Bupropion for Bipolar Disorder User Reviews (Page 3)

• chooc...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 6, 2019

"At first I got a little heart palpitation from this medicine, at 300mg. However, after a month of that I feel great and it curbs the side effects of Lithium Carbonate, which I am also taking and which makes me gain weight. I am down to a healthy weight after gaining almost 15 lbs. on Lithium alone. I also don't feel suicidal, so that's another plus."

• alist...
• July 7, 2009

Wellbutrin XL (bupropion) "I was originally switched to Wellbutrin SR, cold turkey, and suffered horrible side effects until my system got used to it. When the XL came out I was hesitant to change over, but I did so with no side effects and pretty good results."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 7, 2018

"Remember XL last 24 hours and takes 5 to kick in. Taking it on the morning means it is out of your system the next. I had 5 hours of awfulness everyday for years, now on SR (slow release) 2 x a day. Let’s see how that does."

• Peach
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 4, 2019

"When I was prescribed the bupropion a year ago I believe I was going through a depressive phase. I take lamictal and since then it’s hard for me to tell when I’m depressed because I don’t experience mania on lamictal. But over time the bupropion started making me feel sedated, foggy, and highly unmotivated. I wasn’t really feeling depressed, I just wasn’t feeling much of anything and I was dissociating a lot. I decided one morning to just stop taking it and it’s been a week and I feel almost 100% better. I’ve been able to actually get off my couch and do things again!"

• Kirk
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• May 1, 2023

"I love this medicine. Honestly, I had low, almost non-existent hope that it would work for my bipolar disorder, given that I have tried several medications before, and I mean several. I tried Paxil, which made me very manic and angry. Then, I tried Zoloft, which turned out to be the worst idea ever! I gained over 100 pounds in one year, and I have had weight and obesity problems ever since. Even though I was actually underweight before the medication, I also had high liver enzymes since then. I should have sued them for the damage it caused to my health, weight, and liver. Sorry for getting off-topic, but I have also tried Lithium Carbonate, which made my seizures worse and caused severe nightmares. Additionally, Focalin XR, Intuniv, and Methylphenidate all made me super manic and gave me an uncontrollable libido. So, I had almost no expectations that this new medicine would work, but man, it did! I woke up one day and realized that the depression was gone, and I don't even remember the last time I was depressed."

• Manic...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 2, 2019

"After 25+yrs of being misdiagnosed, told I am bipolar 1 and started Bupropion 150mg 1xday and Doxepin for sleep. Has lifted me out of a deep debilitating depression so far but won’t go higher since a higher dose triggered my manic episodes. Refuse to take lamictal or lithium etc. because side effects like weight gain, liver damage etc scare me really bad. Haven’t had any noticeable side effects but know 150mg is low dose. What works for one person, doesn’t for another."

• JBakes
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 8, 2020

"Prescribed Bupropion (Zyban) for my depression associated with Bipolar II Disorder. We started at 150mg some time ago and it must not have worked as when I went back we increased to 225mg. Still complaining of depression we later increased to 300mg at which point I started to experience unpleasant side effects (sleep disturbance, racing thoughts, anxiety). I can safely say this drug did not do its job and I am disappointed I was not put on other drug/s recommended by the literature before this one. It has taken me 6-12 months to work this out. Plus it is hideously expensive."

• Merc
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 26, 2015

"I have been on my antidepressants (celexa, lexapro, effexor, prozac, lithium, lamictal just to name a few) lexapro seemed to work best for me, however after a couple years its effects have reduced and I started to get angry, easily annoyed, and I always get tired around 3 or 4 pm and need a siesta so to speak. My Dr put me on Wellbutrin SR HCL 100mg once a day to try and combat the tiredness from the lexapro. It was filled with the generic version. I must say both my wife and I notice it has worked wonders for my anger and agitation, however I am twice as sleepy and groggy on it and have to take it before I go to sleep and when I get up I'm exhausted. Its doing the opposite of what almost every review I've seen for me. Im going off of it asap."

• spark...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 24, 2015

"im 19 they put me on this originally for anxiety but apparently im bipolar according to the psych evaluation test. The first day on it i basically felt "high" since then Ive felt pretty great. I also take Gabapentin(for fibromyalgia) and prozac."

• Cat66a
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 22, 2015

"I was started on Wellbutrin about 2 months ago, along with Lamictal for mood-stabilization. I reluctantly got on it after a year free of meds (when I got hit with a bad case of Seasonal Depression beginning in fall and lasting through March and some of April, after a move to mostly gloomy Asheville, NC. I started off on half a tablet of 75mg regular release. Then I went up an extra half a tab. At first I thought it was great and then I started to feel low down again and went up to 150 mg. Slowly, I noticed feeling quite agitated and almost aggressive. I cut back down to just one tab and then half a tab and still the side-effects persisted, along with horrible anxiety and restlessness. So no more for me."

• TWG
• July 13, 2017

"I'm giving this two stars because it helped me quit smoking, but that's all it did. I've been taking for almost two months now and my anxiety has greatly intensified. I also have muscle aches in my legs and back - not sure if it's related to the bupropion, but I didn't have these feelings before I started taking it. It did not help me lose weight, but I did finally plateau after gaining consistently on Paxil and Abilify. I'm still taking Abilify so maybe that's interfering with weight loss, I'm not sure. Also my depression was under control for awhile but with the relentless anxiety about everything, it's creeping back in. Everything feels like an effort and all I want to do is stay in bed all day. This medication is not for me."

• garli...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 6, 2024

"On 450 mg daily; this medication helped pull me out of a depressive slump that cost me an entire semester of college. I'm able to get out of bed every morning, and I was also able to tackle three years of substance abuse. I'd highly recommend it for treating major depressive episodes. The first few weeks can be really rough, and if you have a mood disorder or family history, be careful as it can induce mania. I'm also on Lamotrigine as a mood stabilizer to prevent this. Bupropion was crucial for my recovery on top of weekly therapy. -2 because it sometimes makes me quite irritable and restless."

• MEH
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 15, 2019

"How much was your guys starting dose with bupropion I am put on very low doseage of 75 MG SR because I am bipolar and my dr always seem to put low dose on different meds before increasing and how long did it take for you to work. thanks"

• Kano
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 7, 2020

"So I have a history of Bupropion. I first started it in July 2019 for bipolar disorder and lasted only 3 days on 150XL. My doctor was sure that after months of other meds not working that this would be the one for me. It caused tremors in my hands and face and it was horrible. I then started taking Latuda 60mg. I decided for anxiety to start taking the bupropion again after my doctor recommended it. I started out on 100mg. I then upped it to 150 but it caused manic episodes. So I lowered it back to 100mg. It’s been very beneficial since then and it’s very helpful in my cocktail of meds. This plus Latuda and Zoloft have changed my life and all my anxiety is pretty much gone and the bipolar is under control."

• Helios
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 2, 2020

"Bupropion worked just OK for my bipolar. Made me able to take care of my responsibilities, but the depression still remained. Plus, the constipation was RIDICULOUS. Didn't have a single normal bowel movement the entire time I was on it (~2 months). Plus, after about the first month, I started having delusions of being followed/watched whenever I went out in public, so I had to stop it. Psychosis is a rare side effect of this medication so beware!"

• MissM...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 22, 2018

"I was only at 150mg of bupropion. I was wired that first night. When I finally fell asleep, I’d wake up repeatedly through the night, making me fatigued all day. At day four, my coworker asked if I was okay because she said I hadn’t smiled all day and I looked “dead” in my face. It didn’t occur to me that I’d gone from being very social to very antisocial. I can’t remember when the anxiety crept in. And irritability. But by day five and six, I was swearing at my 9-year-old, which is so absolutely not me. I was so angry, beyond irritated. At only day seven, I stopped. I was previously diagnosed as Bipolar II and take Tegretol. Here I am, five days beyond the quit date, and at least I have my personality back. My sleep is insane; I can sleep again, but I slept 12 hours last night. It’s like I’m catching up for a week of disruption. What seems to still be lingering is stifling anxiety."

• Bipolar
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 7, 2021

"I have been taking this medication for 2 months now. I started off on 75mg for a week to get me use to the medication then went up to 150mg. I was very irritable and annoyed by everything. My doctor raised the dose to 300mg because I was still down. This made everything 10x worse. It made me cycle through huge mood swings daily. I would be okay one moment then sobbing the next and depressed. It also made me super anxious. I had problems with anxiety but nothing close to how this made me feel. I even had an anxiety attack at the grocery store and needed to leave. Then I would feel numb. I was never happy on this medication. What made me get off of it was I kept having days where I would cry all day and everything would set it off. I also started to deviate from reality. My husband felt like a stranger and my house didn’t feel like mine. I’d want to run away because I thought I wasn’t where I was supposed to be. This did not work for my bipolar 1."

• Mongo
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 4, 2019

"I was always a "Crazy Child" and people envied my character and confidence. Although they all saw me as that, I was actually going through a lot in my head. I would be the happiest person alive in the room, while my mind was thinking of how I could end it all. I lived with that for 19 years no medication. I hate medication, but after being in a 2 month slump of depression I decided it was time. My DR told me it might or might not work but it would help with that nicotine addiction so I was for it. After taking it 3 days I felt hot, different, and had a horrible date (she doesn't talk to me now), so I stopped. I felt good the next week but felt depressed again so I tried again for a few weeks and felt good for the most part except the anxiety just ruined my confidence and sex drive. I am still feeling like I'm not right and I and in a continuous cycle of not knowing what to do. It is great for depression but for Biplar Disorder it its a hit or miss.."

• Comeb...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• June 21, 2023

"I have been taking this for about 2 years now off and on. All I can say is if you are going through episodes of depression, this works. A dosage of 300 mg has proven to be too strong for me as I don’t sleep. That was the only side effect so we lowered it to 150 mg and It works much better for me. This gives me motivation and energy I did not have. You will still have bad days but this makes them manageable. It also may cause some anxiety as you will be more energized but I was also given an anti-anxiety med which works great with this. I hope someone going through depression reads this and it helps. This pill saved my life."

• Denise
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 29, 2021

"Omg when I first started taking I was doing things I hadn't in years. I guess I liked the manic faze. When I swung the other way crying, agitated, obsessiveness is where I am now. Will definitely stop taking. Tired of losing control of my emotions. When manic I did loose weight but now that I'm depressed I can't stop eating. Not good for me."

• shelby
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 7, 2018

"I have suffered from BP2 for over seven years now and like many of you, have struggled to find something to lift the fog and fatigue and lingering depression left behind after the mood stabilizers. I titrated up to 300 XL and honestly didn't feel much difference other than being much more irritable than usual. I then (do not recommend) went directly down to 150XL. PLEASE do not cold turkey this drug. Everyone is different but my experience in this was awful. I have never had withdrawals that bad from a drug. I was hospitalized for having severe anxiety and depressed thoughts that are now still lingering after two weeks. My very personal opinion is that this doesn't seem to be a fit for treating my bipolar depression. Everyone is different though!"

• gamea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 4, 2020

"I have been taking it for two months and have not yet realized its effectiveness. It may take a little longer, I will try to keep taking it. The only things this medication is doing is that I'm smoking less and wake up well. Well, I wake up wonderfully well and it's only in the evening that I get into severe depression. At night it's just anxiety, really dark thoughts and eating. I just want to eat during the night, until I fall asleep."

• Darkt...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 28, 2019

"After having a breakdown and realizing I'm bipolar, not major depressive like I was diagnosed with over twenty years ago, my Dr started me on this. I had been on it years ago and had done well until it started making me anxious. This time it completely stopped my impulsivity, my compulsive behavior and brought me out of the horrible pit I was in. It took a good two months to get me stable and I lost weight in the beginning. Then I started craving carbs bad, but I switched from the 12 hour to instant release and it's much better now. I have better energy with the instant and no more headaches like the SR gave me. Still not quite where I want to be, but better than I was."

• OK I ...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 15, 2022

"Ive been taking Bupropion for Bipolar II, (severe depression) for over a year. I started out on SR then moved to XL and now moving to immediate release starting tonight. Bupropion has definitely taken away severe depression (NDRI is the mechanism of action required for me), HOWEVER... this med has also come with side affects. Initially, ringing in ears (not bad, just noticeable), severe constipation (take 3 colace nightly), makes me sleepy so I take at night (complete opposite of what it's supposed to do), has brought on 2 near panic attacks on freeway overpasses (I was slightly afraid of heights now I'm terrified) AND, worst of all, I have lost all interest in life. My doc says "your depressed" and I said, "nope.. not depression, just lack of interest in anything". I really miss my exciting, fun life. I guess this is what being normal feels like? Happy to not being crying but not sure I want to go through rest of life this boring. I will see how the immediate release works now."

• Ciara...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 22, 2021

"The first couple of weeks were great and then the mania came. I've been hospitalized for seizures as a side effect of this drug so be careful. It has definitely helped with smoking cessation and helped regulate my appetite."