[rustie]

i have been taking wellbutrin xl 450mg for major depression for a long time, plus seroquel 25mg as a booster. about ten days ago i had to switch from wellbutrin xl to wellbutrin sr, as glaxo isn't making the xl anymore (i was receiving the xl from glaxo on their patient assistance program).

for the past couple of days, now on the sr, there has been a noticeable dip in my mood. i didn't think there would be any difference on the sr, except that i take it twice a day instead of once with the xl.

has anyone experienced recurrence of depression after switching from wellbutrin xl to sr? does anyone know if there's a reason for me to be sinking simply because of this switch?

thanks,
rustie

[kris9999]

I didn't stay long enough on wellbutrin to know if that is the cause of your dip in your mood. I think it could likely be though. I was only on it for about a week before I became nearly suicidal, and I have never in my life even thought about suicide. You should talk to your doctor about this change in your mood and see what he recommends.

[Naturefreak]

I was taking Wellbutrin SR 150mg tablets twice a day for many years . Then my psychiatrist switched me over to XL 300 mg
which I take one in the morning . I didn't find any difference with
the change . But everyone is different .
I never knew they made 450mg .
SR - sustained release XL - extended release
Hope this helped . Take Care

[sunrise]

MY PNP told me one particular brand of generic bupropion SR has not been as effective as others. I looked this up on the Internet and found a number of reports of this one drug manufacturer's bupropion being ineffective. So my PNP wrote my prescription for any bupropion SR EXCEPT for that particular manufacturer. Perhaps this might be your problem. Maybe ask your prescriber and try a different manufacturer if you have the questionable one. If you are using genuine non-generic Wellbutrin SR, then this wouldn't be a problem.

Good luck.

[rustie]

thank you for your responses. i was on wellbutrin xl for five years and never felt suicidal, although i've felt best on it with the seroquel boost. it seems to be the change from xl to sr that has me sinking, despite the seroquel. (by the way, they don't make a 450mg pill -- i reach that amount using one 300mg pill plus one 150mg pill, or three 150mg pills.)

i've heard about those problems with a certain generic and because of that am staying away from anything but the wellbutrin brand name (which certainly costs a fortune in this country!).

my pdoc has been on vacation, but i see him next tuesday. i'm going to ask him for a rx for wellbutrin xl and buy it at a very reasonable price from a canadian pharmacy my husband has found. i can't wait to go back on the xl. it's hard to believe that the sr would be so different and hard to stand, but i think there just has to be a difference. maybe because of the difference in half-life? it's a mystery to me.

[sunrise]

rustie, I hope you can get back on a version of Wellbutrin that works for you. I take the SR (generic) and find it very helpful. I like it better than the non-SR, which I used to take. Have not tried the XL. By the way, do you know why Wellbutrin XL has been discontinued in the U.S.?

[rustie]

Originally Posted by sunrise

rustie, I hope you can get back on a version of Wellbutrin that works for you. I take the SR (generic) and find it very helpful. I like it better than the non-SR, which I used to take. Have not tried the XL. By the way, do you know why Wellbutrin XL has been discontinued in the U.S.?

thanks, sunrise. i'm remembering that i actually started on wellbutrin sr, eight years ago, and did sort of ok but not well enough, so they switched me to the xl five years ago, and i noticed a big improvement right away. amazing how different everything is for each individual. i guess my brain just didn't want to go back to sr-land at this point. (as an aside, the ssri's never worked for me.)

i don't think wellbutrin xl has been discontinued in the u.s. (not as far as i know). my understanding from my pdoc's assistant was that glaxo didn't want to make it anymore and passed along the manufacturing of that particular version of wellbutrin to another company (i don't know which one, but it's one that doesn't a have a patient assistance program, which is why i had to switch from the xl last week). it's still available to buy here, as far as i know -- but the cost is huge (around $500 for me as opposed to the $66 at a canadian pharmacy).

since wellbutrin xl is going or has gone generic, i'm assuming glaxo thought they'd no longer make enough money on it.

rustie

[tarabug922]

[quote=rustie;1107166]
my pdoc has been on vacation, but i see him next tuesday. i'm going to ask him for a rx for wellbutrin xl and buy it at a very reasonable price from a canadian pharmacy my husband has found. iquote]

the canadian pharmacy I use is northwestpharmacy.com they're brilliant though the meds take a while to come sometimes i've never had a problem with them and they're pricing seems to be the best around.

Love and Hugs,
Tara

[rustie]

thank you very much for this pharmacy recommendation!