However, elderly patients may be more sensitive to the effects of this medicine and are more likely to have age-related kidney or liver problems, which may require caution and an adjustment in the dose for patients receiving bupropion. You will need to talk to a provider to determine what types of medications are safe for you. In general, these types of antidepressants are safe for most people.
A Visual Guide to Generalized Anxiety Disorder
While taking Wellbutrin, your doctor will check for signs or symptoms of suicidal thoughts or behaviors. If you have suicidal thoughts or behaviors substance use amphetamines or any symptoms of worsening depression, call your doctor immediately. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors can also be a symptom of depression.
Usual Adult Bupropion Dose for Depression:
It is very important to talk with the doctor about the risks and benefits of antidepressant medication, even if treatment is not for a mental/mood condition. WELLBUTRIN is not approved for smoking cessation treatment; however, it contains the same active ingredient as the smoking cessation medication ZYBAN. Serious neuropsychiatric adverse events have been reported in patients taking bupropion for smoking cessation.
How to take bupropion
A double dose can increase your risk of serious side effects such as seizures. Oxidation of the bupropion side chain results in the formation of a glycine conjugate of metachlorobenzoic acid, which is then excreted as the major urinary metabolite. Following oral administration of 200 mg of 14C-bupropion in humans, 87% and 10% of the radioactive dose were recovered in the urine and feces, respectively.
- To help you remember, take it at the same times each day.
- People living with major depressive disorder (MDD) who wish to become pregnant face important decisions, each with risks and benefits as they relate to how the illness, medications, and risks to the fetus may interact.
- Your doctor will monitor you for signs and symptoms of severe side effects.
- You should always alert your provider of any side effects you are experiencing.
- Oxidation of the bupropion side chain results in the formation of a glycine conjugate of metachlorobenzoic acid, which is then excreted as the major urinary metabolite.
The pupillary dilation that occurs following use of many antidepressant drugs including WELLBUTRIN may trigger an angle-closure attack in a patient with anatomically narrow angles who does not have a patent iridectomy. It is generally agreed that acute episodes of depression require several months or longer of antidepressant drug treatment beyond the response in the acute episode. It is unknown whether the dose of WELLBUTRIN needed for maintenance treatment is identical to the dose that provided an initial response. Periodically reassess the need for maintenance treatment and the appropriate dose for such treatment.
Digestive side effects, including constipation and nausea
If bupropion is used concomitantly with a CYP inducer, it may be necessary to increase the dose of bupropion, but the maximum recommended dose should not be exceeded. Table 2 summarizes the adverse reactions that occurred in placebo-controlled trials at an incidence of at least 1% of subjects receiving WELLBUTRIN and more frequently in these subjects than in the placebo group. Wellbutrin may cause seizures, especially in people with certain medical conditions or when using certain drugs. Call your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects.
Generic drugs usually cost less than the brand-name version. In some cases, they may not be available in every strength or form as the brand-name drug. Do not flush medications down the toilet or pour them into a drain unless instructed to do alcoholic eyes so. Properly discard this product when it is expired or no longer needed. This drug passes into breast milk and may have undesirable effects on a nursing infant. If you notice other effects not listed above, contact your doctor or pharmacist.
Monitor plasma digoxin levels in patients treated concomitantly with WELLBUTRIN and digoxin [see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY]. Conversely, at least 14 days should be allowed after stopping WELLBUTRIN before starting an MAOI antidepressant [see CONTRAINDICATIONS, DRUG INTERACTIONS]. The easiest way to lookup drug information, identify pills, check interactions and set up your own personal medication records. Remember, keep this and all other medicines out of the reach of children, never share your medicines with others, and use Wellbutrin only for the indication prescribed.
Decreased fetal weights were observed at 50 mg per kg and greater. Studies have shown that antidepressant drugs can increase the risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in certain people. Children, adolescents, and young adults ages 18 to 24 years had the highest risk compared with older age groups. Wellbutrin is not prescribed for people younger than 18 years old. To reduce your risk of side effects, your doctor may direct you to start this medication at a low dose and gradually increase your dose. Do not increase your dose or use this drug more often or for longer than prescribed.
And the maximum dosage of Wellbutrin XL is 450 mg per day. Taking a dose higher than the recommended maximum can cause serious side effects. To begin treatment, your doctor usually prescribes 150 milligrams (mg) per day. This is the starting dose of Wellbutrin SR and XL to treat major depressive disorder (MDD) or to prevent seasonal affective disorder (SAD).
Your doctor may want your eyes be checked by an ophthalmologist (eye doctor). This medicine may cause some people to have a false sense of wellbeing, or to become drowsy, dizzy, or less alert than they are normally. Make sure you know how you react to this medicine before you drive, use machines, or do anything else that could be dangerous if you are drowsy, dizzy, or less alert. Your blood pressure might get too high while you are using this medicine. If you think your blood pressure is too high, call your doctor right away.
If you provide a urine sample for drug screening, tell the laboratory staff you are taking this medicine. If you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, do not take tablets too close to bedtime. Bupropion is thought to work by changing levels of certain chemicals in the brain, including noradrenaline and dopamine. RxList does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
The clinician should, nevertheless, be aware of the possibility of a drug interaction with such use [see CONTRAINDICATIONS, DRUG INTERACTIONS]. WELLBUTRIN (bupropion hydrochloride) is indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD), as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM). Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not intended for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
If you’d like more information on weight loss options, talk with your doctor. Your doctor also may consider lowering the dosage for people with kidney problems or mild liver problems. If you have kidney problems how to help an alcoholic parent or mild liver problems, talk with your doctor. To develop a local consensus to guide medical practitioners and psychiatrists on the use of bupropion in different psychiatric conditions in Hong Kong.
Tell your doctor about all medicines you use, and those you start or stop using during your treatment. You may have a higher risk of seizures if you use certain other medicines while taking bupropion. Talk to your healthcare provider if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant about the risk to your unborn baby. It is not known whether this medicine will harm an unborn baby.
Also tell your doctor if you have sudden or strong feelings, such as feeling nervous, angry, restless, violent, or scared. If you or your caregiver notice any of these side effects, tell your doctor right away. Do not take bupropion with a monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitor (eg, isocarboxazid [Marplan®], linezolid [Zyvox®], phenelzine [Nardil®], selegiline [Eldepryl®], tranylcypromine [Parnate®]).
Considered in aggregate, these data demonstrate that bupropion inhibits the reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine in humans without affecting release or transport of other neurotransmitters and without binding to other neurotransmitter receptors. This pharmacologic profile is unique to bupropion, which is currently the only available NDRI shown to increase dopamine neurotransmission in both the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex. Medicines that interact with Wellbutrin may either decrease its effect, affect how long it works, increase side effects, or have less of an effect when taken with Wellbutrin. An interaction between two medications does not always mean that you must stop taking one of the medications; however, sometimes it does. Speak to your doctor about how drug interactions should be managed.
The times to peak concentrations for the erythrohydrobupropion and threohydrobupropion metabolites are similar to that of the hydroxybupropion metabolite. However, their elimination half‑lives are longer, 33 (±10) and 37 (±13) hours, respectively, and steady‑state AUCs are 1.5 and 7 times that of bupropion, respectively. The average daily infant exposure (assuming 150 mL per kg daily consumption) to bupropion and its active metabolites was 2% of the maternal weight-adjusted dose. Exercise caution when WELLBUTRIN is administered to a nursing woman. When rats were administered bupropion at oral doses of up to 300 mg per kg per day (approximately 7 times the MRHD on a mg per m2 basis) prior to mating and throughout pregnancy and lactation, there were no apparent adverse effects on offspring development.