Wellbutrin/Bupropion

Has anyone used this? Can you share your experiences? (Good or bad?)

I started yesterday, after I had been off Effexor or about 2 weeks (cold turkey) and I hadn't been too depressed really, but I took it that day, and last night I had a horrible breakdown where I was very depressed, couldn't stop crying, etc. I don't know if it's related or just a coincidence. I rarely talk to my med doctor because he's out of state and takes forever to call me back. I don't even know if I'm taking the proper dose actually because he is not communicating with me.. I'm on 100mg of the generic one, and I take it once a day.

I never had a problem with wellbutrin. The first day it made me a little high then after that no side effects....well except for......lets put it this way....it could be the poor man's viagara..haha.....it also helped with my nerve pain which was unexpected.....i started out at 150 and am now on 450

lol, well I'd rather have the increase rather than the decrease in libido that most other antidepressants seem to cause. I'm skeptical when it comes to meds anyway, but I'll give it a try, at least..

I have taken wellbutrin and I thought it was very effective. It helped my depression and also gave me a bit of an energy boost. I am not taking it now because I am on carbamazepine for mood stabilization and it is quite effective .
Good Luck to you ,
Sher

Some people take Wellbutrin/Bupropion to help them quit smoking. It can really help with that, depending on your biochemistry.

Wellbutrin works on the dopamine pathway, whereas the SSRI class of ADs (e.g. Prozac) works on the serotonin pathway. I am on another medication that interacts with the dopamine pathway, and I am definitely experiencing an energy boost.

I think one thing that is important with these meds is to give them several weeks to work. Just push on through the initial side effects if you can, as some of them will go away, and in 4-6 weeks, you will have a better feel for how you will do on this med. Of couse, if the initial side effects are too awful, this plan may not work. Good luck!

I was on Bupropin myself for quite a while, and it was quite effective in leveling out my moods and decreasing my depression. I felt a little too drugged for my liking at 300mg, so I was back on the 150 dosage until I stopped cold turkey just a few days ago due to some odd muscle issues (not related to the wellbutrin, though). My depression has actually come back quite acutely, so I'd say the medication is very effective.

The side effects from Wellbutrin are generally reported as very mild, though in rare cases they've increased people's negative psychological symptoms. Keep at it as long as you can, but if things get too squirrely, STOP and call yer doc., no matter how far away he is.

Luck&Love,
~muse

I don't smoke, so that won't affect me, but that's kinda cool anyway.

I'm glad to hear that everyone has mostly positive things to say about this one. I was on effexor before and it didn't help at all. I'm supposed to be taking both together, but I'm not yet.

i agree with joe, this put my libido in high gear.
sexcellent!
but....made me prone to mild anger outbursts...

I have had pretty good luck with wellbutrin. Been off and on it for years. The only side effect I have noticed is that it makes my brain a little foggy and I have problems remembering things. Sometimes the trade off is worth it to kill the depression.

I have not noticed anything with the libido…although that would be nice to have a little boost.

I tried it - it decreased my appetite for food and increased my appetite for sex, but did nothing for my depression, unfortunately. It also exacerbated my anxiety issues. I obviously need the help with serotonin, but I hope it works for you.

I had the initial burst of energy that you are describing for about a week.

I also had a terrible breakdown on it - didn't sleep for three days, full of anxiety, and couldn't quit crying. Had to go off it cold turkey.

I'm still out on its effectiveness...but I think part of that was a wrong DX...I take 300 mg still

Wellbutrin was added to my Prozac/Adderall combination. The purpose was that I needed an increase in Prozac but didn't want more sexual side effects.

My p-doc added 150mg of Wellbutrin. For weeks, I had terrible anxiety, crying fits, aggression, etc.

I got off of this drug as soon as I could.

Also, my brother took it to stop smoking. He doesn't take any other meds. He had the same reaction I did. We almost couldn't get him off of it safely.

i cried, felt like i was on speed, stayed in bed, was irritable, etc. i went off of it asap.....i also had really severe headaches on it.

I started taking the generic wellbutrin er 150 mg,twice a day, in Jan.07. Then my doc increased to 300 mg, then 450mg. I had to decrease it to 300 mg., because I was
sweating all the time. MY symptoms now are sweating,
very emotional, I have been having crying spells a lot.
I still feel depressed. My doc also added generic
ritalin, because I slept all day. I am going to call my
doc. to see if she can do something about the crying
spells, consistent depression and sweating.
I hope this info helps you. I have tried a lot of med's,
so I really hope my doc gets this under control.
Good luck.

Hi asylumgardens,

Sorry you’re struggling with the whole med and psychiatrist communication stuff. For what it’s worth here’s my experience with Wellbutrin: A psychiatrist put me on Wellbutrin by mistake. I did find it to be helpful with the depression but I was quickly taken off of it because of my struggle with bulimia. Apparently, because of the body’s constant electrolyte imbalance a patient taking this med while bulimic will experience seizures. But for that short period of time I did have a positive boost in my mood.

Wishing you health and happiness ~ Bee

I've been on a 150mg dose for 8 years now. I had various other med cocktails with it...along with a 300 dose for quite a while. 150 morn. and 150 eve.
Had headaches and a weird vision thing going on initially.
No problems now. Get a little drowsy sometimes.
Really does work for me.
Went off it last year and noticed the "slip" within about a week.
Good luck...
m.b.

I take 150 mg. Wellbutrin SR. I had a little anxiety when I started taking it which went away. It seems to be working; SSRI's did not work for me at all - could not cry, felt numb and did not help depression.

I've been taking the generic -- Budeprion XL -- for a few months. Last month pdoc add Concerta to the mix.

Is it working....beats me. But at least with Wellbutrin I am not trying to eat everything in sight.

Since I have more energy, I have started walking everyday. So far I've lost 15 lbs. which in my case is not a bad think.

I'm doing well with Wellbutrin so far. I'm glad.. I'm supposed to be taking it with Effexor, but I can't afford that, so I've been taking it alone, and I like how I feel MUCH better than I did with Effexor alone, so maybe I can cut that out all together even when I get the free prescription back at school. It's probably too early to tell if it's totally working yet, but I like it best out of all 3 I've tried at this point.

For a very long time, I was on Wellbutrin SR with a dosage of 150 mgs once a day. I found this helped balance out my depressive state and not aggrivate my manic or anxiety state too much. However, just recently my new pdoc switched me to Wellbutrin XL at 150 mgs once a day and I felt like I had to be peeled off the ceiling most days... swinging between extreme mania and high anxiety. I reported this to my pdoc and he agreed to knock down the dosage to 100 mgs and go back to Wellbutrin SR.

Since this change is very new, I have yet to see if this will be helpful or harmful.