Anyone experience severe side effects increasing Bupronion dosage.

Posted by xede @xede, Jun 13 6:32pm

Have taken SSRIs for 34 years. Suffer from RLS, Restless leg syndrome which I believe is a result of long term SSRI use. I have also been diagnosed with Charcot Marie Tooth Syndrome. PCP suggested a change to Bupronion, starting with 150mg daily. After a few months she has increased the dose to 300mg daily, still maintaining low dose SSRI (?) The effect is awful : Extreme fatigue, zero motivation, insomnia, balance issues. Interested to know if anyone else has had this experience. Thank you for " listening"

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My thoughts on generic medication.....they are all required to have the same "drug" however in manufacturing they may use a different base or compound, which can change the way the medication is delivered in your system. Example: Had been taking Zithromycin (red) tablet, Walgreen's filled a script with another manufacturer (white) tablet. Within two days of taking the White tablet I got a rash on trunk, legs and arms. Only thing changed in my medications was the white tablet. Had Walgreen's refill with the red tablet and previous manufacturer and lo and behold! No rash. Both medications are manufactured in India by two different companies. When I started researching them, found the one (white tablet) had many FDA citations on their bricks and mortal facility but also on some of their manufacturing practices! I had Walgreen's flag my medication profile that I was not to have any prescriptions filled by this company going forward. Why they would even purchase from them is beyond me but we all know it's all about the money!

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@sueborfl

Having had a Lyme tick bite in NY in 1979 and went undiagnosed for 12 yrs, it was necessary to find an antidepressant that helped with the relentless symptoms that by the time I was diagnosed the bacteria had become a full fledge cornucopia of systemic pain and ongoing symptoms I was given trintellex and it was like magic. I went off it gradually as Lyme symptoms lessened with more abx and I thought I was out of the woods. Not so - then onto Wellbutrin genetic. Did absolutely nothing and I persisted for months. Why must we subject ourselves to less than effective meds when clearly they don’t have answers for the originating symptoms in my and perhaps your case? My daughter is a clear cut case of severe mental illness and she’s been given meds that have made her delirious. I don’t think we have a medical establishment that to this day will admit they are “handicapped”. We are pumped full of pills in an effort to quiet us down, hopefully resolve a host of problems yet we continue to suffer from either true clinical or even mood disorders such as mine which is an originating bacterial bite from a tick that still is not recognized by the medical Profession? We are severely under the ongoing presence of doctors who clearly do not know how to listen and prescribe.

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I agree with you! I have found great information and validation from the Mad In America weekly newsletter. It is sent to my email.

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@colely

I agree with you! I have found great information and validation from the Mad In America weekly newsletter. It is sent to my email.

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Reading the above has been not only enlightening but verifies what I’ve thought for years since moving back to Florida. I have had to take multiple meds in an effort to control Lyme disease and in particular- Walgreens here in Florida has to be one of worst drugstores with mediocre customer prescription experiences we’ve encountered. We lived in NY north of Manhattan for 40
Yrs and never had to endure questionable generic or substituted brand meds, delayed stock or lack of promptness in filling. It’s a “crapshoot” …pardon the word…in guessing if the generic is going to be a safe substitute for the brand name. Is this Big Pharma or poor internal management?
Besides that I will mention that Bupropion in generic form was a terrible waste of time and experience. I’m the one who is trying to get well and am at the mercy of poorly educated and distributed meds. It did not work and in its generic form caused more side effects.
There are no more privatized pharmacies which is very sad unlike NY, and no we are not going back because the state is in terrible shape and costs a bloody fortune.
I miss the old Florida even Miami but we are all at the mercy of current government status.
My apologies for multiple comments.

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I was 100mg but became very irritable on 150mg so went back to 100 mg. Now I’ve discontinued it altogether because I believe it was exacerbating my Anxiety. I do feel calmer and am able to get myself to do/go places with much less pre-leaving anxiety.
I did not experience any decrease in energy or motivation, though that could be due more to finally getting on an antidepressant, Rexulti, that works - YAY ‼️
Good luck 🍀 Being a zombie is no fun at all.

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So glad Rexulti works for you, I may have to follow and discontinue altogether. Thanks for you input.

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@donnahanford933

I was 100mg but became very irritable on 150mg so went back to 100 mg. Now I’ve discontinued it altogether because I believe it was exacerbating my Anxiety. I do feel calmer and am able to get myself to do/go places with much less pre-leaving anxiety.
I did not experience any decrease in energy or motivation, though that could be due more to finally getting on an antidepressant, Rexulti, that works - YAY ‼️
Good luck 🍀 Being a zombie is no fun at all.

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I had the same reaction with the increased dosage. Went back to lower dose

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@shirleyu

I had the same reaction with the increased dosage. Went back to lower dose

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I had the same experience. Could tolerate bupropiron at 150mg each morning but when I increased it by 75 mg by adding the 75mg in mid afternoon could not tolerate it......had weird sort of unexplainable experience and had to return to 150mg in the am. Eventually stopped taking it altogether as I felt no significant benefit.

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Hi there!

Sorry to hear that you're not feeling well 🙁 I've used Bupropion a few years ago. I was on Venlafaxine/ Effexor 300 mg at the time. My then psychiatrist suggested adding Bupropion to the Venlafaxine to counteract the physical side effects I was experiencing. I'm sorry I can't remember the exact dosage.

He said: "If you don't respond well to the Bupropion, you can just quit on your own, since it's a low dosage." (He was on a holiday after that consult btw, so I couldn't contact him). Not really knowing what he meant by "not respond well", but since I'm almost used to experiencing quite a few side effects when starting a new drug, I was willing to give it a try.

I remember feeling really jittery all the time, like I've had 2 liters of coffee running through my veins. I felt dizzy, nauseaous, irritable and very uncomfortable in my own body. I've also had some muscle spasms.
Unfortunately, younger me then thought: "Well, I suppose I just have to sit this one out the first 2 weeks," because I was used to experiencing many side effects. And I was told most side effects would subside after the first 2 weeks.

After that, I talked to my psychiatrist and he was like: "Well duh, if you experienced all this, why didn't you stop using it?" After quitting the drug, I do remember feeling a bit dizzy and unsure on my feet. A few days later, these effects were gone.

So in my case, Bupropion for me was awful. Even a low dose was too much, but it was also in combination with Venlafaxine at a high dose.
The suggestion Laurie made, might help you in slowly getting used to your higher dosage. I hope it helps!

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Thank you so much for sharing. Very helpful.

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