Wellbutrin: Not Eating ? Help.

 That could be it as well. I'll just shake this out until I can really get decent food down my throat. I just refuse to let my protein intake slip and wane. Thanks for the support, Babiekins. You're amazing!

Hmmm....well I haven't experienced the food intolerance that you have. I was on Wellbutrin prior to surgery and I stopped taking it a few days after surgery because the pills were going right through me...literally...nudge nudge, I KNOW they were if you catch my drift....

Have you seen positive changes with the Wellbutrin though - is it doing it's job at least? Cause if not - then there isn't much point on being on it if it's causing you all the problems it sounds like it is. There are old school antidepressants that aren't SSRI's - have you tried any of them? Also there are a couple of medications that don't effect the seretonin as well I think. I got a bit of education in all of this stuff a year and a half ago (I went to an out patient program where we learned some of this stuff). Have you tried any of these? If you want, I can look back at the stuff that I got to see what medications don't effect the seretonin if you'd like - let me know either here or PM and I can pull it out and look the info up for you.

((((HUGS)))) I really hope you are able to start feeling better hon - you so deserve it!

 The Wellbutrin has kept the suicidal ideations at bay, so that's a plus. It's helped with the insane panic/anxiety attacks that I was having. I still had  major fear related instances and so I was put on Xanax. So, that is getting  me through. I know I won't let go of the Wellbutrin. The effects of Reglan almost destroyed my life and really, in all honesty it did and left me picking up the pieces. This is the first semblance of "living" that I'm doing and even that is almost laughable. I'll just suffer through with the not eating jazz, but can I tell you how ******g fantabulous you are for even offering all this help? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!!!

Well at least it's giving you the good stuff too.  LIke others have said the side effects usually do dissapate so try to keep on keepin on for a couple of more weeks and see how you are.  Hopefully, and gosh I'm crossin my fingers on this one for you, it subsides and you'll start enjoying the bacon you are meant to enjoy!

 You're such a kindred soul. Thank you so much for the good thoughts!! 

 

There's an almost opposite antidepressant that my mom was on.  It's not an SSRI--I think it's something newer--and it increases appetite.  It's Remeron.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirtazapine

It worked well for her depression, but she's switching to Cymbalta because it tends to interfere with pain signals to the brain...and we'd like to keep her off codeine as an add-on to her Fentanyl.

I'm on Wellbutrin but it's only been for a week, so I'm not at the "not hungry place yet."  I didn't want to get into full anorexia and was hoping for an antidepressant that didn't cause weight gain.  We'll see.

BTW, you are not whining and since the drugs take a while to work...and stop working...you are wise to ask now and not wait until you're in a real mess.

 See, that's what my fear was.. the feeling of anorexia without the weightloss. You get it. But I can't get on a medication that will make me gain weight. Also, it's the first time that I'm "functional" from that Reglan debacle and so I know I want to keep on it. I just wanted to know what to do with the lack of eating. I was able to do three shakes yesterday. I had to start early and choke them down,but I did it! So, this is just going to be mind over matter. I can tell. Thank you so very much for the support, Darling. I heart you.

Sia,

I'm still post op but I've been on Wellbutrin XR for about 6 months now.  For the first two month I had almost an aversion to food.  I had absolutely no interest in eating and gaged on food most of the time.  I did lose about 20 pounds during that time which I'm not going to complain about but I remember being somewhat concerned about this aversion to food.

It did go away.  I feel Wellbutrin does continue to curb my appetite a bit and makes me much more mindful of what I am eating but that initial aversion went away.  I will say that every now and again I go through a couple of days to a week where I really have no interest in eating and nothing really tastes good but it's nothing like it was in the beginning.

Michelle

 This is exactly what I wanted to know. Thank you!!!! I was just wanting to make sure that this wasn't another aspect of the Reglan withdrawals. I'm so grateful to you for posting this. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!!!! 

Are you on the sustained or extended release formulations (SR or XL), or the regular (short-acting) formulation? I was taking Wellbutrin XL when I was pre-op, and I had the same issue with not being able to eat. The thought of food repulsed me. I had hypoglycemia and was supposed to be eating every 2-3 hours, so this was a problem. Therefore, my psychiatrist switched me to the regular (not extended release) Wellbutrin. I took my first dose in the a.m., and my second dose at noon. That helped with my appetite, because the short-acting version would allow my hunger to return before my next dose. Now that I'm post-op, I'm still taking the short-release because of absorption with the smaller stomach.

However, if your doc is putting you on a high dose because of malabsorption, your seizure risk will go up with the short-acting Wellbutrin if you're taking more than 450 mg per day. You really shouldn't take more than 450 mg with any version of it, extended release or not.

All of that said, Wellbutrin can work wonders for treating depression that isn't responsive to SSRIs. It's the only drug that has worked for me. I'd be cautious about switching meds this soon, and the older antidepressants (MAOIs, tricyclics) have much worse adverse effects overall. Regardless, your appetite should get better with time as your body adjusts to the medication. Hang in there, and definitely keep following up with your doctor about it.