State of the brain

[geekchick]

For the first time in sometime more than a decade, I feel like my baseline emotional state is approaching "cheerful". Something I appreciate about the Wellbutrin is that I still have mood swings. I know that sounds odd, but really it's not; it means that I'm not feeling completely flat, which is something I really wanted to avoid. My emotional dips are about the same size they were before starting the meds, but I'm starting from a totally different place and so they don't take me anywhere near as low as they did six months ago.

To be honest, I don't think it's the Wellbutrin all on its own that's working so well; after the first month or so, I felt noticeably better and then it levelled off or even regressed a bit. There have been some supplements added recently which I think are working in combination with the bupropion well enough that even I can see how much better I'm doing. Not that you'd be able to tell today, but my focus is getting better. I'm initiating conversations again (although I still need to work on answering email a bit more promptly than I have been) and it's easier to have conversations that need to be had. I haven't been tempted to dump everyone and go live on a mountaintop terribly recently. ;) I seem to have enough equilibrium that finding out my darling kitty -- who is damn lucky that he's so adorable -- horked all over my new "dry clean-only" comforter is meriting only a shrug and not a meltdown. I can finally listen to all my beloved mopey-type music (the genre, not necessarily this one specifically) again without curling up into a little ball and wailing. <Possible TMI>Unfortunately, I don't seem to be getting any of the more fortuitous side effects they claim may show up. Damn.</TMI> It's interesting that I can see how unhappy I was now that I'm finding myself in a different place; it was my normal state for so long that it didn't register as being depressed.

The short version of all of that (which I suppose should've come first rather than making you slog through everything else to get to it): Yay for the meds!

Comments

[hopeforyou.livejournal.com]

Re those fortuitous side effects: If you supplement with SAM-e on top of the Wellbutrin, you might not get said fortuitous side effects. Certain brain boosting, mood leveling supplements will break the norepinephrine effects of Wellbutrin and enhance the dopamine effects. Just sayin'... from someone who's been there.

[geekchick]

Huh. Interesting. I haven't been taking any SAM-e in a while, although there may be something vaguely similar in the giant handful of pills I take every morning and evening, I'd need to double-check.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

(hug)

I love you with or without fortuitous side effects... and I'm happy to watch your mood gradually lightening. :)

[vokzal.livejournal.com]

Really? What supplements?