Wellbutrin Is No Longer Working | Depression
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I've been taking Wellbutrin for 7 years. Over the years my doctor has increased the dosage to combat the loss of effectiveness due to tolerance. Now, it no longer works. I'm bedridden, have stopped working and have trouble with activities that involve movement, like washing dishes. Doing laundry is a huge accomplishment. Anyway, I've been on imipramine for 7 years, a tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) of the dibenzazepine group. Anyway, I'm curious about Selegiline, an MAO-B, (its also calledAnipryl, L-deprenyl, Eldepryl, Emsam, Zelapar). Has anyone tried it to boost Wellbutrin? How about something to boost acetylcholine? How about COMT? It's critical that I get something like Wellbutrin to work. What is the standard replacement? What are some on the synergetic boosters? Here is what I've tried that didn't work: Abilify (started shopping and went into debt), Effexor, NUVIGIL (armodafinil) and Geodon (ziprasidone). All of these had severe negative side effects. Anyway, I'm looking for some approachs to that might help dealing with severe depression that was successfully managed with Wellbutrun. I really to function and be able to work again.

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My experience with wellbutrin:

I used to research a lot in different forums and never found a solution to the problems i was facing so thought of sharing my experience..

As most of you might know there are some generics out there in the market and then there is the brand.i had tried some four different generics (dont remember the manufacturer's name) and none of them work, same is the case with the brand name from canada. I normally try for 8 weeks before making a decision to change manufacturers to make sure whether the side effects that i notice in the beginning subside after couple of weeks or if the
drug gets effective after some time.

Finally i realized that the only thing that works is brand name wellbutrin manufactured by valeant for united states. The reason i say "for united states" is because i believe its manufactured at canada for supply to united states and canada but the canada supply is total crap.They look exactly the same except for the color of the marking, its black for US and orange for canada.

Brand name wellbutrin:

Wellbutrin xl comes in 150 and 300mg. I started with 150 and the five things that i noticed that improve with 150

- Mood
- Motivation
- Energy
- Focus
- Libido

And the side effects that i had initially were dry mouth and difficulty sleeping if taken in the evening. These side effects subsided after a couple of days. After some 6 months, my doctor wanted to increase the dose to 300mg as he says that's the normal dose. I was reluctant as i was fine with 150 but with went ahead with the doctor's suggestion and i have noticed some improvement:

- Mood
- Motivation
- Energy
- Focus
- Libido
- Lose in Appetite and thereby reduced weight (i believe this works for people who overeat).

In the case of 300mg, i initially tried one dose of 300mg in the morning and was feeling drugged. Then i tried two 150's in the morning, this was better than one dose of 300mg but was still not very happy. Then i tried two doses of 150, one in the morning and one in the evening at around 4 and it was perfect. One side effect that i noticed was the tiredness throughout the day. This side effect subsided after 2 weeks.

Brand wellbutrin xl not working anymore:

This happened to me twice and looking at the forums i realize there are three options...

1. Talk to doctor and increase the dose.
2. Change the medication
3. Medical vacation- try the same med after a gap and hope that it works.

But i was sure that it was some problem with the medication, called up the manufacturer, gave the lot number printed on the bottle and got a new supply shipped and both times it worked. This made me realize that there can be a bad lot even with the brand.

The biggest challenge, this medication is unaffordable. The cost of the brand is somewhere around 1600$ for a month's supply without insurance. Some of the methods to make it affordable are:

1. Get the discount card from the manufacturer and the price comes down to 5$. The problem here is that this card acts as a secondary insurance and you will need a primary insurance that will not pay for the brand name. The pharmacist can help you on this.

2. Get a cheap insurance that negotiates and brings down the price to point of sale. This means that you will get the drug at the price that the distributor sells at. The problem here is this price will still be somewhere around 400$ a month.

3. The hospitals dont keep the drug post the expiry date, so you can get it cheap/free with the letter/prescription from the doctor. The medication will work well past the expiry date. You can talk to your doctor.

I hope that my experience will help someone facing a similar situation.

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Hello! I came across this forum when my Wellbutrin (bupropion) 450XL a day wasn't working! Yes, 450XL. I am a 30 year old full-time college student and CPhT (Licensed Pharmacy Technician) of 6 years. I was on wellbutrin 150XL and then bumped up to the wellbutrin 300XL once daily to stop smoking. Worked perfectly and lost weight! But I am a student and the wellbutrin 300XL made me feel a little too space to remain organized with 5 classes and work. So I went back down to 150XL and I started taking adderall (don't do that) so I could get through school but that helped very very little. I was slowly going back to the "blah-ness" I had before. So I started taking the 300XL once daily again. Well it didn't work it's magic this time and I couldn't loose the weight again. I stopped smoking but I still had the blues and didn't really enjoy anything. It was terrible!! So........I went to see my doctor. He did blood work and I had almost no Vitamin D and I was Folic Acid deficient. My doctor read the results and put me on Deplin, a medical food aka vitamin if you research. IT SAVED MY LIFE! I take Deplin 15mg, Methyl B-12, Vitamin D and Wellbutrin 300XL. Amazing! I lost my weight again and I'm back to the "happy place" I had when I started the wellbutrin all together! My body wasn't absorbing the nutrition I needed to metabolize and absorb the Wellbutrin. I encourage everyone to talk to their doctor about Deplin! There is a difference between B-12 and Methyl B-12. The chemical structure is different. I take the Methyl B-12 with the Deplin because if you are Vitamin B deficient the Deplin won't do much at all. I did a lot of research before taking anything but I'm SOOOO glad I gave it a shot! Research Deplin (formulated Folic Acid) and Methyl B-12!!

I hope this helps! Good luck to you all!

-- Oh and if anyone has anxiety research NAC (N-Acetylcysteine) It is a vitamin that relieves anxiety and stress. They even have time-released now. My husband started taking Wellbutrin 300XL he really benefited from it but he then started to have anxiety so he now takes a time-released NAC in the morning with his Wellbutrin 300XL. He reports no more anxiety :)

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I am feeling the exact same way right now. I just increased to 450 mg of generic Wellbutrin XL after being in 300 mg for the past 6 months and I feel no difference... totally blah and lifeless, no pleasure, don't feel like doing anything. Not happy, not overly sad, just feeling nothing. I'm looking for something to switch to myself, I don't want to take anymore SSRIs, so hang in there, I know how you feel right now

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I know exactly how you feel. I am at 300mg and I feel like a zombie, can't get out of bed, no motivation for life. Have you tried any of the things you asked about in your post?

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@original thread starter,

Post #1 has a good point about potentially serious side effects you'd have to watch out for if you plan on taking "any" of these medications for an extended period of time. However one suggestion I have would be to ask your doctor about trying natural remedies for "adjunctive therapy" (such as St. John's Wort, 5 HTP, other OTC homeopathic alternatives) that have less risk factors than most prescription drugs. I believe if taken properly, something of that nature may synergistically improve the effects of Wellbutrin. Although you'd have to have your doctor tailor your dosing so as to not run the risk of drug interactions, since additive effects of increased serotonin levels could lead to serotonin syndrome.

I haven't tried Selegiline or the other methods you questioned, but if you're open to trying different things, maybe something natural with less side effects would be more up your alley?

Hope this helps!

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HI all I just want people to know that Wellbutrin has caused me a great deal of health issues . I had gotten irritable bowel colitis and my eye sight is gone to the wolfs. I complained of blurred vision for years and finally stopped it when My stomach issues became so bad. Beware. It also caused me to lose some of my hair and weight loss

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