Wellbutrin and Insomnia: What Users Say (Page 3)

• cis...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 14, 2017

For Depression "I switched to Wellbutrin after a year of Zoloft, mostly due to weight gain (I'd gained about 20 lbs. in a year). I started taking Wellbutrin 2x a day with a plan to eventually increase to extended release, but the meds kept me up all night. I got maybe 4 hours of sleep a night, even with Zzzquil. My sleep was extremely restless, and I woke up about every hour. I called my doctor and asked if I could switch to the extended release version, but she said it would probably be the same situation. I did like how the meds made me feel. Very little depression, and I felt super energized and productive. Honestly, I was almost too wired; I was very jittery and almost a bit manic."

• fee...
• November 10, 2013

For Depression "I just started Wellbutrin. I have a two-month-old and a 3-year-old. Out of nowhere, I started to feel scared all the time, confused and can't concentrate at all, and then I would have panic attacks and thoughts of death, not kill myself, just the thought of dying. I've been taking it for a week and a half. The first day, I felt high, and it scared me, and I have trouble sleeping, but keep in mind a two-month-old too. But I can say the panic attacks have stopped. I'm not scared anymore, this is working for already. They say it takes a month to really get it to work, and it's already helping. I'm looking forward to seeing how much this medication can help me. I'll keep everyone updated. #Feeling hopeful"

• Ear...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 5, 2023

For Depression "I have been on this med for about 2 months. My doctor has upped the dosage to two 100 mg a day. I feel terrible. I feel like I want to slap people, have a smart mouth, am snippy, crying, not sleeping, and very tired all day. Still depressed."

• 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."

• Toy...
• January 20, 2010

For Bipolar Disorder "I have been annoyed all the time since I can remember. Always a pessimist. I figured if I expected the worst possible scenario, anything better was a win. It was as if I was at war with the world, everything was a battle. I've been on Wellbutrin for 6 weeks now, 300 mg a day in 2 doses to start. It gave me ridiculously bad headaches (I suffer from migraines already), but my mood, interest, and general sense of well-being were better. My doctor changed me from 2 doses to 3 doses a day (still 300 mg). No more headaches but slight insomnia so far: 3-4 hours a night now, usually getting 6-7 hours of sleep. And I have dry mouth as well. I will deal with the insomnia and cotton mouth. To me, this is worth it."

• Anonymous
• June 30, 2011

For Depression "I started Wellbutrin (150 mg) two months ago. So far, it's been very effective. The only negative side effects I've noticed have been mild heart palpitations, some pretty severe weight loss (15 lbs in two weeks, most of it muscle mass), insomnia, and a slight dip in my concentration levels. I can't eat certain foods anymore (like sugars and fried foods) without experiencing heart tremors and occasionally chest tightness (like a mild heart attack), but this has mostly gone away since I've started exercising again. On the other hand, I've stopped compulsively wanting to kill myself, my mind is a lot quieter, and I have stable energy throughout the day. I feel almost normal sometimes these days, and it's definitely a strange sensation."

• Tam...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 14, 2019

For Depression "I took Wellbutrin years ago with success. I went off in 2015 to see if I could manage without. I was okay but still highly sensitive to stress from my PTSD. I returned to it in 2018 after a severe depression with suicidal thoughts returning. I attempted the 24 hr. 300 mg tab, but it caused insomnia. After 1 week of 3-4 hrs sleep, I had to return to the twice a day dosing of 150 mg at 6 am & 1 pm. It helps me a lot, but lately I have been experiencing worsening brain fog, spaciness, and inability to concentrate. I've decided to return to study for my Master's, so these symptoms are not conducive to success when studying. I will talk with my Doc. Perhaps I can lower the dose for a bit. Regardless, I'm thankful it has helped pull me from the depths a few times!"

• Pin...
• November 19, 2014

For Major Depressive Disorder "I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and have also suffered the loss of my family. I had 5 major surgeries in one year and have attempted suicide several times. I've been on a variety of meds and have watched my weight balloon from 140 to 240 lbs because of these medicines. Am I better because of Wellbutrin? Maybe at first, and it is easier to move my life along. Side effects: itching that drives me nuts, no sex drive, I've only been able to drop 40 lbs, can't sleep, agitated really easily over stupid stuff, crying at the smallest thing. Yes, I still have days I don't want to get out of bed, but after a while, I finally do. No suicide thoughts right now, which is good."

• ver...
• November 7, 2009

For Depression "I have been taking this medicine for over a week, and I do feel much more motivated and an overall sense of well-being. Side effects I have come across are dry mouth, or being thirsty - which helps to prevent any headaches. Early on, there was difficulty sleeping, but that comes and goes. I feel a little disoriented when I do wake up. Bowel movements actually improved. I don't recommend drinking while taking this. This was my first antidepressant, and I am very happy with the results so far!"

• Rob...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 27, 2016

For Depression "My main depression symptoms were fatigue, lethargy, and memory problems, among others. And Wellbutrin was a life changer for me. It really helps me. I also experienced some side effects. First were mild, short headaches. I learned that sufficient hydration solves these. Next was severe insomnia. When taking only Wellbutrin, I can get 5 to a maximum of 6 hours of sleep per night. I have tried some calming supplements, and they helped. Last side effect is systemic joint discomfort and pain. I'm trying to help this with turmeric now. I also had a negative experience with the Wellbutrin interaction with passion flower (Passiflora incarnata). I was trying to help my insomnia with passion flower extract and became depressive again as I was before the Wellbutrin."

• JSa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 13, 2020

"I was prescribed Wellbutrin 300 mg while receiving treatment in a psychiatric hospital. At the time, I was on 3 other psychotropic medications. I didn’t notice any changes for about 8 days. From there, I developed treatment-resistant insomnia unrelated to bipolar. I was prescribed around 10 different medications for sleep, none of which were effective. Because of the length of time after being prescribed Wellbutrin and having used it in the past without issue, we weren’t able to identify the cause of my insomnia. Before seeing a neurologist, I decided to taper off as a last effort, as that was the only change within the past several months. It worked, and after 1 1/2 months, I can sleep for more than 2 hrs a night! I would say Wellbutrin is effective for many, but not only did it cause insomnia, but also weight gain, unlike a lot of other reviews I’ve read."

• Anonymous
• February 3, 2020

For Depression "I totally agree with the dad who took this horrible medication. It was a complete and scary nightmare as it gave me insomnia, “sudden fear,” that I NEVER HAVE! These pharmaceutical companies and the psychiatrist out there are so unclear of the severity of what they prescribe to people! Thank goodness I can be my own advocate. The dad who also shared here can be his own advocate, we survived the damage these drugs can do to one’s mind. Everything stated here is my personal experience and opinion. They don’t do enough research before allowing these drugs on the market."

• Anonymous
• January 25, 2012

For Depression "I have been taking this medicine for 2 weeks now, and I feel much better. I was extremely depressed and unmotivated. I tried taking Lexapro, and the sexual side effects were severe, and the benefits were not worth the trade-off, so I stopped taking it. My psychologist recommended Wellbutrin as an alternative, and I am SO glad that I tried it. I am more focused in school, exercising, and I have an overall more positive attitude. The only problem that I have experienced is that I have a very hard time falling asleep and staying asleep at night. It is VERY annoying, but worth it to me. No sexual side effects and no weight gain."

• Anonymous
• December 13, 2009

For Depression "I was on Wellbutrin years ago, and it helped. In the last couple of weeks, I have been suicidal and VERY depressed. My doctor put me back on the Wellbutrin, and 2 days later I'm ridiculously happy! I think it's worth the side effects, but some may not. I've experienced: insomnia, lack of appetite, horrible nausea, and incessant twitching (every 8 seconds or so). The insomnia is horrible. I've gotten about 2 hours of sleep in the last 3 days. Lack of appetite is okay with me, I needed to lose weight anyway! Ringing in the ears is something I'll deal with, but the nausea and twitching are the WORST by far. I look like I'm having a small seizure sometimes, and the nausea is just...ugh..."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 8, 2022

For Depression "Almost quit taking it at first because of the headaches, insomnia, fatigue, and anger, but kept on taking it, and 2 weeks later, I’m happier, have more energy, I’m actually sleeping better than before I took it, and no longer angry. Really thankful for this medication. (P.S. Was taking 150 XL mg but didn’t notice the drastic change until I got on 300 XL mg.)"

• Anonymous
• May 19, 2010

For ADHD "Been on it for almost 2 weeks. Feels like nothing's getting better. Used to be a caffeine addict, stopped that, but now I have insomnia from this. Still have trouble waking up, getting motivated. My heart races and this puts me in a careless and out-of-it mood and I want to try something else."

• Anonymous
• October 13, 2009

For Depression "I've been on Wellbutrin for about a month and a half. I started with 200 mg/day for the first month, and my doctor just raised it to 300 mg/day. The only good thing I can say is that it's completely killed my appetite, which I don't mind because I needed to lose weight anyway. I've experienced the heightened senses that I've read about. I'm also having problems sleeping. So far, there has only been one day where I felt truly happy. The rest of the time, I'm either at the same hopeless and depressed point I was at before I started taking the pills, or I'm somewhere in between completely hopeless and just mediocre. I'll give it a little while longer because I know these things take time, but so far, it's useless as far as helping me with my depression."

• Lel...
• June 1, 2010

For Depression "I have been on Wellbutrin for over five years. After trying Effexor and Zoloft, my experience with this has been really good. I was in denial about my depression for a few years after having some terrible things happen in my life. I cried all the time and felt "trapped" by the depression. I was also very moody. I never felt suicidal but had morbid thoughts about the weirdest things. There were issues for the first week or so. My mouth tasted like metal, and I had major trouble sleeping. After a few weeks, the crying and irritability went away. I actually lost a few pounds and had no sexual side effects. An unexpected bonus was that the jaw pain I had been suffering from for years completely went away. I have tried to stop taking it a few times, and the first thing that comes back is jaw pain. After a week or so, the crying and morbid thoughts start again. Now my doctor says I need to try something different because Wellbutrin does nothing for anxiety. I love my Wellbutrin so much I am afraid to give it up, but I do recognize my tendency toward anxiety. Wish me luck!"

• Ist...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 22, 2022

For Major Depressive Disorder "Was taking this for only 2 weeks due to intolerable side effects: high blood pressure that was causing nosebleeding, fast heart rate, insomnia, easily angered, crying spells, and it didn't really make me feel any better."

• hmm...
• March 30, 2016

For Depression "I started on Wellbutrin about 8 months ago for clinical depression, and while it hasn't been a miracle cure, things could definitely be worse. It really has been a gentler medication in terms of side effects. The only medication I tried before this was Lexapro, and geez, was that rough (sexual side effects, extreme lethargy, brain fog, memory loss, weight gain, etc.). I switched to Wellbutrin as an alternative and experienced mellow side effects while adjusting (lethargy, drowsiness), which only lasted for about 3 weeks. Cons: Significant rebound depression if I miss a dose, insomnia if taken at night (it's a stimulant), occasional bouts of depression (it hasn't been a complete fix). Sometimes I'll get really bad brain fog if I mistime a dose."

• Kat...
• August 20, 2021

For Depression "150 mg XR. I have low dopamine, so I thought this would be awesome for my ADHD. Wrong! The first week was AWESOME. I felt more awake, motivated, and less hungry. Cool, right? Week 2, I started getting a little irritable... maybe because I couldn’t freaking sleep! I've never had sleep issues EVER until this. By week 3, I was extremely manic. Horribly paranoid. I had racing thoughts that wouldn’t stop. I am going through a divorce, so you can imagine all I wanted to do was GO INSANE because of my hatred for this man. It was not manageable on this medication. I was so thirsty, my head felt like a balloon, extremely confused and forgetful, most awake I've ever felt, couldn’t breathe right, constipated. Went to the ER... they didn’t do ANYTHING. The medical field is an absolute joke. Also, I was BREASTFEEDING… I was told it would not affect my baby. Ha!!! As soon as I stopped the meds, she stopped crying, started sleeping again, and regular poops again."

• Bip...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 12, 2019

For Depression "I have bipolar II, and after a series of failed drugs, I was prescribed quetiapine (that's a whole other message board) and bupropion. I was on Activas bupropion 150 XL for about six weeks. It stabilized me, but I was still depressed - but functioning. Side effects - waking up early, feeling like a zombie, loss of appetite - went away within that time period. I've now been on Par Pharmaceutical's bupropion 300 XL for about a month. Side effects are irritability and jitters, but I'm hoping those go away. I tried Activas 300 XL - oval pills - and it seemed to dump a large portion of the medication about two hours after taking it, giving me a zombie effect. It also gave me a headache. Those things may have gone away with time, but I switched back to Par. Overall, I'm content, and my depression is gone."

• Anonymous
• August 31, 2009

For Depression "After 7 years on Zoloft, it had stopped working. I was experiencing mood swings and sadness/depression. My doctor weaned me off Zoloft and prescribed Wellbutrin. The first few weeks, I immediately noticed an increased sensitivity in all my senses. There was kind of a wind tunnel effect in my ears, my body was more sensitive to touch (great for my sex life), I became hypersensitive to noise/vibration (a negative), and I had a keener sense of smell (not always positive). I had trouble getting or staying asleep. I stayed on it for six weeks, but when my fuse got shorter and I became very hostile and angry, I was weaned off of Wellbutrin and changed to Celexa. It's been 2 weeks, and so far, so good."

• Mor...
• August 17, 2016

For Depression "I've been battling depression for quite a while now. It all started after a cancer diagnosis. I'm currently a survivor but feel extremely depressed after my longtime boyfriend left me. I feel extremely lonely without him and couldn't cope with life. I would think about suicide day and night, so I realized I needed help and decided to take Wellbutrin. The good thing is that it gave me lots of energy and I was able to focus better, but the downside was that I couldn't sleep. I'm looking for another medication now."

• PFa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 23, 2018

For Depression "I want to preface this by saying that I'm sure this drug has a different effect on everyone. This is only my experience. I started it 14 days ago and had to stop this morning. This is a very powerful medication. I didn't notice the medication for 5 days, and my depression suddenly became significantly worse. My short-term memory has also been affected. I will forget something that I did seconds earlier. I noticed that my hearing became much more sensitive, and everything became very loud. I still feel like I'm in a cloud. I understand that it will take 24 to 48 hours or more to finally get out of my system. Oh, you won't sleep either. Maybe some positive effects of the medication would have appeared if I had stayed on longer. I couldn't take it anymore. I hope that your experience isn't like this and that you can get some help. Use this medication with caution."