*****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.