User Reviews for Wellbutrin SR to treat Major Depressive Disorder

"I have been on Wellbutrin SR almost since it was available for use by the FDA. I started on the starter dose of 100mg Wellbutrin SR. I felt much better. Then my MD wanted me to try the next size increase, so I did. I had a bad reaction of paranoia, so I went back down to my starting dose. I have been on that dose ever since. With this medication I went from sleeping 14-18 hours, thinking nonstop about everything negative, to sleeping an average of 8 hrs with NO ruminating about negative thoughts. I went back to school and became an RN. I am an example of a huge success story on Wellbutrin. Before I started on Wellbutrin, I had tried all the other antidepressants on the market, with no success."

"Wellbutrin saved my life. I was at the point that I hated being around everyone. I could only manage to go to work and come back to my bed. I had no energy. I had no sex drive. I had no interest in ANYTHING. I wasn't sad...I just existed. I endured feeling like this for about a year. No breaks of feeling better. My doctor prescribed me Wellbutrin SR and it has changed my life. The first week was hard. The side effects were no joke. I had minor auditory and visual hallucinations and experienced my first panic attack of my life. BUT- my doctor asked me to push through it and I did. It has helped me quit smoking. I have lost 15 pounds and I am not lethargic anymore. It boosted my libido. I can be around people without wanting to flip out. I can concentrate at work again. I sleep 7-8 hours like most people. Instead of spending every moment I can in bed. If this is an option- I highly recommend Wellbutrin."

"To the person who posted problem with generic: I too had that problem, and I cannot get insurance to authorize brand name, either. I had to do a lot of trial and error with different brand names. The Chinese manufacturer that they give at Walgreens was the absolute worst. Now, The best brands of generic Wellbutrin for me are Sandoz bupropion generic , the other is Dr. Reddy's bupropion generic. I go to CVS, because they will special order one of those 2 brands for me. I am on SR 150 twice daily. This medication changed my life. I am much happier and I do not lash out anymore. I am a much calmer person now. It also helped me overcome PPD after I had my baby girl. Also, I will say that before taking this medication, I drank wine most nights. Since I started this medication 4 years ago, I have not wanted a drink at all. I have had maybe 3 glasses of wine in these years, and each time, I hated the way it made me feel. It is kind of empowering to always want to be sober. I have no plans of stopping this medication."

"Several years ago, I took Wellbutrin-SR 150mg twice a day, for depression and SAD. But the pharmacy substituted generic bupropion and my insurance denied the Wellbutrin brand. I immediately started having hand tremors, agitation, and crying. I spoke with my psychiatrist on an emergency appointment, and he recognized generic instead of brand name so called my pharmacist who insisted that the generic was exactly the same as the brand. It took the doctor to call my insurance company to get approval of the brand drug under my plan, and everything went back to normal. My psychiatrist passed away a few years later. Now, I find myself in the same situation and my new doctor has not been successful in getting my insurance to authorize the brand name. I tried generic again with same reactions. I cannot afford the brand, so I continue to struggle. Has anyone else experienced adverse reactions to generic bupropion and discovered any discounts to make Wellbutrin-SR affordable?"

"I was taking 300mg every day the generic for years along with zanex for anxiety. My dr upped the dosage to 450mg every day. I just got the name brand and it's completely different!!!! My life has new meaning the generic is not half as good. I no longer need the zanex and have no problems going out or living my life now. This medication ( name brand Welbutrin) should be available to anyone that needs it. The generic is horrible loaded with side effects shaking, headache, nausea, and extream bouts of anxiety that do not occur with the name brand!!! I am shocked the generic for this medication is permitted to mascrade as the equivalent is not even close!!!"

"Once I started taking Wellbutrin, it was wild. I forgot what it was like to feel anger and lust. I forgot what it was like to not feel exhausted for no real reason. Even small things like listening to music became wonderful again. I was very manic when I first started taking the medication. I could feel myself being reckless and putting myself in dangerous situations. I'm also more aggressive on Wellbutrin, but it's just something I have to be aware of and learn to control. I stopped taking my anti-anxiety meds after taking Wellbutrin, too, because they made me wildly dizzy when I took them with Wellbutrin. Additionally, I can be anxious/have irrational thoughts now, but it's nothing from which I can't talk myself down. Overall, my self-esteem and sense of wellbeing has vastly improved. I'd highly recommend Wellbutrin to anyone whose family has a history of mental illness. I think the boost of dopamine and norepinephrine really helps with MDD."

"Struggled with MDD and Gen. Anxiety Dis. And self harming habits. Wellbutrin has changed my life. It's definitely a noticeable chemical adjustment for the first few weeks. Once I adjusted though, it was a miracle. I'm calm, don't have anger or outbursts, no anxiety, NO obsessive thoughts or ruminating. I haven't been depressed in over 3 months and I started Wellbutrin in Feb. of 2015. I've had no side effects besides the first few weeks. You will feel very weird for two weeks. Stick with it. No weight fluctuations, dry mouth went away, no sexual side effects and I have more energy but I don't feel artificially stimulated (you will for about a month though) I give this medicine a 10. My doctor says I'm textbook MDD. Runs heavy in my family"

"A noticeable difference between the brand and generic (buproprion). Started out with brand years ago. I was no longer stuck in bed avoiding life. I could concentrate, no impulsive decision-making or stuck with indecision. Interested in life again, getting out, and lost 40lbs w/in the first year. Then insurance changes meant getting generic. I thought, "no big deal, I take generic for everything". I soon found myself overpowered by MDD symptoms again while still taking an AD. Dr mentioned switching to generic was likely the problem. I've since found lots of FDA/med research/similar experiences. Thankfully, I'm back on brand doing good, it wasn't just all in my head. There really is a BIG difference."

"I got to a point where I was in bed 20 hrs a day, couldn't work etc. Severely depressed .I've battled that all my life but never got on an anti depressant . Wellbutrin along with lexapro 20 MG changed my life. Mainly the wellbutrin as I truly changed when that was added. I'm on 300mg SR. AT first you'll feel jumpy and anxious but give it 3-4 days, week tops, and it'll be incredible I have a new job, I'm traveling. New person."

"I started this medication at a time when I did not have any health insurance and had to pay around $40/month for it. One of the very first things I noticed when taking this medication was that I started smoking fewer cigarettes, it made the cigarettes taste the way they should, horrible. I never had any other side effects from the medication. When I switched to another medication, it became very apparent that I was not doing as well as I had been while on the Wellbutrin SR, so I switched back after a few months and a couple different meds. This is definitely my favorite; I'd been on several different medications for my MDD and always had terrible side effects. Not with this!"

"I was skeptical about bupropion. I started this at 150mg. I am BiPolar- and must say that it has been a God send. I read up on it and how it can give you energy plus can also help with concentration, I scoffed in a way. No longer do I scoff. I am so grateful that I take this, it does not effect any SSRI's as it's differently made up. I am on Zoloft and bupropion, these do not cause me a problem. It is possible to take these with BIPolar, yes, there is research regarding anti depressants and BiPolar, but for me it has given me back my life- I do have energy to leave the house, I can concentrate, my memory is better, but I now have a life- a social life. I go out. So please don't be scared off, by antidepressants and BiPolar- ask the question."

"I've been on Wellbutrin XL for a few years and recently was switched to Wellbutrin SR. I felt an immediate difference. I was dizzy the first day but the 2nd day I was alert and calm. I've lost 10 pounds in the few weeks I've been on it which is good going from 150-140."

"I took zoloft for anxiety and depression. Helped with anxiety but didn't touch the depression. So I started taking wellbutrin SR and now I'm at 150 mg all together per day. I'm glad because I don't think about suicide but I can't be fully happy and hopeful yet. Getting there though."

"I am bi-polar and have been on Lamictal for 5 years but I was still having issues with depression so my doctor suggested Wellbutrin SR. The first 3 weeks I was on it I wasn't impressed and thought about discontinuing it. I was spacey and had horrible headaches. But I'm so glad I gave it a chance. Started to feel less depressed after a month of taking it and I'm in my 4th month and I still have my moments but overall my outlook on life is much more positive. I also hoped it would help me quit smoking and lose weight. Only the later happened but still quitting smoking is pretty awesome. I've tried so many things to quit and nothing helped until this. I'm still not at 100% but still a big improvement. I totally recommend this."

"I've been taking zoloft for 6 months and it wasn't enough and making me tired. Great for anxiety. So my doctor added wellbutrin. So far I've been taking half of a 1/4 th of a 150mg tablet. It has helped. I know I'm not feeling the best I have but life has been way more tolerable. I'm going to up my dose and I'm sure I'll feel even better. Best of luck to anyone trying this. Didn't notice side effects either."

"I have major depression and post traumatic stress disorder. This medication helps motivate me and it gives a slight boost for my moods I tend to smile more now but still get depressed now and then. It has very little side effects best thing is no sexual side effects! It also helps my anxiety but still have a hard time concentrating which my doc says helps but for me it doesn't it's just a mood stabilizer to me. I give it a 7 out of 10 because it only helps me slightly. I take 150mg twice a day."

"Was on 150mg 2x daily and became increasingly jittery, like too much caffeine, also more anxious, depressed and irritable, it felt like bad speed, just didn't work for me.. I just started on Citalopram hoping that will help anxiety and depression."

"I hated this medication. It gave me insomnia, I was agitated and fidgety all the time. I was on it for 3 days and noticed I couldn't handle it. I was on for 200mgs per day. In order for me to sleep I had to take 10mgs of melatonin. I was good prior to being on antidepressants. I was also shuddering and had tremors."

"I took Wellbutrin SR 150, twice a day for about a year along with Zoloft 50 once a day to get myself better after falling into a deep depressive episode. My psychiatrist also recommended the Wellbutrin for helping to stop tobacco products and said that it would help with the depressive episodes. Overall, I really liked this medication for my condition as it had few side effects for me and with the Zoloft (not sure which to give credit to really) my appetite increased and I was able to eat healthier and gain back some of the weight which was lost due to my depression as a whole. After doing more research I did find that Wellbutrin is contraindicated for people with history of epilepsy or seizures in general."

"I have been takining Wellbutrin for a month and only seen a slight improvement. I see the md in the am and going to ask for an increase in dosage. Currently I take 75mg once a day. I am sensitive to medications and the md wanted to start low and go slow. Hopefully with the increase it will help out. I rated it 7 because the only side effect that I experienced was a headache"

"I've been on Wellbutrin SR for over a year. Before taking this I could not get out of bed anymore and this saved my life . The dose I take is 150mg 2 times a day."

"No libido-related side effects, as opposed to Fluoxetine and the like. Also, no serious insomnia-related side effects. Decent anti-depressant. No serious side-effects; moderate results."

"Wasn't for me. It caused irritability and anxiety with no help with depression symptoms. I was on 150mg 2x/d."

"Worked really well for a time.... then life events happened. I might try something else. Everyone is a little different."