# Please share your experiences with buproprion (Wellbutrin) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 3, 2013, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-share-your-experiences-with-buproprion-wellbutrin/645975 "2013-01-03T17:30:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-share-your-experiences-with-buproprion-wellbutrin/645975/21 "2013-01-04T02:53:50Z")
Took Zyban (which is the same thing) to help me quit smoking about 10 years ago. All went well for about six days, but then I had a seizure. That sucked – because it really did help get rid of the _psychological_ cravings, not just the physical withdrawl. ---
**Author:** ![FlyByNight512](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FlyByNight512](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyByNight512)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-share-your-experiences-with-buproprion-wellbutrin/645975/22 "2013-01-04T03:37:43Z")
Bupropion has had no noticeable side effects for me (even when first starting to take it). It’s moderately helpful with my depression and anxiety issues. As the wide variety of responses here show, different people react to SSRIs very, very differently. A highly effective drug for one person may be terrible for another. Listen to your doctor, not anecdata, for making decisions about antidepressants. (For example: My mother took a very, very small dose of one common SSRI and spent the next few hours not venturing more than a few feet from the toilet. Bad match for her! I was later prescribed the same thing. My mom and I are physically very, very similar, so we were worried that I’d have the same reaction. Nope. It’s a godsend for me, and I’m still on it.) Bupropion does have a scientifically measurable tendency to lower people’s seizure thresholds - if you’re prone to seizures already, bupropion will make you more so. If you’re in that category, try something else first. ---
**Author:** ![prettydorky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@prettydorky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prettydorky)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-share-your-experiences-with-buproprion-wellbutrin/645975/23 "2013-01-04T05:04:10Z")
I took it a few years back. Initial physical side effect for me was nausea, the first time I took it. It was about a month before I noticed any major mood changes. ---
**Author:** ![C6541](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90db22/32.png) [@C6541](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C6541)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-share-your-experiences-with-buproprion-wellbutrin/645975/24 "2013-01-04T06:30:31Z")
Just a nitpick, bupropion is not an SSRi, it’s a DNRI. It’s chemically distinct from the SSRIs and is more closely related to phenethylamines. It is good to use along SSRIs if you’re having sexual problems with the SSRIs, bupropion can have good effects on libido. IIRC the seizure risk is about 0.2 - 0.4% for doses at \>450 mg/day which is comparable risk, although slightly higher, to other antidepressants in clinical use. ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-share-your-experiences-with-buproprion-wellbutrin/645975/25 "2013-01-04T06:33:46Z")
> [@freckafree](#): > > The weirdest side effect I had was when I bumped up to 450 mg. from 300 mg. I was driving my usual route to work one morning and realized I did not have a clue where I was. It was a very fleeting disorientation, but it freaked me right out. Fortunately, that was the only time I experienced that. I wonder whether it was a side effect. This happened to me a couple of times, for a few seconds, and I have never taken any psych drugs. ---
**Author:** ![C6541](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90db22/32.png) [@C6541](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C6541)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-share-your-experiences-with-buproprion-wellbutrin/645975/26 "2013-01-04T06:37:40Z")
In my above post it should read \<450 mg/day , man I hate tablets. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-share-your-experiences-with-buproprion-wellbutrin/645975/27 "2013-01-04T21:28:31Z")
It changed my life. It was the 13th medication I tried in so many years and the umpteenth attempt to make a dent in my recurrent major depressive disorder. At first I was dangerously suicidal (it had helped with energy but not impulses), then I was extremely happy and productive for about six weeks. I mean just flying, Cloud 9, every second of every day. Now it has sort of normalized to a stable baseline, but it’s a baseline of about 6 or 7/10 vs. the 3/10 I used to have. Everything about life is easier because of this drug. I get still get depressed periodically, and sometimes it really sucks, but there’s some part of me now that can just get off my ass and go do something about it. I didn’t used to have that. It’s been 9 months. ETA: Most annoying side effects: can’t wear contacts due to some vision distortion, headaches, and sudden memory blanks where I can’t recall really obvious things… like my coworker’s name. And sometimes words just look… wrong and I can’t figure out why. Doesn’t happen often enough to be a real concern, but it is frustrating. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/please-share-your-experiences-with-buproprion-wellbutrin/645975.md?page=1)