Wellbutrin and Anxiety: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Sca...
• November 3, 2014

For Depression "Didn't work. Hit my anxiety to the max in just 4 days."

• soy...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 2, 2014

For Depression "Didn't work. I was given it on top of Remeron. It helps in a way. But I needed some energy boost. Hoping Wellbutrin would work. All my anxiety and suicidal thoughts hit me like a truck. Had to discontinue taking."

• cou...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 12, 2013

For Depression "One week on 100 mg, week two on 200 mg, halfway into the third week, diarrhea, feeling hungover, only sleeping 3 to 4 hours a night, horrible anxiety like something bad is going to happen. Getting angry at just about anything. This medication isn't for me."

• Kil...
• September 29, 2011

For Bipolar Disorder "I am going to be as fair as I can be. As we can carefully repeat that not every medicine will work for everyone. But what I can tell you is that this medicine did nothing for me. Instead, it made my anxiety shoot through the roof, to the point where I thought I was being watched and stalked by law enforcement. I was deathly afraid of them taking me away, for what reason, I have no clue. It made me land in the psych ward. I would perspire in generous amounts! I would feel extremely guilty of past wrongdoings (even the most minor thing I've done wrong in my life would be the topic of debate in my head). I wish you all a happy healing and good luck on your search."

• Anonymous
• September 11, 2011

For Depression "I have been on Wellbutrin for 2 weeks now. I am not sure if it just isn't working or if it is actually making things worse. Crying, sleepless, anxious, restless. Don't know whether I should quit taking it or not. Doctor is on vacation this week, will see him the following week. Was on Effexor for about 3 years. It worked great for me, but somehow I decided I didn't need it anymore, within a month, I realized I was wrong. Tried going back on it, but it caused horrible side effects."

• Anonymous
• December 8, 2009

For Depression "It didn't work for me, I had a very bad anxiety attack with thoughts of suicide and had to stop it."

• Bea...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 30, 2023

For Depression "I was on Wellbutrin for 3 days, and it gave me massive paranoia, anxiety, and felt like I was going crazy. When I was on a walk, I was seeing my brother's face in guys who were walking by. If you are on Wellbutrin and experience anything like this, please get off of it immediately. Everyone is different, this does work well for some. Medication is all about trial and error! They are switching me to Effexor 37.5 mg, and I’m scared, but we will see."

• kit...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 20, 2023

For Depression "I started taking Wellbutrin because I am in a fast-paced nursing program. At first, I thought it was working well. It hit me within 30 minutes of taking it. I took it for 3 weeks, and things got worse, I felt so anxious I would cry, and I couldn’t go out because I was panicking so badly. I started to get really bad insomnia and really bad thoughts every second of every day. I stopped taking it, and I am better most days now. Everyone is different, and some things work for some, and for others, it does not."

• Ano...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 22, 2021

For Major Depressive Disorder "Currently on this medication, 150 mg daily. I expected the side effects to be bad after reading some reviews here, and they were, lol. Thought so many people said it would calm down after the first month, but it's been longer than that. Usually for me, the nausea is the worst thing. I never want to eat anything, food just disgusts me most of the time now. I felt like it was really helping the depression a few weeks ago, but now I am more suicidal than ever. Also, my anxiety is horrible. Many days, I don't want to leave the house. I used to be agoraphobic about 10 or so years ago (in my teens), and now I feel myself heading that direction again. It also has really affected my sleep, or at least that's what I'm assuming. I have been having a very hard time getting to sleep, and then if I wake up from something, it's even harder to fall back asleep. It just sucks. The only plus is that it doesn't increase my appetite. Hope this helps."

• Car...
• February 28, 2021

"I only took this for three days because it increased my anxiety greatly and did not help with the jaw clenching I’ve been experiencing. It also made me incredibly and irrationally angry about everything, and I felt like I was crawling out of my skin. This was only on 50 mg, which is half the starting dose."

• Jos...
• January 3, 2021

For Depression "It is amazing to see the variability in how people respond to Wellbutrin! However, this is common for most psychotropic medications. I started taking it to see if it would help with my Seasonal Affective Disorder and fibromyalgia. I started to feel more energetic, creative, and almost stoned within the first week. I felt so much better I decided to leave my 23-year marriage because I felt like I now had the energy to break free and find a more positive relationship. However, after two and a half months on Wellbutrin, only at 100 mg, I started to feel edgy, anxious, and 'not myself.' I was feeling like I was losing myself, and it was starting to be quite scary! After two days off of the med, now I am feeling like myself again. When we take meds like this, we really need to monitor whether we are doing better or worse overall. Whatever you do, make sure you are doing psychotherapy at the same time. Whatever you do, don't give up on yourself!"

• HHa...
• March 1, 2020

For Depression "I was on Celexa for a couple of years, but I flatlined and felt like a zombie. My psychiatrist switched me over to Wellbutrin. I was nervous to take it because it works with different neurotransmitters. Celexa works with serotonin while Wellbutrin works with dopamine. It felt like my eyes were being pulled up by magnets, it was hard to look forward, and I was dizzy. This subsided after a few weeks. My anxiety became way worse. Every day, I felt like all of my nerves were exposed. I overreacted to everything and caused a lot of fights. Then came the suicidal thoughts. I've struggled with these thoughts when I was off of meds, so to be flooded with them again was scary. These thoughts were invasive and more intense than I've ever experienced. Luckily, I was able to realize that it was just the medication, so I switched to Zoloft. Please be careful if you take Wellbutrin. If you get those dark thoughts, remember it is not you, it's the meds."

• bub...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 31, 2019

For Depression "Once I started this medicine, I would be woken up by my stomach pains. This medicine made me queasy and sick for hours on end. This is a little TMI, but it gave me terrible diarrhea ALL DAY LONG. I had little to no appetite, which was kinda exciting but not when I literally needed food in my stomach to calm the pain. Did not make my depression any better; honestly, it worsened my anxiety and made me much less social. All I can say is - I will be going back to my good ole Cymbalta!"

• Huc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 25, 2019

For Depression "Started this med 3 weeks ago for anxiety. Have had bad constipation and bowels are black in color. My stomach is bloated, pains in my stomach, anxiety is worse, hair is falling out, memory problems, nasty, agitation, get upset and scream, feels like I have a lump in my throat. Just worse now since taking this med. I stopped it today and feel much better. Don't want to take this med any longer, it's not for me. It's really bad for my body."

• Sah...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 27, 2019

For Depression "If you have anxiety, you don't want to take Wellbutrin. Over a 90-day period, it turned me into an anxious mess, with full-blown panic attacks. Couldn't pay me to take it again!"

• KAD...
• May 23, 2018

For Depression "I was on Prozac 20 mg, and because it made me feel so good, I would just stop taking them on my own accord, which made me crash. I decided instead of taking them seriously and continuing to take them, I would try Wellbutrin. The first two weeks were awful. I had ringing in my ears to the point where I wished I was deaf. My body was incredibly sore for no physical reason. I felt huge pressure and anxiety in my chest. I stopped working out and didn't want to do anything but lay in bed and watch Netflix, which is so not me. I am now 3-4 weeks in, and I don't have much anxiety, BUT I feel like I developed OCD. I can't stop cutting the tip of my tongue on my teeth, and it hurts. My mouth is so dry. I can't even put on eyeliner because it's like I have Parkinson's disease. I am going to switch back to Prozac today."

• Amb...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 3, 2017

For Depression "This medication really blows. It is like I'm not even on anything. If anything, it makes me irritable and jumpy. I am taking 150 mg 2x a day. I switched to this from Celexa because Celexa was making me extremely forgetful, but other than that, Celexa was actually working. I have anxiety and depression, and this stuff does absolutely nothing. I'm going to my doctor Monday to switch to something else."

• Tan...
• December 29, 2016

For Depression "Now on day 3 of 150 mg Wellbutrin. I feel jittery, out of it, like my brain is cement and won't move when I turn my head. I can hardly concentrate for a conversation. I drop things, I have trouble thinking straight. I drove my car the first day but should not have. I will continue hoping that these horrible side effects go away."

• JKL...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 11, 2013

For Depression "I started on 150 mg for the first month and was raised to 300 mg after that. I began having weird side effects such as uncontrollable jaw clenching so hard it would give awful headaches. I also would violently twitch while relaxing before going to sleep. I experienced insomnia. Last, my sense of smell was very heightened and the smells would make me feel nauseous. I had suicidal thoughts even though I didn't ever want to do that. I continued to feel depressed, and in my opinion, it intensified my anxiety."

• Jet...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 24, 2013

For Depression "This medication makes me feel weird like my brain is dehydrated, loss of appetite, constant headaches and a jittery feeling that was uncomfortable at times. Reduced smoking cravings and made smoking really gross. Had a few drinks on New Year's... bad idea, sick for days."

• Els...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 22, 2021

For Depression "I was given Wellbutrin after a sad event happened in my life that put me into a depression. It is now two weeks into it, and I decided to stop it today. My experience on this drug was great the first 2-3 days, but now it gave me anxiety. I only experienced 1 anxiety attack many years ago. Here is what I experienced: my tongue felt like it was swollen. One night, I felt I couldn't swallow, and that created anxiety. One of my legs often twitches, I realized I was sometimes stuttering when trying to form words, sounds were increased, and I also had a constant metallic taste in my mouth. It altered the taste of everything, and I used to love eating, even gums I chewed. When walking, I felt like I was floating, brain fog, lack of energy. I took this medication with another one, Concerta, for ADD. I am not sure if it is a good mix and will verify with my doctor. For now, I have decided to get off it. The feeling of not being able to swallow is horrific."

• Els...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 22, 2021

For Depression "I was given Wellbutrin after a sad event happened in my life that put me into a depression. It is now two weeks into it, and I decided to stop it today. My experience on this drug was great the first 2-3 days, but now it gave me anxiety. I only experienced 1 anxiety attack many years ago. Here is what I experienced: my tongue felt like it was swollen. One night, I felt I couldn't swallow, and that created anxiety. One of my legs often twitches, I realized I was sometimes stuttering when trying to form words, sounds were increased, and I also had a constant metallic taste in my mouth. It altered the taste of everything, and I used to love eating, even gums I chewed. When walking, I felt like I was floating, brain fog, lack of energy. I took this medication with another one, Concerta, for ADD. I am not sure if it is a good mix and will verify with my doctor. For now, I have decided to get off it. The feeling of not being able to swallow is horrific."

• Win...
• January 20, 2018

For Depression "Don't look at the rating, I just started taking this medicine. I have horrible side effects (increased gender dysphoria, depression, extreme anxiety and panic attacks, etc.). I know they will go away, but it's my first strong antidepressant. Please talk to your doctor about the side effects and how to deal with them. Also, I would highly recommend talking to a therapist before getting on this."

• ACS...
• September 21, 2016

For Major Depressive Disorder "After trying Zoloft and Lexapro with no success, my doctor recommended Wellbutrin. Starting with 10 mg daily. I've been taking this medication for 4 weeks now, and my depression has not improved, and my anxiety has worsened. The only positive review I can give is that I've lost 5 lbs since starting. Today, my Dr. advised I should try a different medication rather than increase the dosage because of my anxiety."

• Har...
• September 6, 2016

"I was on 20 mg of Celexa for 2 years to treat anxiety (GAD) and OCD. With Celexa, I never had any side effects, and the only thing I noticed was my weight would fluctuate. My doctor suggested Wellbutrin because it was weight neutral and also could help with ADD. I tried it for 4 weeks, which I know you should give it the full 6-8 weeks, however, 4 weeks was enough. I had horrible headaches, no appetite, felt like I was strung out, up days, down days, depressions (which I have never had), horrible anxiety, no motivation, horrible ADD, and the list goes on. I told my doctor, but she urged me to continue. Finally, my hair started coming out, and I was done. This is a powerful drug, and I am sure it does wonders for people who need it, but not me."