Buproprion vs Zoloft

[Josana13]

Hello friends, I have been having problems with anxiety. I feel a a knot in my stomach all the time and it is driving me crazy. My doctor prescribed Zoloft , because that worked for me the last time I had anxiety years ago. I haven't started the Zoloft. I am worried about it increasing my RLS symptoms. I am currently on 75 x 2 day Buproprion. Wondering if increasing the Buprorpion might help. Please, if any of you have any ideas or suggestions, bring them on. Thank you so much

[SueJohnson]

Buproprion should help but if it hasn't helped at that dose, I would wonder if it would help at a higher dose. You can always try it. Another safe medicine for anxiety is buspar (Buspirone). You might want to try that. It can help RLS symptoms in some people.

[Josana13 in reply to SueJohnson]

If I would take Buspar, do I quit Buproprion? If so, do I have to taper off?

[SueJohnson in reply to Josana13]

No you can take them together.

[ziggypiggy]

You can try each suggestion separately. You will know right away if an increase in dosage or an added medication increase your RLS. If so, then try something else. You can try Sue's suggestion of Buspar. It can be effective if you don't have any side effects. Wasn't for me. My psychiatrist also tried gabapentin for anxiety. Didnt work for me but he's had other patients get some relief from it.Currently I take .2mg clonidine once sometimes twice a day for anxiety along with an occasional milligram of lorazepam as needed for severe episodes.

It can be very frustrating finding the right med and correct dosage. Dont be discouraged.

If anxiety and or depression are an ongoing longterm struggle you can always seek the option of treating the increased RLS symptoms with a low dose opiod. This should give you some leeway to try medications like Zoloft or Lexapro without fear of RLS getting in the way of evaluating whether the the anxiety medication is working or not. It's been a blessing for me to have this option.

To speed up the process, discuss and make a short list with your doctor of what medications you want to try with dosages and such. So, with a simple phone call you can implement the next step without delay if the current approach isn't working.

Keep us updated.

[Josana13 in reply to ziggypiggy]

Thank you so much for your reply. Currently, I am on 10 mg of Oxy for back and leg pain. It doesn't help with the RLS. I'm up all night for two or three nights with RLS. Maybe a couple of hours of sleep. Like 30 minutes at a time. Then they calm down for a couple of days and start again. I am taking 300 mg Gaba in AM and 600 mg at 5pm. Also, 75mg x 2 of Bupropion. I recently started with anxiety. I think it might have to do with the loss of my son in December, 2021. I have a knot in my stomach, shortness of breath, no appetite (which I don't mind), diarrhea, and no sleep. I don't feel like doing anything. Been praying a lot. I am afraid to try the Zoloft to make things worse. If I do, do I have to wean off of the Bupropion first?

[ziggypiggy in reply to Josana13]

Check with your doctor first but you should be able to take both Zoloft and Bupropion at the same time. Also if your RLS is that troublesome your dosage of Gaba or oxycontin may be to low. Also, since your RLS seems to be somewhat intermittent check the usual suspects that might cause flare ups. Alcohol, sugar, many OTC meds. I'd try and list them all but there are too many.

Sorry to hear about your son. The grieving process can be very difficult. Take all the time you need to process your emotions. If helps if you can talk with someone to help you keep things in perspective.

[Josana13 in reply to ziggypiggy]

The Gaba was increased to 300 mg in AM and 900 in pm. I retried the Zoloft and I felt like bugs were crawling under my skin all night until the next afternoon. I could not sleep or stay still. This has happened twice already. Not willing to go for a third try. I am taking 10 mg of Oxycodone every 6 hours for back pain.

[SueJohnson in reply to Josana13]

I am so sorry about your loss. No wonder you have anxiety and all those symptoms. I assume when you say GABA you mean gabapentin. Unless you have RLS symptoms during the day, there is no need to take it in the AM. And taking it at 5:00 is too early. And the amount you are taking is a low dose. Ask your doctor for 100 mg capsules and increase it by 100 mg every couple of days until you find the dose that works for you. Take it 1-2 hours before bedtime. If you need more than 600 mg take the extra 4 hours before bedtime as it is not as well absorbed above 600 mg. If you need more than 1200 mg, take the extra 6 hours before bedtime. If you take magnesium, take it at least 3 hours before gabapentin as it interferes with the absorption.of gabapentin. According to the Mayo Clinic Updated Algorithm on RLS: "Most RLS patients require 1200 to 1800 mg of gabapentin daily."

[Josana13 in reply to SueJohnson]

Hi SueJohnson, If I take 300Mg of Gaba at 6 pm and 600 at 8pm. Would that be ok. Do you think that an increase in Buproprion would help for the anxiety? I am currently taking 75mg in am and 75 in pm. I can't seem to find an antidepressant that doesn't cause side affects for me.

[SueJohnson in reply to Josana13]

Assuming you go to bed at 9 or 10, that would be fine. Increasing the bupropion might help with the anxiety but it is mainly used as an antidepressant. Buspar is recommended for anxiety and may help with RLS. Or you could switch from bupropion to trazadone which is safe for RLS and treats both depression and anxiety.

[Birdland]

Hello Josana13. So sorry you lost your son. I have been taking, or I should say trying to take, Bupropion for a year now. I was prescribed 300mg single release daily. I have had a terrible time with the anxiety it causes which is a listed side effect. I am only able to take to take 12mg out of the 300 prescribed. If I take any more than that my anxiety (and headaches) becomes intolerable. How long have you been taking Bupropion? Did you have the anxiety before you started taking it?

[Josana13 in reply to Birdland]

Hi Birdland, I did not have anxiety before the Buproprion. I have been taking it for several months. 75mg in am and 75mg in pm and hadn't had any problems until recently. Is it possible that that is what is causing the anxiety? I get like a knot in the pit of my stomach that doesn't go away and it drives me crazy.

[Birdland in reply to Josana13]

Interesting that you took Bupropion for months without the anxiety. I got anxiety right away. I felt as if my body and mind were racing. I couldn’t breath or think correctly. There was no way I could rest or sleep but didn’t feel a knot in my stomach. Although with depression in general I have felt a pit in my stomach. I’m not a doctor but if you didn’t feel this for months while on Bupropion maybe your anxiety is not related to it. Maybe just related to your sorrow. Have you tried any supplements that help depression? Some I know of are lions mane mushrooms, ( I just started taking this in capsule form) 5htp and St John’s wart. I truly hope you find a solution.

[Josana13 in reply to Birdland]

That is how I felt with Zoloft. I felt like bugs were crawling all over my body, hard time breathing, couldn't sleep, had to keep moving. It was horrible. I tried the Zoloft twice and both times that happened. I haven't had trouble with the Bubroprion. I am taking 75mg x 2 times daily. What are you taking now.

[Birdland in reply to Josana13]

I am taking the very small amount of Bupropian. I was prescribed 300mg daily but if I go over 12 mg the anxiety and headaches are unbearable. I was on prozac for 25 years. For me it was calming and worked very well with my depression/anxiety. I stopped taking it 5 years ago when I found out it can make RLS worse. After stopping prozac I wasn't depressed and I can only attribute that to the high levels of dopamine I was getting from Ropinirole. After getting off the high dose of Ropinirole a year and a half ago I suffered extreme DAWS. It seemed as though I had no hope of any solution. I was suicidal. I tried rTMS, didn't help at all. At the suggestion of my GP I went to a doctor who administers ketamine. I never went through with the Ketamine treatment because the doctor said that for me he would recommend micro dosing psilocybin instead. Only problem was that although he is currently conducting trials he could not prescribe it because it is an illegal substance. Well, I know someone who grows these mushrooms and purchased some. I take an extremely small dose twice a week. Not enough to actually feel anything. To my surprise my depression started lifting within a week. Johns Hopkins University has done research and claims it works. I'm not suggesting you do this, just passing along my experience.

[Josana13 in reply to Birdland]

Thank you. I started on the loweston dosento Ugmentat of Ropinerole a couple of days ago. Should I stay away from it? I wonder how long before I have to increase and go into augmentation ? I'm 73 maybe I'll die before then .. what is DAWS?

[Birdland in reply to Josana13]

DAWS is Dopamine Agonist Withdrawal Syndrome. This can happen when someone stops taking a dopamine agonists like Ropinirole. These drugs can stop a person from creating their own dopamine because the drug is doing it for them. Therefore when the drug is stopped the brain has to learn to start creating it naturally once again. This can lead to extreme depression. No one knows for sure if the brain can ever recover on it’s own or if it can, how long it would take. But keep in mind I was taking a very high dose for many years and my brain suffered for it. This does not happen to everyone who gets off of Ropinirole and other dopamine agonists.

I started augmentation very quickly, I'd say within first 6 months. At that time I didn't know anything about augmentation so I just thought my RLS was just getting worse. This went on for 16 years until eventually I became informed. Not everyone experiences augmentation though. I personally wish I never started Ropinirole. It was a nightmare for me. I don't know how desperate you are for relief and if you have already tried other drugs. At 73 years old you may have 20ish years left. It's impossible to say how quickly you could go through augmentation or if you would go through it at all. If you do decide to continue, watch out for your symptoms becoming more intense and continuing around the clock. As soon as you feel you keep needing to increase the dose you know you have started augmenting. Then you should definitely stop the drug. The good news is you are armed with this info. The less Ropinirole you are taking and the less time you have taken it the easier it will be to stop. Good luck