Does Wellbutrin cause weight gain or loss?

[Chuncky Monkey]

I am taking Wellbutrin and i wanted to know if it causes weight loss or gain. Also will it interact with my Lipo& B12 shots... please respond.

[ajemmom]

I can't speak from experience, but my friend lost a TON of weight on Wellbutrin and her sex drive went through the roof!  Good luck!

[swimbikerun2006]

I took Welbutrin for 3 months (8 years ago) to help me quit smoking & I lost weight.  It was like a stimulant, to me.  AND I did quit smoking!!!

[Anneeee]

You loose weight.  It makes you a bit nervous, so if you have an anxiety problem.  Its not for you.

[ivylese]

My doctor discussed possibly putting me on welbutrin. I am SCARED TO DEATH of two side effects I was told welbutrin can cause.
            1. seizures
            2. weight gain
Can anyone here put my mind at ease?

[SlimMom]

Wellbutrin can absoultly cause seisures. It caused me to have two about a year apart. The first time I was traveling in
china and thought maybe it was the time change, strange foods, etc. The 2nd time I was home and after hospitalization and exhaustive tests there was no doubt it was the Wellbutrin. In their TV ads for Wellbutrin the manufacture now mentions seisures as one of the main side effects. I did lose some weight and at 55 my libido went through the roof. Thoses side effects were great :-) But the seisures caused me untold grief with the Motor Vehicle Department. I believe the higher the dose the more likely the seisure and as far as I know nothing such as too much coffee contributes. It's the drug and your particular body chemistry. More and more is being written about the connection between Wellbutrin and seisures please do some in depth homework.

[LexieLou]

I have been on Wellbutrin SR 300mg for 1 month. I currently have lost 6 pounds over the period of time. I previously was on Celexa and gained that 5 or 6 pounds. I suffer from Depression and complusive eating. I find that the Wellbutrin has helped with the binges and complusiving thinking of food. However, my question is if anyone has lost weight on Wellbutrin sr 300mg, how long did it take to lose the weight and how much? What did it do to you, suppress your apetite or just made you lose weight? Please respond back if you can answer any of these questions, im in desperate need of some answers and hope ! ! Thank you.

[chipper1379]

I just started on wellbutrin xl 150mg/day.  I'm nervous about weight gain and sezures.  I read that you had two already can you tell me how high of a dose you were on. I read that sezures are only for higher dose you were on. I have only stayed on depression meds no longer that 2 weeks to 3 months. I have been on Paxil, Zolof, Lexapro and now Wellbutrin.  I am afraid to take these meds. But, everyone thinks I need them. Thanks for you help

[Shorty551]

I have also taken celexa in the past. I have been on Wellbrutrin 300mg for 2 years. When I first increased my does to 300mg (from 150mg) I had just moved and started a new very stressful job (vet clinic). I never had time to eat at work very often, I ended up loseing 20lbs in just around 3 weeks and got very sick. I ended up quiting my job. Now I eat probably 3 times more then I did before to sustain the weight I'm at. If I don't eat within a half hour of feeling hungry I actually vomit. My metabolism has become super active, and I have also had a lot of muscle gain. strangly, if I work out I gain weight easily (muscle mass).  In college I put on 20 lbs, but I've lost 30lbs since being on wellbrutrin. I have maintained the weight I'm at for a year and a half now. I am actually under weight now for my size, but I do like the way I look. I couldn't put on weight if i tried, I am afraid that if I stop takeing wellbrutrin that I will gain weight due to being use to eatting a lot now. if anyone gains weight I would be amazed. I am contemplating getting off of it due to all the bad side effects I get, the worst being dry mouth. I hope I was of help.

[AlexisCA]

were you on generic wellbutrin (bupropion)?

[Tina1977]

I have lost 40+lbs in 1 1/2 years without even trying! at First you feel the side effects strongly,but they do go away after two weeks...then you find yourself cleaning house and you start to notice weightloss! I also was able to quit smoking for 8 months

[Cookster4]

How long until you start to loose weight on Wellbutrin?
Does that part start right after the 1st 2 weeks? I have been binge eating and cant seem to control my sweet tooth as i used to in the past!
I just started Wellbutrin 2 days ago!!!
I was on Paxil in the past and gained a total of 20 pounds in just 4 months!

[gina09]

Are you taking the generic Wellbutrin?  When I started that, I began binge eating, and eating anything that wasn't nailed down. I have gained about 20 lbs in about a month :(  After some extensive research, I found out that the generic can cause certain people some really nasty side effects. I am also dizzy, nauseous all the time, crying, angry, etc..

At first I thought it was because I switched over from celexa and was having celexa withdrawals. Then my Dr prescribed the brand name  Wellbutrin XL 300, Miracle of all miracles, my insurance is paying 100% of it.   I start taking it Wednesday.

I think I may start a post on this at some point.  

This was my original post about the symptoms i was having. If you get these, call your Dr, it's no way to live. Some of us just can't tolerate teh generic. It's NOT the same.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/661271?personal_page_id=273333&post_id=post_3551114

[nightbyrd]

When I started Wellbutrin it seemed like it was going to be heaven. It gave me energy and controlled my hunger.  Now a few weeks later I seem to eat anything in sight.  Has anyone else had this problem.  Also is there a diet pill that can be taken with Wellbutrin to offset the hunger?  It is great a controlling my depression and hunger.

Thanks

[nightbyrd]

On my prior post I meant but NOT my hunger! lol

[bev62]

I've been on Welbutrin for 8 months. So far I've lost 30 pounds.  I started taking phentermine 37.5 with it about 3 months ago.  The Welbutrin did pretty good with controlling my hunger but the phentermine really helped me loose the weight.  I have to force myself to eat.  It caused me to be pretty jittery at first but after a couple of weeks it improved.

[manxway]

I have been taking both Wellbutrin SR, 450mg/daily, and Topamax, 200mg/bid for a year and 9 months now, and the combination is great!  The Topamax is an anti-seizure drug, works for migraines (which I only had as a teenager) causes weight loss and is a mood stabilizer.  It also intensifies the effects of many other meds.  I have lost over 140 lbs, and just recently began to lose a little more.  I started out at 300 lbs, and this mornings weighed 166.8.  
It really helped a lot when I quit drinking beer, though, since it is very fattening and it is a depressant.  (Duh!)  LOL!  That was about 6 months ago.  But in spite of that, I lost 140 lbs anyway, and now have begun to lose more.  I had to buy a whole new wardrobe, and now it looks as if I may have to do it all over again.  I did start smoking again, however, after quitting for over 5 years.  I plan to quit again and have a presciption for Chantix, which I've heard great things about, but my insurance doesn't cover.  I need to switch to another plan because that stuff is expensive to buy out of pocket!
manxway

[Cookster4]

Do you know if there is more benifits as far as weight lost with the Wellbutrin SR then the Wellbutrin XL.
I am currently taking 300 mg XL daily no weight lost 1 month

[NorthStarWind]

I have been on Welbutrin for almost 4 months now and have noticed weight gain of about 8-10 pounds and I'm not eating anymore than I use to. I'm wondering if the 'weight-gain'/'weight-loss' issue is affected by whether or not people 'need' to lose weight before they start taking it.

I consider myself to have a fairly high metabolism and I can maintain my weight quite easily. I know what causes me to gain weight and what I need to do to lose it. Now that I'm taking Wellbutrin it seems like I'm just gaining weight and there's no reason for it. I'm also having a crazy hard time losing it!

I'm starting to put things together and think I may know why I'm gaining the weight. Wellbutrin is making me very constipated, which is completely out of the ordinary from my usual 'regular' routine. I usual go 2-4 times a day and now I'm lucky if I go once. There is a link between being constipation and gaining weight. I'm hoping once I get myself 'regular' again that I'll see the weight fall off.

[gypsy1960]

seizures are one of the side effects but from wht i understand u need to make sure your doses r 24 hrs apart and dont dbl dose if u miss one just skip it or u can also over dose

[tushy]

I am taking Webutrin XL and noticed a gain weight. I am not eating much and wonder why !!! I thought i was suppose to loss weight ??? I feel bloated and have stomach pain?

Julie

[buubblytoes]

It sounds like all of you are taking welbutrin for weight loss. Can't you just take a prescribed diet pill instead?? I'm so confused I thought welbutrin was suppose to help with depression. I was really excited about talking to my dr about welbutrin because I thought it was an anti depressant along with all these great side effects (weight loss, increased sex drive). Of course I would love increased sex drive and weight loss but I really want to not feel so depressed.

[Dawnsil81]

I started taking wellburtin, for the second time in a couple of years a couple of days ago, I took it before for depression and now to stop smoking, we shall see how it works, the side affect is weight loss, I lost some weight the first time with it but that is okay! Rather lose then gain expecially when u are trying to quit smoking! Energy is up again as well which is a good boost and for once I have a feeling of happyness, so all in all I do like the it. Just hope it really does help to stop smoking, the first time I took it I did not smoke back then so we shall see!! Can't wait to stop smoking!

[tridgway]

I started Wellbutrin a few months ago and have gained 30 pounds in 4 months!  Anyone have ideas on how to make it stop?  I don't eat any different than I used to.

[ladyblue22]

You had two Seizures 1 year apart. How high was your dose?

[JerJer45]

I started taking Wellbutrin for Major Depressive disorder many years ago, and continued to take it for 3 years.  It did work well for depression, and I did have the beneficial side effect of the weight loss as well.  I have taken Zoloft and Lexapro in the past which also worked well for depression, but similar to others on this site, I couldn't stand the weight gain. So I tapered off and ultimately quit.  I have to be honest and say that when I took the Wellbutrin (in my late 30's) my figure looked amazing (better then in highschool).  I'm not sure what it does to your body chemistry, but I did not gain weight, and I had lots of energy, so I stayed very active, ran and did weight training. And did not really need to try to watch my weight during this time. I quit taking the Wellbutrin because I was trying to get pregnant with my second child.   I went about 3 more years without having another episode of depression, and now here I am again.  One thing I will say is Wellbutrin did not work very well for Anxiety, so this time around I am going to talk to my Dr. about something that would work in combination with the Wellbutrin. Good luck to everyone. And thanks for your posts.. It is reassuring to see people who know what it's like to live life with depression.