Wellbutrin and mood swings

I've been on Wellbutrin for 3 years. My hair has been falling out more and more every month. My scalp itches horribly! It feels almost as though bugs are crawling all over it. I am irritable and have dramatic mood swings. The final straw, though, was recently when I had a blood test to find that my white and red blood cell counts had become dangerously low, and my red blood cells were swollen (macrocytic anemia).

I'm now training myself off of Wellbutrin. I tried dropping to a quarter dose and felt flu-like symptoms (chills, extreme tiredness, dizziness) and extraordinary appetite (gaining 10 lbs in week 1). I also became unable to handle simple tasks at work, and excessively negative in demeanor.

I'm now back up to 1 pill and the chills have stopped. I am hoping that I can go back down to 1/2 pill gradually.

Will my hair grow back? Is the liver/blood damage reversible? Has anyone kicked the Wellbutrin habit and recovered fully? Please help.

Thank you in advance.

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 too have experience a late period, 11 days late so far. In addition, I am having extreme nausea. I thought maybe I was pregnant, I took 3 tests and all are negative. I have been on the Wellbutrin for 1 month now and am not really thrilled with the results. Actually, I find it's not helping at all.

I was on Celexa for about 6 months and loved it with 2 exceptions. Hair loss and a huge loss of my sex drive.

My thought is that none of these drugs are without side effects...there is no free ride.

Anyone else have similar experiences with Wellbutrin?

I haven't really felt depressed since I have been on wellbutrin, but something that is very bothersome to me is that I can't concentrate or remember things the way I used to. I also have troubles getting myself motivated to do something or finishing a task. I can't remember songs that I made up on the guitar, even an hour later sometimes. I'm only on 150 mg once a day, which is better than the 300 mg I used to be at, but still I can tell it is affecting me.

jerkiness of arms and legs, headaches, hair loss and thinning (as in thick to fine), brain fog - have trouble remembering simple things like someone's name, my sleep is all screwed up, have been taking 450 mgs Wellbutrin XL for several years, decided to go off. Also take Effexor XR and Lamictal - may go off Effexor too, Lamictal helps with mood swings (I am Bipolar II) - not sure if it is causing any of the problems or not, only been on it 6 months - 100 mg. Any one else on this combinatio? The hair loss is what concerns me most, I'm only 54 - not ready to look like my grandmother!

if you experienced problems with this drug, you should consider taking 30 mg. of adderall xr. it is a miracle. no side effects and you can accomplish daily living. may be strong for the first few days so don't give up. this is great for ADD and mood swings.