Wellbutrin and Irritability: 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."

• 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."

• sad...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 11, 2023

"Wellbutrin made me extremely agitated and angry and caused me to cry almost nonstop for a week. If I wasn't screaming at someone, I was in tears. The symptoms were so bad that my doctor took me off the drug, even after only having it for a little over a week. The side effects were completely unlivable. I could never have done that for weeks while I waited for it to work, I have bills to pay."

• 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."

• 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."

• 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!"

• sca...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 24, 2016

For Depression "I have been on 150 XL and feel horrible. It's almost like I'm tripping on LSD. Foggy head, angry, cranky, and very irritable. Heart palpitations, and it makes me very lethargic. Dr. recommended taking it at night, and it's a tiny bit better. I want to stick with it to see if it gets me to a better emotional state, but don't know if I can last. How long before I start feeling better?"

• Ogo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 23, 2012

For Depression "Horrible side effects: irritability, headaches, malaise. Did not help me with depression as a result."

• Not...
• July 11, 2011

For Depression "I'm shocked to see not a single negative review listed. The first day taking Wellbutrin after drinks with a friend (not advisable), we had a bad fight, my anger was uncontrollable. The next day, I had a fight with my roommate, I was absorbed in rage, completely unaware of others' feelings. That week, I was stuck in my head, angry, charged, paranoid, and isolated. A week later, I had a terrible fight with my roommate resulting in a bad physical altercation, cops were called, and the next day she moved out. The next day, I was extremely depressed and indifferent. I stopped taking it. Maybe I didn't give it time. Don't want to discourage others, but if you have irritability/anger issues, be very aware and cautious."

• Anonymous
• April 1, 2009

For Depression "It made me extremely irritable, and seemed like it only made things worse for me."

• 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!"

• 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."

• 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."

• MrC...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 18, 2015

For Major Depressive Disorder "I started taking Wellbutrin for my depression, and it was the first medication that I have tried. The first week and a half or so was uneventful, and I barely felt any change. After that, things went downhill. I began having major mood swings - I would go from being happy and energetic one minute to so depressed I would break down crying and couldn't even motivate myself to do anything to being angry and agitated for no apparent reason. I also began to 'space out' at random times, my friends and family would catch me staring at the floor for minutes at a time. I also had a sort of out-of-body experience where I lost my sense of self and felt depersonalized for about 15 seconds. I ended up stopping the drug after just under a month."

• KWJ...
• February 3, 2014

For Depression "I started taking Wellbutrin about 3 weeks ago for depression. I had been on Zoloft for the past 6 years and needed a change. After the switch, I was more irritable. Three days ago, I developed hives and swollen lips. After my 2nd ER visit, I am back on Zoloft."

• Anonymous
• December 3, 2012

For Depression "This drug was not for me. It's very stimulating. It made me aggressive, angry, and irritable. It had several unpleasant side effects, like headache, heavy head, agitation, and fatigue. Strange shock sensations in the brain, loss of appetite, unwanted weight loss, insomnia, broken sleep, nightmares, trembling, and dehydration. And with all that, it never lifted my mood at all. It made me completely dysphoric. I cried daily, screamed at my husband and kids, and hated myself and my body so much I had thoughts of self-harm. In the past, I have taken SSRIs and never experienced anything as negative as this. Although the sexual side effects on others were atrocious! That is one thing Wellbutrin didn't cause, sexual dysfunction. I am a 31-year-old female."

• Sar...
• October 11, 2009

For Bipolar Disorder "Wellbutrin relieved my internal feelings of turmoil but turned me very edgy, rude, and angry at inappropriate times. Not a fun person to be around. And while it helped me emotionally a little, it did nothing spectacular."

• Ann...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 15, 2020

For Major Depressive Disorder "I started Wellbutrin after taking Zoloft for about 6 months but had to stop because I gained 30 lbs in 3 months and was retaining water like crazy. Wellbutrin definitely stopped the water retention, and I’ve lost about 6 pounds since starting it about a month ago. Unfortunately, I have to stop taking this one too. I was hoping this would be the one— I’ve been back and forth on a lot of meds, but nothing has worked. I felt severely angry and would lash out. I’ve never been that way. I am convinced this medication has caused me to have anger problems when I never had them before. Coming off the medication hasn’t been great, super emotional, tired, lots of headaches, and irritability, but after day 12, I’m finally feeling better."

• Bra...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 23, 2019

For Depression "I started on Wellbutrin XR 150 mg on June 20th. Was doing okay, nothing great, but maybe a slight change in my mood. Started the 300 mg on July 20th. Yep, I know I've only taken 4, but I am terribly irritable, frustrated, almost looking for an argument. I don't think I'm being too dramatic about the way I'm feeling and don't know if I need to see my doctor. Something just isn't right since starting on 300 mg."

• Nam...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 8, 2019

For Major Depressive Disorder "Even after 8 months of taking Wellbutrin 300 mg daily, Wellbutrin increased my anxiety from a 7 to a 9. Even though I'm not bipolar, I felt mean and irritable on it. It helped reduce physical symptoms of depression, such as sleep and body weakness problems, but it gave me way too much energy during the day. Now, the drug company is researching adding a cough suppressant to it. No thanks."

• Plm...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 25, 2018

For Depression "Helps during depression. However, makes one irritable and somewhat irrational."

• bum...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 4, 2022

For Major Depressive Disorder "I had a great experience the first three months. It helped keep me up during the day, which was nice. Did nothing for my sex drive, but that was zero when I started. Then it was like a switch flipped, after the third month (at 300 mg), I was suddenly back to sleeping 14 hours a day, had nausea all the time, and when I was up, I was having awful panic attacks. And oh my god, the irritability, I was going to hurt someone or myself. I've had bad reactions to most pills, but that was a pretty big disappointment because I did feel great for three months. My psych handled it poorly and wanted me to wait two more months for an appointment, so I quit cold turkey. And while that was stupid and I don't recommend doing that without the help of a medical professional, I experienced no withdrawal symptoms. I will say I feel better now than I did before starting Wellbutrin, probably due to diet improvements and establishing an exercise routine."

• 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."

• NJM...
• January 31, 2020

For Major Depressive Disorder "I was on Paxil 20 mg for 16 years to treat MDD. It was extremely successful at treating the depression. I still had some anxiety, and the side effects of weight gain and loss of interest in sex were apparent. The Paxil pooped out on me. The psych nurse practitioner advised Wellbutrin to get away from the weight gain and sexual side effects. I've been on 75 mg once per day for nearly 8 weeks now, and honestly, I'm still unsure. I've lost 15 lbs, and my interest in sex has increased a little. I've had really bad agitation, especially in the first few weeks, that made me want to scream. It has eased up since then but not completely gone. Just as I think I've turned the corner, I slip back a little. My dose is low, as that is how my psych nurse wants it. She has suggested switching to 200 mg of the SL version to address the anxiety I'm still having, but I fear the agitation returning like it was or worse. I couldn't say to someone - choose Wellbutrin."