Comparing Abilify vs Bupropion

For Bipolar Disorder I would hide at home for months, shaking when a telephone rang. I couldn't let people go and had obsessive thoughts. Abilify gave me calm, confidence and hope. It made me less sensitive to light and time, I was no longer at the mercy of each passing moment. I woke up relaxed, went to bed without a noise in my head, inner voices stopped criticizing me, thoughts didn't race. I was creative but focused, and began wonderful new projects. Had NO side effects- NO weight gain. 'Worked magic that first day. But after a month it seemed to do nothing but make me sad. Evidently that was a manic phase. It blocks my mania, but not my depressive switch. Feels like I've traded manic depression for unipolar depression. I am being switched to lithium.

For Bipolar Disorder I've been taking Abilify for eight months now. Although it made me gain 15-20kg (something like 33-40 lbs I believe?), my experience is quite positive. The sadness from my major depressive episode, as well as my suicidal thoughts, have been almost annihilated. The reason why I rated it as a six is because it didn't help ease the great fatigue I have. But it helped a lot, that is for sure.

For Depression I started taking 150mg Bupropion SR twice a day for severe depression in January 2016 after being on 150mg Sertraline once a day for almost a year and having very little success with it. The first two weeks of taking Bupropion I was constantly dizzy and nauseous, but I waited it out and after two weeks I was fine. My depression didn't suddenly disappear like I hoped it would, but I found myself genuinely laughing and crying which felt so good. Now I've been on it for around 5 months and I'm slowly but surely getting better. I can function like a normal human and live my life now and it's fantastic. This medication isn't widely used for depression in NZ (which is where I live) but it's definitely worth talking to your doctor about.

For Depression I have suffered with complex regional pain syndrome along with chronic depression since 2005. I take Cymbalta, mirtazapine, Trazadone, and recently Wellbutrin SR ( 100 X 2 day) I have noticed a little improvement over the past 12 days that I have taken it. I think my MD is going to add another 100 mg to my dosage. I hope that by adding the additional dose, I will get better relief. I refuse to take pain meds and want to be treated with alternative meds such as antidepressants in that I feel that I can be better in control with my condition.