Has anyone lost weight with Bupropion SR

Hello, I just have a quick question. I've been on the Anti-Deppressant Effexor XR for about 2-3 years and my doctor and I have decided  to try me on Wellbutrin. She told me it may curb some of my appettite, and the more I read it aids in weight loss. I was curious if anyone has had good or bad experiences with it!
       &nb sp;               &nb sp;                Take Care,
       &nb sp;               &nb sp;               &nb sp;     Erin

I've been on Wellbutrin SR for a year now for depression. I started off at 50 mg but throughout the year I have gradually increased it to 300 mg a day.  During this past year I have lost 60 lbs. But I also got all the other side effects as well, and I mean all of them! Ringing in the ears, nausea, insomnia, dizziness, dry mouth and of course weight loss. It takes me a couple of weeks to get used to it whenever they increase the dosage so after that most of the side effects seem to go away.  However, I dont think Wellbutrin should be taken just for its weight loss effects.  Taking drugs to lose weight isnt the answer.

hey,

WB XLmade me lose tons of weight, like, 3-4 lbs weekly.  I wasn't working out, and my appetite was LOW, I had to make myself eat.  I was also able to stop biting my nails, at 28 yrs old...it was great...total habit kicker.  If I don't take the WB on time daily, then it mucks up these effects.  so far, Ive lost 48 lbs...weight gained from depresion and ZOLOFT!  My psych wouldn't listen to me, I told her Zoloft made me gain, she suggested I 'eat better and excercise' which I WAS doing.  So, my family MD listened to me, and voila...the WB also helps me so much with mood.  the bad, it made my hair fall out more than normal, so i downed the dose (450 back to 150 daily) and no bad effect on mood, less hair loss.  Insomnia if I take it too late in the day too.  All in all, I love it, it's helped me TONS!

the probs I had with Effexor were-- sex drive GONE and major jitters.  the lack of sex drive made me stop after 1 week, it was a side effect I could not live with.

I've been on lexapro and Effexor - both were awful as far as side effects go. I've been on Wellbutrin for about 3 months and have dropped 15 pounds. Wellbutrin has also given me the energy to begin exercising again and I don't eat as much either - where I never had that "full' feeling before I have it now. I'm much more focused and my moods are much more even now

I was one of those people in the clinical trials wellbutrin for weight loss. I lost 30 lbs in 2 months. I had no cravings for anything. They did mix it with another drug though. I still got hungry put was easily able to follow my eating plan because of the no cravings.

Original Post by escorp:

Hello, I just have a quick question. I've been on the Anti-Deppressant Effexor XR for about 2-3 years and my doctor and I have decided  to try me on Wellbutrin. She told me it may curb some of my appettite, and the more I read it aids in weight loss. I was curious if anyone has had good or bad experiences with it!
       &nb sp;               &nb sp;                Take Care,
       &nb sp;               &nb sp;               &nb sp;     Erin

 

 

Hello, I have been on bupropion 150 mgs per day (along with Zoloft) since September 2010. To date, I have lost 35 lbs. I believe it is the Bupropion that keeps me constantly full and nauseated with the thought or smells of most foods. I used to love meat, especially beef, but can not stand the sight or smell of it. I have to wear a mask the few times that I cook it for my family. In fact, I can't stomach most foods now. There are a few things that I can eat without feeling nauseated. I eat tremendous amounts of chocolate (when I say tremendous, I mean I eat some almost everyday-not tons in a sitting). For some odd reason, I crave it all the time (whereas before, I would only crave it approximately 3-4 days per month). I love yogurt now, whereas before, I would only have it in smoothies. I am craving fruits, whereas, I hardly ate them before. I eat brown rice and broccoli almost daily. I have always loved broccoli, but didn't eat rice that much. I also crave cheese and hot peppers on most days. That is about all that I can eat without getting nauseated, and can only eat small amounts because I already feel mostly full (but I have to eat something) or get very full after only a small amount. I have gone from a size 14-16 to a size 8-10. I am still losing weight but it is an average of 8 oz per week. I lost most of it during the first 3 months.

I am thinking it is the Bupropion because that is the only thing that I have done or taken differently. I used to take Zoloft a few years back and it made me gain weight, so I don't think that me starting that again has anything to do with it.

Sorry for the long post and hope it helps.

Hi, I meet my doctor tomorrow because this weight gain has to stop. I was taking Effexor XR 150 since 2006 but then my doctor said to try Pristic and that one is way worse for weight gain. In total since I started taking AD's I gained 30lbs. I've been craving sweets way too much, especially chocolat. I just stopped drinking diet pops because I heard it may trick your mind and leave you craving sweets after. Hopefully my doctor agrees with me so I can try Wellbutrin as well.

I've been on bupropion SR for about a month now...it has seriously curbed my appetite. Does make me a little jittery, and I actually have to remind myself to eat. This month in total I've lost 10 lbs. still losing. VERY HAPPY WITH THESE MEDS!

Original Post by sgenere11:

Hi, I meet my doctor tomorrow because this weight gain has to stop. I was taking Effexor XR 150 since 2006 but then my doctor said to try Pristic and that one is way worse for weight gain. In total since I started taking AD's I gained 30lbs. I've been craving sweets way too much, especially chocolat. I just stopped drinking diet pops because I heard it may trick your mind and leave you craving sweets after. Hopefully my doctor agrees with me so I can try Wellbutrin as well.

Pristiq targets the serotonin and norepinephrine neurotransmitters. Wellbutrin shoots at dopamine. If you have responded well to Effexor/Pristiq mood-wise then this won't necessarily be translated to Wellbutrin, depending on where your brain is deficient. It could be lacking in all three neurotransmitters, or moreso in one or two. This is why different dosages and combinations work for different people. Just don't think that you're going to be able to get on Wellbutrin and everything will be a-okay because it's an antidepressant. It might work like that, but if dopamine isn't your problem then it probably won't. If it doesn't you need not toss it in entirely, but you may be able to trial it in combination with an SSRI (if such drugs worked well for you in the past). Just want you to keep your options open.

I apologize in advance for this being a long answer, but I hope it may help others to know my story, and take that info into consideration for themselves.

Wellbutrin is the third anti-depressant I've been on in my life. I started w/ Celexa a few years ago, which worked okay at first. But then I went off of it (I was out of work & had no insurance), went back on when I had money again, and it actually made my depression turn to a suicide-level rate. Bad idea. So then I was put on Cymbalta, which worked very well. Since it was too expensive at the time, I had not been prescribed in the past. A little history- besides depression, I suffer from moderate anxiety, morbid obesity & fibromyalgia (all partly genetic & partly environmental). The fibromyalgia was so bad that I thought I'd have to go on disability. It cost me a job & made it almost impossible to leave my house, the pain was so horrible. My life grinded to a halt for two years. The Cymbalta helped my fibromyalgia pain to a great degree, especially for the first year or so. Along w/ a few other prescriptions, it gave me some semblence of my old life back.

Well, now I've been on Wellbutrin for a month-and-a-half, first month at 150 mg once a day dosage, second month double that. I haven't noticed any weight loss from it. Here is my reason for the change from Cymbalta to Wellbutrin: I am on 300 mg of Lyrica a day, and have been for approx. four months. After going from 420 lbs. to 335 lbs (still fat, but down two dress sizes & much slimmer throughout my entire body) & keeping the weight off for over three years, Lyrica made me put on 35 lbs in less than two months, despite no change in my diet or activity levels. I am so unhappy over that, because otherwise, Lyrica is a miracle drug. That high dose of Lyrica was the ONLY thing that truly made the pain in my trigger points go away- instead of just taking my mind off of the pain temporarily. I have kept track of my eating, actually eating less than ever, and started exercising more, to no avail. My wonderful PCP is not concerned about my weight, because he knows that I eat healthy, get regular exercise, don't smoke, drink or do any recreational drugs, and take supplements like omegas & glucosamine. But since I was worried about the weight, he prescribed Wellbutrin for me, and told me to go off of the Cymbalta.

Taking 150 mg a day of Wellbutrin seemed all right in terms of sleep patterns, but it seemed to worsen my anxiety level & no weight loss occurred. Then I was in a bad car accident two weeks ago, and he upped my Wellbutrin dosage to 300 mg, in the hope that my emotional trauma from the accident (which gave me a head injury, forced me to be flown via helicopter to the nearest shock trauma center for treatment, and I was not the party at fault) would be managable enough for me to work through.

Ever since I went to 300 mg, I have suffered insomnia uncured by Nyquil, Excedrin PM, Advil PM, Valium, Cyclobenzaprine or Lyrica (even w/ all the above combined- no joke). I am up until at least two in the morning, and considering I have to get up at seven a.m. for work, that is unacceptable. Wellbutrin hasn't done a thing to curb my appetite, and I definitely haven't lost any weight. If anything, because I'm up late at night now, I end up hungry & eating, when with Cymbalta in my system, I was fast asleep. My clothes feel about the same as before I started on it. I'm afraid to get on the scale. My energy level is higher, but so is my pain level since I quit the Cymbalta. I am not & have never been prone to insomnia. If anything, I like to nap for two hours at a stretch in the late afternoon & can easily sleep nine hours a night, having no problem falling asleep in the first place. I have a tough German stomach & can drink coffee, tea or cola right before bed & be snoozing in fifteen minutes. So for a medicines to be THAT strong for me is just utterly insane. If I was dropping pounds like no tomorrow, perhaps it'd be worth that side effect. But I have lost not a pound or an inch. I'm going to go off of both the Lyrica (though I want to sob thinking about doing that) & the Wellbutrin, go back on the Cymbalta, and pray that I can lose the weight I gained, and then some.

 

 

 

 

Hey! What perfect timing to see this thread. I'm about to get my supply of Bupropion SR tomorrow afternoon 150mg/day. I have tried it last year and liked it but had unwanted side effects, so i'm tying it again now and hoping the side effects don't occur again.

Last year i experienced the following:

• hair color change
• increased sex drive
• better self control/decision making
• no binging (yes)
• energy
• mild headache
• hair loss* Major

so as you can see, the meds was perfect, except for the last one. I'm really hoping that doesn't happen again. WISH ME LUCK. if anyone has any advice let me know :)

i'm on wellbutrin and i see no effect with weight. 

the drug alone never caused my weight to decrease or increase.

I am new to this forum, so I just picked someone's post and replied to it. My questions are: I have been taking 20mg celexa (citalopram) and I gained about 20 lbs. I am a little bit overweight and before I started the Celexa I only had about 20 lbs to lose before I reached my coal. Now I have about 38 lbs to lose. I just started Wellbutrin SR 150mg today. I was wondering if anyone else had tried this "mix" and if they lost weight on it, etc. It is really hard for me to lose weight. In fact, the only times I really lost a substantial amount of weight was when I was pregnant. I would lose 20+ pounds easily. But now, after my 3rd child who will be 2 in September, I am at my heaviest weight ever and even though I'm not fat yet I really don't want to be. My neuro prescribed Depacote for me because I have unexplained sudden headaches similar to migraines only with no warning. The problem I have seen with Depacote is the weight gain. I have only take one dose (500mg) but because I already have anxiety/depression/ptsd, I really don't need to worry about more weight gain when I am trying so hard to lose weight. I don't want to be model-thin or anorexic (I am 5' 11", female, 26 yrs old) but also don't want to be at an unhealthy weight. I loved the way my body looked when I first got out of the Army, but that was before I had kids. So I probably won't see that body again. I would like to be comfortable in my own skin, and righ now that isn't the case. Do any of you think that wellbutrin will help me lose weight at the current dosage of 150mg? I realize that nne of you are doctors, but you all have personal experience with wellbutrin, so I think your input will be more helpful than a doctor who only has head knowledge and has never taken it. I look forward to hearing replies to this soon. Thank you!!

staypositive2011 - I know how you feel about wanting to lose weight and feeling comfortable in your own skin. I'm going through the same thing you are. I have never taken Celexia. I've experimented with Adderall and Wellbutrin a few times within the past year and a half. Adderall did absolutely nothing for my weight. If anything it just made me soft and flabby and disturbed my adernal glands.

I took Wellbutrin the beginning of last year 90mg (budeprion, bupropian, and the brand name) (sorry if i spelled those wrong) and it made my hair fall out like crazy. I felt good the first week and then some sort of anxiety happend. I can't say it will happen to you because in fact when I took it again last week to ~give it another shot~ it made me feel tremendously happy and at ease (i took the generic kind at 150MG) but the hair thing was happening AGAIN so I stopped it yesterday. It didn't decrease my appetite at all, but I wasn't stressing about calories or my weight as much which led me not to be tempted to binge eat. Only when I realized that I won't be taking the wellbutrin anymore because of the hair problem did I have a mini binge of 20 coookies. Wellbutrin helped me snap out of my obsessive thoughts about myself and realize things from outside of the box. But as with numbing appetite..no. it didnt happen to me. Increased energy, not really.. maybe a little tiny bit of energy. But I just felt less on edge.
I actually noticed that it made me a lil bloated and gain weight which is another reason why I stopped it. I know I only gave it 5 days but from my past experience last year I felt myself going down the same path.. so now I'm on NOTHING and just taking the old fashion exercise route.  :) :(

I have tremendous problems with sleep and i fear thats keeping me from losing weight and being happy during the day because interrupted little hours of sleep so I'm gonna try taking 1500mg of Tryptaphan for sleep/depression.
I really hope it works!
If anyone knows anything about that please PM me or reply to this.

Hope I helped a little, but also...don't let everything you read on these forums get to you because it truly is different for everyone.
When I was reading about side effects of different meds and experimented with them I always was waiting to feel the side effect that I read.... and sometimes might have tricked myself into thinking I felt it. So pay attention to YOUR body and not wat ppl wrote on the forums. Im just telling you what my experience was with it.

Take care! and good luck!

morena1987 - wow. I am so glad you replied to my questions. I am sorry that you have had such a rough time on the wellbutrin. I started it a couple weeks ago, the generic brand at 15omg. So far no bd effects. I have more energy in the mornings and I just "feel" better mentally and emotionally. Lately though the effects have been wearing off faster so I am thinking of talking to my dr and asking to go up to the 300mg that is the reg adult dose as the 150mg is usually used for people 16 and under. I have also read report of people who had problems at the low dosage who actually had better luck at the higher dose. Maybe you should ask your dr to let you try a higher dose of it and see if the effects are different.

 I agree that everyone reacts differently to meds and I was/am the same way about reading the side effects. So now, other than to research a med before I start something new, I don't do too much research until I start having problems. That way I know that any side effects I read about that sound similar are truly ones I am experienceing and not just psychosematic. lol

As far as sleeping goes, how about taking somethig natural like: Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Extra Tea sweetened with honey (inhale the steam for a few minutes and then slowly drink the tea at a very warm temperature.) and taking one or two valerian herbal capsules before bed. The tea alone helps me alot as I wrestle with insomnia fairly frequently. I would hesitate about continuing to ingest different commercial meds as they have far more harmful chemicals in them than the herbs do. Of course, no regular doctor will suggest that because they are trained to give medicines based on scientific research (HA), etc......BUT I know that those 2 things have helped me.

If you are interested in any herbal-type remedies for various problems, please message me or reply to this post as I might know of something that will help.

Virginia - Herbalist and Soapmaker

Nope!  Don't rely on it to do anything except help stabilize your mood.  I have Bipolar and have been taking it for years.  You are very smart in checking with your doctor before he/she prescribes meds to you because most of them cause weight gain.  Don't get talked into any of them (i.e. Geodon).  There are too many other choices with less side effects.

Hi,

I just joined this website and not sure if I'm replying to Morena or am adding a post (what I want to do) but here goes:

My dr put me on generic Wellbutrin today (150mg of the XL) and after reading on several message boards about the possible side effect of hair loss, I am hesitant to start taking it.  I have mild depression and need to lose about 70lbs.  BUT, I have very fine,thin,staight hair and any loss would be highly noticable!  My question to the people here who have noticed any hair loss while on this medicine is: Did your hair come back after getting off the medicine?  Or was this a permanent loss? 

Thank you in advance for any help,

Paula

I lost almost 20lbs and it reignited my eating disorder. I was already underweight when I started losing weight. It took my appetite away completely and the weight just fell off. I liked this medication but I also am kind of angry with what happened to my body. I didn't need to lost the weight so for me, this was a bad thing.

I didn't notice hair loss like some of the other posters but I did have some drowsiness and mood changes (not in a good way). I got very anxious and had a difficult time dealing with it. I was recently switched to prozac and I am finding that it is a much better medication for me.

Good luck!

Email me at jaysthebeast@gmail.com