Wellbutrin SR and Irritability: What Users Say

• Hon...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 26, 2016

For Depression "Wow! I have been taking Wellbutrin SR 150 mg for one week (started October 15, 2016) then 2nd week taking 150 mg at 12:00. I have never taken any medication for my mild depression, easily agitated, sweating the small stuff, slightly obese (209 lbs), too tired after work to play with the kids diagnosis. Then, OMG, my life is forever changed. In my second week on Wellbutrin SR 150 mg twice per day, I am down to 203 lbs. I didn't realize how much agitation and sadness I was trying to manage on my own. I am a lot calmer when stressful situations arise, play with my kids & exercise. I feel like there is always a song in my heart. Unless somebody does something really STUPID to PISS me off! But even then, I can forgive faster! God, I'm happy."

• Lov...
• April 20, 2019

For Major Depressive Disorder "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 the 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?"

• Zap...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 31, 2013

For Depression "I just was put back onto Wellbutrin after attempting 3 other antidepressants. It was only after being off it that I realized how good it worked for me. I was taken off of it because it caused me to have some issues with irritability and, according to my family, short-tempered. I was put on Cymbalta, but I enjoy a drink or 2 a day with my wife (Cymbalta and alcohol will damage your liver, well-documented). Zoloft made me feel completely despondent, and I felt life was no longer worth living, not to mention made me not even remotely think of sex. When I was put back on Wellbutrin, I felt like life was worth living, and I feel happier and euphoric. Now I take Lamictal with Wellbutrin 150 mg in the morning. Avoid the XR, causes insomnia."

• LCa...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 27, 2019

For Depression "I had every bad side effect, and it crept up over time. Insane migraine headaches, stomach pain, nausea, ear pain, ringing in the ears, vision problems, vertigo, suicidal thoughts. I also had very frequent urination. The agitation and angry outbursts were really frightening. I was completely fine for 3 months, so I didn’t make the connection between the drug and the symptoms at all. I went to doctors for headaches and my bladder, and even for allergies, until I figured it out myself. I finally thought to myself, what did I start doing differently in my life? It was the Wellbutrin. I called my psychiatrist and told him my symptoms, and he told me to stop taking it immediately. I’m glad I figured it out. I really don’t think anybody else other than myself would have. It has been a really rough few weeks with this pain. I felt almost immediately better when I stopped the medication."

• Anonymous
• October 16, 2011

For Depression "I was finally prescribed Wellbutrin SR after four months of treatment with a hospital psychologist. Treatment through other means of talking through my emotions helped some, but there were those thoughts, if you know what I mean. So they started me on the medicine. It was only 100 mg one time a day, I only took it for ten days. I felt great for about ten hours, but in the evening I would feel like I was in withdrawal or like I was in an emotional craving of some sort, kind of hard to describe. I felt edgy at night, was easy to bark at the kids for little or no reason, and I would have deep and serious thoughts about suicide, but those thoughts only lasted about ten minutes, and then they would go away, as quickly as they had started."

• Coa...
• July 6, 2015

For Depression "I've been on Wellbutrin for 2 weeks, and I don't really feel any better. I notice weight gain and more irritability than usual. I've read that I must be patient and continue taking it, and I should see improvement after about a month. I took this years ago, and it was the reason I was able to quit smoking. My wife called it the happy pill because she saw a big difference in my mood. So far, it's not having the same effect it did 15 years ago. I do like that I am not having any other side effects. My sex drive is still good, and I think my anxiety has improved somewhat. I'm on 100 mg a day, and I take it first thing in the morning."

• Brv...
• January 7, 2017

For Depression "My doctor started me on a very low dose of this (100 mg). I have anxiety, depression, and (a questionable diagnosis, pending review) of bipolar disorder. The first day I took this, I had a full-blown panic attack. My heart was racing so fast, and I was experiencing pretty bad chest pain and heaviness, so much so that I called the office and they wanted me to stop taking it and go to the ER to have an EKG done. I stopped taking it for about 2 weeks, but wasn't ready to give up on it - big mistake. So I went back on it for 3 days. Each day I had an elevated heart rate and felt anxious all day long. I was EXTREMELY irritable to the point of rage, my ENTIRE face broke out with painful cystic acne I'd never had before - basically overnight. Skip!"

• Msr...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 3, 2016

For Depression "Taking name brand. Started 150 1x a day for a week. First day so amazing, energized, went to the gym, positive, and for 4 days felt great. 5th not so much and by 7th day was feeling back to my depressed self, so I upped it to 2 a day. Now I go from anxious to flat. Feel absolutely nothing, zoned out, very irritable. Vivid dreams and nightmares, kind of can't separate dream from reality because it seems like someone's in the house and I wake up out of a dead sleep and I'm not sure if someone's in the house. Going to give this a few more days, if things don't get worse, hopefully they'll get better. If not, not going to take it anymore. I took this because I wanted to avoid weight gain, which happened years ago with other SSRIs. Hasn't affected appetite."

• Ale...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 22, 2016

For Depression "I started taking 150 mg twice a day, and I started feeling a difference since day 1. The very first night I woke up in the middle of the night, agitated because of a very vivid dream, and they only got worse as the days went by, to the point I could not differentiate dreams from reality and having a lot of trouble waking up. During the day, I was feeling hopeful again and started doing things I had stopped doing, but on day 7, approximately, I had a major panic attack at work, feeling like I was choking due to lack of oxygen and started hyperventilating, which I had never experienced before in my life. So, long story short, I ended up in the ER that night. Even though the paramedics suggested it was going to go away by itself, I still wanted to be checked out. Horrible experience."

• sun...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 18, 2015

For Major Depressive Disorder "Was on 150 mg 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."

• Nic...
• January 25, 2021

For Depression "I don't find this an antidepressant rather than a demeanor stimulant/energy enhancer. Goes well with SSRIs, SNRIs, and many others as add-ons. Personally, on 150 mg daily, I found myself more energetic, needing less sleep, more able to focus for seriously long days, more outspoken, and also more irritable. Some restlessness or a stupor-kind of feeling for a couple of hours in the afternoon. All of this subsided as the months passed. 1-2 years led to some kind of tolerance. 300 mg doses seemed to give me some more focus but also made me feel a bit off. Enhances the focus a little more, and likely possible overt wakefulness, irritability, or confusion would subside over time. I still couldn't estimate needing such a dose myself. Initially, a combination of Sertraline made me hypermanic for a month or two: showed up at parties drinking and talking to everyone, making new acquaintances, life choices ultimately leading to major changes, etc. My psychiatrist didn't think it was a problem, though."

• Nic...
• January 25, 2021

For Depression "I don't find this an antidepressant rather than a demeanor stimulant/energy enhancer. Goes well with SSRIs, SNRIs, and many others as add-ons. Personally, on 150 mg daily, I found myself more energetic, needing less sleep, more able to focus for seriously long days, more outspoken, and also more irritable. Some restlessness or a stupor-kind of feeling for a couple of hours in the afternoon. All of this subsided as the months passed. 1-2 years led to some kind of tolerance. 300 mg doses seemed to give me some more focus but also made me feel a bit off. Enhances the focus a little more, and likely possible overt wakefulness, irritability, or confusion would subside over time. I still couldn't estimate needing such a dose myself. Initially, a combination of Sertraline made me hypermanic for a month or two: showed up at parties drinking and talking to everyone, making new acquaintances, life choices ultimately leading to major changes, etc. My psychiatrist didn't think it was a problem, though."

• Asc...
• August 23, 2016

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

• Ske...
• March 10, 2009

For Depression "Good for depression, not for anxiety/depression. I had a history of General Anxiety, it got worse after menopause. I was on different SSRIs, the side effects were awful. When my depression returned, my doctor had me try Wellbutrin SR. It caused agitation, loss of appetite, muscle tremors, and sleep disturbances, which were the worst. It does not help my anxiety, but it did help my depression. I am off it now to try something else in a week."

• Ht1...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 10, 2018

For Depression "Switched to Wellbutrin after being on Zoloft for two years, and it has been awful. I suffer from depression, PTSD, and anxiety. Wellbutrin has made me extremely irritable, and I'm constantly tired."

• be2...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 4, 2015

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