Sunday, November 11, 2012

Real person experience

In a text conversation with Li, I asked how long it took for the Wellbutrin to work for her.  Here's our convo:

Me:  How long did it take for you to feel like the Wellbutrin was working?

Li:  Way longer than with other antidepressants, and it's a subtle helper.  Doesn't make me feel or behave differently, just overall there's a noticeable change...

[Me jumping the gun and responding, not knowing Li was adding more in her next text]

Me: Okay.  So can you ballpark how long it took until the noticeable change was evident?

Li:  ...in number of down days, sleepless nights, etc.  And it's much easier to mute the "self-hatred channel" in my brain when it turns on.

Li:  More like forty-five days than the usual two-three weeks.  Then again, I had to ramp up to the max dosage, an am not on anything else... YMMV [your mileage may vary]

Me:  I see.  Thanks.  I'm just growing frustrated because the Zoloft started working so quickly that I got my hopes up.  It's only been three weeks so I need to stop obsessing.

Li:  <3 [heart/love] 
 
Me: :) lmL [smiley face and I love you in sign language]

That made me feel better about not feeling anything from the Wellbutrin yet.  So I'm going to do what I can to not focus and obsess about when or if it is going to work for me.  It's a process.

While I hate that Li suffers from depression, I'm so glad that I have a very close friend that I can talk to about  meds, fears, setbacks and triumphs in regards to mental illness.  I have other friends and family members that I talk with, but I never feel like they fully understand because they have not been there.  And it's not that Li and I have had the same experiences, but we are able to sympathize and empathize with each other. 

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