I have been on SSRIs for anxiety for several years.
Last year, I developed a severe skin rash and after several attempts at other
SSRIs, my immunologist, told me I can’t tolerate them and to seek another form of medication.

My psychiatrist now has me on Lorazepam but is not helpful with bouts of depression.
I tried Welbutin and that made me extremely anxious.

I hope you can possibly give me some advice and point me in a
direction so I can live my life without depression.
No one seems to know how to help me.

Thank you so much. I greatly appreciate your time.

Laurette,

I am a 48 year old Canadian male and have suffered from depressions since 1989. I've been on dozens of medications to treat my depressions and have found that Effexor XR was extremely helpful and have been on it since 2002. As with any medication there may be side effects and with me it was excessive sweating. But everyone is different and, therfore, everyone has different side effects. Some people report that it killed their sex drive, I didn't experience that. The only reason that I wanted off the Effexor XR was the excessive sweating was making me socially awkward.

My GP then put me on high doses of Fish Oil (3 grams, 3 times per day), which I started on June 20th, 2007 and was working extremely well until late September - and no side effects once your body gets used to it, usually the first week. But I'm finding that it may not be working for me any more as I'm in, yet, another depression. So, like you, I'm searching for another anti-depessant and I'm considering Wellbutrin and Lamotrigine and will discuss things with my GP tomorrow.

I was only on this site to read what others had to say, but when I found that no one had replied to your concerns, I thought I'd try to help. I know it can be difficult and time consuming in finding the right medication for you. When I'm trying a new anti-depressant or mood stabalizer, I know I've got to put aside at least 4 weeks to see if it works and that the side effects, if any, are tolerable.

I hope this helps and wishing you good mental health.

My daughter is on many medications, however Klonapin works better then Lorazapan for anxiety. You may want to try that one instead. Good luck

Laurette,

You may still be able to tolerate the Wellbutrin - ask your doctor to start you at a low dose along with an anti-anxiety agent like Klonopin. Increase the dosage very slowly, allowing your body to get adapted to it and using the Klonopin to control the anxiety. Eventually, you should be able to reach therapeutic dosage ranges and taper off of the Klonopin.

Wellbutrin had me VERY anxious at first. This approach worked really well for me.

Good luck.