I am an adult on Wellbutrin - I know you wanted to hear about kids, but here are my two cents about it....
Trust me. Wellbutrin is plenty strong. I think it is way stronger than Straterra, personally. And it has an effect quickly - sometimes the very first day - unlike other anti-depressants that need to build in the bloodstream to work (it still builds up in the bloodstream and gets to peak effect 4 weeks or so out). It is quite possible that you will have a good idea of the benefits one week in.
What type of seizures does his grandfather have? According to my p-doc, the concern is more with grand mal seizures than anything. My brother had epilepsy as a child but only had petit mal seizures (the "zoning out" kind) and he outgrew it. Did you tell the doc about the seizure history? If not, I recommend that you do before starting, just to be sure. The risk goes up as the dose increases. I take 300mg/day which is a middle dose. Your son may not need that much since he is taking Straterra. I take Prozac & Focalin as well and so I am pretty sure that helps keep me at a lower dosage than I might need otherwise.
The suicidal thoughts issue is typical of ALL anti-depressants and one may be a problem when all others are fine - even in the same class. It can happen at any age, really. My aunt was recently switched to a new anti-depressant that made her suicidal. Luckily she realized what it was doing and went straight to the doctor. She is fine and on a different med now.
And whether or not he is naturally moody will not necessarily predispose him to negative/suicidal thoughts from the meds.
At first, I was paranoid of trying Wellbutrin because of side effects I read about and the seizure risk. It turned out to be my wonder drug and I can't imagine life without it, quite honestly.... It can trigger anxiety a bit, especially in the beginning, but I have an anxiety disorder and it did not cause me any major problems. I did not have any side effects that were significant. It was great for me because it perked me up. I have lived my life in a fog with low energy and a tendency to sleep excessively. I feel "normal" for the first time in my life since trying Wellbutrin because I can stay awake and be totally functional on 7 hours of sleep. The dopamine boost has been a lifesaver.
It was NOT enough to deal with my focus issues by itself (although it did help), hence the Focalin. However, it did curb my impulsivity tremendously. I have a tendency to eat impulsively and Wellbutrin stopped it. It wasn't so much curbing my appetite as taking the urgency and the cravings out of eating. I had the ability to make a good choice and it has helped me stick to my diet and lose 40 lbs.
Your son may react in a completely different way, but I just thought I would give you a "positive report" to help put things in perspective. It is SOOOO easy to get worked up after reading drug side effects......for ANY drug....
Good luck!
katastrophee39394.7898842593Strat takes longer than a month to work. Cutting the dose in half can result in mood swings etc. I would have a serious talk with the psych. Strat is extremely weight/dose dependent.I've left a message for the doctor, and its my fault for blindly listening to the psychiatrist. We started my son on Wellbutrin this morning. This is a change as he was originally taking straterra, which his school felt wasn't having a substantial change when paired with his other medicines, metadate & risperadal.
We went with out the strattera for a month (minus an evening dosage), leaving all other dosages unchanged. He became increasingly irritable and hard to reason with. His tics also came back. This would be proof that the strattera was helping some, albiet not as much as the school wanted.
Because of this it was decided to add the Wellbutrin instead of Strattera in the morning. The hope is to eventually phase out the metadate (because of the tics) and stick with strattera in the evening, wellbutrin in the morning, and risperadal in both evening and morning.
From my understanding the Wellbutrin won't be as powerful as the Strattera, which immediately begs the question "then why do it?" They're going down the list is what she told me.
I did a Wikipedia search for Wellbutrin today and instead of being reassured, i'm left with more questions. Although he's currently on a low dosage, her hopes are to increase it if he shows improvement in the next 2 weeks. Increased dosage gives higher probability to seizures (which his grandfather suffers from). There is also a tendency to having suicidal thoughts. (Surprising for an anti-depressant.) My child can be moody at times, and the school has mentioned it before. The studies regarding wether or not it actually helps are inconclusive. Teachers noticed a difference. Doctors and parents didn't. Odd.
I'm just not seeing how this is supposed to be a good medcine for my child. Am I completely missing something? I've left a message for the doctor but I would love to get some input from some of the parents here. What has your experience been with your child? Thanks so much!
all antidepressants have the waring for increased suicidal thoughts in adolescents. So does Strattera.
My daughter took Wellbutrin, but it wasnt enough for focus, we added back a stimulant but in order to raise the dose of Wellbutrin it made her dizzy. She actually did very well on the Wellbutrin though, it was just combined with methylphedinate she got dizzy. Our biggest issue is distractability and focus.