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Diagnosed With Seasonal Disorder. Taking Bupropion, Fluoxetine. Personality Shift After Medication. Side Effect?
I am a moderate drinker that was diagnosed with seasonal disorder. My MD Therapist prescribed daily 30mg fluoxetine about 2 years ago. Daily Bupropion 150 MG was added to the treatment May of '13. I have been told recently by friends that I went through a personality shift soon after the addition of the Bupropion. Are there any case studies or references that I can look into to better understand the use of the drugsI am on?
Mon, 29 Jul 2013
Greetings !
Welcome to the site.
Well you see in your case the personality changes that your friends must have observed after addition of bupropion could be best described as neuropsychiatric manifestations of bupropion such as hypomanic features which is most common among many others and these behavioural manifestations of this drug are common side effects and were interpreted by your friends as a change in your underlying personality.
Now I reckon that you shall ask your doctor to bring you off bupropion since the side effects such as these may become severe and lead to further worsening of your condition.
As far as Fluoxetine is concerned it has no bearing on this recent development of personality change for the simple reason that it has been there since past 2 years and it did not lead to any such thing in these years so it is unlikely that after years of use this drug which have been well tolerated so far is causing these behavioural modifications in you and so bupropion seems to be the culprit here and needs to be brought off , so kindly do so after discussing this with your doctor.
I hope this helps.
Wish you all the best.
Regards.
Welcome to the site.
Well you see in your case the personality changes that your friends must have observed after addition of bupropion could be best described as neuropsychiatric manifestations of bupropion such as hypomanic features which is most common among many others and these behavioural manifestations of this drug are common side effects and were interpreted by your friends as a change in your underlying personality.
Now I reckon that you shall ask your doctor to bring you off bupropion since the side effects such as these may become severe and lead to further worsening of your condition.
As far as Fluoxetine is concerned it has no bearing on this recent development of personality change for the simple reason that it has been there since past 2 years and it did not lead to any such thing in these years so it is unlikely that after years of use this drug which have been well tolerated so far is causing these behavioural modifications in you and so bupropion seems to be the culprit here and needs to be brought off , so kindly do so after discussing this with your doctor.
I hope this helps.
Wish you all the best.
Regards.
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Hi,
From the information you provide, you have been diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder and were put on Fluoxetine 30mg/day for 2 years after which Bupropion was added to the regimen following which your noticed some changes in your personality.
Firstly, Both these drugs are antidepressants. The second antidepressant may have been added due to insufficient response on one drug alone. The treatment with high dose antidepressants can induce a switch of symptoms in some patients. Which means symptoms of low mood, low confidence etc can turn into elevated mood and increased confidence, which may apparently seem to be like a change in one's personality but are actually symptoms of an illness in itself.
Also, Bupropion is the only antidepressant approved for the prevention of seasonal affective disorder. Bupropion is not known to cause any change in personality traits except what i mentioned above. But since the presence of both drugs together has caused these changes. it is advisable you report the same to your psychiatrist. He/she may need to introduce a mood-stabilizer in your regimen as well apart from withdrawing/ reducing the dosages of the other medications.
Hope this helps,
Dr A Rao
From the information you provide, you have been diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder and were put on Fluoxetine 30mg/day for 2 years after which Bupropion was added to the regimen following which your noticed some changes in your personality.
Firstly, Both these drugs are antidepressants. The second antidepressant may have been added due to insufficient response on one drug alone. The treatment with high dose antidepressants can induce a switch of symptoms in some patients. Which means symptoms of low mood, low confidence etc can turn into elevated mood and increased confidence, which may apparently seem to be like a change in one's personality but are actually symptoms of an illness in itself.
Also, Bupropion is the only antidepressant approved for the prevention of seasonal affective disorder. Bupropion is not known to cause any change in personality traits except what i mentioned above. But since the presence of both drugs together has caused these changes. it is advisable you report the same to your psychiatrist. He/she may need to introduce a mood-stabilizer in your regimen as well apart from withdrawing/ reducing the dosages of the other medications.
Hope this helps,
Dr A Rao
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