The Facts About Wellbutrin

Wellbutrin, also known by its scientific name Bupropion, is a very popular antidepressant. It inhibits the reuptake of both dopamine and norepinephrine. If you have never used Wellbutrin before, you need to familiarize yourself with the drug interactions and the side effects associated with it.

Wellbutrin is metabolized by the liver. In lab experiments performed with rats, the drug was found to cause hepatocellular hypertrophy when administed in high doses (hypertrophy is an increase in the size of the cells). Common side effects include agitation, dizziness, hypertension, dry mouth, tremors, anxiety, loss of appetite, headache, excessive sweating, increased risk of seizure, and insomnia.

Although with the recommended dosing of the drug the probability that a seizure will occur is extremely small, patients using it should still be screened for any health factors that could contribute to or increase the likelihood of a seizure. A doctor may also review other prescriptions the patient might be taking and recommend an appropriate dosage based on that information.

Also, suicidal thoughts and attempts have been reported in children and adolescents. Bupropion has been shown to increase the incidence of suicidal thoughts amongst children and adolescents. When treating major depression in this group of patients, clinical benefits should be weighed carefully against the potential hazards. Usually, Bupropion is not intended for patients under the age of 18.

Another potential side effect is an improvement in sexual function. Bupropion, unlike serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac, does not appear to reduce the libido of the patient, and more frequently enhances sexual desire. Patients who complain of an impairment in their sex drive as a result of their SSRI have sometimes been prescribed small doses of Wellbutrin to correct it.

One controversy associated with Bupropion is its propensity to lower the seizure threshold. In combination with other medicines, it has been suspected to cause seizures in some patients who have never had a seizure before.[12] While this is not common, an increase in the number of such cases around the globe probably merits further discussion and investigation.

It is not uncommon for patients to receive treatment with other antidepressant prescriptions in combination with Wellbutrin. For this reason, a doctor should be careful when prescribing it with other medications prone to lowering the seizure threshold. Bupropion has also been known to produce seizures in combination with non-illegal drugs such as cocaine and recreational drugs such as alcohol.

I hope you have found this information helpful. Be sure to disclose to your physician any other drugs you might be taking before requesting a prescrtiption for Wellbutrin. Although some of the side effects and drug interactions we have covered are rare, they can happen unexpectedly to even the most healthy individuals.

About the Author

Jim Pretin is the owner of http://www.forms4free.com, a service that helps programmers make an HTML form

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Insomnia Can Lead to Relapse. 8 Ways to Get to Sleep at Night; Even While Going Through Withdrawal!

There are a number of things that bring forth temptation and cravings and lead us back to all too frequent relapse and continuing abuse. There are also a great many steps we can take to minimize those risks of relapse; and concrete actions such as avoiding the environments and people likely to tempt abuse have a great influence over ultimate success.

When we get tired, hungry and lonely, we also feel a greater pull back to abuse, more easily get stressed and irritable; and feel our resolve to fight weaken. Eat before you’re hungry, have a list of friends at the ready to call when you feel a need, and get enough sleep.

Sounds easy enough, but for anyone going through long term withdrawal, that last one, sleep, seems to give a lot of trouble.

Withdrawal can cause insomnia, and insomnia can cause relapse

Withdrawal off of a great many drugs can induce insomnia, and this insomnia can endure for months or even years after achieving sobriety. Long term abuse of drugs or alcohol can create changes in the brain that take considerable time to completely self regulate, and since the sleep during a period of intoxication and abuse is rarely quality sleep, many of us will have long term sleep deficits to make up. Paradoxically, although we are in many ways sleep deprived, this deprivation keeps us from falling to sleep!

Without sleep we are cranky and weakened, and the temptations to use while lying awake at night can feel overwhelming. Additionally, sleep is linked in as yet not fully understood ways to the reward mechanisms in the brain associated with drug seeking behaviors.

But when struggling with insomnia, sleep feels impossible, and although we would dearly love a good nights rest, sleep eludes us.

Few addictions professionals will ever recommend using sleeping medications with a potential for abuse as a solution to the problem, but there are certain steps you can take to help you to fall asleep at night, and by extension, to help you stay sober.

How to fall asleep while going through withdrawal

1) Get tired. Sounds obvious, but making sure to get enough physically wearying exercise during the day can really help you to fall asleep at night. Make sure that you do not engage in any strenuous activities for a few hours before bed though.

2) Don’t drink coffee for at least 6 hours before bedtime. You don’t need any stimulants fueling your insomnia!

3) No naps. Tempting as they may be, naps rob you of sleep at night, and can worsen insomnia.

4) Get into a routine, and try to go to bed and awake at roughly the same times each day. This can help to program your body towards sleep.

5) Make sure your bedroom is clean, quiet and black as night. You don’t need any distractions.

6) Don’t do anything in your bed except sleep. No TV, no reading, no…

7) If you cannot sleep, after about half an hour get out of bed and do something else for a while before reattempting sleep. The anxiety associated with feelings of insomnia can make it harder to fall asleep.

Learn relaxation techniques such as positive imagery, breathing techniques and muscle relaxation strategies.

There are few guarantees or sure techniques to sleep, but by following all of the recommendations on the list above, you have a much improved chance of a restful sleep, and a following day of fewer temptations and craving.

If even after trying the above recommendations, you still cannot sleep, it can be helpful to discuss the problem with a sleep therapist.

Sleep is important, a lack of sleep can lead to relapse, and you need to do all you can to get a sound sleep each and every night.

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Relapses are likely for anxiety disorder patients. (Long-Term Treatment Needed).: An article from: Clinical Psychiatry News $5.95 This digital document is an article from Clinical Psychiatry News, published by International Medical News Group on May 1, 2003. The length of the article is 487 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation D…