My experience (so far) with Wellbutrin / Buproprion

[Patte Rosebank]

One little correction: According to Drugs.com, Wellbutrin is an “atypical anti-depressant”, not a stimulant.

That means “it works differently from most other anti-depressants”. It seems like part of that “difference” is that it can help with ADHD symptoms in some people.

It’s always best to ask your doctor and/or pharmacist any medication-related questions.

Even though it can be really interesting to hear other ADDers’ experiences with a particular med, just remember, “Your Mileage May Vary”.

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[blackdog]

Larynxa is correct, Welbutrin is not classified as a stimulant. It is atypical in that it works by increasing dopamine and norepinephrine rather than the usual feel good neural transmitter, serotonin.

It was, however, marketed as a drug to treat ADHD without any clinical studies to determine if it is effective in treating ADHD ever being done. The company got in hot water over it awhile back. I don’t know if any testing has been done since. Personally, I don’t find it very effective. But others seem to benefit from it.

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[radddad]

Hi everyone,  I just went back on Buproprion as I was off meds for two months while nursing an injury and subsequent surgery back to health.  I am currently taking a generic form of Buproprion and have noticed it is not quite as effective as Wellbutrin. My doctor has aslo prescribed a low dose of Adderall to help with additional focus when needed. I am trying to stay away from stimulant medication altogether.  After taking the Adderall today, I was told this evening by a close friend that I really seemed different and something seemed off.  I told her I had taken my “focus med”, and it sometimes makes my emotions/personality flat.  This is one big reason I do not want to take stimulant medication. Which is why I wanted to try the Buproprion for ADHD. I took this med before I was diagnosed with ADHD for depression, and felt much better with it than SSRI’s.  Still, the generic does not seem as effective .  I’m in the US, and there are a few different manufacturers. So, I don’t know if anyone else has had the same effects from generics vs Wellbutrin.

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[blackdog]

@radddad

Do not take the generic unless you have to. My pharmacy switched me without telling me a few years ago. Not only was it ineffective but it gave me nausea and wicked headaches. I thought I was sick until I took a close look at the pills one day and realized they were different.

I went back to the pharmacy and had to argue with them to get them to switch it back. The woman was really snotty about it and told me I had to talk to the pharmacist because the prescription was being changed. Which it wasn’t, I was just asking them to give me what I was prescribed.

As soon as I told the pharmacist what was happening he nodded and said it wasn’t the first time he had heard it.

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[serenity14]

The generic that works best for me is the Sandoz brand (which includes Eon). I do not like Teva. The real McCoy worked better but my insurance won’t cover it.

I also take Sandoz brand of adderall 30 mg 2x a day but I that is really not helping me focus.  🙁

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[radddad]

I think I will look into the Sandoz brand. Not sure what I have now. I dont really like my adderall either.

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[blackdog]

I guess you guys are in the States, so I don’t have any idea what brands are best or what is covered and what isn’t. Good luck, I hope you get something that works. 🙂

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[Nomad40]

For those of you who have had success with Wellbutrin/Bupropion can you chime in regarding your dosage?

I was started out on 150 mg daily, then DR switched to 100 mg twice daily.

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[Anonymous]

A friendly reminder…

Remember, meds for brain issues work differently in each person, so what works for someone else might not work for you.

Before making any changes, be sure to talk to your doctor and/or pharmacist.

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[siege]

I am having success with Wellbutrin XL 150mg daily. I am in my 3rd month of taking it. I tried 300mg after a few weeks, thinking “Hey! If 150 is good, 300 will be GREAT!!” but I was wrong.  I became agitated and irritated, so I went back to 150 and am now happier and more kind to others.

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[blackdog]

Hi @siege, welcome. 🙂

Its great that you’re having success with the Welbutrin. You may find after you have been on it longer that you need to go up to the 300. But maybe not. It’s different for everyone.

I went up to 300 shortly after I started taking it. But then, if I remember correctly, I went back to 150 for awhile. I take 300 mg XL in the morning now. It works better some days than others, depending on my stress level and how much sleep I get and so on. I am thinking about dropping it back to 15o again now that I am taking Vyvanse because I don’t think I need as much now. But it’s too early to tell.

 

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[Robbo]

A friendly reminder…

Remember, meds for brain issues work differently in each person, so what works for someone else might not work for you.

Before making any changes, be sure to talk to your doctor and/or pharmacist.

I was taking 300mg of Wellbutrin (generic works fairly good, better than nuthin) But I had much much worse insomnia. So I’m doing well on just 150 a couple times a day. Sometimes less.

Both my doctor and my pharmacist agree with me that it can act like a stimulant in a some cases. I’m proof. In fact my GP doc may not be the best authority on that med. My pharmacist, I do trust. He takes the time to talk about how meds are working, as well as just filling bottles of pills.

P.S. part of the reason I quit coming here so much was because the same person was always correcting and commenting on everything. So I got tired of scrolling past.

yeah yeah, I know… I really just don’t like being corrected… AGAIN.

If lot’s of doctors hear patients say a medication works like a stimulant, they ignore what the freaking Internets says and go with what works best for an honest patient.

PPS don’t believe everything ya read on the Internet. Heck even a clown like me.

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[blackdog]

@Robbo

“P.S. part of the reason I quit coming here so much was because the same person was always correcting and commenting on everything. So I got tired of scrolling past.”

Who, me? 😯

 

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[laurenshankman]

Hey everyone!  It’s really upsetting seeing all of the comments about insurance not covering the brand name form of Wellbutrin.  Apparently, some of the generic versions of bupropion are significantly less effective and more problematic than the brand (though I think there are one or two decent generic brands of bupropion out there)  I was advised by my psychiatrist that Wellbutrin XL has started offering their discount program online directly to patients, instead of the physical discount cards they typically gave health care providers.

Go to the official Wellbutrin XL site and click on the savings options thingy on the bottom of the page.  Idk if this is actually the case, but it appears that they set an upper cap of $50 on the medicine.  So definitely switch to the brand if you’re unhappy with the generic.

 

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[NeuroD]

@laurenshankman: Yeah, in specific, Teva/Impax’s generic bupropion XL was not properly tested by the FDA. A lower dose (150mgs) was tested, and they assumed that it would also work for higher dosages (300mgs). They then brushed off complaints by consumers until enough years of public outcry forced them to test it for real. As it turns out, no, it wasn’t as effective, in a very real sense — the generics didn’t actually deliver the full dose of the drug to the patient. It was a huge mess, and there’s a decent rundown of events on Forbes of all places.

Unfortunately, for example, in NY State Medicaid will not cover brands of anything if generics are available.

As for Bupoprion, while it may have had some effect — I can’t tell, as I was in a major depressive episode at the time that I began using it, so that’s kind of a numb blur in which I had to actually want to do anything before I could really look at how much trouble I was having with it — but if so, it’s not really eliminated it. It definitely appears to be worse because as the depression has lifted, I’m now trying to achieve goals, and aware enough to notice all the walls I’m hitting.

That would be why I’m theoretically supposed to be starting on Ritalin. But I’m now scared. More here.

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