Budeprion and brand name

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???

I have never tried the brand-name Wellbutrin so I have no point of reference.
Within days after my doctor started me on Budeprion I felt like I had the flu but my temperature was normal. The intensity of the symptoms varies from day to day, but I have called in sick a couple of times (something I rarely do).
I called the doctor and told him what I was feeling. He was skeptical but told me to go ahead and discontinue the Budeprion. I'll bet I start feeling 'normal' again.

I have been on Wellbutrin XL for quite a few year now (about 3) and really liked the benefits, and the fact that it doesn't make me sleepy like the other antidepressants do. For most of the 3 years, I have been taking the generic Budeprion without any trouble. With my first year of being on the Wellbutrin XL, the medicine was the brand name. My insurance company changed it to generic after that, and I had no problems with the generic. Then with this last refill of Budeprion, it has been terrible. I've had major panic attack symptoms. I called my doctor to see if he would write a script for the brand name and he agreed. I have had the worst time trying to get back on the name brand Wellbutrin XL. Has anyone else had this trouble?

I recently went to my physician because I have been sooo irritable. I cry about things that I wouldn't normally, too. I've been taking Wellbutrin XL for many years and Lamictal as a mood stabilizer. I've only noticed these changes since my insurance company changed policies and had my Wellbutrin XL filled with the generic Budeprion SR. My doctor also told me they were not the same and she had many patients experience the irritability. After reading up on it, I read that studies have been done that PROVE the generic releases a lot more of the medication in a shorter period of time...not as spread out like it should be like the brand name. My insurance company is currently charging me $60 mo. for generic and $140+ for Wellbutrin XL. The full price is $190+ monthly. Another interesting piece of info I read is the FDA only requires a generic to prove itself as equivalent by testing 20+ out of 30+ people before being allowed to be considered the same as opposed to the hundreds and hundreds of people a brand name drug has to do studies on to prove itself safe and effective to be put on the market. My aunt has experienced the same, only she went into a severe depression. Both of us have recently been experiencing headaches that last days. I am going back to the brand name...$140+ or not. My benefits coordinator told me to appeal it with my insurance company with the help of my doctor. I can't believe the FDA has not done anything about this yet. Personally, I don't think any form of Budeprion should be on the market.

When I piked up my latest wellbutrin prescription I was surprised that I was given the generic subsititute, budeprion. 3 weeks later I was having symptoms of depression. I didn't associate the symptoms with the medication since I was told that the generic is the same medicine. When I called my dr. the first thing he asked was if I was given the generic. He said the generic is chemically different than the brand name wellbutrin--that's why the name budeprion is different from bupropion (Wellbutrin). It IS NOT the same. He gave me samples of Wellbutrin and after a few days I was back to normal. Now I guess I'm going to have to fight my insurance co. to get the Wellbutrin.