What You Need to Know About Wellbutrin
If you’ve been diagnosed with depression or have tried one or more antidepressants without result, your doctor may decide that you should try Wellbutrin. Before you starting taking this, or any other drug, you should learn all you can about it.
What is Wellbutrin? What does it do?
Wellbutrin is a brand name of the drug Bupropion. Wellbutrin is prescribed to treat depression and seasonal affective disorder.1 Wellbutrin is made by GlaxoSmithKline.2
Wellbutrin is thought to prevent the transfer of the compound dopamine in the brain and to effect mood.3
Does Wellbutrin work?
Some patients have said that Wellbutrin helped them and relieved symptoms of depression. Some patients have said that Wellbutrin didn’t work and that they notice no improvement.4
A 2005 review of published trials and reports concluded that Bupropion (Wellbutrin) was an effective anti-depressant that was well operated in short term and longer-term treatment.5
In July, 2012, Wellbutrin’s maker, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) agreed to pay a $3,000,000 fine and to plead guilty, including for promoting uses for Wellbutrin which had not been approved by the FDA (“off label” use.) because there is little or no data to show such use is effective Wellbutrin had only been approved for treating Major Depressive Disorder but GSK promoted it for weight loss, for treatment of sexual dysfunction, substance addictions, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders, and other uses.
According to the Attorney General, “GSK paid millions of dollars to doctors to speak at and attend meetings, sometimes at lavish resorts, at which the off-label uses of Wellbutrin were routinely promoted and also used sales representatives, sham advisory boards, and supposedly independent Continuing Medical Education (CME) programs to promote Wellbutrin for these unapproved uses.”6
One of the doctors GSK paid to illegally promote off-label uses of Wellbutrin was Dr. Drew Pinsky, host of a radio talk show called “Loveline.” GSK paid Drew to promote Wellbutrin as a medication that enhanced sexual function and to claim that it was less likely to cause sexual dysfunction than other medications.7
What should I ask my doctor about before taking Wellbutrin?
The FDA warns that all antidepressants, including Wellbutrin, increase the risk of suicide, especially in children and adolescents, and that patients may develop depression or more severe symptoms of depression.8
Wellbutrin may cause seizures, high blood pressure, severe allergic reactions, delusions, hallucinations or confusion.9
More serious side effects of Wellbutrin can include nervousness, constipation, trouble sleeping, dry mouth, headache, nauseaa, vomiting and tremors.10
What if I’m already taking Wellbutrin?
Tell your doctor if you are taking any other medications as Wellbutrin may react badly with other drugs.11
Never stop taking any prescription medication without talking to your doctor. If you are concerned about Wellbutrin or experience any adverse effects, talk to your doctor.
Learn everything that you can about Wellbutrin before you start taking it.
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1 PubMed, “Bupropion” (revised 1 October 2009, retrieved 12 November 2012)
2 http://www.wellbutrin.com/
3 Biol Psychiatry. (October 2003), http://www.biopsychiatry.com/bupropion-dopamine.htm
4 Depression Blog, Patient comments (retrieved 1 November 2012), http://www.depressionblog.com/archives/000072.shtml; PTSD Forum, patient comments (retrieved 1 November 2012), https://www.ptsdforum.org/c/threads/can-wellbutrin-help-reduce-anxiety.5272/; Health Boards, patient comments (retrieved 1 November 2012), http://www.healthboards.com/boards/depression/528762-how-long-does-take-wellbutrin-work.html
5 Prim Care Companion J Clin Psychiatry., Fava M., “15 Years of Clinical Experience With Bupropion HCl: From Bupropion to Bupropion SR to Bupropion XL” (2005), http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1163271/
6 New York Times, Thomas K. and Schmidt M., “Glaxo Agrees to Pay $3 Billion in Fraud Settlement” (2 July 2012), http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/business/glaxosmithkline-agrees-to-pay-3-billion-in-fraud-settlement.html?pagewanted=all; Department of Justice, “GlaxoSmithKline to Plead Guilty and Pay $3 Billion to Resolve Fraud Allegations and Failure to Report Safety Data” (2 July 2012), http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/July/12-civ-842.html
7 Forbes, Herper M., “Feds Say Dr. Drew Was Paid By Glaxo To Talk Up Antidepressant” (20 July 2012), http://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2012/07/02/feds-say-dr-drew-was-paid-by-glaxo-to-talk-up-antidepressant/
8 Food and Drug Administration, Wellbutrin Medication Guide (May 2010), http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm089824.pdf
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.