Generics symptoms and conditions

I've been on Wellbutrin XL 300mg for quite some time now...coming up on 2 years, I think? I think I took the brand name drug at first, but for most of the time, I've taken the generic BUPROPRION--different generics from different companies, even. But this last refill, the pharmacy had switched to BUDEPRION for the generic. Bupropion and Budeprion are NOT the same!

Today is my second day on Budeprion and I feel like crap. Jittery, shaky, diarrhea, peeing constantly ("polyuria"), heart racing, nausea, nausea while hungry, hot-and-cold, and now worn out from a day of all that! My psychiatrist is on maternity leave but I've got a call in to her office to get it switched back to brand-name. Thankfully I'm in grad school, and under my student health insurance, the copay is the same for brand or generic.

Why Budeprion is considered a generic of Wellbutrin, I don't know. Wellbutrin is bupropion. This Budeprion stuff is a different chemical composition and is absorbed by/released into the body an entirely different way, from what I've been reading. When is the FDA going to get its act together???

*****For those of you posting in the future - and even those who have posted and are now reading this - could you please be specific on whether you are taking Wellbutrin or bupropion and what mg. Would be interesting to see if there's a noticeable pattern!*****

So glad I found this site. I too have had marked hair loss on this drug, with the exact symptoms most of you describe. I was on 300mg of Wellbutrin (the brand name) and had no problems. I switched to the generic (bupropion) and my hair starting thinning and falling out until you could easily see my scalp. For other reasons (I didn't put it together until recently), I went down to 150mg of the bupropion and my hair started growing back in. I went back up to 300mg and it fell out again - so I am now 100% convinced it is this drug. I too ruled out - with tests - all other causes: hormones, vitamin deficiencies, side effects of other meds, etc.

Here's my focus now: it seems to me, and many other people have noted this, that it is the generic (bupropion). When I was on the Wellbutrin, I had no hair loss. However, I noted several people said they had hair loss on "Wellbutrin" - so even though this wasn't the case in my experience, I'm so freaked out right now about the amount of hair loss that I decided to go off completely. A shame because I was doing really well.

I'm wondering ... when people are saying "Welbutrin" - is it really Wellbutrin? Most pharmacies will automatically switch it out. Maybe some of us think we are taking Wellbutrin, or are just calling it Wellbutrin, but really are taking bupropion. Generics and brand names differ in "ingredients." I noticed a definite difference in the "feel" of the Wellbutrin vs. bupropion - but it was a $50 vs $7 co-pay! It would be great to sort this out because those of us doing well on bupropion but have hair loss could switch to Wellbutrin - albeit a more expensive route.

Maybe its both? Either way I'd like to know. The doctors are no help. I love my doctor and brought this up to him several times. He did not think it was the meds. If he had simply gone on the Internet and typed in "Does Wellbutrin cause hair loss?" - like I did, it's impossible to totally dismiss it!

Thanks so much for sharing and letting me share. Oh - and please note, at least for me, even when I went down to the 150mg on the generic, my hair totally started growing back in. So, at least in my experience, hair regrowth starts immediately after reducing/eliminating the drug. And my hair loss was (and now is again) really bad.

This drug should be taken off the market. My Dr. warned me of a cough when he gave it to me but did not tell me that you would literally drown in secretions from the drainage in your throat. I have been on it 2 weeks and my quality of life has diminished considerably. During the day its as if a little man with a squirt bottle of acid is spraying my throat. At night the same thing but lying down produces uncontrollable drainage. I have to keep a spit cup by my bed and hardly get any sleep. Have tried allergy medications to no avail. I threw it in the garbage today. I would rather monitor my BP 30 times a day than live thru this.

My question is if you have been on this drug and your Dr. took you off, what did he use in its place? Would Beta Blockers be better? Who has experienced this and is now free of it? What is the alternative drug? I called my Dr.'s office today and they have Benicar waiting for me in the AM...anyone know about that one? I am desperate!

I have been on Levoxyl for about 2 1/2 years. Before I was on levothyroxine, but my new endo said the generics don't work, so he insists on the name brand. I've been taking it in the morning on an empty stomach, and have been battling extreme daytime fatigue ever since. At first I thought it was because I was unhealthy. I had LAP-band surgery, and I use a CPAP machine for my sleep apnea, and I lost 50 lbs, but I've hit a plateau that can't be explained by my food intake, and the fatigue is so debilitating. My GP is adjusting my anti-depressant to see if that makes a difference, but so far no. On my own I decided to start taking the Levoxyl at night before I go to bed. It's only been a couple of days, but I have noticed a marked improvement. I'll talk to my endo about it, and hopefully he'll be at least willing to consider the change.

On a side note, anti-depressants are the best medicine ever discovered. If you are feeling at all depressed, talk to your doctor. Whether the Levoxyl contributes to it or not, the anti-depressants help. I never want to go back in that black hole again.

I have been on 20mg lisinopril for over a year. Didn't notice anything out of the ordinary for almost whole year. In May, I began getting these bizarre "rashes" and marks over both arms, hands, and legs almost daily. Thought it was from humidity. It is now Feb. in the Northeast and rashes/hives continue! Biggest concern, though, has been the increasing thinning of my once thick, beautiful head of hair. Told by derms, doctors, etc. geneticin had nothing to do with meds. I KNOW this is not genetic and thinning so bad, my hairdresser recently confirmed it, saying worse on right side of crown of head. Thinking of discontinuing lisinopril. Any advise?

I have had great experiences with Levothyroxine. I am no longer tired, achey, grumpy, constipated. I feel great. I am only 27 years old and got my hypothyroidism from having my first child. I am excited that my levels are now normal after 3 months (TSH was 25.89). I was on .50 mcg now I am on .75. Feel great!
I am a medical technician and have found that a lot of people who start on a certain medication for hypothyriodism, such as Synthroid - do not fair well if they have to switch. My doctor always says NOT to switch...not EVER. She repeats over and over again to check my prescription every time I receive it. That means checking the pills against each other, because hypothyroidism medication is one of the highest missed - filled prescription. If I were anyone who has had to switch, I would demand to be put back on your original meds. Have your physician write up your symptoms with the new meds and make a recommendation to the insurance company that you NEED synthriod.

I took bupropion sr 150 from EON Labs for 10 days before breaking out in hives. Other then that it made me feel wonderful. I really miss how I was feeling on it and am trying to pinpoint if it was the drug itself or the brand or dye used in the tablet. If anyone got hives while taking Wellbutrin, please let me know which one you were taking and the color of the tablet. I hope to get to the bottom of this soon and maybe others will benefit.

Wellbutrin sr vs. bupropion sr
Last time my perscripion was filled they substituted the generic. Since then I have started to break out in a rash on my hands (sub dermal - not a contact allergy). I've been taking Wellbutrin for years (400mg a day) and I had some dizziness (vertigo) in the beginning but nothing like this. Is there some difference between the two that would cause this kind of reaction?