I was fired from jobs, kicked out of a band, and the whole thing was a punctuality/attendance issue.

It all started in 2006. I started falling asleep at an office job (b-o-r-i-n-g slow paced/hurry up and wait electrical designer job, anyway). That was when the family dr. put me on Paxil, or something for depression. They've had me on various different med's since then.

So anyhoo, the message, here, is if you take an SSRI (Zoloft, Paxil, Trazadone, Prozac, and the like) that doesn't really work for you, and has you all lethargic and dysfunctional in general:

You should ask your doc about Bupropion. This medication can be added to your Prozac -- or whatever brand -- SSRI, as a second line of defense, when the SSRI, alone, isn't working too well.

I wanted to know all about this medication after the doc prescribed it, so I went on line and found that out. If your SSRI is not also a norephinephrin reuptake inhibitor, Bupropion could be added and may "do the trick" to knock you out of the tiredness/sleepiness/zombie-ish-ness/lethargy, if that is what you are experiencing with the plain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor.

Bupropion affects dopamine and norephrinephrine receptors, so it can be used in addition to a plain SSRI, as a second line of defense against your severe depression.

just thought i would let someone out there know, who might not have been familiar with this.

I was on Prozac for months before the doc added Bupropion. That was when it was almost like a coma every time I went to sleep, I had to sleep many hours (about 15) a day, or else be sleepy, sluggish and tired, and I got tired out rather easily, too, after all that sleep. I lost jobs and got kicked out of a band, because of the lateness issues (having to do with the sleepiness). The Bupropion is somewhat of a stimulant. It seems to be working OK, for me. (Of coarse, each person is different.)

Talk to your doctor if you are always sleepy, and on med's. It COULD actually be your SSRI making you that tired, in which case you might be better off with Bupropion added to your remedy.

Good night.

I used to be on that. It worked for a long time, but then shit went down and even that couldn't help

Eh, I took it with Zoloft as perscribed when I was on meds a long time ago (my depression has since resolved itself)...I personally had bad side effects and had to be taken off of it. I had an extremely dry mouth and tremors, then I collapsed. Ugh. But I'm sure it works for some people, and if it works for you that's all that really matters. The doctor perscribed it to "pep me up" since Zoloft was making me rather sleepy all the time.

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Here's a spoiler for you: Chinese Democracy is shit

... over here if the side effects of the drug are a problem, they switch the drug rather than add another one. If I had to take a "booster" with my meds, I'd probably get pissed off and change them.

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Oh shit, that sounds promising, almost.

That's what my dr. did, too. It seems to be working, but I've only been on it for less than a week.

It does seem weird to have another kind of anti-depressant added to one that you are already taking.

Another thing I had read about bupropion (a.k.a. Welbutron) was that it is sometimes added as a second line of defense, when the patient is not responding well, to a plain SSRI. The article also said that if that doesn't work, the next step could be ECT.

That sounded scary to me, so I looked into ECT, and nowadays they put you under anesthesia, and the shocks to the brain are supposed to knock the depression out of you, and not do any other harm. So it isn't as bad as I thought, maybe.

I wonder if anybody here had any experience with ECT treatments. Does it work, without any side effects?

Wellbutrin has worked for a lot of people. Not for me, even though I continue to take it... Because every time I try to stop I experience terrible withdrawal.

The good things about Wellbutrin (brand name for bupropion) are that it usually doesn't have sexual side effects and it shouldn't cause weight gain. So yeah, you can turn to it if you desperately need something. But any doctor who prescribes something like this for someone who just needs to be "perked up" is out of their mind. No, it's not going to affect everyone who takes it in an adverse way. But there's no way to tell who it will and who it won't affect. In my opinion, it's just too big a risk. There are other alternatives I would try for someone who is feeling low, and not necessarily severely depressed--like therapy or even a natural antidepressant like St. John's Wort.

I am taking Cymbalta (SSRI) mixed with Wellbutrin. I HATE the idea of taking one medication because the other fucks you up too much so you need to fix things from that. Originally, Wellbutrin made me so jittery, nervous, easily agitated and short-tempered that I was prescribed Cymbalta alongside. Now when I stop Wellbutrin and try to wean myself off Cymbalta, I get pretty sick. Zoning out, spaceyness, weird "brain zaps." And these drugs have also killed my coordination. I never was a ditz until I swallowed this shit.

I'm saying you shouldn't take antidepressants if you're truely ill with depression. But I think it's way too easy to get on them. It's a fickle science and taking these things when you don't really need them is dangerous. Wellbutrin and other drugs have caused relatively stable people to commit suicide. There's no way scientists know exactly which neurotransmitters need to be targeted, so it's a game of guess and check.