Side-effects of Welbutrin discontinuation?

I have been on Wellbutrin for mild depression for about 6 months. My depression is OK so when should I stop taking the Wellbutrin?

Never, ever stop taking medication, especially psych meds, without discussing it with your doctor/psychiatrist. Most psych meds are for life, although they may have to be tweaked from time to time; a different med, a different dose. If you and your doctor decide you can go off Wellbutrin, it will have to be in a ramp-down procedure, a little less every day until you are off completely. You do not want to go through cold-turkey withdrawal. I have been taken off of meds in a ramp-down procedure and was still sick as a dog. Cold turkey would probably have killed me. It might not be easy going off of Wellbutrin, but your doctor can help you with the symptoms. Good luck.

Took 2 years to get off venlafaxine counting beads ( for hot flashes) with the help of generic Wellbutrin 150 sr. Now 1 month of 150, 1 month of 150/100, one month of 100, one month of 100/75 ir, down to 75 ir and am sick - nauseous and fatigue. Went back to 100 mg and still sick 3weeks now. Please help. My doctor is no help.

I’m so sick of hearing the doctors can’t help. This is a very serious issue. What can we do? These doctors have got to become educated on these drugs before prescribing.

@mjfalk3. I am so sorry for your experience and your posting helped me in knowing I’m not the only one doctors won’t help. I was taking it so personally and wondering what was I doing wrong. Your comment lessened that feeling just a tiny bit in me.

Hi @mjfalk3, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. Tapering off a drug like Wellbutrin requires patience. I'd like to bring a few other members into this discussion who have experience with Wellbutrin (bupropion) like @jimhd @stephee11 @enska @gamesjr @secretwhitepop.

In the meantime, I wonder if this article might offer anything useful for you:
- How Long Does Withdrawal From Wellbutrin Last? https://www.verywellmind.com/wellbutrin-withdrawal-symptoms-timeline-treatment-4176725

MJ, how are you sleeping?

Thank you for the article but most of all for caring! Today I increased from 100sr to 150sr because I’m so sick. Praying this helps. Sleeping a few hours at a time with Melatonin and 3 drops of Cbd oil. Again, thank you for responding.

May I suggest the book "The Anti-Depressant Solution" by Dr. Joseph Glenmullen. According to the book he has spent 30 years with Harvard Medicail School. He specializes in helping people slowly (and I do stress SLOWLY) discontinue taking drugs like Wellburtin. Please be sure to share information in the book with your doctor!

Thank you for the book recommendation, @vfrifr. You are right to underline "slowly". Do you have first-hand experience with tapering off a medication?

Yes, I am tapering off 25mg of Zoloft. I am one of the special 4% who expereinced severe heart palpitations. The first 3 tapers following doctors instruction were complete and total misery. (One taper put me in the hosptial for a day because I was so weak.) That only got me down to 7 mg. The doctors could not understand why I could not quite cold turkey. One even said it was the nocebo effect and I should discuss the issue with my psychotherapist to discuss just accepting the tapers. I did a considerable amount of reasearch on my own. Finding the book was only one piece of valuable information I found. Once I accepted (which is different that realized) that the tapering how much and when I taper is decided by my body, not the doctor, I relaxed about tapering. Thanks to the book, I was able to determine how much to taper, comfortably! The amount I taper is 0.4mg. My latest taper was from 6.0mg to 5.6mg. I started that taper on August 8th, 2021. Today (August 17th, 2021) my withdrawal effects are barely noticable.