Wellbutrin and Depression: What Users Say

• Ron...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 12, 2025

For Depression "This medication was very hard to use, there was stomach pain and acid reflux. Sleep was poor, and I couldn't sleep more than 2 hours without waking at night. I became very agitated with anxiety and sadness that would come and go very fast. The agitation became worse, and I was looking for anything that irritated me to lash out and went into a rage and confronted others. My heart was always around 100 beats when I was at rest. I also had very strange thoughts that worried me I was losing control of my thoughts."

• Lif...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 27, 2025

For Depression "Before I started taking Wellbutrin, I was very tired, stressed, had difficulty concentrating, sad, and unmotivated. Within a week of being on 150 mg a day, I felt such a tremendous positive change. I sleep better too. Now I am actually looking forward to the rest of my life instead of dreading it. I feel inspired, more disciplined, and my mood is stable. I hope this medication continues to support me as a method in my toolbox to improve the quality of my life."

• som...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 17, 2023

For Depression "I started bupropion 75 mg and was on it for 10 days. The first days, I was agitated and hypervigilant, had problems with driving as everything attracted my attention, and felt a bit more active. I became careless and a bit arrogant. My empathy and people-pleasing behaviors lowered. I could socialize, not feeling inferior. Slowly, the medicine lost effect. The next 10 days were bupropion ER 150 mg. It gave me grave depression, I feel like I am in a cage, extreme depression, and I feel people are all monsters. I still have empathy, but no joy, no happiness, nothing. I can study, and my brain fog is gone. I can focus if I eat something. Now I am on 300 mg bupropion ER. Still very depressed. No joy. My kidneys are starting to hurt, and I have some breathing problems and nasal dripping problems. Super aware of my surroundings, studying is easy. I have lost joy, and I sleep all the time. I have a dull headache. I feel like if I continue, I will have a mental episode."

• Con...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 12, 2023

For Major Depressive Disorder "I’m conflicted about how to review this. After trying many meds for MDD, I was feeling pretty helpless after all of them either failed or caused intolerable side effects, including increased lack of motivation to the point of not being able to get out of bed, extreme fatigue with the same consequence, social awkwardness (which is outside of the norm for me), extreme, fluctuating emotions, brain zaps, and memory issues. Meds I’ve tried for MDD include Lexapro, Pristiq, Celexa, and Zoloft, with each having various levels of the payoff of improvement in symptoms while causing the worsening of others. This drug did feel different and better in some ways — more energy and less general lethargy that affected my job, somewhat of a mood uplift, and more motivation. However, it did cause me more emotional volatility, making me more short-fused with others, and it worsened my ADD. In the end, I chose to discontinue this med, as it wasn’t worth the trade-off and was borderline dangerous."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 4, 2023

For Depression "Right away, it made me extremely fatigued, gave me heart problems, made me a zombie, and made depression worse. Nothing for anxiety. Straight to the garbage, feel so much better after stopping. Will be giving Doxepin a try now."

• aid...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• January 8, 2023

For Depression "This was my 'miracle drug' for severe seasonal affective disorder for maybe 6 years before it stopped working. The first dose was very overstimulating, but I had medications to counter that. The only side effect I noticed at first was short-term memory loss, but it didn't matter if I couldn't remember yesterday because I had a life I was able to enjoy. But as it stopped working, my memory got so bad that I couldn't read for two years because halfway through a sentence I'd forgotten what I'd read, let alone the sentence before it, so I couldn't string them together. In the end, I was taking 450 mg/day and was feeling very flat, unmotivated, mentally vacant, and emotionally numb - basically the opposite of how I felt when it was working at first. Now I am off of it and I noticed that my compulsion to play online games completely disappeared. Wellbutrin does still work when I increase the dose, but only for about a week. This winter I will try TMS."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 4, 2022

For Depression "It’s worth a try. Easy to come off of. I’ve cold turkey quit many antidepressants. Insomnia will probably be your worst side effect. Sweating, agitation, restlessness, trouble focusing, and even increased depression and anxiety are common too. It’s an NDRI like Ritalin but much weaker and less selective. I think jogging, drinking lots of water, and an energy drink or coffee or two is more effective. Don’t expect much, but it’s definitely better than SSRIs, SNRIs, antipsychotics, etc."

• Eme...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 11, 2022

For Depression "Do not take this. It literally can take you to a nightmare world. I felt better at first even with the side effects and endured them for a month. Then it made me scared and psychotic. Felt unloved, lost, and detached from myself. It's one of the side effects and it's not rare. I have never felt so bad. It's not worth it. Believe me, you will regret it."

• abb...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 14, 2021

For Major Depressive Disorder "I appreciate this space and every person's experience. I've been 10 days into this medicine, and I'm sleeping better. Depression is horrible, the crying, fear of death, losing my family, friends, pets. I want to be happy. I read how many found happy. I want to know that feeling. I pray that my outcome is like many of your stories. Thank you all for the encouragement in your personal stories you've graciously shared. Abby."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 11, 2021

For Depression "I suffer from low mood and anxiety. I had read about Wellbutrin in the past, but only recently my doctor recommended it. I'm quite fit, exercise, eat well, get as much sleep as I can, as I believe they are the three pillars to manage your physical and mental status. This Wellbutrin seems to be a magic pill. Day 1. Motivation increased immediately, and WANTED to do physical work at my parents' place. After that, I had terrible anxiety and depression for the rest of the day and was fatigued. Day 2. (Today) Totally motivated, fully social, no anxiety, I feel myself, getting numerous things done, but all in a controlled way. I'm 46 and have my libido back big time. I'm actually shocked. My doc said to take 1 tablet as soon as I wake up (150 mg SR) for 3 days, then switch to 2 tablets from day 4. I know this is ridiculously early to write on here, but give this med a go! (Insomnia only drawback)"

• Per...
• February 18, 2021

For Depression "I have mostly managed my depression/SADD/PTSD for years with exercise, light box, and talk therapy. My doctor and I recently agreed the lowest dose, 100 mg, of Wellbutrin would help me out of a particularly low winter. I tried 150 mg years ago for a few months. The jittery side effects made me look forward to getting off it then. However, now I have no side effects, sleep great, my focus on work is back, and find it easier to do my usual lifestyle routine to address my depression. I appreciate having Wellbutrin as a tool to use when I really need it. One caveat, I do find that if I have more than 2 drinks, the following days I get pretty down. Also, exercise + Wellbutrin = self-esteem × libido, just sayin."

• Gra...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 17, 2021

"I personally had a horrific experience with this drug, which was prescribed for anxiety and OCD. I had migraines, itchiness all over my body to the point I scratched myself bloody, insane stomach cramping, I couldn’t even think about food or I would literally gag. I couldn’t eat without feeling like I was going to full-blown puke after. I was super shaky, had really bad outbursts of anger and sadness, and my depression has never been worse. The suicidal ideation was powerful and never made me feel so depressed in my life. I wasn’t getting out of bed unless I had to use the bathroom. This medicine personally debilitated me, and if you have issues with being a person that always gets every side effect (like me), I would highly recommend steering clear!"

• Raq...
• September 24, 2020

For Depression "This medicine, Wellbutrin, just made me sleepy and irritable/depressed. Didn’t have any side effects like dry mouth or excessive energy. It kinda made my depression worse. Keep looking for the right med. It works for some, but unfortunately didn’t work for me."

• Mon...
• April 3, 2020

For Major Depressive Disorder "So I’ve taken Wellbutrin once before because my antidepressant (Prozac) was giving me sexual dysfunction. So my doctor said that I’ll add on Wellbutrin to see if that gets better. And I never really noticed a difference with that. But this medication gave me tinnitus (ringing in the ear) and a headache that drove me insane. Oh, also it made me more depressed."

• Jan...
• March 7, 2020

For Depression "DO NOT TAKE THIS IF YOUR PRIMARY ISSUE IS ANXIETY. I got on this medication because I was having trouble with anxiety and insomnia. My NP wanted to start me on Wellbutrin 150mg XL and I kept reiterating to her that I have no depression whatsoever, I’m just anxious, but she said it would help. Within 2 weeks, I was so nauseated, in a complete brain fog, my anxiety got so much worse, my heart would race, I was having panic attacks daily, couldn’t sleep, my mind was racing non-stop, and although I’ve never felt as if I had issues with depression, I was so depressed on this medication! I went from being very high-functioning with mild to moderate anxiety to completely useless on this medication. I called into work multiple times (which I had never done before - I’m a nurse). I couldn’t focus, was so disoriented, and felt like I was just floating. I stopped and feel much better after a few days and I got on a PRN benzo for anxiety."

• ctr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 4, 2020

For Major Depressive Disorder "After 1 week of taking Wellbutrin, I developed severe intrusive tinnitus. I have been off the drug for almost a year, and it has not faded at all. While obviously this side effect doesn't happen to everyone who takes Wellbutrin, it is frighteningly common. All of the doctors I've seen since then (psychs, ENTs, etc.) weren't surprised at all when I told them my tinnitus was from Wellbutrin. It has absolutely destroyed what was left of my life. I already had depression, anxiety, and insomnia, now all of these are 100x worse, plus suicidal thoughts. Again, I don't want to say 'don't take this drug' because all drugs have side effects, and I was one of the unlucky ones. But I would highly suggest something else as I would not wish this on my worst enemy."

• Kac...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 29, 2019

For Depression "Gave me horrible headaches, flu-like symptoms, horrible rash, and severe depression. I literally felt toxic on it. I’ve heard this drug can be very dangerous, and I see why! Got off immediately, or it would have destroyed all my relationships and myself. Also caused anxiety attacks. Be very careful with this drug!"

• Ree...
• August 31, 2019

For Depression "Made me very irritable and gave me deeper depression whenever I took the medicine. Also kept me up late at night and didn’t help my depression at all. Quit cold turkey and am doing much better now. Best to stay away unless you seriously need treatment."

• Sky...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 28, 2019

For Depression "I was prescribed 75 mg Wellbutrin 2x per day. I've only been on this for about 2 weeks, and the side effects are awful. Insomnia, total brain fog, can't remember mid-sentence what I was even talking about, killed my ability to climax (I also take Lexapro 20 mg, which killed my libido), massive panic attacks, severe agitation and mood swings, and irrational thinking. I'm so sad because I really wanted this med to work, but the cons outweigh the pros 100%. Good luck to everyone!"

• sla...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 8, 2019

For Major Depressive Disorder "I have been suffering from anhedonia for 1.5 years. I don't feel happy, but I'm not angry or experiencing any other emotion. I heard about Wellbutrin, and I had some hope, so I asked my doctor to give it a chance. Day 26, I feel horrible. I felt the same 2 weeks ago. I thought these side effects would go away and it would be my lifesaver because it's a dopamine inhibitor. I was hoping it would work, but now I feel completely hopeless. I don't know if I should give it more time or get off this drug, it is my last resort. Other antidepressants just make me feel worse, Wellbutrin too, but some days I've been feeling a little hope and more energy. I don't know what to do anymore."

• DRA...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 25, 2019

For Depression "This did not work, if anything, it made me feel worse. My anxiety was out of this world, and my depression got worse as well. I was on Lexapro 20 mg and hoped for a change. Well, I was hoping this would work, but it did not. I was on the verge of feeling I was losing my marbles. I hope for others it will help. Back to Lexapro 20 mg."

• Ger...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• July 16, 2018

For Depression "I have had depression for as long as I can remember. My depression tends to be more physical: tired, trouble staying asleep, physically exhausted, and no interest in doing anything physical (e.g., I was an avid runner and weight lifter before). Wellbutrin XL 150 mg has completely helped me in every way possible. I’ve been taking it for over 2 years and I have more energy than ever. Although I still have depressive and anxiety cognitive patterns, Wellbutrin has helped me with my depression and increased my quality of life significantly."

• Lun...
• February 21, 2018

For Depression "A few days after starting these meds, I had the overwhelming feeling of really dark depression."

• 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."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 25, 2017

For Depression "I've been taking Celexa, gabapentin, and Wellbutrin for the last 2 years. Diagnosed with type 2 bipolar, ADD, and dyslexia. I've tried different drugs over the years, and the above combination worked fairly well. Then, 2 weeks ago, I ran out of Wellbutrin and Lopressor. So, between the 2, it was hard to get a reading on my mental health. Restarted Wellbutrin after 10 days without, still waiting on Lopressor. The thing I've noticed is a complete lack of interest in anything, which I'm guessing is what causes some people to feel suicidal. Not feeling that way now, however, I know the feeling."