Starting Bupropion SR

Hi. My name is Dani. I am starting Bupropion SR tomorrow and I was just wondering if others could share their experiences, their doses, side effects they experience.....really anything you would like to share about this drug would be really appreciated. And I do know everyone is different. I am just curious to see how well this works with others. Thanks in advance!

Bupropion is generic Wellbutrin, right? I've been on Wellbutrin XL for a few years now, and it's honestly the best antidepressant I've ever taken. I tried almost all the SSRIs and none of them had any affect whatsoever, but Wellbutrin (which isn't an SSRI) is amazing; it completely changed my life. For the first 2 or 3 years, I took 300mg, but recently the dosage was raised to 450.

My only advice is, if you can, try to get brand name Wellbutrin. I was on Bupropion for a month last year, and it's crap. It was like taking a placebo pill, and my life was hell until I finally figured out that the problem was the change from Wellbutrin to Bupropion. After I switched back to brand name the next month, I was fine. I've heard a lot of people had the same problem with generic Bupropion. Unfortunately, Wellbutrin isn't covered by insurance anymore, so now I have a $50 copay. It's worth it, though. Seriously, Wellbutrin is amazing, especially for people who are worried about weight/sexual side-effects, or haven't had any success with SSRIs.

Good luck!

Thanks for the information.

I take 2 150mg Wellbutrin XL a day (+ a little prozak ) and it works nicely. I've taken several variations of Wellbutrin including Bupropion - and yeah...it sucked. If you have the option (brand names are always more expensive) I'd definately try to switch to Wellbutrin. What level is your depression at (if you know and want to share that is - heh)? If you are taking it for a mild-moderate the bupropion might be fine for you.

I take 300 mg of Bupropion SR daily (2 100 mg tabs in the morning and 1 in the afternoon). I've never tried the name brand Wellbutrin due to insurance reasons, but the generic is working great for me right now. I increased slowly from 75mg per day to 300mg over a course of six months. Most people do it a lot faster, but I had a lot of anxiety issues with it at first. Those are gone now though. Here is a link to a great forum that discusses Wellbutrin: http://www.depressionforums.org/forums/Wellbu trin-also-marketed-Zyban-and-f56.html

The people on there are great and there is a wealth of good information.

I'm taking Bupropion too. I was on Wellbutrin xl, switched to the generic. I really didn't like it at first, but then my mail-order pharm. started sending me Bupropion made by a different lab, and it was way better. I heard a story on the radio shortly after that said one lab was making a sustained-release tablet that was actually releasing all of the drug pretty much at once. I think that's what I was getting, because the new one is working great for me. 

Good luck! 

I take Buproprion XL.  Sometimes the pharmacy will order Wellbutrin instead, but it's no matter, they are both fine, but I prefer the generic.

I also had bad reactions to the SR form, I reacted really strongly to it.  I couldn't sleep, I was really restless and twitchy, and it felt like I couldn't shut my brain off.  I had to switch back to the XL.  My HMO wouldn't cover it at first so my doctor gave me what's called an "exception" so the pharmacy was forced to give me the med at my regular $10 copay price.

Thank you all so far for all the advice and information. I will give that forum a try. I also do not know for sure the amount of depression I have??? I would say mild to moderate BUT I'm no doctor! xD

The biggest difference between mild-moderate and major is the thoughts of suicide - mild-moderate may have them on a really bad day, but for the most part its just dealing with all the other issues depression brings.  Major deals with thoughts of suicide on a pretty regular basis and might have even attempted it once or twice.  These are also the people that 'cut'.  If you're guessing mild to moderate I'd guess you're probably right in which case the buproprion might work find for you.  I'd say to give it a shot and see what happens.

The main question is, can you function? Go to school and work, get things done without having to force yourself? If so, and if suicide isn't a constant/daily issue, then I agree with cryllia. To me, the ability or inability to function is what separates mild depression from severe. If yours really is mild-moderate, then Bupropion might work for you.

Like you said, though, everyone is different, and no medication will affect every single person the same way. I tend to be pretty med resistant, so maybe you'll have better luck with Bupropion than I did. I guess you won't know until you try for yourself. If you find that it's not helping as much as it should, you can always ask about switching to brand name. Let us know how it goes! :)