Could Wellbutrin be complicating my weaning off Lexapro?

[lizard1627]

I have been taking 10 mg Lexapro for about 7 years. About 2 years ago, I added Wellbutrin in (200 mg SR) to counteract some of the effects of the Lexapro (sluggishness, loss of libido, weight gain). The Wellbutrin has been helpful in that regard, but now I am trying to wean off of the Lexapro because I still have not regained my libido and continue to struggle to lose any weight. So I went from 10mg to 5mg over a 2 week period, which was ok, but not great. Dizziness and increased anxiety were my main complaints. My doctor instructed me to completely go off of it after I had been on 5mg for another 2 weeks, which I did. This did not go well. Just feeling really revved up, waves of anxiety, mood swings between super irritable and very energized and enthusiastic, and having a really hard time sleeping. I went back on 2.5mg of Lexapro a few days ago to try to even things out, but I am still experiencing a lot of the same symptoms, and last night I had a terrible "ants in my pants" feeling that kind of felt like my nerve endings were overstimulated (mostly in my legs)

I am really feeling like perhaps the Wellbutrin is overstimulating me without the Lexapro to counterbalance it. I spoke with my doctor and she said I could try going down to 100 mg on the Wellbutrin and see if that helps, so I am thinking about trying that. The other option she suggested is trying to bridge from Lexapro to Prozac, which has a much longer half life and less severe withdrawal symptoms. I think I would rather try the lower dose of Wellbutrin to start, instead of adding a drug I've never taken before and don't know the side effects it might wreak upon me.

Can anyone provide any insight here? This is my second time trying to wean off an SSRI. The first time I tried to wean off of Paxil in a painstakingly slow process and it was terrible. I was just a mess, even after 3 - 4 months. That's when I went onto Lexapro. But I am determined to make this work, because I really feel I can manage things without it, and the side effects are actually creating their own problems.

thoughts? (sorry for being long-winded)

 

[keeping]

i have a lot of anxiety issues and find, like you, that anti-d's can be much too over-stimulating.
the only way i ended up getting off my last batch of sertraline was when i ended up on methadone which is an opioid and i found very sedating.
i don't reccomend using opiates for that specific purpose btw, but maybe you require some form of sedation?