Wellbutrin-What Is Your Experience With It?

I am on Wellbutrin 100mg 3x a day. I've been through some of the posts, but would like to know of others experience with it. Been on it three weeks (100mgs the first week, then 200mgs the second week, finally 300mgs) and it hasn't seemed to help the depression. I know it takes awhile, but how long did it take before you realized it was working, what were your side-effects, and how long did they last? So far I am a bit more scatterbrained than usual, and having trouble with my vision and dizziness. My right eye feels heavy. More shaking on the inside, and feel hot. Also appetite loss. Wonder how long that lasts. Anyone ever go on it long term with side effects that lasted through the duration of use? Thankyou very much!

DazedandConfused,

I've been on buproprion (Wellbutrin) as my main drug for the past several years.

Every time I've had to start taking it in one form or another (generic or slow release or name brand) I usually experience the initial start up effects again. The loss of appetite usually went away within a matter of weeks after feeling the depression lifiting effects.

I would advise against caffeine while taking wellbutrin if you currently drink caffeinated pop or coffee throughout the day as that can make the jittery shaking on the inside feeings worse.

I've made some minor adjustments to my life in order to take buproprion and have it work enough as it does. I've cut out almost all coffee. Alcohol is such a distant memory. My consumption has dropped to next to nothing. With the generic versions or the sustained release versions taking the doses at the proper times was critical so the wellbutrin didn't affect my sleep. With the current XL version I take it isn't as important since it is a one a day pill as compared to the others.

I still have some things about this med. that I do not like but after trying so many others and putting up with some truly horrendous effects I'm willing to endure what buproprion does to my body. I ended up adding buspirone (Buspar) to counteract the speedy feelings of the wellbutrin. This combo (with a couple of other things in the mix) works for me.

Good luck and I hope the SEs abate quickly.

My first anti-depressant was Wellbutrin. I took it three times a day as well. I hated it. Personal experiences differ though and it was NOT in combo with anything else, so the anxiety was through the roof and I just felt like a Zombie. All I felt was jumbled up inside, confused thought processes (which I still have my moments on Prozac) and just general apathy. Nothing phased me and people would have to say something to me several times before I could comprehend it.

That was my worst side effect from the med. It might've just been my state of mind then, added to it.

but meds work differently for different people, so you could do fine on it and actually love it. I've known several people who did like the med and it helped with the depression.

With me, it never did so I stopped taking it.

good luck!!!
Kimberly.

Thanks for the replies. I am going to give this med a shot. I have about a six month supply that I put aside for a rainy day. Then hubby got a job in Canada and the rain has fallen. We won't have insurance here for three months, and then if it is a pre-consisting condition, it's another three months after that. It's all that I have to fall back on. Glad I kept up with the prescription even though I only took the med for a short time. I have probs with anxiety, but my nice doctor prescribed Valium, so if I get too shakey, I take half of a tablet. Just need to get through all of the sudden changes in my life, even though I told myself I would never go on anti-depressants again due to side effects. If anyone else has any background on how it effected or effects them, I would appreciate the info!

Valium is one of those emergency only meds. Very addictive. Wellbutrin? Hmm, it was added to help the prozac work better and I am curious about the viosion issues as I am having a lot of issues with vision. I forget to wear my reading glasses and really strain and then when I look up the other side of the room is fuzzy. It is a good drug for me I believe. i do have a benign tremor that started after these meds and I have thought it was the prozac. I am willing to tolerate it as the alternative is not so thrilling. Don't know if this helps but I think when used wisely it can be a good drug for some people. Some drugs like zoloft and lexapro pooped out on me after a while. Can't believe the oldies are also goodies and keeping me afloat. Good luck.

If you find it's not enough or you have anxiety, look into Lexapro (Escitalopram). It's an SSRI(Selective Serotonin(one of three brain chemicals affecting mood) Re-uptake Inhibitor, ex: Prozac, Paxil) while Wellbutrin is a dual-acting(works with two instead of one brain chemical, in Wellbutrin's case norepenephrine and dopamine, another, riskier example is Effexor) med; they complement each other well. I found that combination worked pretty well on my dumpy feeling symptoms - probably all medicine is going to help me with - until a doctor messed with it. The only continuing bother, for the about 6 weeks I was on it, was hand tremors.

Thanks for the info guys. As far as the Valium, I do only use it in emergencies and don't drive when I take it. I've had the prescription for over a year and have maybe taken a months worth of tablets since then. Being OCD, becoming dependant on that type of drug is always on my mind. LOL! Was on Paxil, which seemed to stop working after a year or so. Also gained a lot of weight (depressing) and put a damper on the love life with hubby. (also depressing) This med is suppose to not do that. Common! Gotta have those mattress wrestling sessions. I hold the title so far, as I have 'topped' the competition. Hey! Maybe these meds have kicked in after all........

I had a LOT of problems with shaking and twitching when I was on it. Every part of my body twitched from my eyes to my hands. I could not concentrate on anything and could not drink any alcohol whatsoever or else I felt as though I was going to die.
I was on it for almost two months and these sensations never went away. I also got really bad nightmares. It kinda sucks because Welbutrin worked so well on my depression. I just could not deal with the side effects.

Jessica

I know what you mean about the shaking. Feels like my heart is racing too. Still hoping the 'pit of despair' feeling in my stomach goes away soon. Thanks for the heads up about the alcohol. I rarely drink, but looks like I better just stay off the bottle. Also, it is hard to remember to take the silly pill three times a day! Argh!!

I have been on wellbutrin for 3 years. The only real possible side effect I can come up with might be insomnia and slight irritability. I only started thinking this in the past month after searching extensive sites on the web. Until that I had given it no thought. Just goes to strengthen the fact that so many people react so differently to 1 drug. Kinda scary isn't it? Best wishes to everyone.

Oh, well. I am irritable anyway, so it won't be much for hubby to adjust to. What about headaches? Feels like I have mild (and irritating! LOL!) headaches much of the time. Ibuprofin seems to knock them out pretty quickly.

I was on Wellbutrin for (starting at age 8) 11 years 150mgx 2 , starting when it was first introduced. The common symptoms I experinced while on it were extreme anxiety (Panic attacks), irritability, vision loss, weight loss, zombie like trance and trouble sleeping. The doc just put me on another SSRI to counter these effects...
I'm sure its a great drug if you need to quit smoking but why take something for depression that you're going to have to take another anti-depressant to counter act? Oh and since Wellubutrin is a BIG stimulant watch out coffee, cola, cigarettes, weed, etc.

A few years back I was on several different drugs and Wellbutrin was one. I went through periods with each drug and ultimately i have decided to stay drug-free.
Something important to know- while i was on Wellbutrin I did try to kill myself. My weapon of choice? Surprisingly enough the very drug that was supposed to prevent me from killing myself. I took about 60-70 pills and went to sleep. I have an amazing story of how i survived but I would have died if it wasn't for what happened.

Dazed,

Wellbutrin was my first med. It worked extremely well. I started at 75mg daily and was increased to 150mgs after two weeks (I think, it's been years) The med was extremely activating, I had a ton of energy, felt great, no depressive episodes. i noticed the benefits from it in about a week, it didn't take long with me. This went on for about 8 weeks, and suddenly the med pooped out, just stopped working completely. My dose was raised, but I got no effect from it. I've heard of this happening to several Wellbutrin users, seems to be somewhat common. But I also know people who have been on it for many years with great success. Everybody's system is different.

I hope this helps you.

Greg

I've been on it for 4 weeks now at 150mg/day (1 pill), in the XL form. It has been a damned godsend. I was nearly suicidal a month ago, but within two weeks the majority of my depression was gone and the past two weeks I've been feeling more mentally healthy each day. I only noticed one day of side effects and that was the first day I took it, where I had the shakes so bad that it was like being a cellphone set on vibrate. That was it, though. Also, it reduced my cravings for cigs to the point where I quit. Although it's been just a week, I've only needed the odd occasional piece of Nicorette and it's nearly eliminated my anxiety that used to come from not having cigs around.

Everyone reacts differently though, so what I experienced isn't going to be everyone else's experience. Just my input, though

I just started wellbutrin XL 150mg a day. I have been on it for 8 days now. I am really irritable and it may just be me but my suicidal thoughts have really increased. I know that the appetite thing will subside but I feel more suicidal then I ever was before. I heard age might matter so I'm 19. Did anyone experience this and if so did it go away?

I've been on Wellbutrn since 2001 with hardly any side effects unil very recently when I began having what I assume are incredibly uncomfortable anxiety attacks. My chest felt"full," I was short of breath and for awhile I felt as if I were flying apart. The flying apart bit only occured three or four times, to be replaced by the question of a heart attack. I was also on trazodone, Provigil and Topamax (bipolar II.) Wellbutrin was 300 SR 3 x day. I couldn't deal with these unpleasant intervals and for several other side effect reasons my meds were changed. I'm now down to 100 mg Wellbutrin prior to going off completely when the nefazadone hcl reaches therapeutic dose in a couple of weeks; Topamax goes to 400 mgs about then, too. No more Provigil--big muscle spasm. My anxiety level is minimal with the reduction of Wellbutrin.
What amazes me is that the anxiety that pdoc believes to be medication related came on so suddenly. Wellbutrin has been an excellent antidepressant; I've experienced few if any side effects until recently. Bummer.
rainy

Sharita - It seems that almost everyone goes through a "very irritable" stage when starting Wellbutrin SR™ (bupropion). I remember that when I first started taking it, I would look for reasons to be mad at people. For most people, the irritability seems to be at it's worst at approximately 4 weeks after starting the medication, but does seem to disappear by the 6th week.

I found that as long as one realizes that it is the Wellbutrin causing the irritability, and tells those close to them that this side effect will go away by week 6, one can take measures to minimize the "damage" the irritability can cause. When you feel the anger rise in you, remove yourself from the situation; go be by yourself and tell yourself it is the medication. Then try to rationalize the anger, and calm yourself down before facing the world again.

Tell those close to you that you may say things that you don't mean, and that it is the drug talking. Also make sure that you remind them (and yourself) that you will not always be like this while taking the drug. Think of the irritability as a very annoying start-up side effect. At the time it may not seem like the irritability will end, but it does in a vast majority of people starting this medication.

I hope that this is of some help. - Cam

Cam,

What do you mean irritable?! I was so NOT irritable while ramping up on Wellbutrin! Sheesh....it's like you were there or sumthin all those years ago starting up the first time. boy those mood swings were something!

Thanks for popping in with tidbits of wisdom we all seek here!

And thank you for the good info (yes yes I've read your disclaimers about checking with my own doc and such............do not attempt this at home.......yeah yeah) about medications and SEs.

I learn something new from each of your posts. I sure appreciate your being here as your schedule permits. Guess since Garcia died I'm a Camhead now. When does spring tour start?? That's what you get for keeping me alive with your helpful knowledge!!

Thanks Zen! - Nice to hear from you!

Just to warn you; be careful of those mushroom omelets that they sell in the parking lot during my spring tour.
I hear that they can keep you awake all night!

".....whoa-ho, all I want to know is, 'Are you kind?' ....."

Love - Cam

Cam my dear,
the following is but maybe I took too much wellbutrin with coffee today yeah that's it! as a Camhead I will follow anywhere just like the tourheads used to descend upon communities! lol such fun memories
You know I never did venture to those omlets as I heard they were a bad trip dude lol
As far as are you kind? We are everywhere.

I prefer to remember this time and song for them as for me it ended with Jerry's death. </font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
<font color="#8C7853">
Sun went down in honey
And the moon came up in wine
You know stars were spinning dizzy
Lord the band kept us so busy
We forgot about the time

They're a band beyond description
Like Jehovah's favourite choir
People joining hand in hand
While the music plays the band
Lord they're setting us on fire

Crazy rooster crowing midnight
Balls of lightning roll along
Old men sing about their dreams
Women laugh and children scream
And the band keeps playing on

Keep on dancing through to daylight
Greet the morning air with song
No one's noticed but the band's all packed and gone
Was it ever here at all?
But they kept on dancing

Come on children, come on children
Come on clap your hands

Well the cool breeze came on Tuesday
And the corn's a bumper crop
And the fields are full of dancing
Full of singing and romancing
The music never stopped </font>

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post"> affectionately,