Wellbutrin or "Zyban" User Experiences

[e-pipeman]

Zyban imho is no fun. Tipped me into a serious depressive episode a few years back coupled with high blood pressure. No fun - I would suggest that people avoid it like the plague.

[Vocalek]

It has long been known that a potential adverse effect of bupropion is seizures. The seizure potential is dose-related. Welbutrin has been around for quite a few years and is typically prescribed at 150 mg. twice a day. When they found out that the drug can help with smoking cessation, they came up with a 75 mg. dose and called it Zyban.

This info is from healthyplace.com:

• Dose: At doses up to 300 mg/day of the sustained-release formulation of bupropion (WELLBUTRIN SR), the incidence of seizure is approximately 0.1% (1/1,000).
  Data for the immediate-release formulation of bupropion revealed a seizure incidence of approximately 0.4% (i.e., 13 of 3,200 patients followed prospectively) in patients treated at doses in a range of 300 to 450 mg/day. This seizure incidence (0.4%) may exceed that of some other marketed antidepressants.
  Additional data accumulated for the immediate-release formulation of bupropion suggested that the estimated seizure incidence increases almost tenfold between 450 and 600 mg/day. The 600 mg dose is twice the usual adult dose and one and one-third the maximum recommended daily dose (450 mg) of WELLBUTRIN XL Tablets. This disproportionate increase in seizure incidence with dose incrementation calls for caution in dosing.
• Patient factors: Predisposing factors that may increase the risk of seizure with bupropion use include history of head trauma or prior seizure, central nervous system (CNS) tumor, the presence of severe hepatic cirrhosis, and concomitant medications that lower seizure threshold.
• Clinical situations: Circumstances associated with an increased seizure risk include, among others, excessive use of alcohol or sedatives (including benzodiazepines); addiction to opiates, cocaine, or stimulants; use of over-the-counter stimulants and anorectics; and diabetes treated with oral hypoglycemics or insulin.
• Concomitant medications: Many medications (e.g., antipsychotics, antidepressants, theophylline, systemic steroids) are known to lower seizure threshold.

I have been taking Wellbutrin as an antidepressant for many years. I only had a problem once, and that is because I took my evening pill shortly after drinking a Margarita. Bad idea! Ever since, I make sure that at least two hours go by between having a drink and taking my pill.

[Surf Monkey]

I took Wellbutrin a few years ago. It made me quit, no problem. Two weeks and I was done. I worked great. Kept me off of smoking for as long as I took it, but the moment I stopped, I started smoking again.

None of these things work unless you're committed to quitting. If there's even a shadow of doubt in your mind, you'll start again sooner or later.

[TropicalBob]

Totally agree, Surf Monkey. You wrote the absolute truth.

[bewzer]

i tried wellbutrin 2 different times and quit for 4 months and 9 months...like Surf, as long as i took it, i stayed off of the smokes, but i always wanted to relapse...i also noticed an intense inner rage while on it and it went as far as me throwing a knife into the wall in the kitchen of the restaurant i worked at and throwing glasses on the floor...never felt that kind of anger and rage before

i had a bout of bronchitis for 2 weeks in December and the doc told me to quit smoking with hypnosis...when i told him i tried Wellbutrin in the past, his eyes got big and he warned me to stay far away from that drug, that he'd rather me smoke, but cut it down to half of normal...i knew what he was talking about, but it just seemed odd for a Dr. to say something like that

[Twister]

Originally Posted by jbbishop

I tried this about 6 years ago. Got the entire 3 month supply by mail order under my insurance program (over $300.00 worth) and it all ended up in the trash.

Let me just say that when I opened the bottle it had the most unpleasant aroma, like that of a person's hair that was undergoing a permanent wave.

I only ever took 2 tablets. For the next 24 hours I experienced hundreds of mini seizures. I tried to sleep through it with my entire body convulsing like I'd received an electric shock about ever 3 minutes. When I was awake it was like I had pseudo Tourettes Syndrome, stomping around angrily yelling cusswords out of the corner of my mouth. I had hidden some cigarettes away in a cupboard in the kitchen in case the cravings became too bad. Instead of just opening the cupboard to get at them I actually ripped it off the wall. That's right, I still had uncontrollable nicotine cravings, but now I was ANGRY about it!

Oh, but these are perfectly acceptable side effects - if you don't experience the same thing I'm SURE they're perfectly safe for EVERYBODY. I just love modern pharmacology.

I was on the doctor prescribed Chantix program for three months. Stopped smoking and became so depressed that they were discussing hospitalization for the depression. Back to smoking and antidepressants. Hard to believe the FDA that e-cig could be any worse for me.

[sio2]

I quit twice using zyban, first time quit no problem about 3 weeks into taking it. I didn't lose the cravings, I just didn't care so much anymore. In fact I didn't care about much. Walked around in a fog for three months. I stayed quit for about 8 months, but my wife had a major surgery, and I stressed out and started again. The second time, I knew what I would feel like so I tried to quit as soon as possible and get off the stuff as soon as possible. I quit the second time just so I wouldn't have to take the zyban any more, unfortunately it didn't stick. Now I'm down to about 2-3 analogs a day.

[Zofryer]

Here's my zyban story...

Zyban made me very very very aggressive for some reason. I lived in Atlanta at the time. On the beltway, there's the "150mph lane". The far left lane. On Zyban I chased a guy 4 exits past my exit doing upwards of 150mph because he cut me off. I quit taking it shortly after that.

[Nestran]

Chemically induced shock treatments, Yep I got that from Buspar. Basically, if you don't really need an AD it will do exactly what you are trying to avoid. Those little voltage spikes in my body we very scary.

Last straw was sitting on the couch and noticed my heart rate was 120 or so, not a good resting rate. Called the doc and he had me take more!!!!

The next day I was a mess, needless to say, no drugs beyond ibuprofen and such enter this body. I even passed my last kidney stone drug free. WOOHAA!

Nestran

[sherid]

I believe that in the near future long term users of anti-depressants and the repercussions from using them will make the smoking issue look like a mild case of allergies. I am scared for myself, having taken Effexor for some time. Going off that drug was the worst nightmare I can imagine. I have lost much of my ability to experience pleasure, and that is 3 years after stopping. Anti depressants are very helpful for life threatening episodes of depression, but doctors hand them out like candy. VERY VERY frightening