side effects of wellbutrin XL????

hi to all, i am new here and have a question i hope someone can help me with. I have been on wellbutrin XL for 5 weeks now and when i first started taking it i had a wonderful reation...lots of energy, happy, less over evaluation of things, etc.that was when i was taking 150mg. Well 5 days ago i started thaking 300 mgs and really haden't noticed a difference until today. One thing i should mention is that i am hormonal due to getting my period yesterday(not to be too personal, may be a factor?) anyways, today i had extreme bouts of anger and i could not stop crying and i just feel worse then i did when i began taking the med. so, what do you think? i remember the doc saying something about a reation of irritability could mean i may be suffering from something other then depression.....any of this click with anyone out there? has anyone gone through this?
any feedback is much appreciated.

no idea the only side effect I had with this meds was weightloss. and that I had no complaints about. lol

I noticed some of what you are feeling also when my dosage was increased. Then, I realized that I was feeling sadness and anger but it had been disguised under all of that depression before the med change.

When the dosage increased for me from 300 mg to 450, the med made me jittery.

Wellbutrin has not had much of an impact on my periods.

I hope that you will be back to your happy, energetic self soon.

Hi, KLW26!!

When my pdoc started me on Wellbutrin 150 XL, I had that irritable feeling - I wanted to bite people's heads off. Plus I felt like I had the flu. The effects would wear off by evening. My Dr. took me off that, then when my depression still wasn't responding to my current meds, he put me back on Wellbutrin, but this time the SR variety. I had a week of some uncomfortable side effects but NOT the irritability like with the XL. (I'm not sure why the XL seems to vary from the SR in that respect.)

Larry, are you out there...I've wondered about this?

Anyway...that's been my experience. Hope it helps a bit.

I took myself off Wellbutrin due to the anger and frustration I experienced while taking it. At first, things seemed alright... I had loads of energy and I seemed a little happier. Then after it got in my system real good, I started becoming enraged. I snapped at anyone who even look at me a certain way. I started cutting again (which I hadnt done in a long time) and all I could do was cry and lash out at people. It was terrible. I'll never take that drug again.

My experience has been that it makes me irritable and fogs me in mentally - I notice a fairly sharp decrease in cognitive function. After taking it (this is SR) for about 5 years I developed spasming things and a few other side effects that were severe enough to taper off it. Then I got really depressed about 3 weeks after the last dose and had to restart just before xmas. Now I am feeling better depression wise but also feeling that fogged-in mental thing -cognition and memory. Also lethargic, but that may be because my trazadone dosage was upped as I was tapering off the Wellbutrin. So far no re-emergence of the spasming side effects and I don't think I would describe myself as irritable.

I think I was overmedicated at 450 mg/day. So far 300 mg/day is doing the trick. Side effects are not too bad, although they are lowering my functioning a tad. I'm not irritable ... yet.

I like the drug because it has been around for quite a while and is generally relaitvely benign. For various reasons I don't like SSRIs or SNRIs.

Wellbutrin XL gave me a horrible burning rash and it didn't help my depression at all. Turns out my depression was linked with adult ADD, and so I take a cocktail of Lexapro and Adderall XL which really helps.

Dabonbon

thanks guys - i have been trying to give this a go and am starting to think it isnt for me. I know that when you take such a drug you should not drink, but, i have been a bit and the day after i tend to feel like i have been hit by a car and extreme extreme depression follows. I have been having extreme depression alot lately and i feel like this drug had made it worse - but alot has been going on too, dealing with my child hood abuse i went through, plus i lost a friend this week and my bo has been working 7 days a week which makes me pretty damn lonely and frustrated with two little ones you know.......not to mention that the terrorist shot scares the hell outta me and i obsess over it a bit........sorry, not trying to get a free session here, just wanna vent a bit. ; )
anyhow, thanks again

I was on 150 for a week and felt pretty good, had energy and motivation, then the doc upped it to 300. Within three days I started having tremors, extreme insomnia, worsened depression, suicidal feelings, crying, weight gain, feelings of hopelessness, horrible irritability (my poor kids). I'd get out of bed, try to work, and just start crying because I was so exhausted and couldn't fathom sitting at a computer for 10 hours and trying to concentrate.

I dropped back down to 150 and felt better again, but he said 150 is too low of a dose. I'd go back on 300 and have the same problems. He switched me to Lexapro and I feel good now, but no different than when I was on Celexa (which he took me off of to put me on Wellbutrin when I said I wanted to increase my Celexa dose that my GP had put me on. He said Celexa is basically worthless. Uh, okaaaay).

Anyway, Wellbutrin XL bad, Lexapro good but same effect as generic Celexa at four times the cost (once I stop getting samples).

I was so hoping Wellbutrin would be the one for me since it's an activating antidepressant and I really would like to be a little more awake feeling. Oh well, can't have everything. I'd much rather be laid back than a drug-induced, sleep deprived banshee.

KLW,

What your doctor was saying about your reaction may indicate another condition--a quick reaction to an a/d is a classic indication of bipolar disease...the smaller dose pushed you to a hypomanic (mildly manic) state, the larger dose pushed you farther... plus, there is evidence that a/d's can worsen the cycling in bipolar, making you MORE depressed. Call your doctor Monday and tell him what's up...Good Luck.

DJ

thanks to all - i plan to be re evaluated soon - when i started seeing my doc i wasnt as open as i should have been - think it comes with the territory of my previous abuse - its extremely hard for me to admit i need help but, i need help more then ever - hard week, hope i feel better soon - the loss of a friend who was only 30 knocked me sideways - anyhow, thanks.
klw26

Wellbutrin XL was horrible for me... Yes, it works for some people but some peoples "chemistry" just doesn't flow with it. I had extreme bouts of anger and frustration while taking it and couldn't stop crying and went straight from severe depression to mania and couldn't stop harming myself. Took myself off of it and within a week I was feeling 100% better. But like I said, different meds work different on different people. Some can take it and it work great and some it can't work well with at all.

i take 450 mg a day.....and i still hate myself regularly. i lash out at people ALL the time...for no reason, which i had already done before, but i also started cutting again. idk, it helped me for a while til i got the higher dosage, but now i feel horrible about myself all the time. i reckon i should switch, but i cant afford therapy, so yea.
good luck

Hello klw26,

Welcome. I have taken Wellbutrin XL for many years. Sometimes it works great, sometimes I think "what's up with this?" I to go through bouts of ups and downs. My pdoc added another antidepressent so I take both. I don't have a hormonal problem (no ovaries) but that could be a factor. All antidepressents work differently for other people, as many have said. But, your symptoms sounded similar to mine, so I thought I would share. I go up and down with Wellbutrin - don't know. Sometimes it's a trial and error with antidepressents or antibiotics or tylenol vs motrin - you get the picture.

I also wanted to share, that when I take Wellbutrin in the morning, I'm hyper. It also, I think, increases my anxiety level. I'm being reevaluated on Monday - we'll see if pdoc thinks it's related.

Songbird

Many many years ago before the XL, I was taking Wellbutrin & my weight loss was massive to the point I ended up at 83lbs. I had been on Prozac before that which was the start of the weight loss, then came the Wellbutrin to knock it farther down. Even after I stopped taking those meds, I couldn't or wouldn't gain weight (don't know why the nausea kept coming). That landed me in the medical hospital on & off the the next year before gaining enough to be somewhat stable.

Don't know how much difference between just Wellbutrin & the XL, but I wouldn't like being on a drug that causes horrible anger. Hope you can find another drug that can help you more that trying to deal with anger.

Debbie

I've never taken it - but when I told my T I didn't want medications, and the reason was I knew someone who had taken Wellbutrin XL and it had made him feel numb and he hated them and eventually went off them himself, she agreed that Wellbutrin was one she 'didnt like'. So...I don't know what that means, but yea.

Just wanted everyone to know that pdoc took me off Wellbutrin XL today because he felt it was intensifying my anxiety (it's been extremely, jump out of your skin, bad). Thought I might share in light of the subject.

Songbird

HATE wellbutrin. Extreme insomnia!

Wellbutrin XL = insomnia/irritability
Wellbutrin SR =

I take 300 mg and it has been a great med for me. I took 450 mg years ago and I was fine at the higher dosage, too.

I was extremely irritable and agitated on Wellbutrin XL. I definitely did not feel like myself at all....it was a big change. I was on 300 mg. Reducing it to 150 mg made things more manageable (for a short period of time), so sometimes that can make all the difference for certain people. It also increased my anxiety level significantly, and eventually mania. Even for people who are not Bipolar, I do often hear the same complaints you've mentioned to be associated with Wellbutrin XL. This doesn't mean stressors can't be complicating your situation and contributing to the effects, but it could be the medication as well...so I think it's good to be aware of this, just in case.

I've been on Wellbutrin for a number of years. Mostly on 300mg. And only on XR.
I went to 450mg for a while, but I think it made me very angry and short-tempered.

My cognitive functioning is terrible, but I don't know what to blame as I am on a number of meds.
Funny that yesterday I started my period and I was a monster. I was working with horses and lost my cool. Ended up throwing things around (Not at horses nor people, but just out of pure frustration). I ended up being run over by a horse, kicked by another and fell off another (In all fairness, she was a horse that we had just backed, so she was nervous herself). I ended up taking an Ativan halfway through the afternoon.
I haven't seen myself in such a state in a long time. I don't know if it is Wellbutrin related as such. I am not usually so affected by PMS, so I also don't want to blame that alone.

I had a horrific allergic reaction 30 days into taking wellbutrin which was a real shame as it was helping me quit smoking and making me more motivated. My pdoc said it was probably due to a filler in the off brand bupropion. Keep an eye out for itching, mine started on my legs and eventually I was covered, unable to breathe, spent 2 days in the hospital begging for a cigarette lol.

I'm on 75mg bid, and was wondering about the 150 XL. The 75 mg twice a day works rather well, I'm feeling good and charged up until,about eight at night. Then I'm tired. And sleepy, which is Ok. I take it
at 630 and at 130. Seems to work just right. I was on celexa for about 9 months and the sex drive quit, and I got fat. No matter how hard I worked out I stayed the same. I would cardio 6 days a week and no loss. The first couple of weeks on Wellbutrin I lost 8 lbs. I've tried other stuff, celexa, trazdone, elavil. All with issues. The Wellbutrin so far is ok. Anybody think the 150 XL will have the same effect.?