[sunnydisposition]

My appetite has gone up recently. Thinking about asking my doc to maybe add wellbutrin into the mix to help with that. Any thoughts?

[shadow2000]

Hi,

I took Wellbutrin more than 10 years ago in an attempt to help with depressive symptoms, and although I don't think that my weight really changed while I was taking the medication (which is ok, because I didn't need to lose any weight), my appetite definitely seemed to be suppressed when I was taking Wellbutrin without any other medications. Interestingly, my appetite seemed to go back to being around its usual level after the psychiatrist that I was seeing at the time had me take lithium along with the Wellbutrin. In a post that I wrote back in January here on Psych Central, I made reference to a scientific review article that analyzed the findings of three studies and found that obese individuals with major depressive disorder or depressive symptoms who took Wellbutrin lost an average of 2.77 kg (6.1 pounds) compared to those who took a placebo over a period of 6 to 12 months. So, there's evidence that Wellbutrin could help with weight loss, although I tend to think that it's unlikely that you'd lose more than a modest amount of weight from taking the medication. You can read my post from this past January here:

https://forums.psychcentral.com/psyc...ight-loss.html

[TicTacGo]

The weight loss aspect is a common, yet not universal side effect of Wellbutrin.

You may try it, but it is not guaranteed that it will work. Options like phentermine are more solid in effect. It is a stimulant which suppresses appetite. Not sure how extreme your case is, so even though it is very important, I cannot guarantee that a doctor will put you on that.

[still_crazy]

hi. here in the US, there's a combo pill with naltrexone and high dose (400mgs) wellbutrin. Its for obesity, I guess as an alternative to stimulants and such.

I don't know how well Wellbutrin by itself (or with whatever else you're taking...) will help with appetite and weight. As TicTacGo mentioned, the more traditional route is some sort of stimulant. Phentermine is an old stand by. Phendimetrazine (Bontril) is another stimulant that's regarded as more "addictive" or something, but I personally found more effective and more tolerable when I took appetite suppressants.

I hope you find something that works. Even if it doesn't help with weight and/or appetite, Wellbutrin can bring about a more robust response, sometimes full remission, of depressive symptoms when added to ongoing treatment. When used with the SSRI and SNRI drugs, wellbutrin can help with apathy, lethargy, and concentration difficulties that sometimes result from the use of those classes of psych drugs.