Generic Name: Wellbutrin SR for Depression (bupropion)
Wellbutrin SR for Depression Reviews
"I am a mother of 2 small children and I began this medication about 2 months ago after being on Celexa (which made me feel tired a lot and hungry all the time - I gained like 20 lbs on it). The first thing I noticed with Wellbutrin was a decreased appetite. Then I started to feel more alert - the same kind of alertness you would feel when taking Adderall. A few weeks into it, my mood was totally different. I was happy, calm, energetic - all the things that I wanted for so long, but never thought I could achieve, as I was very depressed. I was walking in a parking lot the other day and I thought to myself 'wow. isn't life great?' - Wellbutrin is an AMAZING medication."
"Wow! I have been taking Wellbutrin SR 150 mg for one week (started October 15, 2016) then 2nd week taking 150 mg at 12:00. I have never taken any medication for my mild depression, easily agitated, sweating the small stuff, slightly obese (209 lbs), too tired after work to play with the kids diagnosis. Then, OMG, my life is forever changed. In my second week on Wellbutrin SR 150 mg twice per day, I am down to 203 lbs. I didn't realize how much agitation and sadness I was trying to manage on my own. I am a lot calmer when stressful situations arise, play with my kids & exercise. I feel like there is always a song in my heart. Unless somebody does something really STUPID to PISS me off! But even then, I can forgive faster! God, I'm happy."
"I have been on Wellbutrin for about four months. I can definitely say that it works very well. My symptoms before taking it were mood swings, constant fatigue, irritability, very low to nonexistent sex drive & not able to finish anything I started. My first two weeks on Wellbutrin, I had a rough go with side effects. Side effects were: couldn't sleep. Heavy/tight chest which resulted in a panic attack. Itchy palms & feet. I wanted so bad to stop taking it but very glad I didn't. I feel great now and have lost 15 lbs. The sex drive has come back full force. Advice: take Benadryl those first few weeks to help you sleep. Best choice I have made was asking my doctor for help."
"I have ADD, anxiety, and depression. I began 100mg once a day for a week then went to 100mg twice a day. You have to give this medicine time to work. The first week I was thinking of not taking it anymore because it made me feel so tired. But I'm so happy I stuck it out! My overall mood, attitude, and outlook have improved tremendously. My mood and attention are consistent, unlike when I took Adderall and would experience crashes. This medication has made a world of difference. I'm less anxious and happier."
"I've been taking this medication for depression. I've been on it for about a year now. When I first started taking it, I smoked about a pack a day. Over time, this reduced my cravings for nicotine and helped me quit smoking. It took time and effort, but it worked. Also, when I started this medicine, I weighed 207 lbs, which was my highest weight. Wellbutrin caused weight loss for me, and I now weigh 165. This medicine improves my overall mood, and I am not as depressed as I was a year ago. I've also experienced hair shedding, which has become more and more of a problem. Sometimes it comes out in handfuls. I gave this medicine a 9 because mostly my side effects were positive. I don't know where I'd be without Wellbutrin."
"I tried to get by on 150 mg of bupropion but was getting weepy over little things and decided to ask to up my dosage, and I am now on 300 mg (The other 150 mg in the evening). I went through waking in the night as well as during the day with all kinds of negative feelings and gut-wrenching crying. I really didn’t have side effects... I stayed away from people because I knew I was not quite 'right' and didn’t want to make a 'fool' of myself as I knew my thinking was a little askew. I just today—-24 days into the increase in medication—felt a breakthrough and feel like I have a new lease on life... it is like I was teetering on the edge and have now slipped over into normalcy."
"I was taking this for depression for about 3 years, and it was a miracle for me. I stopped taking it when I lost my insurance for about a year. The result was a weight gain of 20 lbs and severe depression again. I've been taking it now for about a year, and the result is that I'm happy again. I lost 30 lbs and experienced an increased libido. I've never taken any other antidepressant besides Wellbutrin SR."
"I started Wellbutrin SR just last week. I feel 90% better already. Previously I was taking Zoloft and after a year and a half, I felt sluggish, tired, hopeless, and just plain blah. I now don't have constant worrying, it helps with my OCD, and the things that bothered me before have just become basically no big deal to me. I'm happier, I focus much better. And my spirits are brighter than they have been in months!"
"This medication was initially excellent for me. I had started a new job in college and was very stressed and couldn’t handle the social interactions required. Eventually, I became suicidal and was placed on Wellbutrin. This medication allowed me to work, function, and actually enjoy life. It worked for about a year, then stopped. My MD added Celexa, and this didn’t really help. Turns out I had undiagnosed ADHD, both my brothers have it. I was switched to Adderall, and this helped a lot but still wasn’t quite right. I added Wellbutrin back in, and both work excellently together. I can experience all my emotions again, rest, and find peace with life. I also have POTS, and I take propranolol, and this helps to prevent any panic caused by this. My point is, I really suffered for over six years until I found something that truly worked. I really do feel so much better and feel like a whole person. Please do not give up. I promise there is something that will work. Fight for yourself."
"I initially got put on Wellbutrin for my anxiety and depression. I'm taking the SR one once a day and I have been on it for less than a week. I have to say I have felt amazing. I am someone that is extremely active, and I had always tried to be conscious of my diet, but I struggled with binge eating. I would eat healthy for 4 days and binge for 3. I'd feel awful and start over EVERY Monday. It was really getting out of hand, honestly, and contributing to my mental state. I am 24 years old, 5'4, and my normal weight for my activity level was always 120. I got all the way up to 150 and could not understand why. In almost a week, I've lost 5 lbs, it's just falling off me now. I feel happy again and in control of my emotions and eating."
"I have been on bupropion for a month. I have lost the sadness, obsessive dark thoughts, and have more energy and fewer aches and pains. I felt a little weird taking it at first (mild headache, taste in my mouth) but those have gone. This is great stuff, and I feel hopeful and focused. I am not snappy and withdrawn from my spouse."
"Nothing short of life-changing! I started taking it for depression and anxiety. I have never tried anything else. I found that I needed to take it with meals to avoid jitters and make sure I took the second dose before 4 pm to avoid sleep issues. I experienced very mild constipation, my stools just seem harder. The good part is that I don't feel medicated at all. I don't cry all the time anymore. I started to notice that I was actually enjoying life and events. I completely stopped needing alcohol and/or food to fill an emotional void. It was amazing for me how this change in outlook affected my sex life - I want sex regularly, and hang-ups I used to have disappeared. Caution: one generic manufacturer did not work at all. Use only the brand or Sandoz!"
"I would like to let folks know that there is help out there. I used to pride myself on the fact that I wasn't on any medication until my depression got so bad that I didn't enjoy anything. I finally broke down and cried in my doctor's office. It was embarrassing for me to ask for help. She put me on bupropion at 150 mg 2X a day. It helped a little but I still wasn't feeling the best. In my follow-up appointment a month after starting it, she upped my dose to 450mg a day. What a difference. I don't hate my job and life anymore. I am getting all kinds of things done that I had no interest in 2 months ago. I would recommend this to anyone that has trouble with depression and had a bad experience with an SSRI antidepressant."
"I started on 150 mg SR for one week, then went up to 300mg. At first, I felt speedy, which I loved - lots of energy. I could clean for hours, lol, and felt really weird in public, like everyone was staring at me. After a month, I'd say it settled a bit. My depression has totally gone. I was so negative before, complained so much, and started to cry in secret. It stopped completely, and it works fast - I'd say immediately. The best thing for me was my lifelong issues with food. Overeating and sugar binges just vanished. I couldn't believe it. I lost 5 kilos quickly. My appetite came back, but I don't binge on sugar. I have to watch what I eat, but thank goodness I don't have the obsession with food anymore. I also stopped smoking after a few days, and now I can't believe I ever smoked. Overall, it's a miracle drug that is life-changing. I live in Egypt, and it's dirt cheap for 30 less than 5 dollars as it's produced locally by GlaxoSmithKline, Egypt."
"I am only on my 3rd day with Wellbutrin SR (150mg once a day for now) but I really feel good about this medicine already! I'm brand new to antidepressants but had been on Lexapro for 2 weeks prior to getting the Wellbutrin prescription, and I really did not like the Lexapro. With it, I had been having a headache every day, tense muscles, felt emotionally numb, was tired all the time, couldn't focus, and absolutely could not reach orgasm even having sex every day (which was extremely frustrating). Since switching 3 days ago, I have had more energy, more ability to focus, I feel happier about life as a whole, and I have been really productive with school work (I'm a college student). I also have noticed that I'm not feeling as hungry. Good feels."
"I tried so hard to stay on bupropion 150 SR for my depression and BPD, but I just couldn't. I lasted 10 days on it. It gave me a weird headspace, i.e., negative thoughts and bad memories from the past. I kept telling myself to persevere, but I just couldn't, aside from the chronic constipation it caused. I will always wonder now what would have happened had I stuck it out for 4 to 6 weeks. Just felt too weird and disoriented on it. Thanks for reading my comment, and if anyone had a similar experience, please share. Thanks."
"Wonderful for me! I have increased energy, able to work and generally FEEL better. Downside-occasional insomnia. Drink lots of water, you will feel very thirsty. I highly recommend this antidepressant."
"So, over the last year, I had noticed my anxiety has spiraled out of control, and I was beginning to feel depressed a lot. My doctor suggested Wellbutrin SR 150 mg for about 2 weeks, then I moved up to 300 mg. I’m totally impressed, I have no depression whatsoever since the first day I began Wellbutrin, and I went from getting headaches every day due to TMJ to very rarely having a headache. I still have some anxiety, so we’re working on taking care of that."
"I'm not usually one to publicly review medications, but I really feel the need to with this one. I have been clinically depressed for about 6 years. I have tried Celexa, Lexapro, Zoloft, Prozac, and Effexor. Trial and error is really a bummer when you want to get well and you have little to no relief. I am now on a mix of 300 mg of Wellbutrin SR and 100 mg of Zoloft and love it! The first week or two I experienced some nausea (the traditional side effect) that had me down for the count for a few days, but I stuck with it. My only complaint after about 4 months of use is the insomnia, but that's nothing melatonin can't fix. So, if you've tried every SSRI/SNRI under the sun, I totally recommend trying Wellbutrin."
"I just was put back onto Wellbutrin after attempting 3 other antidepressants. It was only after being off it that I realized how good it worked for me. I was taken off of it because it caused me to have some issues with irritability and, according to my family, short-tempered. I was put on Cymbalta, but I enjoy a drink or 2 a day with my wife (Cymbalta and alcohol will damage your liver, well-documented). Zoloft made me feel completely despondent, and I felt life was no longer worth living, not to mention made me not even remotely think of sex. When I was put back on Wellbutrin, I felt like life was worth living, and I feel happier and euphoric. Now I take Lamictal with Wellbutrin 150 mg in the morning. Avoid the XR, causes insomnia."
"Dopamine and norepinephrine are two major brain chemicals in the feelings of romantic love. Serotonin (key in SSRI) actually suppresses dopamine and inhibits feelings. This dopamine and norepinephrine (a stimulant) reuptake inhibitor can help and DRIVE without sexual side effects, weight gain, and apathy caused by SSRIs. Often prescribed with an SSRI to counteract side effects of it. Also, it is reported to have few side effects (unless you suffer from a seizure disorder that is). I recommend this over an SSRI or in addition to one."
"I've been taking Wellbutrin 150 mg SR (generic) once a day for the past 6 months. I have had no negative side effects. It was originally prescribed to treat my binge eating disorder, but it did nothing for it. BUT it did improve my depressed moods drastically! No needing checklists anymore to prompt me to do all the basic stuff a normal human being should be doing, like take a shower. So, for about 5 months, I was not depressed anymore, I was also less anxious and had fewer intrusive thoughts. I now think, one month later (so after 6 months), that I should bump it to twice a day (like it's intended in the first place anyways) because my depression and intrusive thoughts are slowly coming back and ruining my attempts at self-care. In the past, I took Paxil and Effexor. Paxil never worked. Effexor worked for a while (with bad side effects), then stopped working for me. I hope I have now found what will work for me long-term!"
"I just wanted to say that I had a lot of these negative symptoms when I was on the generic 'Bupropion' (headaches, vivid nightmares) but after switching to the 'name brand only' I no longer had those horrible side effects. It's hard to tell in these reviews which people are taking the generic version (which was horrific) and who is reviewing the actual Wellbutrin SR. The name brand worked so much better!"
"I started taking 100mg XL in October for my depression. For the first 3 weeks, I kind of just felt the same. Then I was moved up to 200mg SR, and that’s when I started noticing a change about 4 weeks in. It reduced a lot of my depression along with my 10/10 anxiety. After 3 weeks, I started 300mg SR, and I definitely noticed a change. I had a lot more energy, started doing things I once enjoyed, and did better in my college classes. With weight loss, I lost 16 pounds after the first 2 weeks of taking the 300mg SR. Overall, Wellbutrin has worked so well for me and has helped reduce my depression and anxiety. 10/10"
"Seeing that most antidepressants take time to actually build up in your system before sustained relief occurs, I have begun taking it and thankfully have felt a decrease with many adverse symptoms of my depression. Sex drive and focus have slowly begun to amp up, and I feel more at ease consistently. I personally have had a good experience on this med. Good luck on your quests for sustained relief."
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