I need help with zoloft to wellbutrin

[NotTheOnlyOne]

my doc is switching me from zoloft to wellbutrin. He advised me to just quit the zoloft and start wellbutrin... with no weaning off or tapering. DOes this sound right? I have quit zoloft once before and I got the zaps pretty bad. anyone have any advice?

[kandace]

Zoloft is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, which is different from Wellbutrin (a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor). I would double-check with your doctor about quitting the Zoloft immediately because that is kind of surprising to me, especially if you have had problems before. However, antidepressants tend to take a few weeks to change your neurotransmitter activity and he might want to decrease the amount of time it will take if you are going to experience symptoms resulting from not being on the medications. Definitely check and make sure this is what he wants, and ask for some clarification as to why...it could be right, but clarification and reasons are in order (in my opinion! ).

[kaydee]

No, that does NOT sound right to me. Many people have a difficult time coming off SSRIs. IIRC, the "best practice" is to taper over 4-8 weeks, depending on the dosage.

I am really surprised that a pdoc would advise that (although I can see a general doctor doing that, as they can be less familiar with the pharmacology of these meds).

[Katiemare]

I tried to make that same shift a few summers ago. Ah, the headaches! I did taper off Zoloft and even had a couple of days where I took both zoloft and wellbutrin. Check with a pdoc on this one, zoloft is rought to come off of--I can even feel a late dose if it's 4 hours or so late.

[Jessica76]

I would never just go off of an SSRI cold turkey. It's disturbing to me that a doctor would advise you to do that. It's likely to be really unpleasant when there is no need for it to be. I've been on Zoloft and Wellbutrin at the same time (I tend to need more than one antidepressant when the depression gets really bad) and had no problem with the combination. It's not uncommon for Wellbutrin to be added when taking an SSRI - sometimes they di this to try to counter the sexual side effects that SSRI's often have.

[doublemom]

Zoloft (a SSRI) and Wellbutrin (a NDRI) are diverse antidepressant and work with different neurotransmitters. Switching without gradual tapering may cause withdrawal symptoms whereas starting new med without gradual increasing dose is also likely to cause adverse effect. Allow the body to adjust to new chemical balance gradually.