What is Wellbutrin?

Wellbutrin is an antidepressant with intensive stimulating action. It has an ingredient Bupropion. The ingredient differs from most “classical” antidepressants because it selectively blocks reuptake of dopamine and noradrenaline. The increase of noradrenaline happens stronger, and so a strong stimulating action is achieved.

As Wellbutrin has the same characteristics as drugs from the group of amphetamine, it is safer, does not cause euphoria and is well tolerated. Due to the intensive stimulating action of Wellbutrin, it better works for the treatment of depressions accompanied by motor lethargy, excessive sleepiness and apathy. In case of the maximally depressed state of a human, Wellbutrin is able to return energy and give positive emotions.

There are medical data that Wellbutrin significantly reduces a desire to smoke. Its active ingredient reduces severity from smoking of nicotine and “withdrawal syndrome” in people who have decided to quit smoking. This is very important for people who smoke because of a severe depression, and this is a bad habit for them.

Who should take Wellbutrin?

Wellbutrin should be used by patients with severe and prolonged depression accompanied by the decreased cognitive abilities and hypersomnia.

Wellbutrin may be also used by patients with social phobia and some forms of anxiety that appear with depression. But a decision about the use of the drug is made by a doctor only.

How to take Wellbutrin?

A dose of Wellbutrin depends on a depression severity. The pills are used orally every day within 3-6 months. You may feel the improvement of the symptoms in 3-4 weeks. But even after the end of the therapy, you will feel an additional energy and emotional lift for a long time.

The treatment is started from the minimal everyday dose of Wellbutrin 150 mg. The pills are used once per day, in the morning, at wake-up. Food does not influence on bioavailability of Bupropion, and therefore you may take the pills before or after breakfast.

If a patient has already used Wellbutrin or identical drugs, the treatment may be started from a dose of 200 mg per day. If this dosing regimen did not show its efficiency in 4 weeks, a daily dose of Wellbutrin is increased by two times.

If you are taking 2 pills of Wellbutrin per day, the last use of the pill should be 6 hours before sleeping. Using the pills before sleeping may cause insomnia.

What are side effects?

The most common side effects of Wellbutrin are decrease of the body weight, urticarial, insomnia, anxiety, headache, tremor, tingling, flushes, and high blood pressure. All these side effects may appear in a patient within the first 2-3 weeks of the treatment. When the body gets used to processes and changes, the side effects will be reduced.

 

Special recommendations

• Do not take Wellbutrin if you are under 18 years old, are pregnant, breast-feed, have bulimia or anorexia, severe form of epilepsy
• Wellbutrin lowers a convulsive threshold, and therefore patients with epilepsy may often have attacks during the use of the drug
• If you are taking Wellbutrin, avoid any ingredients that act on the central nervous system: opioids, alcohol, tranquilizers, benzodiazepines, and others.