This can include setting an alarm or putting a note where you’ll see it, such as on your bathroom mirror or bedside table. If you’re ever unsure whether to skip your missed dose, ask your doctor or pharmacist. You should take your dose of Wellbutrin XL when you first wake up. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved both Wellbutrin SR and Wellbutrin XL to help treat MDD in adults. This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information. It may take 4 weeks or longer before you feel the full benefit of bupropion.

This article describes the dosages of Wellbutrin, as well as its strengths and how to take it. Ask your pharmacist any questions you have about refilling your prescription. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while taking this medication. Talk to your doctor about the risks and benefits of taking bupropion. Dose will depend on the condition being treated and symptom severity, among other things. RxList does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Related Conditions

  • Controlled clinical trials conducted in normal volunteers, in subjects with a history of multiple drug abuse, and in depressed subjects showed some increase in motor activity and agitation/excitement, often typical of central stimulant activity.
  • Neither Wellbutrin SR nor XL is known to cause withdrawal symptoms or dependence.
  • Bupropion (Aplenzin, Wellbutrin, Wellbutrin SR, Wellbutrin XL) is used to treat depression.
  • Instruct patients to discontinue and not restart WELLBUTRIN if they experience a seizure while on treatment.
  • It is unknown whether the dose of WELLBUTRIN needed for maintenance treatment is identical to the dose that provided an initial response.

Controlled clinical trials conducted in normal volunteers, in subjects with a history of multiple drug abuse, and in depressed subjects showed some increase in motor activity and agitation/excitement, often typical of central stimulant activity. Data from the international bupropion Pregnancy Registry (675 first trimester exposures) and a retrospective cohort study using the United Healthcare database (1,213 first trimester exposures) did not show an increased risk for malformations overall. The Registry was not designed or powered to evaluate specific defects but suggested a possible increase in cardiac malformations. Advise patients to notify their healthcare provider if they become pregnant or intend to become pregnant during therapy with WELLBUTRIN. Advise patients that there is a pregnancy exposure registry that monitors pregnancy outcomes in women exposed to WELLBUTRIN during pregnancy see Use In Specific Populations.

Weight Considerations

If an individual has not stopped smoking after seven weeks, a consultation with the prescribing medical provider should be made. Bupropion may increase pressure inside the eye and cause or worsen a certain type of eye problem called narrow-angle glaucoma, which can lead to blindness. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any of the following symptoms of angle-closure glaucoma.

One study involving 3,362 people found that many lost 5% of their body weight within eight weeks of starting a treatment containing bupropion, with more than half keeping this weight off a year later. Among antidepressants, wellbutrin uses, dosage, side effects bupropion is in a category all its own—it’s the only medication in its class, called norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs). NDRIs boost the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and dopamine.

Using this medicine with any of the following medicines is not recommended. Your doctor may decide not to treat you with this medication or change some of the other medicines you take. There are no adequate studies in women for determining infant risk when using this medication during breastfeeding.

This is the typically recommended dosage of Wellbutrin XL for depression. The prescribed Wellbutrin dosage may vary depending on the condition it’s being used to treat. Notify them if you experience any side effects that may prevent you from taking your medication. Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) are an older class of drugs and typically are only suggested if SSRIs and SNRIs haven’t reduced depression symptoms. TCAs were initially developed for psychotic episodes but were later found to effectively treat depression in some people. WELLBUTRIN is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with a certain type of depression called major depressive disorder.

What should I know about storage and disposal of this medication?

Improvement of psychological symptoms, such as those related to mood, may take a bit longer—or up to eight weeks. Along with its needed effects, a medicine may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention. Do not take other medicines unless they have been discussed with your doctor. This includes prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter OTC) medicines and herbal or vitamin supplements. Ask your healthcare professional how you should dispose of any medicine you do not use.

  • If you’re ever unsure whether to skip your missed dose, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
  • The exact mechanism of the antidepressant action of bupropion is not known but is presumed to be related to noradrenergic and/or dopaminergic mechanisms.
  • One factor that makes Wellbutrin especially unique among antidepressants is that it doesn’t tend to affect sexual function or reduce libido, and may even increase it.
  • After 7 days, your doctor may recommend increasing your daily dose to 300 mg.
  • There is much research that supports the efficacy of Wellbutrin in treating major depressive disorder (MDD).

Wellbutrin During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding

Examples of these formulations/combinations include bupropion, bupropion hydrochloride, and/or bupropion hydrobromide either as a single active chemical or in combination with another (like Contrave). Neither Wellbutrin SR nor XL is known to cause withdrawal symptoms or dependence. With dependence, your body needs the drug to feel like it usually does. A dependence can develop even if you take a drug exactly as prescribed. Withdrawal symptoms can occur when you suddenly stop taking a drug your body is dependent on. Keep a written list of all of the prescription and nonprescription (over-the-counter) medicines, vitamins, minerals, and dietary supplements you are taking.

The developmental and health benefits of breastfeeding should be considered along with the mother’s clinical need for WELLBUTRIN and any potential adverse effects on the breastfed child from WELLBUTRIN or from the underlying maternal condition. Neuropsychiatric adverse events occurred in patients without and with pre-existing psychiatric disease; some patients experienced worsening of their psychiatric illnesses. Observe patients for the occurrence of neuropsychiatric adverse events. In many postmarketing cases, resolution of symptoms after discontinuation of bupropion was reported.

Advise the patient to read the FDA-approved patient labeling (Medication Guide). Stevens-Johnson syndrome, angioedema, exfoliative dermatitis, urticaria, acute generalized exanthematous pustulosis, and drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS). This document does not contain all possible side effects and others may occur. Check with your physician for additional information about side effects. Get medical help right away, if you have any of the symptoms listed above. Stopping abruptly can also lead to discontinuation syndrome, an array of flu-like symptoms such as stomach upset, headache, strange sensations, and muscle aches.

In the rat study there was an increase in nodular proliferative lesions of the liver at doses of 100 to 300 mg/kg/day (approximately 2 to 6 times the MRHD on a mg/m² basis); lower doses were not tested. The question of whether or not such lesions may be precursors of neoplasms of the liver is currently unresolved. Similar liver lesions were not seen in the mouse study, and no increase in malignant tumors of the liver and other organs was seen in either study. Concomitant treatment with these drugs can decrease bupropion and hydroxybupropion exposure.

Do not stop taking Wellbutrin XL without first talking with your doctor. It’s important that your doctor slowly decreases your dose of this medication over time. The active ingredient in Wellbutrin is bupropion hydrochloride. (An active ingredient is what makes a medication work.) Wellbutrin belongs to a drug class called antidepressants. Before you can get a prescription for Wellbutrin online, you’ll need a diagnosis from a licensed doctor or mental health provider like a psychiatrist. Talkspace offers convenient, affordable, and easily accessible online therapy and medication consultations, prescriptions, and management.

The effect was present for at least 7 days after the last dose of bupropion. Concomitant use of bupropion with other drugs metabolized by CYP2D6 has not been formally studied. Instruct patients to take WELLBUTRIN in equally divided doses 3 or 4 times a day, with doses separated by at least 6 hours to minimize the risk of seizure. Instruct patients if they miss a dose, not to take an extra tablet to make up for the missed dose and to take the next tablet at the regular time because of the dose-related risk of seizure.

Many experts believe that depression is caused by an imbalance in the amounts of neurotransmitters that are released. Nerves, in a process referred to as reuptake, may recycle released neurotransmitters. If you’re taking Wellbutrin SR, you’ll usually take your dose twice per day. Your doctor or pharmacist will typically recommend taking your doses of Wellbutrin SR at least 8 hours apart. For SAD, Wellbutrin XL is meant to be a short-term treatment during certain times of the year.