Budeprion and headaches

I have been on Wellbutrin XL for 2 years with no ill side effects and it has worked well. 2 1/2 months ago my script changed to the 'generic' BudeprionXL. Since this change, I have been experiencing severe muscle and joint pain, my hands go numb, my skin crawls to the point that I have scratched myself to the point of bleeding. Sleeplessness has just recently started to occur and my teeth have also become very sensitive. General irritability has also set in. I have not yet started to get the headaches most get with the Budeprion and it a good thing as I'm already taking 1600 mg a day of Advil to try and arrest the muscle and joint pain. After reading these other ill effects of this drug I'm now very scared and will be calling my doctor to get her to represcribe Wellbutrin -only- 'no generic'. It is clear to me the FDA did not do the proper research or makes me think TEVA has a friend in the FDA's office.

My doctor prescribed me with a genetic of wellbutrin called Budeprion. Almost immediately, I noticed a dramatic change with my personality and body. I was very emotional and had extreme mood swings. At first i thought it was just a few bad days, but after a week of crying all the time, and getting upset at almost anything, something was not right. When my boyfriend would ask me what was wrong i couldn't give him an answer, because i had no idea myself. I also had headaches all the time, which is very surprising since i was never one to get them. When i ever moved quickly, my head would be in immense pain and nearly every time i would be on the brink of passing out. Every once and a while the same reaction would occur in bright places due to my ( which of course they weren't before) sensitive eyes. Along with this my stomach pain went through the roof. More so, right after i would eat. I felt weak all the time and it was hard for me to do anything active. Which really upset me since im a runner.

With me this all happened within two weeks, ever since i started taking Budeprion.

I had been on Wellbutrin SR for three years then stopped during pregnancy. I decided to go back on it right after I had my baby. I have been taking it for 4 months now...or so I thought. When I first filled the prescription I saw that it was budeprion, which I heard was a generic form of Wellbutrin, so I shrugged it off. Since taking it, I have been feeling lethargic, have muscle weakness in my legs, am bitter, cannot sleep and have been craving sweets even when I'm not PMS'ing. I have been telling myself that it is due to being a new mom. Today, I got this terrible headache - it was brief, but painful. I never get headaches and am tired of not feeling like myself so I figured I'd get online to see about this budeprion as this is the only med. I take. Well wadda' know...budeprion is CLEARLY not the same as Wellbutrin and quite frankly, I'm PISSED that I have been taking it for this long! Looks like the makers of this crap have made a few bucks... Thank you to everyone who posted their experiences and I hope you were able to get back to taking Wellbutrin.

I am so glad I stumbled upon this forum, I though I was losing my mind! I have successfully been on Wellbutrin for a couple of years now, and the last time I got it refilled the pharmacy gave me the Budeprion. Within a couple of days I noticed that I had difficulty swallowing, was more irritable than usual, wanted to cry all the time and I do not cry, get dizzy, feel very spaced out and cannot concentrate, and have had severe stomach aches and headaches. At first I did not attribute it to the generic form and thought I had the flu or something, but after these symptoms have not gone away for over a month, I am convinced these are side effects from the generic form.

I've been taking Budeprion for the last 3 months and the only pleasant side effect has been that I've lost weight. The reason I've lost this weight is because from the minute I wake up to the minute I fall asleep, I'm nauseous and have awful headaches. I have to take at least 4 advils a day just to get by. Even more terrible is that I've started having the urge to hurt myself, something I've never had on any previous medicine (I've tried 3 different ones before this) and the bulimia that I thought I'd stopped is worse than ever before. I'm in college and can't afford to pay for the name brand. I don't know what to do.

I have been taking Wellbutrin SR for the last 4 years for PMDD. Things were going so good, I thought it was gone. The first of the year, I went to get my script refilled, and I was told that my insurance company would no longer cover the name brand - only the generic. I said fine, I take generic drugs for a lot of other things and have no problems. After the first day, I didn't sleep but for a couple of hours every night, (which I never have a problem with). I was VERY irritable, short tempered, very depressed, and plain mean. I noticed that I was grinding my teeth and was constantly on edge. Then, I realized that I had had a sharp pain behind my right eyebrow for the last 10 days. When I started to cry over a card game, I knew something was wrong. I got on-line to see if I could find out what my problem was. Low and behold - After reading up on this drug, I realized that the problem was the generic. Of course, my insurance company won't pay for the name brand, so I paid the $198.00 for the name brand, just to see if it worked. I can't believe the difference. I can sleep all night, no headaches, no road rage, no signs of any depression, etc. My insurance company told me that there are 24 other brands of generic and I had to try more that just one. I can't believe that they are telling me that I have to go through those 10 days again. I can't do it.

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.