Use of antidepressents to boost pain medications?

[momof5]

I take hydrocodone for pain. (I'm now on the highest dose available, which I just found out during my last visit with my dr). I had requested a different pain medication due to the fact that I think I have become used to the hydrocodone. However, he informed me that percasets would be next due to the strength of the hydrocodone and he did not want to put me on anything like that yet.

My script is to take them every 4-6 hours, as needed for pain. Some days I can survie with only 2 of them, others I take 4 of them throughout the day.

What he did do was prescribe welbutrin 300mg to work along with the hydrocodone.

At this point, I am not sure if this is going to work or not. I would like to know how effective something like this could be.

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Wellbutrin (Bupropion, also marketed as Zyban to assist in quitting smoking) is an interesting and rather unique medication. I had not heard of this particular use but for various reasons it doesn't entirely surprise me. It is used currently both to treat depression and anxiety as well as to counteract the adverse side-effects of the SSRI antidepressants (it is not an SSRI itself although it has similar benefits).

I found this information at PsyWeb.com:

Bupropion ( Amfebutamone, Wellbutrin, Zyban )
Bupropion has a stimulant type of effect and is used primarily for the treatment of major depression. Bupropion can also be used to treat ADHD, bipolar disorder, chronic fatigue syndrome, in reducing cocaine craving, to help kick smoking, and to reduce lower back pain. Bupropion was released for use in the United States of America in 1989.

and from RxList.com:

Posted By: Steve
Date: Friday, 11 January 2002, at 4:00 a.m.

In Response To: wellbutrin as a nerve pain medicine (Barbara Spitlr)
> If anyone has used wellbutrin as a pain medicine for Nerve damage I
> would like to hear from you!

I used wellbutrin to manage low level back pain and nightime leg cramping after surgery for a herniated disk that was pinching a nerve. The wellbutrin worked well while the nerve recovered from being pinched.

 

[momof5]

Thanks David, I appreciate the information. It seems as though both quotes mention the usage as being amied at back pain.

I think the dr would like to see this work on my smoking as well. I have my doubts in that area though. Quiting smoking is not an easy thing to do. My last attempt put 50 pounds on me, which part of I am still trying to get rid of. argh.