Wellbutrin and memory loss

I have been taking a generic version of Wellbutrin SR 150mg for almost 2 months now. I also take Zoloft 50mg. Before I started the wellbutrin, I had been taking zoloft for over a year to help with depression. The zoloft was working very well for my depression, but it completely killed my libido and as a newlywed, I felt something had to be done as it was beginning to affect my relationship with my husband.
So my doctor prescribed the wellbutrin. For the first couple of weeks I experienced a lot of nervous energy, a shortness of breath, a bit of nausea, forgetfulness and confusion. I almost stopped taking it because I didn't feel it was helping my libido either. But I stuck with it and after 3 weeks, it felt like it was definitely having a positive effect on my sex life. My husband noticed it too. He mentioned how much more responsive I had become when we were intimate. After 2 months, I am absolutely convinced that it has changed our lives and our relationship.
It is not, by any means a miracle drug though. I have a few complaints about it, the main one being the CONFUSION that I experience for hours after I take it. I was taking it in the morning before I went to work and everyday I noticed that I was not as sharp and efficient as I usually am. I figured this was a temporary side effect so I kept taking it as usual, but it never went away! I kept forgetting everything, lost focus easily, had dull headaches, and generally felt as if I could not connect to what I was doing.
SO...about a week ago, I thought I would try to take it at night...when it's not as important to be sharp and focused (and more important to be turned on). And it has turned out great! I'm so glad I started to do it. It doesn't affect my sleep...in fact I think I sleep better. And when I wake up in the morning, my dull headache is gone and I feel less foggy. At work, I feel normal again. My short term memory has recovered and I don't get confused as easily.
If you suffer from a lot of memory loss and confusion from this medication, I definitely suggest taking it at night. It has really helped me! Thanks and good luck!

I've been on Welbutrin for about six months, along with Zoloft. I had tried it because of the lack of motivation and the lithergy I was feeling (I suspect) as a result of the Zoloft. I came across this site after a search for memory loss connected with Welbutrin. I believe I'm having that problem. I don't seem to have the quick grasp of words I did. In a phone conversation today, I could not remember a certain medical term that I have been using rather frequently over the past six months. There are some other cases, but that incident put me on the trail of memory loss research. I actually suspected that it was the Ambien I had been taking for sleep (I have not completely ruled that drug out). But all the posts here seem to indicate that the welbutrin could be at fault.

I'm on 150mg, twice daily. However, in the morning, I will actually take one and a half pills (225mg) to get me going. I have noticed CONSIDERABLE jitters, hand tremors, enough that if I'm doing delicate work of some type, I have difficulty continuing ti complete the task. At the 225mg, I do seem to become over amped a bit, but it improves my motivation. A St. Johns Wart capsule will usually calm that, but you see the problem of one drug, helping one problem, but causing another, so you take a third! I have tried numerous other antidepressants and they all caused more side effects than they were worth.
Celexa cause an eventual complete lack of ANY motivation! Plus SERIOUS sexual side effects. Zoloft has been the best with the least side effects and I have always returned to it. But the sleepiness can just be extreme with me.

I have run out of Welbutrin and the result is return of the lithergy. I also believe that the Welbutrin may be causing my occasional up tick in anger. Possibly spreading the dosage will help. Not mixing it with caffiene may also help because caffiene can make me explosive if I don't limit my intake to about a cup of coffee. Most of you know that Zoloft, Prozac and the like increase the available seritonin in your brain, a calming neurotransmitter. Welbutrin increases the available norepinephrine, a stimulating neurotransmitter, akin to adrenalin. (Research for yourselves those facts, remember, I posting this because of a problem with MEMORY! :) So it makes perfect sense that people can become overstimulated with Welbutrin. The memory aspects of it, I don't yet understand. I'm going to experiment with dosage reduction and possibly replacing the Welbutrin with the amino acid L-phenylalanine. I hope this little post can help some of you as much as the other posts here have helped me!

Burt

I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW THANKFUL I AM THAT I HAVE COME ACROSS THIS WEB SITE. UNDERSTAND THAT WE GO THROUGH LIFE WITH MAJOR UPS AND DOWNS AND SOMETIMES WE NEED SOMETHING TO HELP US OUT. BUT AT WHAT COST? EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. AND PERHAPS WITH FAMILY HISTORY AND WHAT NOT THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO NEED MEDS TO HELP THEM OUT. I FIRST BEGAN TAKING YASMIN ABOUT 4 YEARS AGO. NEVER THOUGHT MUCH OF IT BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN ON BC MOST OF MY LIFE DUE TO BAD PERIODS, WHICH STARTED WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER. UNFORTUNATELY I DID NOT BOTHER TO EXPERIMENT WITH THE FACT THAT AS YOU GET OLDER YOU'RE BODY CHANGES. SO RATHER THAN GET OFF BC I JUST CONTINUED ON WITH IT 1 TO PREVENT PREGNANCY AND 2 IT HELPED THE BAD PERIOD SYMPTOMS AT THAT TIME. OF COURSE YOU READ ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS, BUT THEY GIVE YOU THE "NOT SO BAD" VERSION OF THEM. ALMOST A YEAR AGO I STARTED GETTING HORRIBLE UNBEARABLE MOOD SWINGS, ANXIETY YOU NAME IT. SO I DECIDED TO GO TO THE DRS. TO FIND OUT WAS WRONG BECAUSE I HAD SIMILAR SYMPTOMS TO A THYRIOD PROBLEM, BUT THERE WAS NO PROBLEM BECAUSE MY TONS OF BLOOD WORK I KEPT TAKING CAME BACK FINE. SO THE DR PRESCRIBED WELLBUTRIN AND LEXAPRO. I WAS DESPERATE AND JUST WANTED TO FEEL GOOD AGAIN. THE FIRST COUPLE MONTHS WERE ROUGH BECAUSE OF THE SIDE EFFECTS AND THEN THE MEDS STARTED TO WORK AND EASE EVERYTHING UNTIL RECENTLY. I AM BACK TO SQUARE 1! DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING, BASICALLY HAVE ALL THE SYMPTOMS BACK FROM THE SIDE EFFECTS. FROM THE SHAKING TO THE MUSCLE ACHE, MEMORY LOSS, WEIGHT GAIN, THINNING OF THE HAIR(AND IM BLOND AND HAVE FINE HAIR TO BEGIN WITH) WHAT EVERYONE IS AND HAS BEEN FEELING ARE REAL AND NOT JUST STUFF MADE UP IN YOUR HEAD. YOU ARE NOT CRAZY! SO BASICALLY BY JUST TAKING ONE MED LED TO ME TAKING ONE RIGHT AFTER THE OTHER. SO BY THE GRACE OF GOD I STUMBLED ACROSS THIS SITE WHEN I HAD GOOGLED MEDS TO HELP WITH SEVERE MOOD BEHAVIOR. AND THE FIRST THING IT CAME TO WAS THE YASMIN SIGHT AND LET ME TELL YOU I WAS IN SHOCK BECAUSE I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT SIDE EFFECTS IT HAD THAT MIMICED ANXIETY, WHICH LED ME AND MY DRS. TO THINK THAT I HAD ANXIETY, WHICH I DON'T THINK IS THE CASE. I BELIEVE THAT ALL THESE PROBLEMS STEMMED FROM THE YASMIN. I THOUGHT THAT I WOULD HAVE TO BE MISERABLE MY WHOLE LIFE. TO SUM IT UP THE SIDE EFFECTS FROM THE PILL HAD MADE MY BODY HAVE SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY ETC. NEVER HAD ANYTHING LIKE IT BEFORE. SO I HAD CLICKED ON TO WELL BUTRIN AND LEXAPRO BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN TAKING 450 OF THE XL AND UP TO 40 ON THE LEXAPRO...HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE! SO I HAVE TO DECIDED TO STOP EVERYTHING AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS BECAUSE I CANNOT TAKE THIS CRAPY FEELING ANYMORE. MY DAUGHTER, BOYFRIEND, AND FRIENDS HAVE ALL SUFFERED FROM THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THESE MEDICATIONS. THANK GOD I STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT WITH EVERYONE. EXCUSE MY LANGUAGE, BUT I PUT THE BITCH IN BITCH AND NOT PROUD OF IT BECAUSE THAT'S NOT WHO I AM. HOPEFULLY YOU HAVE READ THROUGH BECAUSE IVE READ EVERY COMMENT ON THIS SITE AND IT HAS DONE ME A WORLD OF GOOD, I FEEL LIKE THEIR IS STILL HOPE TO ACTUALLY WAKE UP ONE MORNING AND NOT FEEL TIRED , HAVE A HEADACHE, NOT BE CONSTIPATED AND THE LIST GOES ON. SO LADIES YOU ARE NOT ALONE, IT IS HAPPENING TO YOU AND HOW YOU CHOOSE TO FIX IT IS ALL UP TO YOU IF IT HELPS THEN STICK WITH IT,BUT IF YOU'RE FED UP AND MISERABLE LIKE ME, RID YOU'RE BODY AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS. I WILL DEFINITELY GIVE AN UPDATE TO WHAT HAPPENS AND IF THE MEDS WERE THE CULPRIT OF MY PROBLEMS.

I've been taking Wellbutrin XL for almost a year the highest dose you can take which is 450 mg. When I first started taking it, the side effects were horrible, first with the memory loss, nausea etc. A few months into the perscription I could notice a change, but as time went on I began to feel not so good anymore. I started getting bad twitches right before I was almost asleep. They became so bad that I would wake myself up because my body would jerk so bad. The ringing of the ears had occurred along with an appetite increase. I felt that it stopped working within the last couple months. There is no point to be on a medication that is not working. Also suffering hair loss and my hair is blond and fine to begin with. I just find it alarming that so many people who are taking this have horrible side effects from it. Side effects are suppose to subside overtime, but not in this case. Besides I was also taking Yasmin which is a whole different story because it could of been causing the anxiety that led to me to have to take this medication. So I'm stopping everything because I feel my body is telling me to let be it free of meds. I strongly believe in medications, but not when one med causes a sympton that leads to another med that causes other problems. Like everyone has been saying listen to your body and don't ignore it. I'm tired of being sick and tired! A medicine that is suppose to make you feel better is only making me feel worse. I'm just going to start from scratch again and see what happens perhaps I never really needed anything at all which upsets me. Since the time I began Yasmin up until The Wellbutrin Xl, I've been living quite the miserable life. I don't want anyone to have to go through this ever. I lost out on alot of time with my daughter and I can't get that back. A lesson to be learned perhaps, study up on meds before taking them or combining them with others, we are fortunate enough to have the technology to do so. So think about how you're feeling and whats going on with your bodies. GOD BLESS!

I am taking Wellbutrin and it has helped my depression and desire for drugs every day. I have bad ringing in my ears all the time but I can deal with that compared to the good it has done.. The problem is I'm a engineer which requires a lot of concentration that I have lost since I've been on Wellbutrin. I also have memory loss. I can't remember peoples names 2 minutes after they told me. I am a support engineer so I have to tallk to many people every day as well as typing cause and solution. I find myself having to read everything I type over again because I leave out words and sometimes what I type makes no sense at all. Wellbutrin has helped me so much but I think I will have to stop or lose my job. What a choice. Before I started taking Wellbutrin I never felt like I was in tune with the world. Smoking pot worked for me but we all know what the long term effect of that is. Codine also made me feel like I fit in. So Wellbutrin has fixed all those needs and feelings but I just hate the loss of memory, concentration, and ringing in my ears.

I have been on Wellbutrin 300mg for about 5 months now along with Cymbalta 90 mg for postpartum depression. I have had VERY VERY bad memory loss (mostly short term), constant overheating (sweating for no reason), headaches, muscle spasms, trouble urinating, dry mouth, also I have been told by my practitioner that the generic form of Wellbutrin for some reason DOES NOT work as well as the name brand even though they are supposed to be the same thing.

i have been taking wellbutrin to help me deal with anxiety for a little more than a week. i thought it would take more time to have an effect, but i feel very calm. i even stopped smoking right off, which i didn't intend to do. The side effects are worse that i thought they would be. i have lost the ability to spell, my short-term memory is noticeably impaired, and i have trouble paying attention in class/at work. i feel very foggy and disconnected. i've also been having headaches, night sweats, and stomach pains, but they are mild.

I am going through my CDL training, and am having a lack of sleep due to studying, but for all I know some of the things happening could be because I've been on Wellbutrin for about two weeks.

-Eyes swollen feeling
-Memory loss
-Rapid heart beat
-Increased my body temperature. I'm usually cold all the time. Now I'm heated well.

I have been taking Wellbutrin 150mg 2x per day since 1996. It has been an absolute lifesaving experience. Yes, I do have some memory loss, but not enough to alter my life at all.

The one serious side effect, and a great one at that, is the heightened feeling of ecstasy during an orgasm. Oh my God, prior to Wellbutrin, I was a 28 year old male, who totaling lost interest in sex, and had almost no pleasure whatsoever when I orgasmed. Now, when I orgasm, the feelings of pleasure are so intense, at times, I honestly think I am going to have heart failure.

It is by far the most incredibly gratifying sensation I have ever had. I stopped Wellbutrin several times over the past 11 years, and each time I was back to my old self with 48 hours. One other positive side effect for me, it has cured my "lactose intolerance". I have been eating all the dairy I could ever want without any problems or discomfort whatsoever. However when I stopped the Wellbutrin, my lactose problem returned within 24 hours.

As I told my doctor, if he were to tell me I would live to be 90 without Wellbutrin and old to 60 with Wellbutrin, I would chose the 60 years. Thats how much more enjoyable life has become for me. I would not ever want to stop taking it. It has saved my life. One last thing, I forgot to mention, it has treated my depression incredibly well also. Again, it saved my life.

Everyone is different. I believe that if you are experienceing bad effects from the Wellbutrin therapy, then you probably don't have a chemical imbalance at all, or you may be taking too much and sending your chemicals out of balance in the otther direction. One must carefully considering perhaps reducing or increasing their dosage depending on their personal situation. Always discuss it with your doctor of course, this drug is nothing to mess around with. I think it is very powerful, and a Godsend.
Best regards to all.

I have memory loss and I'm a teacher. I'm just hoping that the memory loss will not be long term. Does this stuff cause brain damage? It's possible. I will probably get off of this drug soon.

I am participating in a research study for Wellbutrin helping smokers to quit. I am 25 years old. The study is a double blind study so there is a possibility that I am on placebo...but judging from my feelings - I am not. I have been on wellbutrin for 8 days now. I went from 150mg to 300mg in the course of 3 days. My symptoms/side effects include feeling "blah", not having interest in conversation, coordination problems (I have had issues with walking up and down stairs; almost to the point of falling), small episodes of memory loss, and I am thinking possible hair loss. The hair loss is the most devastating to me and I am going to stop taking wellbutrin because of it. I will find another way to quit smoking - there is no sense in taking something that is going to make me feel horrible about myself. Has anyone quit taking it and have their hair grow back?

I have been on Wellbutrin for the past 2 years for the depression and the only side effect i have had has been memory loss, occasionally at work. I start to do something and after a few minutes if a question is asked i'm not able to remember. It felt like i was getting dimentia, but i started to use Gingko Biloba and my memory loss has improved. On Wellbutrin i haven't really had any side effect. It has helped me tremendously with my depression.

I had been taking the brand name Wellbutrin SR (150mg) 2x per day. My doctor changed my dose to 200mg 2x a day, and the pharmacy filled it with the generic Bupropion SR. I have noticed my symptoms have been coming back (depression, etc.). I even have had lots of water retention, which makes me feel terrible. I would love to know if anyone has had the same problems with generic vs. the brand name. I know the pharmacy will tell us it is the SAME, but I wish now I would have requested the brand name, even if I had to wait until they shipped it in (they don't have it in stock).

Thanks!

incredible memory loss,unable to concentrate,on bupropton on and off appox. 6 months,today i had trouble writing my first name.

i'll quit smoking cigarettes cold turkey,no more wellbutrin for me/

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.

(MEMORY LOSS) I have been on Wellbutrin for close to a year starting with a low dosage-now at 450mg a day. I am not feeling the low dips of depression nor has it elevated me to a normal level of hapiness-minimally at best just functioning. I cannot remember certain things at work in which I should-short term and longer term. This is certainly a problem along with diminished concentration levels leading to mistakes in a job that is highly detailed.

Does every body or some also believe that there are definate side effects of memory loss? ******

Thanks to all who have participated in this site. I started Welbutrin XL about 9 months ago. Very soon after starting, I noticed many of the side effects noted here: vision problems, slight tremors, headaches, difficulty with concentration, memory loss. It did lessen my depression, so I put up w/ the side effects for about 4 months. Then I did ween myself off it. My depression and paranoia worsened, and I cried all the time. So after about 2 months I went back on it. The side effects above were back, and in addition, I developed jaw pain, difficulty w/ sexual arousal, and an overall sense of apathy. And the memory loss. concentration problems and mental fog are worse now more than ever; for lack of a better term, I feel like I'm becoming "dumb." This is starting to be a problem at work. I want to go off, but don't want the depression back. HAS ANYONE FOUND A GOOD ALTERNATIVE??? I've love your input.

Hi I have been taking wellbutrin for over a year and I have had lack of concentration and memory loss so i went to my psycologist and he is upping my dosage of wellbutrin he said it will help with my lack of concentration and memory loss now I am reading this forumn and everybody is saying it is the wellbutrin that is causing these sideeffects. I have beent aking 100mg 1 a day now he wants me to take 150 mg 2 aday does anyone have the experience of going to a higher dose and it helping with their memory loss and concentration problems please email me at ****** with wellbutrin in the subject column thanks for your help.

Extreme short and medium term memory loss, including words, names and ability to finish a sentence without forgetting what I was saying. Concentration and focus at work are impossible.

I am glad to see that there are other people having the same problems as me, memory loss, lack of concentration, headache and I have developed psoriasis since taking Wellbutrin XL 150 mg. I thought it was just me and I was getting really stupid. I don't know if anyone else has experienced psoriasis, but its terrible. If anyone has, please let me know if it subsided once you were off of the drug. The side effects say it can cause skin rash, but I didn't think they meant this.

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.

I've been taking 30mg of XL for about 2 years. This is an increase of 150mg for about a year prior. Memory loss is the worst! I often go to do something and before I actually do it a minute later, forget what it was I was going to do. I have a very hard time concentrating. I have a job where I have to be mentally fit, and have been going crazy because I haven't been able to concentrate enough to figure out the simplest things. I am losing hair bad, but not sure if I can attribute it to Wellbutrin. I sweat constantly. I wake up in a puddle of sweat and have to turn my pillow repeatedly during the night to find a dry patch. I also sem to urinate a lot more than anyone else. I am up 1 or 2 times every night to use the bathroom. As for keeping me out of depression, it's worked well, but seems to be diminishing. I am feeling more and more depressed lately. My work and relationships are suffering due to my forgetfulness and I am irritable, mostly due to being upset with myself for not being able to concentrate and figure out what should be simple tasks.

I have not found a lot of information about these symptoms online except for this site. Only little blurbs here and there. After reading this, I think it's time to quit and try something else. Does anyone know if the hair grows back and memory comes back or do they just not get any worse after stopping???

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 have been on Wellbutrin for approx. 2 weeks. I was prescribed 150 mgs of Xl per day for major depression which I take before going to sleep. I have had some odd but not too severe side effects including vivid dreams (many extremely odd), bouts of nausea which can be severe and seem to last about 1-2 hrs. I have not noticed too much anxiety but some agitation upon waking int he morning. No memory loss or fatigue and my sleep seems to be ok. I have also had a few mild headaches.

You all need to read what has been written...those of you who have inflamed painful joints and memory loss need to go off the drug to see if they improve and ten return to the drug if you find the drug was not the cause. I can't believe so many of you aren't reading these side effects 80% of you all have the same ones (are you clueless)

hi Janeanne, I have taken Wellbutrin for several yrs and seems the best AD for me. I did not notice memory loss, now I have, but is from the Lamictal and Neurontin. Am hoping to get rid of one of them. What you might be interested in is that I began taking the time release300 in AM and felt in a fog-like disconnected for a few hrs in the AM. Went back to the 150 3X a day and went away. Began taking 2 150 in the AM (pdoc thinks the later dose may be adding to not getting to sleep) and 150 later in afternoon and noticed in AM feeling the same way. Had to stop doing it 2 weeks when had to learn some new programs at work and needed to be sharp in AM. Lindagail

I started taking 150 mg Welbutrin for depression. I'm now up to 450 mg and am no longer depressed, but recently I've had some VERY SEVERE lapses in memory, forgetfulness and confusion. Some of the experiences were very funny, like packing my suitcase twice to make sure I didn't forget anything, then picking it up and having everything fall out because I forgot to close the suitcase. Or rolling up my jeans to polish my shoes and then leaving them rolled up all morning because I forgot about them. Boy did I look stupid.

At first I thought all of these incidents were coincidental and meant nothing. But when I started writing them all down, it became serious. I got lost while driving in my rented car, forgot to bring my map with me, forgot where my hotel was, forgot my hotel room key, forgot what room I was in, forgot what floor I was on, left my suitcase at the car rental counter, etc. etc. Not good at all. I've reduced the dose to 150 mg and already my mind is clear and my memory back. There is no question in my mind that the Welbutrin has caused the memory loss and it scares me because a lot of women my age, 56, just assume, like I did, that I was getting older and my mind just wasn't working like it used to.......NOT TRUE!!

Also, a good friend of mine, who is also on Welbutrin, had a 2-3 hour total memory loss. The only thing she could remember was my name and that she was safe with me. The doctors feared she was having a stroke, but that turned out to be wrong. All of the tests showed that she is completely healthy. My guess now is that it was the Welbutrin. This has happened to her twice. Fortunately her memory returned and she wasn't driving at the time.

I'm very curious to hear about any other people with memory loss.

I have been taking Wellbutrin, in one form or another for approx. 5 mos.. Because of cost I started using the SR 100mg because of the cost factor. Now I seem to be having these side effects,memory loss, joint pain, anxiousness. Lately I have been getting flu like symtoms using 300 mg of SR. Anyone else have the flu-like symtoms???

I have been on Welbutrin since May. Since then, I have had an aneurysm. I also have Psorisais. I am taking Lopresor and
Norsvac. My feet has a rash and my buttocks too.

I have gained weight and stay hungry all the time. I seldom
get a good night's sleep. I have memory loss and confustion
cannot focus on important things.

Don't know which drug is causing this.

I have been taken wellbutrin for 3 weeks, I know that it helped with my symtoms, but I also get severe ear ringing and not sleeping and forget to eat and memory loss.

Memory loss, confusion, disorientation