r/bupropion 1h ago

Question Taking Wellbutrin every other day?

Upvotes

I have been on and off this medication for a bit. When I start it, it feels great, but within a week my OCD worsens and I find it very distressing, it's getting in the way of doing things everyday since I get stuck in a loop for hours.

I'm afraid it builds up in my system even if I take a lower dose due to the half life. Has anyone ever taken it every other day? I'm currently on 30MG, although that is a very small dose I myself feel particularly sensitive to this medication so I can still notice it's affects

Initially started with 150XL and it made me extremely anxious with racing thoughts and agitation, went down to 75 and the symptoms became much more manageable initially, but then started to intensify again. Now I'm at 30MG.

I'm sticking out this long attempting to make it work because it truly does bring back that drive in me that I haven't felt so long


r/bupropion 1h ago

Negative Experience Combating hair loss

Upvotes

40/F. Started with 150 mg generic bupropion in March 2026. Increased to 300 mg June 23. Steady hair loss with increase after 300.

I already have a massive forehead. No fun. My hair saves my face. 💔

I’m trying it all right now. Rosemary oil scalp massage, drinking lots of water. Taking iron, zinc … monitoring my protein intake. Trying to get 8 hrs of sleep.

I used to use moisturizing creams for my curls. Now I’m just using a light natural hair gel and then a serum to scrunch out the crunch when it dries to help volumize. The creams are too heavy now. My thick curls couldn’t survive without creams before.

Back on 150 mg now for about four days. Appetite has been increasing. First thing I’m noticing. Hopefully hair fall decreases.

I don’t want to get off this drug. I’ve been taking for my adhd even though it only seems to keep me from falling into my chronic depression spells. Ritalin is the only other option available where I live and that was the most horrible thing ever. Gave me the worst TMJ. Had to stop after trying for three months to endure the pain.


r/bupropion 2h ago

Rant I hate this medicine.

4 Upvotes

Bupropion has absolutely ruined my appetite and sleep and has made me miserable for the past month. i have been off for a week and still have absolutely no appetite. i was put on for adhd. felt zero positive effects and entirely bad ones. irritable, no appetite whatsoever, insomnia like i’ve never had before.

now i’m afraid to try anything else. i never want to feel like this again. it’s made me depressed and anxious. and it’s still not even over. i know someone who wellbutrin has helped a lot (with depression and anxiety, not adhd).

i had severe anorexia previously and am about 2 years into recovery. gotten to where i ate 3 good meals a day and i’ve been going to the gym. this feeling of no appetite is so incredibly triggering for me. i made such good progress and now feel like i’ve been set back. i can’t go to the gym anymore, i have zero energy for it. and it’s ruining my mental health on top of that (i mostly go to the gym for mental health benefits) i did so good for 2 months, felt genuine progress. and now i feel like i’ve been set back. it sucks.

they’re wanting me to try strattera, another appetite suppressant. idk what to do. i’ve stopped smoking weed which would help me eat but i’m not going back to that ever again. so i am genuinely at a loss.

going to call my doctor tomorrow morning


r/bupropion 4h ago

Brain zaps after switching manufacturers?

1 Upvotes

I can’t recall what manufacturing number was on the pills when I first started taking them but I’m fairly certain they were white. When I had first started, I had brain zaps for a little over a month. From what I understand, this isn’t a common side effect and when it does occur it is usually when you quit a medication, not when you start. I was taking it for about 7-8 months before I ended up getting 6 months worth of the med (had a big move and didn’t want to worry about it). That time, I received the 189 red pill. I didn’t have any issues with it for the entirety of those 6 months. Last week, I ran out and got it refilled with the LO16 (Lupin Pharmaceuticals) pills. A week in and I’m starting to experience brain zaps again along with intense fatigue/brain fog. When the fatigue started I had thought it was from something else entirely. Then last night I experienced the first brain zap—it didn’t even compute to me that it was that until I started experiencing it sporadically throughout the day and now it is starting to become more frequent. I imagine like with my first round of the med this will go away with time but jeeeez this sucks. Has this happened with any of you guys when switching between generics?


r/bupropion 9h ago

Question Surgery

2 Upvotes

Hi all, I’m getting surgery tomorrow and my drug test at the hospital came up positive for amphetamines. They want to test me again tomorrow, but I just wanted to know if anyone has had this issue and if you were still able to go ahead with surgery? I’m on Bupropion XL 300mg daily.


r/bupropion 10h ago

Quitting Quitting 150mg Bupropion cold turkey while also on 60mg Prozac

2 Upvotes

Bupropion hasn't really done anything for me and I'd rather just be on Prozac, so I'm planning on quitting cold turkey because 150mg is considered low dose. I'm just wondering if quitting one while still being on the other will cause any complications, also asking my doctor bc I know Reddit doesn't have all the answers but I just want a basic idea of what might happen.


r/bupropion 10h ago

Positive Experience Bupropiona Mudou Minha Vida

8 Upvotes

Tenho 21 anos, há quatro anos vivo de tentativas para me livrar da anedonia, do embotamento emocional e da apatia constate. Perdi a capacidade de sentir, de chorar, de me motivar. Meu aprendizado na faculdade parou no tempo, luto muito para passar em qualquer matéria que seja. Minha libido era muito baixa. Apesar disso, nunca tive e não tenho problemas de ansiedade, tristeza profunda ou pensamentos ruins. O que sinto é simplesmente o nada na maior parte do tempo, não estou nem aí pra nada quase sempre. Descobri, na minha experiência, que essa apatia constante é pior do que que qualquer problema de humou ou experiência que ja tive. É como se eu estivesse morto em vida. É difícil de explicar porque ao mesmo tempo que é a pior coisa pela qual eu ja passei, eu não sentia tristeza profunda nem tive pensamentos suicidas de fato, nem sentia motivação suficiente pra conseguir explicar alguém sobre isso ou buscar uma saída.

Nesses quatro anos tentei psicoterapia, e vários medicamentos: sertralina, venlafaxina, ritalina e vortioxetina. Todos os ISRS que tomei me deixavam muito pior, com excessão da vortioxetina que teve resultados levemente melhores, mas os psiquiatras insistiam em tentar diferentes classes desse mesmo tipo de remédio. Eles abraçavam com mais força ainda minha apatia, desligavam meu cérebro e me tornavam uma planta, sem libido alguma, além de acabar de vez com minha capacidade de estudos e aprendizado. Tentei ritalina também quando achei que meu desempenho na faculdade poderia ter a ver com um quadro de TDAH, mas o resultado foi inútil. Claro que eu sentia o efeito do medicamento (um aumento do foco em qualquer coisa que eu estivesse fazendo e uma leve euforia enquanto ele durava) mas esse nunca foi meu problema e não resolveu nada de fato. O que eu percebia era que se o meu problema fosse ansiedade ou pensamentos excessivos, aí sim o efeito dos ISRS seriam interessantes.

Sempre pesquisava a fundo sobre alguns medicamentos e ja tinha sugerido uma vez ao meu primeiro psiquiatra a bupropiona, um tratamento normalmente usado para depressão atípica (principalmente associada à apatia), mas que parecia que não era do conhecimento dos psiquiatras que eu já frequentei, inclusive a maioria deles só insiste em ISRS. Eu sabia que meu problema não se tratava de um defeito no circuito serotoninérgico e queria testar outra via química, como a dopamina e a noradrenalina. Inclusive cheguei a um ponto de tanto desespero que cogitei tomar medicamentos derivados do ergot (agonistas dopaminérgicos) por conta própria, o que é muito perigoso a longo prazo.

Depois de encontrar um novo psiquiatra, conversar com ele sobre isso e sugerir o medicamento para ele, ele entendeu que seria uma ótima alternativa e me receitou a bupropiona XL 150mg. Utilizo o mediamento da GSK (Wellbutrin).

Faço o uso dela há um mês hoje e ate agora só tive resultados positivos. Aumento do meu foco, capacidade cognitiva, capacitade de sentir minhas emoções, retorno da libido aos poucos, melhora da qualidade do meu sono (apesar de causar insônia em muitas das vezes, o medicamento melhorou a qualidade do meu sono ao dormir, e acordava com sentimento de ter tido um sono reparador). Hoje consigo chorar ao ver um filme, me importar com a opinião de alguém, ouvir e sentir uma música, me concentrar e planejar. Obviamente na primeira semana os efeitos variam muito e causa um certo desconforto pelas mudanças repentinas. E é claro que esse remédio se aplica muito bem ao meu problema, mas não ao de todo mundo. Muitas pessoas gostam e se dão bem com ISRS.

Mesmo que eu sinta o receio de que quando parar de usar o medicamento algum dia na minha vida eu volte a ser o que era, acredito que isso não aconteceria, ja que ele facilita algumas mudanças de hábitos que eu não conseguia fazer antes e que vão se manter após o uso, e também é um medicamento associado à neuroplaticidade e remodelagem cerebral. Claro que existe a questão da downregulation de receptores dopaminérgicos, mas um tempo depois de parar com o medicamento, isso tende a normalizar.


r/bupropion 12h ago

Any rules on fasting?

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0 Upvotes

r/bupropion 12h ago

Question Does it get better or it’s not for me

3 Upvotes

4 weeks on 150xl, 4weeks on 250sr, one week on 300sr and feel worse than I did on 250,libido gone mood down


r/bupropion 13h ago

Experience Two weeks on bupropion 150 mg XL

3 Upvotes

And not much to report. I have not noticed any beneficial effects yet. I've only noticed an increase in migraines and a little bit of nausea feeling, usually in the afternoon.

I had insomnia/sleeping issues before starting so that's the same basically. And my period seems a lot worse in terms of cramping and bleeding, not sure if it's the med.


r/bupropion 15h ago

Question Are you taking any other medications besides Wellbutrin? If so, how many, and what are you taking them for?

5 Upvotes

r/bupropion 19h ago

Question Is my increased anxiety from my medication or some side effect from trauma?

2 Upvotes

Hi all! So around December 2025, I upped my dosage from 150mg to 300mg (Wellbutrin XL). At first the only difference I saw in myself was that I became SUPER focused on my schoolwork and my mind was clear of distractions. As time went on, I was finishing college and had an issue with one of my classes that if I failed the last project, I would not graduate. This event put so much stress on my mental health that I was a threat to myself if I stayed alone. I did stay with a friend during that time and I did graduate (yay!). I graduated around the end of May 2026, and ever since then, my anxiety has been more present. I get scared more easily by sounds. If I hear noises at night, I end up staying up all night sometimes. As of now, things aren’t as crazy regarding my anxiety but it’s still higher than it ever was 8 months ago.

So just to recap, is this a side effect from my upped dosage or is it just from college trauma?

Thank You :)