Depression Medications - Lexapro, Adderall and possibly Wellbutrin

Author

Lexapro, Adderall and possibly Wellbutrin

lmnboston

2006-03-22, 2:46 pm

Hi all, I'm new to this board and have a few, assumedly redundant
questions to ask. First off, I'm on my second week of Lexapro - 10mg
(for depression, manic tendencies, and GAD). I started taking the
medication in the morning but found myself suffering from increasing
fatigue as each day passed. Last night, for the first time, I opted to
take the medication at approx. 6:30 pm. I had a difficult time
arrousing from my sleep this morning, but I can not yet attribute that
to the Lex. I know with drugs it is more or less a "to each his own"
mentality when it comes to deciding at what time one should take his or
her prescriptions, but I am looking for any suggestions.

Also, at the same time that I started taking Lexapro, I re-introduced
Adderall into my system. While I was in college I was on approx. 10-20
mg upwards (and i mean upwards) of Adderall 3 times a day. I had a
hard time balancing that prescription since I saved the majority of the
medication for late at night when I intended on doing
research/assignments. That prescription drained me as I could not for
the life of me take it as it was prescribed, and in turn lost a lot of
sleep and mental power. I shunned that drug for many a year
thereafter.

However after talking with my doctor, who is convinced that a lot of my
disorganized behavior both outwards and mental stems from ADHD, decided
that now, being at a different time and place in my life, would be a
good time to re-introduce Adderall into my system - but this time via a
time-released capsule.

She started me out on 15mg Adderall XR. My thoughts are much more
manageable, and combined with the Lexapro, the Adderall does not appear
to give me the ups and downs that it use to, nor do I suffer (see
above) from insomina. In turn, I'm hoping that the amphetamine nature
of Adderall will combat any metabolic issues that Lexapro might invite.
However - to date -(which is 2 weeks on lex) i have lost approx 8 lbs.
Has anyone ever been on Lexapro and Adderall at the same time. I
believe I will increase my Adderall doseage as the effects seem to wane
fairly early on.

Lastly, I was previously prescribed Wellbutrin, but came off it due to
the fact that it didn't do much if anything for my depression and/or
anxiety. However, it did give me a slight "go get 'em" feel and
inspired a bit of motivation out of me. I have read that Wellbutrin is
often prescribed alongside Lexapro and like-SSRI's in order to fight
fatigue and sexual side effects. EEK the sexual side effects are
somewhat frightening... I am planning to discuss this with my doctor in
attempts to boost my overall energy levels and less-than-pleasing sex
drive. Has anyone attempted this combination and if so, have you
noticed a lift in your sexual life? My sex life was at it's peak prior
to starting lexapro and I finally got to a place at which I felt
comfortable with my body...I would be heartbroken if Lexapro - while
making me on the surface happy - took this away from me.

Thanks for the input!

Nom dePlume

2006-03-22, 2:46 pm

"lmnboston" <Lmnagle@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1142875821.777573.123430@u72g2000cwu.googlegroups.com...
> Hi all, I'm new to this board and have a few, assumedly redundant
> questions to ask. First off, I'm on my second week of Lexapro -
> 10mg
> (for depression, manic tendencies, and GAD). I started taking the
> medication in the morning but found myself suffering from increasing
> fatigue as each day passed. Last night, for the first time, I opted
> to
> take the medication at approx. 6:30 pm. I had a difficult time
> arrousing from my sleep this morning, but I can not yet attribute
> that
> to the Lex. I know with drugs it is more or less a "to each his
> own"
> mentality when it comes to deciding at what time one should take his
> or
> her prescriptions, but I am looking for any suggestions.

Bedtime sounds good for you.

> She started me out on 15mg Adderall XR. My thoughts are much more
> manageable, and combined with the Lexapro, the Adderall does not
> appear
> to give me the ups and downs that it use to, nor do I suffer (see
> above) from insomina. In turn, I'm hoping that the amphetamine
> nature
> of Adderall will combat any metabolic issues that Lexapro might
> invite.
> However - to date -(which is 2 weeks on lex) i have lost approx 8
> lbs.
> Has anyone ever been on Lexapro and Adderall at the same time. I
> believe I will increase my Adderall doseage as the effects seem to
> wane
> fairly early on.
>
> Lastly, I was previously prescribed Wellbutrin, but came off it due
> to
> the fact that it didn't do much if anything for my depression and/or
> anxiety. However, it did give me a slight "go get 'em" feel and
> inspired a bit of motivation out of me. I have read that Wellbutrin
> is
> often prescribed alongside Lexapro and like-SSRI's in order to fight
> fatigue and sexual side effects. EEK the sexual side effects are
> somewhat frightening... I am planning to discuss this with my doctor
> in
> attempts to boost my overall energy levels and less-than-pleasing
> sex
> drive. Has anyone attempted this combination and if so, have you
> noticed a lift in your sexual life? My sex life was at it's peak
> prior
> to starting lexapro and I finally got to a place at which I felt
> comfortable with my body...I would be heartbroken if Lexapro - while
> making me on the surface happy - took this away from me.
>
> Thanks for the input!

Wellbutrin may help counteract sexual dysfunction induced by Lexapro,
at least if the dysfunction is marginal. Likewise for Adderall, though
it isn't usually thought of in those terms. Adderall and Wellbutrin
both increase the concentration of norepinephrine (which helps energy
and concentration) and dopamine (which helps libido and anhedonia),
but SSRIs are such potent dysfunction producers that I wouldn't hold
out huge hope that either med can solve that problem.

You can try changing the time of the dose, or reduce the size of the
dose, of Lexapro. You can also take cyproheptadine shortly before sex,
to counteract the SSRI-induced SD, provided you don't do this more
than a couple of times per week.

You can also look for a different medication, such as mirtazapine,
nefazodone, or trazodone, that is less likely to cause sexual
dysfunction to begin with.

You can read about these medicines on my Web site.
--
Nom dePlume, Ph.D.
Why, yes, in fact, I am a rocket scientist.

Guide to Medications for Mental Illness:
http://www.geocities.com/nomdeplume1000/

=====