Wellbutrin Experiences

Anyone have experience with wellbutrin? Curious about it since I read it's one of the anti-depressants less likely to cause mania since it targets dopamine rather than serotonin.

I've been taking it for years with no problems

YES!! I've been taking it for around 2 months. It has been a miracle for me. For the first 2 to 3 weeks I felt worse and almost gave up on it. But I gradually began to improve. I take 150 mg XL. My pdoc told me I could increase to 300mg, but I chose not to because it is working at 150 mg and I don't want to risk increasing my anxiety (Wellbutrin doesn't usually help anxiety, and sometimes makes it worse) and I also don't want to risk switching to a manic episode. It truly helped lift the worst depression of my life, and gave me motivation to be more active and get things done rather than lie in bed or on the couch depressed all day, which makes depression even worse. We all know this of course, but in the midst of crushing depression, motivation to do anything is non-existent. I know Wellbutrin isn't for everyone, but for me it's made all the difference.

I’m taking Wellbutrin at the moment and have been on it for a few months. It didn’t do much for me at 150mg so after a few weeks I increased to 300mg. My depression wasn’t getting any better a few weeks later, so my pdoc maxed out the dose at 450mg.

My depression is really bad and I only feel a small difference. My motivation didn’t improve but my thoughts became a little less negative. I noticed that I would think less often of the past and think more about present. Wellbutrin also reduced my body pains from the depression by about 80% which is nice.

I was on it about 6 years ago and ended up hypomanic. It’s actually how I got my bipolar diagnosis. But at that time I wasn’t taking anything else so there was nothing to stop me from going hypomanic.

I’m on Latuda now which my pdoc says protects against hypomania that Wellbutrin could cause for me.

I wouldn’t call Wellbutrin a winner for me because I only partially responded to it plus I’m still depressed. But the good thing is there are few side effects. The most bothersome side effect is constant clenching of my teeth. And of course there’s dry mouth. But both side effects are manageable.

I take it as early as I can in the day to ensure it wears off by the evening so that I can sleep. Most days I take it at 6am but sometimes I take it as late as 10am and am still able to sleep at night.

Wellbutrin is worth a try but I suggest you track your moods daily and track your sleep to help catch hypomania early.

It lifted my depression in a matter of hours and catapulted me into hypomania. Be careful.

Side note, my psychiatrist said I should never take any antidepressant for any reason and to list them as a drug allergy, so my reaction may have been unusual. I have BP1 and tend towards mania.

Thanks for all the responses. Good to know it has helped with depression since that’s what I’m really struggling with lately. If it causes hypomania, I can always add something else on to combat those effects.