Budeprion and wellbutrin xl

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???

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 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.

Well, well, well. I'm glad I stumbled upon this drug in the side effects area. I, too, was sneakily substituted it for Wellbutrin XL! I've been on it for 2 mos now. I couldn't figure out why my moods had gotten worse and I was wanting to cry at stupid stuff on tv. I was thinking bad things were going to happen to my kids. I was having "almost" panic attacks when I was around a lot of people. That doesn't help when you go to church every Sunday. I have to sit in the crying room with the little kids. I just feel "out of sorts". I'm extra tired. I crave sweets and MUST have them. I'm like a drug addict, but with sweets. I thought my side effects were from the other meds I'm on, which I have not changed in many, many months. Now I know It's Budeprion. I am in the process of weaning off anyway because of the sweets addiction thing....I'm trying to lose weight that I gained on other meds over the last 2 yrs and THIS isn't helping. Thank you to all who posted. Good luck!

I have been on Wellbutrin XL for several years now and it has been the most effective for me of all the antidepressants I have tried. My husband went to pick up my refill and they inadvertently substituted the Budeprion XL. Although he questioned the pharmacist, they assured him there was no difference. I finally gave in and decided to give it a try 4 days ago and each day I get more and more depressed, irritable, unmotivated, and lethargic. I had been consuming a lot more caffeine just to keep going. I keep telling my husband that I just do not feel right and the Budeprion XL does not work as well. Until I read all these experiences, I began to think I was imaging it or I was just cycling. Now, I am fairly certain that it is a result of the ineffectiveness of the Budeprion XL. This is the end of the road for Budeprion XL and me.

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?

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.

I gave this medicine several weeks of a chance to help me out. I am not a day sleeper, but I experience lethargy and I have taken naps a couple of days in the week, even after drinking several caffeinated beverages. I will be out of my samples Tuesday. I am going to have to fight my insurance company to get the regular Wellbutrin XL now. The depression I experienced was because of the tiredness.