I can’t believe I haven’t written a blog post about this already. As many of you know, I write pretty openly about my battles with anxiety and depression, and I am happy to say that Wellbutrin has been super effective for me.

A little over five months ago, I started taking Wellbutrin, the marketing name for Bupropion, a drug that started out as an anti-depressant and switched to be primarily used for a smoking cessation drug.

I went into the Doctor’s office, and he was busy at the hospital dealing with an emergency patient. I sat with his medical student and talked through what I was experiencing. I had a drop in my mood to the point where I was getting concerned, so I sought out help, as I have done before.

The medical student was super nice but very overwhelmed dealing with my situation. Thankfully, I came in with a ton of information. I had printed out sheets regarding what I’ve taken, what I felt, what I wanted to take and a few other pieces of information.

I had also found out, from genetic testing, that certain anti-depressant drugs wouldn’t work very effectively for me. As I compared them to the list I had previously used, one thing was clear… I had been taking all the wrong medication.

Thankfully, after a phone call with my doctor, I was prescribed Wellbutrin and began taking it. The effect was slow and very gradual. It wasn’t much of a lift at first, but it also didn’t have any side-effects for me.

I was put on a stronger dose after a few weeks, and that raised my mood further. My doctor wanted to raise my dose up even more, but I declined as I had read information about people having seizures on higher doses. My doctor said that due to how large of a man I am, and my experiences on previous medication, I should be able to sustain a higher dose, but again, I declined and he accepted.

I have now been taking Wellbutrin for over five months and have found it to be very helpful. I feel I am taking a medication that no doctor would have recommended as it isn’t one of the popular drugs put out in the last while, especially since I also suffer from anxiety issues and Wellbutrin doesn’t address anxiety issues. But, with my depression in check, I’m much more able to manage my anxiety and move forward with a high quality of life.

I still get a bit worried that someday Wellbutrin might not work for me anymore or that I might have to take it forever (though I don’t understand why that is such a concerning thought), but right now, more often than not, I feel “normal”. I get to experience the full range of emotions. I don’t feel artificially happy. I don’t feel like my emotional range is being constricted. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m just doing better. There is a strong mental draw to stop being on medication, but when I was running low between prescriptions, I scaled back for a while, only to realize that I still require its positive effect.

I don’t know what the future holds for working on my depression and anxiety, but I’m glad I’ve finally found a medicine that provides me some relief. It only took nearly twenty years…