Working with your doctor, you can reduce your dose over the course of one or two weeks. Wellbutrin withdrawal symptoms aren’t common, but those who experience them may become agitated and irritable. If you recently quit smoking, your nicotine cravings may return, although they’re likely to be milder than if you hadn’t taken Wellbutrin. Your doctor may recommend adjusting your dose every 1 to 4 weeks, slowly reducing it to see how you’re doing. They’ll treat each case on an individual basis and adjust medications according to your specific needs.
Lifestyle Quizzes
You’ll learn about how Wellbutrin works and why just stopping the medication can lead to bupropion withdrawal symptoms. Your ideal tapering regimen will depend on factors like your health and mental health, your dosage, how long you’ve been taking bupropion, and more. For this reason, you should work with the doctor who’s prescribing your medication and they can make a plan for you to taper your dosage safely. Treatment for MDD typically includes antidepressants, lifestyle modifications, and talk therapy, all aimed at enabling people to function effectively in daily life and minimizing the risk of relapse. There are also various resources available to help aid in recovery as well. Individuals with MDD may find themselves frequently experiencing depressive episodes, which can vary in duration from a few days to several weeks.
- Consequently, the withdrawal symptoms are typically mild, or, more often, nonexistent.
- Combining alcohol with Wellbutrin is strongly discouraged and can lead to various problems.
- Wellbutrin, or bupropion, is classified as an antidepressant and is usually used to treat depression—though, the drug is also used as a smoking cessation aid under the name Zyban.
- Wellbutrin is a medication that affects the brain’s neurotransmitters, and its sudden cessation can lead to withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, insomnia, and nausea.
- It’s important to stay connected to your support system—this could be therapy, support groups, or close friends.
Prolonged Impact of Sudden Withdrawal
- Lengthier use of Wellbutrin will likely produce more intense withdrawal symptoms than short-term consumption.
- In this article, we will explore whether it is possible to stop Wellbutrin cold turkey after just two weeks and what you should consider before making such a decision.
- There are numerous withdrawal symptoms that one might experience when they decide to go cold turkey on Wellbutrin.
- If you do experience unpleasant symptoms due to ADS, your doctor or healthcare professional may focus on a treatment plan suitable for you.
“It really is a shared decision between you and your physician,” Dr. DeYoung says. On that note, having a doc you trust and feel comfortable talking to is key here, whether that’s your primary care physician or a psychiatrist. When you stop taking an antidepressant cold turkey, your brain doesn’t have time to adjust its chemical balance properly—an unwelcome surprise party if there ever was one. The resulting turmoil is what triggers antidepressant discontinuation syndrome. When you decide to stop taking Wellbutrin, withdrawal symptoms can kick in. There are proven strategies to help manage these effects and make the process more bearable.
Health Conditions
Therapy can help you process trauma, shift patterns, learn coping skills, and even improve your odds of getting off medication successfully. It isn’t a replacement for medication (just like medication isn’t a replacement for therapy). But “it can potentially help you get off antidepressants a little bit easier,” Dr. DeYoung says. For so many, Wellbutrin (or the generic version, bupropion) starts out as a sigh of relief or a glimmer of hope. As an antidepressant that’s prescribed for major depressive disorder and for seasonal affective disorder, it can help you finally feel like yourself again after a long struggle with depression. It’s also a smoking cessation aid, so you might use it to finally kick cigarettes or nicotine to the curb and free yourself from the costs and complications of smoking.
You may experience withdrawal symptoms like brain zaps, insomnia, suicidal ideation, vomiting, dizziness, and tremors. The best way to prevent Wellbutrin withdrawal symptoms is to talk to your doctor about creating a tapering schedule. While Wellbutrin is an FDA-approved medication used to treat conditions like major depressive disorder (MDD), suddenly stopping antidepressants carries significant risks. There are numerous withdrawal symptoms that one might experience when they decide to go cold turkey on Wellbutrin. Common side effects and withdrawal symptoms include both physical and psychological symptoms caused by addiction to the drug.
Does Adderall Help or Cause Anxiety Symptoms?
For reasons I do not wish to discuss, I am apparently at a dangerously high risk for seizures while on Bupropion. So my doctor made me halt taking it immediately until I can get in with a psychologist and they can figure out what I need to be on instead.
When you take your Wellbutrin as prescribed, you will develop a dependence on the medication. This isn’t concerning and doesn’t mean you are addicted—it’s simply the body’s natural adaptation to the presence of Wellbutrin. When you abruptly stop taking it, you may experience Wellbutrin withdrawal symptoms, also known as antidepressant discontinuation syndrome. Still, if you’re thinking of quitting Wellbutrin, talk to your doctor. They can create a gradual tapering schedule in which you slowly wean off the medication, which can reduce symptoms and help your body adjust to lower doses. It’s not advisable to stop Wellbutrin cold turkey, even after a short duration of use.
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Wellbutrin, or Bupropion, is frequently recommended to assist with despondency and seasonal affective can i stop wellbutrin cold turkey after 2 weeks disorder. It’s a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI), which influences certain chemicals in the brain. Boca Recovery Center is here to provide the best quality care in the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction. After you stop taking Wellbutrin, if you have withdrawal symptoms at all, they could last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Occurring in a hospital, acute care setting, or freestanding detox center, this is the most intensive detox option, offering 24/7 medical care and support to keep you safe during withdrawal.
Example Schedule to Taper off Wellbutrin
Several guidelines say that for somebody’s first episode of depression, four to nine months of remission is long enough to consider weaning off medication. But in practice, many doctors look for at least six if not 12 months of full recovery before stopping “maintenance” antidepressants, Dr. DeYoung says. But in practice, Dr. DeYoung says, everyone’s symptoms are unique to them—and therefore, so is what their recovery looks like. To gauge whether you’ve been in remission or not, think about if the specific symptoms that drove you to seek treatment have resolved, Dr. DeYoung says.
Wellbutrin abuse can manifest in different ways, and it is important for individuals prescribed this medication to be aware of these risks, as it can lead to addictive behaviors. Like some other antidepressants, Wellbutrin carries an FDA warning about the risk of suicidal ideation in children, teens, and young adults. Antidepressants such as Wellbutrin affect certain neurotransmitters in your brain, the chemical messengers that help with complex functions such as eating, sleeping, and emotional regulation. Unlike most antidepressants (which affect sertraline levels), bupoprion affects the levels of dopamine and noradrenaline. If you were using Wellbutrin to quit smoking, your nicotine cravings might return when you stop taking the drug, but they’re likely to be milder than what you’d experience without having taken the drug. Once you’re off the medication and feeling stable, take time to celebrate your progress.
It’s also important to remember that Wellbutrin can lower the seizure threshold in a person, making it more likely to experience a seizure when abusing this drug. Additionally, excessive intake of Wellbutrin can adversely affect the cardiovascular system and lead to physical and psychological disturbances. Another form of Wellbutrin abuse is taking it for purposes other than prescribed.
It’s important to taper your antidepressants slowly instead of stopping them suddenly. Tapering your dose slowly is important to avoid symptoms of withdrawal. Read on to find out about the symptoms of ADS and how to best manage these symptoms once you stop taking your antidepressants.
The idea is to allow your brain time to adjust to lower levels of the drug gradually. If you’re experiencing headaches, they might advise you to take acetaminophen or a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) like ibuprofen (Advil). If you have nausea, they could prescribe you anti-nausea drugs like ondansetron. If you want to stop taking your current antidepressant but you don’t mind starting a different one, cross-tapering may be an option for you. The withdrawal journey from Wellbutrin doesn’t end right after the acute phase.
In the process, many experience antidepressant discontinuation syndrome, also known as withdrawal. This is a particular risk with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which affect a brain neurotransmitter called serotonin. In short, it is not recommended to stop Wellbutrin cold turkey after just two weeks. Wellbutrin is a medication that affects the brain’s neurotransmitters, and its sudden cessation can lead to withdrawal symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, insomnia, and nausea. These symptoms can range from mild to severe and may last for several days or even weeks.