Thanks so much!
April

[kcdem]

so sorry to hear about your daughter. I can tell you that i took wellbutrin for a few days and it made me feel speedy, jittery, anxious. It is also suppresses the appetite and is used for smoking cessation. i would consider going to the other child psychiatrist and or a regular psychiatrist. i would not tolerate waitng for an answer. my psychiatrist calls me whithin the hour and my MD always called me back whithin three hours or so. if i were you i would consider other psychiatrist and ask them if they have teenage clients. best of luck to you and your daughter.


kcdem

[April2]

Hey guys! Thanks so much for responding and and being so caring! I really appreciate it. I hate the thought of putting her on drugs too and really that was a last resort. We've been struggling for two years with her. It was finally only after putting her in a mental hospital for four days after she cut herself that I finally let them try an anti-depressant. She's been struggling with depression for some time now. It's been hard to watch her go through all of this but I really do want to help her and I want her to be happy again.

I'm trying to get a second opinion. I called the pediatrician and talked to them and the nurse practitioner and they said it was best to talk to the psychiatrist who presribed this because they didn't often deal with these type drugs. They did say if she continued to feel this way whether she was on it or not to bring her in because it could be something health wise.
I still haven't heard back from the psychiatrist and I had called him on Monday so I'm not too happy. There's only two child psychiatrist in our city from what I understand so I don't know if I should look into checking out the other one or not. I will see if he calls today.
Thanks again guys for being so kind and sharing with me! I appreciate all the prayers! I believe that's why she's doing as well as she is. I know that God has good plans for her and He will get her through this. I'll keep in touch. God bless you all!

[Hensley258]

I would get a second opinion from another Psychiatrist regarding the meds.

For some reason young teens often have really bad adverse side effects to most Psycotropic medications. This is why the majority of doctors refuse to prescribe AD medication to young teens.

[SMERILA_6]

I am not a doctor and I feel for your daughter.  To be so young and having to be on these meds.  What I did was take the zoloft at night since it makes her sleepy and then the wellburtin in the morning.  I would suggest doing it on the weekend to see how she feels.  I know when I started my meds I felt like spacey, not really there, even now I have a hard time focusing.  I am going to school online and I don't feel as if I can retain information like I used to.  Make sure to drink water and eat healthy.  Stay away from caffine that triggers alot of different types of anxiety.

Tell your daughter good luck and I am praying she gets thru this.

[creston1966]

Hi There,

I'm sorry your daughter (and you) are going through these troubles.   You'll probably never really know for certain, nor get a definitive answer from the Drs whether there is a connection.  Kind of sounds like it.  Maybe its a matter of taking both anti-depressants at the same time?  I suppose you could try to take them a few hours apart.  Since Wellbutrin can have a slight stimulant effect (at 100mg dosage--which is the lowest dosage) probably better to take that earlier in the day.   100mg is the normal starting dose.  Over forms can come in 150mg dosages, but I believe the max someone should take in a day is 300mg.  Wellbutrin is well documented in regards to lowering a persons susceptibility to seizures (of all types).  It could be your daughter had that type reaction?  That I'd pursue with your doctor---and dont let him/her dismiss your concern.  It is a well known, FDA recognized concern.  Could also be a constellation of things like being tired, hungry, taking the medications, etc.  When I started on Wellbutrin (recently) the first few days I did have mild stomach pain.  And occasionally ringing in ears.   I really dont think there is harm in stopping after a few days, albeit most dr's want you to do that under their supervision/consultation.  There is little chance of any type of withdrawal after just a few days on the starter dose.   I do wonder if you girl isnt a bit dehydrated as well?  I have a 14 yr old girl (turns 15 this weekend!) and she often doesnt drink enough water, gets tired easily (needs her beauty rest ;), and has had a few spells of feeling like fainting.  I wonder if some of it isnt hormonal--as she's changing.  Could be a factor (maybe not THE factor, but a contributing factor).

Your daughter is lucky to have such a caring Mom.  I hope you can figure this out for her.  My advice is merely my opinion--I'm not a Dr as you know.   We all react differently to these sometimes necessary evil--medications.   I dont know your situation, but I do hope your girl can avoid being put on multiple medications.  Sometimes its a slippery slope.  I will think you you and pray for some answer.


Creston