Budeprion and insurance

I have had a similar experience as many others who have written. I took Wellbutrin (with no side effects) for years, until my insurance company made me change to Budeprion in June 2007. Almost immediately I started feeling dizzy and had terrible nausea. My MD kept saying it was not the Budeprion, but that was the only new medication I was taking. Over the next year, I had a colonoscopy, endoscopy, CAT scans, MRI's, blood tests and breath tests to find out what was wrong. Everything came back negative, and my MD diagnosed me with Irritable bowel syndrome. On my own I decided to cut back the Budprion from 300 mg to 150mg, and I did feel a little better for awhile, but then the nausea came back worse than before, and I definitely noticed that it started about 4 hours after taking Budeprion. I decided to skip it entirely for a day or two, and each time I did, I had no dizziness or nausea. My MD can say whatever she wants, but I know the medication is what made me sick. I don't know if my insurance company will let me go back to Wellbutrin, but I do know I will never take Budeprion again.

I don't have the regular Wellbutrin to compare it to, but my boyfriend and my mom both take pills that say BUPROPION on the bottle and we have all thought it was weird that mine is called Budeprion so I decided to look up the difference today. This is really disturbing. I haven't experienced anything as severe as what's posted here, but I do have some really annoying side effects- the worst is really extreme and disturbing tremors (shaky hands, legs, voice, trouble holding utensils or putting strain on any muscle.) I also have really bad dry mouth, dizziness, nausea and fatigue. I am wondering if I would have them if I were taking name brand or a different generic. I am definitely asking for a different generic just to see what happens the next time that I get my prescription refilled, but what sucks is that I just got it refilled two days ago so I have to wait a whole month. Wish I'd researched it sooner! This is really weird and seems like it should definitely be taken care of. I'm surprised that there is a website with THIS many almost identical stories and yet nothing has been done about this drug yet. Surely just as many people and probably many more have TOLD the FDA about this stuff so it's pretty unsettling that it's still out there and the pharmacy gave it to me without even telling me it's different from wellbutrin and other generics.

My insurance changed and i was substited budeprion for the other generic for Wellbutrin which was buproprion. The first thing I noticed is that I was extremely irratable and downright mean to people. I never used to be like that while on Wellbutrin. I cried easily and this new pill just did not help me like the old original. But the most annoying side effect I have noticed is that it has given me an awful odor. It took me awhile to put two and two together but I noticed the budeprion has an awful smell in the bottle as soon as I took the lid off. Then I noticed my urine had a horrible strong smell which I associated with the same smell as the pill. Now I also am afraid it is being excreted thru perspiration as well. I am certainly not going to continue to take this budeprion if it is making me smell bad! Has anyone else noticed this side effect?

I started taking Wellbutrin XL for anxiety. My doctor told me that this medication will calm down the anxiety and even just put me in a better mood. (i think i was also slightly depressed) but i was affraid to admit it to myself. I took the Wellbutrin for about year and it worked wonders. I was happier, no anxiety, and i just had energy without having to drink a pot of coffee. These last two months my insurance switched to Budeprion SR and it has been hell. I never put two and two together about the generic...since i work in a pharmacy i assumed it was equivalent. IT IS NOT. My fiancee almost left me! The FDA needs to pull this med.

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 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 have only been taking Budeprion for 4 days now, and the last 3 days have been excruciating! Horrible neck and shoulder pain that comes and goes. I wake up fine in the morning, but right around lunch time or a little after my upper back, shoulders and neck start to tighten and I get a terrible headache - usually only on one side of my head. I also have a fuzzy feeling in my head, and have a hard time focusing.
The pain lasts until I go to bed, but then I wake up feeling relatively ok again in the morning.
This is the first antidepressant that I have taken, and I know these kinds of drugs can take a couple of weeks before you start to notice anything, but I am really scared to keep taking the Budeprion because it makes me feel so awful. The worst part about the situation is that doctor actually prescribed me Wellbutrin, not this generic, and I just found out today that my insurance company covers both. I REALLY wish I would have done more research on this drug before I got the prescription filled. Now I have to wait a month before I can get it switched.

A couple of days after switching from Wellbutrin XL (which was effective for me, with no side effects) to Budeprion XL, I began to experience feelings of panic, a choking-like tightness in my throat/neck area, and extreme tension throughout my shoulders and neck. (I have never had a panic attack before.) My doctor said that my symptoms sounded like anxiety. Neither of us made the connection to the recent switch from Wellbutrin to Budeprion. These Budeprion XL side effects began each day in the late afternoon and continued for at least two hours, sometimes longer. Nothing relieved them. I tried relaxation breathing, yoga, meditation, and even Ativan! After several days of this torture, in desperation for some relief from the panic/tightness/tension, I drank a glass of wine when the symptoms set in. The symptoms grew even more severe. It finally occurred to me that the Budeprion might be the source of this frightening problem, and I insisted on being switched back to the Wellbutrin. Ta-da. No more freaking afternoon attacks. A few months later, while experiencing some lower back pain, I took a Budeprion by accident (I found a single tablet in my desk drawer and I mistook it for a codeine-based pain tablet that has a similar appearance...I know--a dumb thing to do!) Hours later, the original side effects returned: extreme panic with neck/shoulder tightness and tension. I have not taken Budeprion since that day (about three months ago), and I have never again experienced those side effects (or any similar symptoms). The name brand Wellbutrin XL is working effectively for me, with no side effects. Because of these experiences, I am convinced that Budeprion XL's contents (or composition) are very different from those of Wellbutrin XL. They may or may not have the same chemical formula, but they certainly do not react the same way in my body.

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.