Wellbutrin or "Zyban" User Experiences

[mwahle1]

Years ago my aunt took Wellbutrin and was able to quit smoking. I tried it for 2-3 weeks. I could not sleep and had so much energy that even my hyper dog was tired from all the walking. Wellbutrin gave me a weird buzz, but I smoked even more while I was taking it, go figure!

 

[inicapem]

I tried Wellbutrin/Zyban a year ago for 1.5 weeks to quit smoking. I thought I had lost my mind. I had panic attacks - never had them before or since. Chain smoked while on it when I normally only smoked about 5 cigs a day. I was VERY depressed and nervous. Upon stopping I went back to normal. I have heard success stories with people saying it makes them happy and they quit. Not the case for me. When I told my doc she told me it's a good thing I stopped taking it and that in her experience about three other patients have had the same reaction I did. I decided never to take something that plays with my brain chemistry ever again.

Prior to this I had used Chantix about a year before. I only took it for two weeks. Stopped because each time I took it I was horribly nauseas for about half an hour after. However it was the stepping stone I needed. I remained off cigs for 6 months.

Personally I will not use a medication again to quit smoking. And luckily today is 3 weeks no cigs using ecig and nic gum. This is the first time I've also had absolutely no craving for a cig.

 

[timmy1]

I tried chantix a few years ago and every day after I took it after breakfast I could not work I had to lay down for about 2 or 3 hours because I was so sick. A friend told me to call there help line which I did not I stopped taking it and through the rest out. I stopped smoking for about 4 days then I went back until I found this forum. Now I am trying the xhaler and I haven't smoked since last friday 3 days that is good.

 

[Katmar]

I tried chantix a few years ago and every day after I took it after breakfast I could not work I had to lay down for about 2 or 3 hours because I was so sick. A friend told me to call there help line which I did not I stopped taking it and through the rest out. I stopped smoking for about 4 days then I went back until I found this forum. Now I am trying the xhaler and I haven't smoked since last friday 3 days that is good.

Awesome, timmy, and while you were sick, the chantix people were running to the bank!!!
Good luck vaping. Healthier days ahead.

 

[kalekona]

Zyban/Wellbutrin is an anti-depressant. Chantix now has warnings about possible suicidal thoughts while taking. Funny story about Wellbutrin. About 8 years ago I was in the Atlanta airport in a smoking lounge and there was about 4 of us businessmen smoking and talking and one of them said he wanted to try Wellbutrin so he could quit. One of the other guys said that he was on it right now. The other guy said, well I guess it doesn't work very well. And the one taking the Wellbutrin said, no, it works great - Now when I smoke I FEEL GOOD ABOUT IT!

I have taken Wellbutrin for years and will continue to take it the rest of my life- it saved me from a hell worse than smoking.
But it also took me from a 2 pack a day habit to between 5 to 10 analogs a day- and there I plateaued.

Yes the main side affect is seizures. Many people can't and shouldn't take it but for me it works. I do take Xanax for sleep since an inability to turn my thoughts off at night was the one minor side effect that never went away.

But because I am on it Chantix was never an option for me.

My funny story is the first time I took it- when it first hit the market and there was no sustained release formula - I had to take 3 pills (they were red back then) throughout the day and before I knew it my husband and friend were calling them my "good mother pills" because I was baking, cleaning and playing with the kids all day long.

For me Wellbutrin was a life saver- but it isn't right for everyone- and for ending a smoking addiction Vaping is far superior in my point of view.

 

[Daifne]

Wellbutran almost caused me to commit suicide. It was like I was outside of myself watching myself. Terrifying. Never, ever again.

 

[JaYBoNeS]

I was always nervous and had insomnia on Zyban, but twice it worked for me to stop smoking. The only thing that I have tried without nicotine in it that has worked. The first time I used it for 3 months, the second for a week. Both times obviously I did go back to smoking (decided that I was so immune to cigs, that I would only smoke when drinking, but then I drank more often lol).

It worked for me, but I went back to it and I didn't like the side effects. Taking an anti-depressant to quit smoking did not seem right to me, either. But I do have to say that it did work where nothing else did until I started vaping.

 

[AJMoore]

Like Smokey Joe, I became "disconnected" while taking Wellbrutrain as an aid to quit smoking. No concentration, couldn't remember why I walked into a room, lost track of conversations right in the middle. My work suffered terribly (as did home life). When I wasn't wandering around totally confused, I was asleep. I could sleep until mid day.

Now I'm talking them as an antidepressant (months before the e cig and quitting). The effects aren't the same, maybe because I'm still getting nicotine?

I'm not sharp as a tack (usually I'm pretty much on top of things) but I'm not the slug I used to be either (sorry Katmar). I can still sleep like nobodies business. Does anyone else have the need to sleep and sleep? I mean serious sleeping?

 

[thaitee]

My husband and I both tried it. Did not work for us.
In fact, I kinda went postal. Like PMS x 5

 

[M76]

I've been taking Wellbutrin for depression for close to 4 years now. On the mental health front it's definitely helped me immensely with respect to my overall quality of life. I no longer need/want to sleep 14 hours a day, I actually feel like doing activities I enjoy, etc. In short, it's really eased the symptoms of clinical depression.

As far as its effects on smoking, it was very, very drastic. Within a few weeks of starting it I found that my cravings had reduced significantly. Mind you, when I do smoke I don't get the same headrush/buzz off of cigarettes that I used to. I used to "have" to have a smoke every hour or so or I'd go absolutely mental. On Wellbutrin I could go an entire 8-hour workday smoke-free with only mild to moderate cravings.

The problem was is that I really, really enjoy smoking. Then, i discovered vaping. I started vaping 2 weeks ago and haven't had a single cigarette in that time. Pretty amazing, this is by far the longest I've gone without smoking since I started 18 years ago!

I read through this thread and I see that many people do have very negative reactions to Wellbutrin/Zyban. In fact, 2 of my friends and my mom tied Zyban and had to stop within a few days due to unbearable side effects. The only one I had was nausea, but that subsided after a few weeks...

 

[t9c]

I took Zyban for my first serious quit back in '99. I quit smoking for about 18mos. But I became such an ......, my wife left me.

FF to '08. I started taking Chantix. I was fine not smoking as long as I was on Chantix, for 3 months. I had a 2 week lapse in the prescription, the $135/mo. was killing me and pissin me off so much, my 2nd wife left me.

Moral of the story: Don't get married and try to quit smoking using drugs made for other purposes.

carry on...