Wellbutrin and insomnia

The first time I went on Wellbutrin, I had a really bad reaction to it. I had insomnia, horrible tremors, apathy, I felt like I was walking around in a cloud. I went on to try other medications. Now I'm taking a combination of Prozac and Wellbutrin and it seems to be working. My depression is under control. I don't have the apathy or zombie feeling anymore, but I do still have the tremors, though they aren't as bad. I get some mild insomnia, but taking it in the morning helped with that, and lately I've found that a little bit of coffee in the morning (not too much, don't need to be MORE shaky) helps with a lot of my side effects. I do have the confusion and concentration issues too. It hasn't caused any severe problems, it only seems to really happen in casual conversation, where I'll completely forget what I wanted to say. It's annoying, but way better than depression, and not severe enough for me to stop.
To those people who are telling others to stay away from this drug, or any drug for that matter, don't forget that there is a reason there are so many different kinds of anti-depressants. Everybody's body chemistry is different, so their gonna react in different ways. Also, the people who don't have issues with side effects rarely go looking for sites like this....
Just something to think about.

I have been taking Wellbutrin 200mg daily for about 2 weeks. I have taken prozac, which made me very violent, I've taken paxil and quit taking it when I got pregnant, and I've taken Zoloft, which worked wonderfully for me. Then, there is the Wellbutrin. When I first started it, I was tired and out-of-it. I figured I would give it a few days for my body to adjust. Now, I am tired, out-of-it, restless, annoyed at everyone, don't want to be touched, nervous, scared, emotional roller coaster, constant headache, muscle aches, stomach upset, smells are very pronounced, and to top it off, I thought I could quit smoking....but turns out I want to smoke more, however, they taste like crap, and smell even worse! I think I am going back to the doctor to switch back to zoloft. Wish I would have never started taking Wellbutrin!

I have been taking WB 150mg/daily for 3wks now and having strange side effects: headaches on right side of head returning, insomnia but once asleep I fall into a very deep sleep, neck pain, hungry one minute and not the next, decrease in intensity of menses, dizziness at times. Anyone out there with similar problems and if so what was done to calm them? I need to be on an anti-depressant but not wanting to take anything that causes weight gain or decrease in sex drive.

Started 9 days ago. 150 once a day.
Haven't smoked. Insomnia teh last 2 days were AWFUL!
Horrendous nightmares when i did fall asleep for 20 minutes.
Anxiety last 2 nights were painfully scary.
Is it really worth it to take this stuff?
Tylenol pm doesn't seem to work well for me when I am on Wellbutrin.
I have had more energy and the eating goes back an forth. One day I will eat anything I can get my hands on. Next day i hardly eat at all.
Email me. ******
Thank you.
Kat

I have been on Wellbutrin XL 150mg for 5 days now and have noticed that I am very short with people and experiencing anger. I tend to lash out. Will this go away?

Please Help! I can't sleep . I started generic wellbutrin sr 3 days ago and now I haven't slept in about 36 hours!

I've been on Wellbutrin XL 150 for a few months and I love it! The first few weeks were a bit hard because I felt constantly jumpy, nervous, and had a hard time sleeping. But there are side effects with almost everything for the first little while! Now that I've been on it for a while, I've noticed I'm losing weight, feeling energetic, and I feel hopeful about my life! Also I have a ridiculously increased sex drive. It may not be right for everyone, but for me it's been awesome so far.

I have been on Bupropion SR for about a month now. I had severe depression stemming from past incidents that I was unable to get over on my own. I started at 150 mg once a day and the first 2 days I felt nothing. The third day I caught myself grinning and laughing! However, on the 5th day, my doctor upped it to 150 mg twice a day. After the fourth day of that I started feeling irritable and tired. After a week of it I started feeling dizzy, nausea, anxiety, shaky, and just generally weird. I went to a different doctor and told her the symptoms and she reduced me to 100 mg twice a day. The dizziness is gone but the irritability is still present although manageable if I just think before I speak. I also have lost about 5 pounds. I notice that some days I have no appetite and others I am ravenous. The worst side effect so far is the anxiety. I have never had it before and now when the least little event or conflict is present I start getting a churning feeling in my stomach and restlessness. As for insomnia, I do stay up too late but once I force myself into bed I pass right out. I get sleepy around 2:00pm which is when I take the second pill and sometimes can't stop myself from falling asleep at my computer at work. My dreams were more intense and lucid when I was on 300mg a day but they seem to have gone back to normal now.

About two years ago I was taking 75 mgs. of the regular Wellbutrin. I liked it alright but it wired me up pretty good and I had trouble sleeping. I'm taking it again and now it makes me drowsy. How's that? I'm not taking anything new or different from then so it's pretty puzzling to me. Any ideas?

I HAD THE SAME PROBLEM AS sarava, #21541 I WAS ON THE SAME DOSE, BUT AM NOT BI POLAR...BUT THEY ACCIDENTLY SWITCHED MY SUBSCRIPTION TO THE XL...MY EARS RANG SO BAD I HAD TO GO TO THE DOCS AND THEN HAD TO HAVE A HEARING TEST...ALSO...EVEN BEFORE THAT I HAD TROUBLE SLEEPING AND LOTS OF STOMACH PROBS...JUST NOW PUT 2 AND 2 TOGETHER...AM OFF THE MEDS...PERIOD...

Took this product for about 2 years. Had terrible problems with insomnia, ringing in ears, anxiety during that time. I liked the fact that I had lost about 2 sizes so I was reluctant to stop. When I did, even though I decreased the dosage very slowly, I had terrble withdrawl symptoms. Extreme hostility, agitation, up for days, suicidal thoughts (which I'd never felt before). The doctor had no idea what would help. I called Narcotics Anonymous and was told to drink lots of water, cranberry juice, walk, take hot baths and above all pray. It has been about three weeks now and the worst has passed, but my life was hell for about two of those weeks. I don't believe doctors give you the proper counseling when you get on/off these or any other meds. They are too busy writing prescritions and keeping the drug manufacturers fat and happy!

Been on Wellbutrin for 3 weeks. Have DREAMS all the time. Lots of gas. No weight loss, but weight gain with an increasing appetite. Stopped smoking using this medication with the patch. Works wonders. A lot of energy. Insomnia really bad. The medication and side effects are not so bad, I'm dealing.

I am on my fourth day weaning off Wellbutrin after two weeks of every other day. (I have been on 150 mg.) I went on it to combat sexual/lack of energy side effects of Paxil. Went off Paxil (which was HELL) in Sept. Liked the energizing effects of Wellbutrin, but in the past few months I have been very, very irritable, argumentative, prone to road-rage, etc. I am getting married in four months and want to make it to my wedding day! I also have been getting heart palpitations, itchiness and insomnia. But the killer for me is the mind racing and irritability. I am incredibly fatigued without my "speed," but I'm looking forward to being a sweet, if a bit sleepy, person again.

I'm not now on Wellbutrin, but have discussed going on it with my therapist for long-term, mild depression.

This site has been very useful to me in helping me decide whether to brave all the possible side effects. I've decided to start at the lower dose of 150 XR and, becus i am so afriad of the side effects, especially seizure, i will stop using the drug rather than go the full 300 mg dose and risk the side effects.

Everyone's experience with it has been so different, i've come to the conclusion there IS no universal reaction to it becus everyone's experience with it is different.

What I've read here has also told me that you should never trust your doctor 100% to do what's best for you. It's really our responsibility to do as much research as they can, for instance, just reading thise sites. I saw one doctor started off the patient at 300 mg, which you're definitely not supposed to do, you're supposed to build up gradually, then taper off gradually when you want to get off the drug. And I saw another post where the doctor prescribed Wellbutrin to a patient with a history of anorexia, another definite no-no.

I'm really kind of scared to go on such a powerful drug after reading about hair loss, insomnia, etc. etc., but i've suffered from chronic depression for about 30 years now and i'm tired of living a mediocre life.

Please everyone who suffers from any of these symptoms, I would love an email asap as I feel like I am going crazy.
My dr prescribed buproprion sr 150 mg along with lexapro 20 mg about 3 weeks ago to help combat a major bout of postpartum depression. She had to wean me off of 40 mg of Prozac first from previous depression issues.
Since then, I feel as though I am losing my mind. I cry all of the time, I have pain in the middle of my right abdomen area that feels like a burning/indigestion feeling, I have no appetite at all, totally anxiety, terrible fatigue with even worse insomnia. When I do finally get to sleep, I experience HORRIBLE nightmares that last for hours. In addition, I have had multiple headaches and a few vomiting episodes.
The depression was so horrible that I feared the way I was feeling. Yet the buproprion has given me all of these new feelings and I am really affraid I will never feel normal again.
Should I give these new meds more time to take effect? Has anyone else used them for postpartum depression and felt these symptoms? Please email me at ****** I feel very alone in the ways I am feeling and would love to chat with someone who has had the similiar experiences.
Thanks
Trisha

I have only been on Wellbutin for about a week. I am new to this. My main side effect is that I am tired all the time. I read how it gives many of you energy. Well not me. I am tired all the time and I to have feeling of just not caring. It's like I fell nothing. No emotions at all. My co-workers asked me what was wrong, because I am normally outgoing, the social butterfly of our office. The past week, I have not felt like being around people. Like it takes up too much of my energy to be social. I have also had a severe lack of concentration and some memory loss. I am ADD but it seems like it is making me worse. I also suffer from insomnia, not due to the medication. But I have found that even when I take my medication for sleep, I can't fall asleep.
If anyone has experienced loss of emotion, you can email me at ******. I am interested in knowing how you dealt with it.

i have been on wellbutrin for 10 mounths now and i have sleeplessness, dizziness, headache , nausea, disorientation, confusion and forgetful all most all the time but i am not depressed . dose some one know if i was to go to 150 mg would this help

Been on it since summer 2003, 150 twice a day.

Mostly the dizziness, which isn't as bad anymore.

However, it did raise my blood pressure. Not like hypertension, but the high end of normal. I'd always had LOW blood pressure. But when I'm dong more exercise, it's back to normal. My doctor monitors it. also:

Weight Loss: it really reduced my appetite and I was never a big eater and was already thin. But I lost about 10 lbs. That doesn't bother me too much, I do eat normally.

Hard to get to sleep or stay asleep. I have enough trouble with insomnia. It gets rid of depression but jazzes me up. I take ativan if I need to, i.e. if it takes too long to get back to sleep, but of course, I worry about becoming dependent.

I've developed hives recently and my dermatologist suggested it could be wellbutrin. I'll talk to my GP but I don't really want to change to an antipressant which may be worse with side effects, ie sexual, weight GAIN, etc. I don't know how it's possible to determine if it IS wellbutrin causing the hives.

None of the effects are very severe, just uncomfortable like the hives and the insomnia.

Generally I feel okay, and certainly better than when my moods were all over the place.

2/6/05 4:06 am
l am astonished. For my physiology, they have tweaked a molecule that is unsurpassed in its ability to produce pathological insomnia. ADHD is my tag and I have a need for larger than average doses of stimulants: either dextroamphetamine (note applicable ladies and gents that if you're taking Adderall the following: pharmaceuticals are more commercially driven than ever now and the producer of Adderall have, amongst a few companies that pursued this tactic, have found a loop hole or a method they believe can foil the patent system: Shire Richwood. They re-issued a drug 'combo' and imply it is their creation when it was sold by several companies going back to the '60's. It's a strange mixture of different 'versions'; I'll call it, of amphetamine.). or Desoxyn (I hesitate to use its generic name methamphetamine: it has been so demonized by the media. If you go into a pharmacy in a large city, the only places that would carry a small supply, and present the Rx; a sudden aura of hell enshrouds the vicinity. Pharmacists retreat and discuss what should be done... another error in our (usually wise and valuable) system of checks & balances: a pharmacist has the right to in effect second GUESS the prescription holders malady, which they have no professional or personal knowledge of. Presenting a doctor's (and if you're going to a quality doctor who follow science rather than popularisms- there are fewer of the former than the latter.. they will know the truth of such things as Desoxyn®. Their duty and knowledge should not be permitted to be judged by the redundant cook that spoils the soup)

Back to Adderall. This is called a 'branded generic", and the pricing of same follows of course the former words characteristics. As mentioned, this is an EXACT copy of the combo sold before as diet pills. Shire Richwood did no research, rather did a few studies and then wiggled their way through the FDA/DEA to secure approval to manufacture an old recipe and be permitted to get it branded with attendant pricing.
Amphetamine was sythsized in 1888. Way before unless you are allergic to it, the safest and most true & tried drug Aspirin. Time (real non theoretical, laboratorial) is the most reliable source of information
The dextro part of the drug is the part that is safest and more specific in reaching the deficiencies present with the condition.

To close and reveal this designer drug's characteristics: bupropion (Wellbutrin). You see the patent holder pulls fast ones in desperation to keep that patent from expiring at which time the drug has been known to decrease 50 TIMES overnight. Wellbutrin had to shuffle. The SR version could no longer be protected from patent protection so they really go out on a limb and sell XR as a brand.
This designer molecule has somehow been developed, at least for this body something that, amongst whatever good may come of its use, specifically makes sleep almost impossible. All the others mentioned are much more powerful in their CNS effects but none: even a still sold but probably not the answer to weight loss diethyPROPION does not hold a candle to the effect on sleep as buPROPION. I am dumping the stuff which WAS being taken as a trial alternate to dextroamphetamine (for the sole reason by the way that I would entertain switching from something that is safer (time), cheaper, and supremely efficacious, is because it is a Schedule ll drug meaning that a new Rx must be obtained as a physical document (nation-wide not permitted to be refilled nor ordered by telephone: MD to Pharmacy). I am 48 and I am certain, pending more revealing info on the disorder that being a life long incurable but symptomatically treated condition, I am looking at an enormous amount of time and money spent over the next 30-50 years- however long I last. Unwellbutrin

)

I have been taking Wellbutrin 300 XL for a little over a year. My doctor had prescribed it for my persistent anxiety. In general, I felt overwhelmed by the extent of the daily duties I had imposed on myself (which was always more than I could possibly acheive). For the first few months I felt great. I was much more relaxed and focused and the only side effect I experienced was a slight ringing in the ears. But after my third or fourth month on this medication the ringing in my ears grew progressively worse and I started noticing other side effects. I began having recurrent headaches (which, at 33 years of age, I had never before experienced) as well as fatigue, achiness, dizziness, and insomnia. In the past month I have begun to experience tremors and twitching. I tend to feel as though I am jerking my head or hands when I initiate movement and my eyes twitch almost incessantly (which is extremely distracting). The ringing in my ears seems to grow louder each day and my worsening insomnia only intensifies my fatigue and achiness. I have also noticed those old feelings of being anxious and overwhelmed creeping back in. Wellbutrin seems ideal in the short run but over time its benefits begin to wear off while side effects continue to manifest and become more pronounced. My advice to anyone considering taking this drug would be to start on the lowest dose possible and maintain an awareness of the side effects as they appear.

I've been on Wellbutrin for about five days and have experienced a flu-like haze, headaches, upset stomach, and at the time of this writing (it's 3am), severe insomnia. Worst of all are the dreams and waking feelings of fear I am currently experiencing. I feel like a frightened child in the dark, almost like a panic attack at times. These thoughts and fears are completely unjustified and irrational. I am not using any other drugs in my life now, including alcohol. Worst feelings of fear I've ever felt; like having a nightmare but you're awake.

I've noticed that when I lay down my arms and legs and stomach jerk. Sometimes the movement is so strong that it wakes me up. One time I woke up thinking I was falling. Also, horrible memory loss. One day I was home cleaning my house and I forgot to pick my 8 year old son up from school. Also experience fatigue. My gynecologist has prescribed 300mg Wellbutrin and 80mg of Prozac for my depression and PMS syndrome. I'm concerned because everyone is telling me I should be monitored while being of this medication. Also, I question my decision making. Another thing is I was always scared of rollercoasters -- well, on this medicine I can easily sit in the first seat of a rollercoaster ride and go on it 4 times without being scared.
That also makes me nervous. Headaches, sleeplessness, dizziness and lights are too bright.

Made me feel like I was on cocaine at first. This has calmed down, but I am writing about the side effects at 5:45 am because I cannot sleep and have crazy dreams. Although, I still seem to be able to function despite the sleeplessness.

Hey i started out taking Wellbutrin 150 SR once a day didnt do anything for me so it was uped to 300 XL once a day in the am i noticed sleeplessness, irrabilty, frequent trips to the bathroom, extream memory loss. I work at Tops i cannot remeber if i have asked my customers how they are today this happens within maybe 5 seconds. i cannot remeber what my car looks like, what time i have to be to work, if i have already taken my meds. Has anyone else experienced this? Please let me know.

I had taken Wellbutrin SR 150mg 1x a day for over 2 months without noticing any effects. Now I am on Wellbutrin XL 300mg 1x a day for the past 3 months and have been experiencing sleeplessness for almost a month. I can get to sleep OK, but after 5 hours at most I just wake up - my mind is alert and I just have to get up. This is very tiring and makes for a long day. My "normal" sleep is about 7 hours.
I have also noticed weight loss, about 10lbs in the past month or so, without any decrease in appetite.
I am taking Wellbutrin for smoking cessation - I have noticed less of an urge to smoke and have been able to go for a longer time without a smoke, although I have not quit yet.

I HAVE BEEN ON WELBUTRIN ONLY 6 DAYS , I STARTED OUT WITH 300 MG OF THE SR KIND AND I FELT TOO DIZZY AND AGITATED AND WITH INSOMNIA AND BLURRED VISION , MY DOC THEN TOLD ME TO REDUCE IT TOO 15O A DAY, IM STILL FEELING THE SAME FELINGS , I FEEL CLUMSY I HAVE CHILLS AND SENSATION OF A DRUM ROLL IN MY EAR TIREDNESS UN FOCUSED I DO FEEL AS HTOUGH THEY CURB THE APPETITE FOR SMOKING BUT JUST A LITTLE AND IT COULD BE I HAVE BEEN ON AND OFF WITH SMOKING A LITTLE OVER A MONTH SO MAY BE EASIER FOR ME ,BUT WHO KNOWS THIS COULD BE A WONDER DRUG FOR MANY OF YOU BUT I DONT KNOW HOW LONG I WANT TO FEEL LIKE A PRISONER CAUSHGT BY THIS DRUG

Weight loss, major headches, dizziness, fast heartbeat, ringing in the ears, and insomnia. However, after 3 weeks those symptoms are pretty much gone.

Have been on Wellbutrin, extended release , 150-300mg day. I had experienced minimal side effects but other than that the drug was great. However, I have recently been experiencing confusion, anxiety, dry mouth, shaking, disorientation, numbness and insomnia.
It would be good for anyone taking this medication to read studies on it. I was really suprised by some of the side effects. Good Luck to everyone

I am on wellutrin paxil cr and clonazepam. I have server miagrains ,dizzyness sleeplessness, confusion, forget things, verry emotional, and sex drive has ran out the door. I know all this from all the medications The Drs have had me on. some hair lose itching skin breaking out rash on arms,legsand face they say ok but not When dizzy I can not walk or drive my car and verry hard to take care of family

took 100 mg SR for 5 days everything okay when increased to 200 mg major insomnia

Question toothers does the insomnia go away?

Been on Wellbutrin for a week. 150 mg just increased to 300 mg. I switched to Wellbutrin from Zoloft because of the sexual side effects. I'm not sure if I can stay on it though.
I have experienced sleeplessness (it's 4:00 in the morning), sore throat, my emothions are up and down, swollen legs. I'm trying to give it a chance and hoping that the side effects will subside.

been taking wellbutrin for 2 weeks now... first week on 150mg of XL and now im on my 300mg prescription...
i must say that the side effects definatly have changed my mind about this drug.... felt the feelings of a headcold, dizziness, floaty foggy feeling, dry mouth, insomnia, nausea, complete loss of apetite.... now im just waiting for the hives hahaha

If first you don't succeed, try again. I couldn't tolerate the wellbutrin XL (extended release version) but did very well on the regular wellbutrin at a low dose (75 mg once a day).

While taking a trial of wellbutrin XL, I felt unusually tired, but I had insomnia to the point I had to go to wallmart to purchase generic brand sleeping pills, which I'd never taken before. This did not go away even after several days. I felt like I did when I first popped a psuedoephedrine 24 hour release pill for allergies when I didn't fall asleep until a half hour before I was due to get up. Ever since then, I laugh about how fucked up psuedoephedrine 24 hour release is and how it make me feel as high as a kite. I didn't feel high on wellbutrin, but I tossed and turned uncomfortably even though I was more tired than usual and only wanted to catch some shut eye.

Furthermore, on wellbutrin XL, I felt anxious for no reason, a weird sort of amphetamine addict or drugged up shake that I couldn't tolerate. I never do well on extended release versions of medications, however, because I experience more side effects for whatever reason. I'm glad I decided to try a lower dose that isn't an extended or sustained release because it worked well.

I like wellbutrin in general. Other positive effects are feeling slightly less depressed (not overwhelmingly so though), and feeling more intelligent and consequently, more self-confident. I also have more energy to do daily tasks, and am much more organized. I also notice I'm more logical minded and less impulsive. I think my thoughts are clearer and consequently, I feel more stable, which is all good.

Negative side effects are, especially when I first started taking it, unusually greater hyperactivity. First, it effected me in such a way that I felt even manic and like an ADHD little kid who runs around before bedtime and acts silly and hyperactive. This diminished after taking a lower dose and also after several days after it had been in my system. Now, I'm not troubled by hyperactivity.

Also, when I added this to my prescribed zoloft, I feel like in a fog from hell. Especially this was true after I ran out of ritalin and had to rough it for two weeks on just wellbutrin and zoloft. For example, at the convenience store, I look like I'm a vicodin addict as simple choices becomes overwhelming and I'm inundated by a baffling array or options, such as whether to buy sunchips or pretzels and lollying and looking lost as I wander the isles to the point the salesclerk probably thought I was going to steal something. Especially after I dropped my purse on the ground and started rummaging around to see how much money I had, also increasing my options because I could buy alcohol too, only I couldn't decide which kind, the raspberry zodka or plain, or should I just buy a bottle or wine since all they had were 6 packs or smirnoff ice? Luckily, the salesclerk looked like she was stoned so she probably didn't notice, although when I said "and I'm the red car on that pump", I couldn't remember which number it was, she said, "so that's YOUR red car" as if there was a huge discussion amongst the two on who owned the red car parked at the pump for so long.

I decided not to take zoloft with wellbutrin and that wellbutrin is no substitute for ritalin. I like wellbutrin better than zoloft, however, because althought it doesn't help my OCD or anxiety, and I think makes them worse, it still makes me feel more capable simply because I do better at work and in life - organizing things and the like.

Lastly, since I'm more anxious on the wellbutrin/ritalin combination, I'm currently looking for a medication to go with the two to treat my anxiety and OCD without making me feel like I'm in a fog. However, I feel very pleased with wellbutrin because it helps my depression and ADD and the side effects are mild, and even less noticeable at a lower dose for me.

i take prozac and wellbutrin. the wellbutrin has SIGNIFICANTLY helped my loss of libido from the prozac.

plus it has given me lots more energy -- i walk more now (and for further distances) than i ever did in my life.

in the beginning i had sleeplessness but that went away after two weeks or so.

The first day I didn't notice anything. The second day I had a build up of energy as the day went on so I went for a 5 mile walk to burn some of it off. Generally I had more energy, but I had severe anxiety as well. Circumstances triggered my anxiety, however, my physical response was out of proportion to my thoughts. My heart felt like it was going to explode out of my chest. I kept saying to my husband, "I don't know why I am reacting this severely." By the way, I had no idea that wellbutrin caused anxiety. My doctor told me there were minimal side effects. I took her word for it. I did no research on it. I started out with samples that the doctor gave me. When I had my first prescription filled, it was then that I read about the side effects. I also had severe insomnia in the first month. I currently have extremely shaky hands especially when I do activities that require fine motor skills. I had mild dizziness which is gone now. Nothing too severe though. By the way, I am on 150 mg.

not eating or forgeting to eat, sleeplessness, dry mouth, sweating, confusion, short term memory loss, and finally i had a seizure and they had to take me off of it.

insomnia and does not go well with Ambien

sleeplessness, dizziness, headache

Sleeplessness and agitation!