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Hello, I just made an account here. Thank you Luke and Chippy for creating a new forum that fast. It is so important to have a good and safe place where the SA members can go. And also for people who did not make it to SA before it closed.

 

Maybe a good moment to tell a bit about my tapering stories. If interested, more can be found on my thread on SA (see my signature for the link)

 

I have been on several SSRI's and Wellbutrin since 2006. I tried to stop both meds in 2008 and again in 2010, which became a mess. The classic story where doctors made me believe that it was a relapse and that I needed these drugs... Later in 2014 I tried to taper slower, but I came in hell 3 months after stopping. Started again on doctors advice.

 

In 2017 I discovered slowly that it could be withdrawal I was suffering. Maybe I did not need these meds at all. In 2020 I found the website and forum Survivingantidepressants.org (SA) which opened my eyes further... In 2021 I was asked to become moderator on SA what I will kept doing until SA closed end of January 2026.

 

I continued my final tapering journey. In February 2024 I jumped to zero with Prozac. Never ever missed it afterwards. It was a long taper of almost 7 years. I made mistakes like the famous Prozac bridge, where I switched a low dose (0,6mg) Lexapro/Escitalopram to a low dose of Prozac. Many believe Prozac is easier to taper. Wrong! I have learned later (also on SA) that one goes through a full withdrawal (like Cold Turkey) when doing a Prozac bridge and one needs to adapt to Prozac as well. This Prozac bridge gave me a long set back. After that it took me years to taper the small amount of Prozac to zero.

 

In 2006 I was prescribed Wellbutrin. Only against a side effect of Lexapro, which was making me very tired. I was told that Wellbutrin could be stopped without tapering. Long story short; foe me and for many others this drug can be much more difficult to taper than a SSRI. I have been tapering it for more than 8 1/2 years now. Going from 150 mg to 60 mg was a piece of cake. Then it became more and more difficult. I did extreme long holds. Sometimes longer than a year. That helped. Since I am under 20 mg, it has nearly become impossible to taper. Withdrawal symptoms vary from migraines, insomnia, anxiety, memory and concentration problems, paresthesia, nausea, extreme pains in muscles and joint, sometimes very easily irritated, and more. After a while (often months) symptoms go again, until the next taper...

It needs time. I decided to accept. I choose for quality of life now, rather than a faster taper. I may need many more years to get to zero.

Hey @Go2zero

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

It’s sooooo good to have you here you are very very welcome indeed. 
 

I saw you joined last night and it made me smile. 
 

Thanks for posting your intro topic. 
 

Im glad you made it off Prozac. A sobering warning to those considering a ‘bridge’. 
 

I’m so sorry to read about your difficulties at the moment. I do hope a nice hold here can bring you some stability and that quality of life you were talking about. 
 

I hope you find the forum a supportive place where I very much wish to see you finally go2zero!

 

Chippy 

3 minutes ago, Chippy said:

It’s sooooo good to have you here you are very very welcome indeed. 
 

I saw you joined last night and it made me smile. 

 

Thank you for the warm welcome Chippy.  🙏

Just now, Go2zero said:

 

Thank you for the warm welcome Chippy.  🙏

You are very welcome my friend. Thanks for being here. 

1 hour ago, Go2zero said:

just made an account here.

 

@Go2zero so happy you came here with me. 💯 Make sure you follow your topic. 

1 hour ago, Go2zero said:

It needs time. I decided to accept. I choose for quality of life now, rather than a faster taper. I may need many more years to get to zero.

I couldn't agree more. "Stability is more important than cessation." Chris Paige, taper coach.

All we can do is move forward slowly. It's a great site...lots of encouragement. 

Big hugs. ❤️🙏

Hey, @Go2zero

 

Great to see you!   I enjoyed your introduction.   I was given the same speech about how Wellbutrin was easy to stop taking, you just quit! 🤣

 

 

6 hours ago, Go2zero said:

It needs time.

Hi @Go2zero
I am really glad to see you. 
A few days ago I was worried, that something had happened to you, as I couldn't find you. So I asked @LostinCanada if she knew if you were all right, and she said, not to worry, and that you were going to come to AR.

I smiled then, and I smile now. 🙏💕
 

@Go2zero As @Chippy said, we are very glad to have you here after crossing over.

 

I hope that this forum is a helpful and supportive place for you as you continue your journey.

@Go2zero hey my friend. Wondering how you are doing? Have you been able to taper a bit? Hope all is well. ❤️🙏☺️

Just thought I'd stop by and say hello, @Go2zero I hope you're having a great summer my friend!

Hi John, thanks for stopping by. As you may have noticed I am not so active here. Great to hear from you! Hope you are doing wel?

I have chosen for a long period of stabilizing. It was really impossible for me to go further down with the low dosage (17,7 mg) of Wellbutrin/bupropion. My last tiny dosage reduction was 5 months ago. And my WD symptoms are slowly getting less and less. The most persistent ones are paresthesia (burning and prickling skin) and sleeping problems. The latter are slowly improving. The current heat in Spain is not helpful for the paresthesia.

When I feel the moment is there, I will presume tapering again. I reckon with a period of 1 year of stabilization (but may be more). There was a time (when I was still tapering prozac) that I stopped Wellbutrin tapering for a longer period as well. And after that long period I could taper quit easily from 33 mg to 20 mg. Then the tapering became difficult again. I hope that such a very long hold will be helpful again this time...

Wishing you all the best my dear friend. Nice to stay in touch! 🙏

On 7/31/2026 at 8:20 PM, j1290 said:

Just thought I'd stop by and say hello, @Go2zero I hope you're having a great summer my friend!

I forgot to quote you😃. Hope you will see my reply @j1290 ! 🙏

@Go2zero welcome to the forum, it is so nice to see you hear. I have read many posts on SA, wad never a member but diligently read all the stories and success stories which helped me a great deal on navigating through this WD process. This is such a informative, caring and compassionate site, and the people here are so very kind . Welcome again and hope your doing well.

On 8/10/2026 at 4:41 AM, Go2zero said:

Great to hear from you! Hope you are doing wel?

I'm doing great, my friend. Happy to hear you're stabilizing and enjoying life!

On 8/10/2026 at 4:41 AM, Go2zero said:

When I feel the moment is there, I will presume tapering again. I reckon with a period of 1 year of stabilization (but may be more).

I fully support this. Tapering requires so much effort, I try to never encourage anyone to jump into something they're not prepared for. I think waiting for a year, then reevaluating when you get there is an excellent plan!

On 8/10/2026 at 4:41 AM, Go2zero said:

And my WD symptoms are slowly getting less and less.

This is such great news. Time was the best healer for me, and things significantly improved near the year mark. I hope things settle nicely for you as well.

On 8/10/2026 at 4:41 AM, Go2zero said:

The current heat in Spain is not helpful for the paresthesia.

Things are very warm in north america as well. That said, I would rather be in Spain any day 😁

Always a pleasure to hear from you, @Go2zero You are always in my thoughts 🙏

Quite frustrating situation for me at the moment. I am holding at 17,7 mg Wellbutrin since March this year.

I decided to do a long hold, since further tapering was nearly impossible the months before. I know from earlier experiences that a longer hold helps to heal deeper. After such a long hold tapering was much easier then.

In the period March until July 2026, my WD symptoms lessened very very slowly. Heart palpitations, paresthesia (burning skin) and sleeping problems were much more longer lasting than other symptoms. But also these improved slowly until the beginning of August. Anxiety was mostly gone!

About 10 days ago I felt some changes, but such can happen. A little problem with concentration and memory only. But the changes became worse and worse. Suddenly serious sleeping problems, vivid dreams (very unusual for me), more heart palpitations, heavier paresthesia, irritation and upcoming anxiety.

What is happening? 

10 days before I noticed the first changes I started another package of Wellbutrin (another batch and production date). To avoid problems with the medication itself, I only use the official brand of Wellbutrin by Glaxo Smith Kline. I just do not know if the current wave is caused by using a new batch that is possibly a bit less in strength. Medicine factories are allowed a tolerance in strength of + or - 10% or so. Sometimes even more.

I got already WD problems lately when I tapered 2% in the period before March. 2026. So imagine what happens when a new batch contains less active ingredient than the batch I used in the months before…?

It could also be a “normal” wave that I  experience now, rising up almost 6 months after my last dosage reduction. This is absolute an other option.

15 days after starting the new batch (3 days ago) I decided to start a new package of Wellbutrin (again another batch and production date). Hopefully this will solve the problem. It is only 3 days now. Too early to say. It really feels like withdrawal again at the moment.

As said, frustrating. I wanted to give maximum rest to my system. But unfortunately the so needed rest got disturbed in some kind of way.

I cannot be sure about the strength of the meds. But it is the 4th time in 2 years now that I get symptoms after changing a package of Wellbutrin. This time it feels as if the dosage got lower, since it really feels like withdrawal symptoms. The other 3 times it felt as if the new batch was a bit stronger.

But again, it may be a “normal” wave as well. There is no way to tell in my opinion.

"Just" ride the wave out. It will loose strength sooner or later.... But I really hate these meds.....

Edited August 25Aug 25 by Go2zero

1 hour ago, Go2zero said:

But I really hate these meds.....

Me too mate, I hate to call them meds, as there is nothing to treat they are simply drugs to me, or poisons would be more accurate (as all drugs are at non therapeutic levels).

Im sorry about your latest problems such a shame after a successful hold. As you say, hard to know the cause, you have the bases covered though by changing batch and holding, if it's a wave I hope it passes soon, if it's fresh WD I hope the new batch is more level for you and settles things down.

1 hour ago, Go2zero said:

it is the 4th time in 2 years now that I get symptoms after changing a package of Wellbutrin.

I've had this happen twice as well. Sorry to hear.....

1 hour ago, Go2zero said:

But I really hate these meds

Me too....

Hopefully this will turn around for you quickly. ❤️🙏

1 hour ago, Chippy said:

Me too mate, I hate to call them meds, as there is nothing to treat they are simply drugs to me

Fully agree. Sold by legal drug dealers, who lie and cheat..... Criminal in my opinion....

@Go2zero I looked into dose variability after reading your post, as I had assumed that manufacturing limits for pharmaceutical drugs were far tighter than this, but the more I read, the more alarmed I am.

Obviously this doesn't help you now, but I have been invited to contribute to warning label updates on antidepressant drugs by the MHRA (UK equivalent to the FDA in the US when it comes to medical treatments and drugs).

As the UK is slowly beginning to adopt advice that some patients need to taper more slowly, in smaller increments such as 5 or 10%, I raised with them that patients have extremely poor access to these doses and advice from psychiatric bodies in the UK was to make your own, which patients should definitely not be having to do. I will now also raise the fact that doses seem to be allowed to vary by this much from the factory as this is not acceptable at all if antidepressants are made to these tolerances.

I'm really sorry to hear that a new package has caused you significant issues. I'm not sure what relationship you have with your prescriber but you might want to enquire whether it is possible to have several packs from the same batch or whether they can think of any other solutions.

3 hours ago, Chippy said:

Me too mate, I hate to call them meds, as there is nothing to treat they are simply drugs to me, or poisons would be more accurate (as all drugs are at non therapeutic levels).

I almost always call them drugs for this reason.

3 minutes ago, Luke said:

I looked into dose variability after reading your post, as I had assumed that manufacturing limits for pharmaceutical drugs were far tighter than this, but the more I read, the more alarmed I am.

With generics differences in dosage often are even bigger than with the official brands...

4 minutes ago, Luke said:

As the UK is slowly beginning to adopt advice that some patients need to taper more slowly, in smaller increments such as 5 or 10%, I raised with them that patients have extremely poor access to these doses and advice from psychiatric bodies in the UK was to make your own, which patients should definitely not be having to do. I will now also raise the fact that doses seem to be allowed to vary by this much from the factory as this is not acceptable at all if antidepressants are made to these tolerances.

With drugs (better name than meds indeed) like Wellbutrin there is another problem as well in Europe and many parts in the world. This drug (and others) is sold ONLY as "extended release" version in many countries. The lowest dose available is 150mg with this drug. And the package says that the drugs should NOT be cut. Most people believe that and tapering becomes impossible. Clever marketing....

Many doctors advice to alternate days then. Which is a great and effective way to trigger withdrawal problems....

The pills CAN be cut, but the daily dosage should be spread over 3-4 takings then. But many people are afraid to do so. Of course they believe their drug dealers....

11 minutes ago, Luke said:

I'm really sorry to hear that a new package has caused you significant issues. I'm not sure what relationship you have with your prescriber but you might want to enquire whether it is possible to have several packs from the same batch or whether they can think of any other solutions.

I also tried compounded Wellbutrin. But I found even more risks there. The tolerated differences were bigger than with the branded GSK's. At higher dosages it does not need to be a problem. But the lower the dose we take, the extremer the effect in many cases.

10 hours ago, Go2zero said:

I only use the official brand of Wellbutrin by Glaxo Smith Kline

Showoff 😜 I've only used the real GSK when I got samples from my doctor. I will say in my experience it was definitely a step up from the generics. Think it's $1000/month in the US. What a rip.

10 hours ago, Go2zero said:

I decided to start a new package of Wellbutrin (again another batch and production date).

Fingers crossed 🤞 I certainly could tell a difference between manufacturers. It wouldn't surprise me a bit to have discrepancies between batches.

10 hours ago, Go2zero said:

But again, it may be a “normal” wave as well. There is no way to tell in my opinion.

That's my opinion too. I think you made a good decision switching to a different batch.

6 hours ago, Go2zero said:

I also tried compounded Wellbutrin. But I found even more risks there.

Same. When I researched them I didn't love what I saw.

I'm pulling for you, @Go2zero Hopefully things mellow out for you soon!

12 hours ago, Go2zero said:

With generics differences in dosage often are even bigger than with the official brands...

I'm not surprised, but I was surprised to see how wide the legal manufacturing limits are.

Clearly, if the UK for example adopts tapering by 5 or 10% as medical guidelines, these limits must change.

I was wondering whether your prescriber could give you several packs at once instead of just one, from the same batch, to limit variability.

7 hours ago, j1290 said:

Showoff 😜 I've only used the real GSK when I got samples from my doctor. I will say in my experience it was definitely a step up from the generics. Think it's $1000/month in the US. What a rip.

In Europe the official pills from GSK are sold voor € 16 per box with 30 pills. So around US$ 19. In The US they charge around US$ 1000 and more for exactly the same.

What did I say before about legal drugs dealers? That is the only good thing here in Europe, governments don't allow these criminal profits to Pharma...

7 hours ago, j1290 said:

That's my opinion too. I think you made a good decision switching to a different batch.

I do hope so. Last night was night 4 four after changing to the new batch. First night without vivid dreams! Other symptoms are still there, but I see the dream thing as a positive sign.

7 hours ago, j1290 said:

I'm pulling for you, @Go2zero Hopefully things mellow out for you soon!

Thanks John, appreciate your support 🤗 🙏

1 hour ago, Luke said:

I was wondering whether your prescriber could give you several packs at once instead of just one, from the same batch, to limit variability.

Not easy in Spain, actually impossible. The Spanish Health system does not allow that. You need to go every month to the pharmacist to get you meds for that month. When you are not in Spain, it is your own problem. You should try to get it then in the country where you are at the moment... (and see yourself how to get the prescription there).

I have my ways though.... I have a prescription for 1 box per 14 days, and I use a box for 2 months. Keeping the box open longer can give problems because Wellbutrin is highly hygroscopic. So I have been able to stock a lot. But most have different batches...

I will ask the pharmacist if the can order more boxes with the same batch and that they keep them aside for me. So I can pick them up according their time schedule. Good idea @Luke and @Chippy

8 hours ago, Go2zero said:

I will ask the pharmacist if the can order more boxes with the same batch and that they keep them aside for me. So I can pick them up according their time schedule. Good idea @Luke and @Chippy

That would be good, nice thinking. I hope that they will agree to this.