Loss of appetite and cannot gain any weight? This all makes me anxious and the whole reason I went on it was for depression and anxiety! Anyone out there have any similiar symptoms or have an educated reason why I am having these side effects? Help!
Wellbutrin, has anyone experienced hard or rapid & irregular heartbeats, muscle back pain, insomnia?
Question posted by missedi on 28 Feb 2011
Last updated on 15 March 2025
The information on this page reflects personal experiences shared by our community members. It is not reviewed for medical accuracy and should not replace professional medical advice.
20 Answers Page 2
bloxham
2 Dec 2011
Had same experience. Try something else.
jking259
2 Dec 2011
Muscle back pain? Did you find out if Wellbutrin was causing this? I have never had back pain before and went on Wellbutrin, the back pain started. I took it for a month and went off, back pain went away. I just tried it again and same thing, back pain. Please let me know if you decided Wellbutrin cused your back pain, Thanks!
Wantrelief3636
29 Sep 2012
Yes!! I have been on Wellbutrin xl for 5 days now and yesterday I woke up with the worst pain in my back. I can hardly move or turn my head! At first I thought I had slept wring but today the same thing! And after reading up on the medication and comment boards I am stopping the medicine ASAP!
pauliwog41
28 Feb 2011
Missedi: When I was put on Wellbutrin also, I had to taken off right away because of the same things you are going through!! I had no appetite, was losing weight real fast, felt like I was looking through a fog, rapid heart beat, racing thoughts & couldn't sleep a full night for the whole time I was on it! I was also put on it for anxiety & depression like you, but it caused even more anxiety than ever! So then they switched me to Paxil, then another one that I forget the name, but the same things happened until they put me on Cymbalta along with clonazepam! That finally did the trick! Best of luck to you & God Bless P.S. also if you have any ?s please feel free to ask, as I have been on so many different meds for over 20 years of battling with depression & anxiety
LaurieShay
28 Feb 2011
Hi missedi,
What you describe are severe side effects of Wellbutrin, as you already know. The rapid heart beat and anxiety in particular needs to be reported to the prescribing doctor. You may need to have a dose adjustment or a change in medication.
There are many good antidepressants that control anxiety as well. Your doctor can discuss the options with you. Sweetlemon mentioned the tricyclic antidepressants and there are the serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI's) as well as the serotonin/norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRI's). My point being there are many options to choose from.
Please give your doctor a call as soon as possible. If you haven't been on the Wellbutrin for very long, some of these side effects may subside, but I still think you need to let the doctor know everything you are experiencing.
Please keep in touch and best wishes,
Laurie
Inactive
28 Feb 2011
Hi missedi,
I also had a bad experience with Wellbutrin, terrible anxiety attacks and insomnia. My doc told me it is not good for anyone that is suffering from panic attacks or anxiety.
You might want to ask about one of the older trycyclics, such as Pamelor or Tofranil. I had great success with Pamelor. Was not on it long, but it worked quite well.
You will get lots of answers to your question, so hang in there! It will get better once you switch to something else.
Best wishes to you,
sweetlemon
missedi
1 March 2011
Thank you for answering. I have had these irregular heart palpitations ever since I started taking Wellbutrin. I am supposed to have an endoscopy done on Friday and to be honest, I am a little concerned to be even partially sedated with my heart doing this. My doctor seems to think that all my symptoms are just because I'm depressed and hasn't really listened to me about the heart thing. I plan to get his attention today. Thank so much for writing to me. I really appreciate it.
Inactive
1 March 2011
Good morning missedi,
I certainly hope your doc listens to you as this sounds slightly alarming, the heart situation. I need to look up Wellbutrin to see if it is an SNRI, because they can affect the heart, and one can crave carbs and sugar while taking them. So, my suggestion of trying Pamleor or Tofranil was not a good suggestion at all. They are both SNRI's, sorry about that.
Please keep us informed on how you are doing? Hope you can find a med that does not cause this side effect!
leighanson
1 March 2011
Hi there, I had anxiety attacks and heart palpitations and basically every other side effect with Wellbutrin, but they all went away over time... I've been on it for 2 years and have no side effects any longer. The reason I selected this med was that I noticed through research, it seemed to have the least amount of side effects over time, though the initial adjustment is difficult. Something else that I did that may help, if you're not already doing this is I also divided up my dose to do one pill in the morning and one pill in the afternoon (before noon) and I take each 150 milligrams pill with .5 Ativan (to take the anxiety edge off the Wellbutrin.) That seemed to help a lot. I'm still having too many dark days, but it's much better then it was. Hope you find something that helps!
leigh
missedi
1 March 2011
I am going tomorrow morning and I am going to talk with him about possibly trying St. John's Wart instead. I just don't like what I read about anti-depressant drugs. I was just sitting at the table going over my son's school-work and my heart is just beating hard for no reason. I am a little short of breath as well. His nurse said he might do an EKG. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again!
Related topics
wellbutrin, depression, anxiety, insomnia, pain, cardiac arrhythmia, generalized anxiety disorder, muscle pain, weight, muscle, appetite
Further information
- Wellbutrin uses and safety info
- Wellbutrin prescribing info & package insert (for Health Professionals)
- Side effects of Wellbutrin (detailed)
Similar questions
Search for questions
Still looking for answers? Try searching for what you seek or ask your own question.