Budeprion and insurance company

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.

Wow!!! Should have done my homework when they switched me to this nasty Budeprion!!! I have been on Wellbutrin XL for over two years, after being on quite a few other drugs for depression, with great results and absolutely no side effects. Then about two months ago my insurance company would only pay for the generic, so unless I wanted to pay a lot more for the Wellbutrin, I decided to switch. This was also after many phone calls and being assured by the pharmacist and the nurses at my doctors office that it was the exact same drug. I have had lots of trouble with generic drugs in the past, and this is why I was so leary to switch since I was doing so well. For the last week I have felt like absolute crap! I have had a constant headache, nausea, stomach pains, indigestion and lots of crying!!! Never in a million years did I think it was the drug, since it is suppose to be the exact same make-up and I never thought it would take two months to feel these terrible side effects when I never had any before. Sure wish I had come across this website two months ago. I have fibromyalgia as well, and thought a lot of the additional joint pain and numbness in my hands was from that, although I have had my fibro under control for a couple of years now. Thinking back now over the past few months and all the crazy symptoms I have been having, it all makes sense!!! At least I know I am not CRAZY and hopefully I can stop this nasty drug and feel better soon. How can this Budeprion be on the market and how can pharmacists tell people that it is the same. Now I have to fight my insurance company, and hope they will pay for the Wellbutrin.

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.