# Might be having luck with Wellbutrin/Bupropion



## RubyinMD (Jul 16, 2016)

a few months ago, I saw an article on cnn.com about a science-type guy with Crohns who had started taking bupropion based on research he had done. Long story short, the more he took, the better he got and he no longer needs infusions. So I asked my gastro if I could try it. He was hesitant, having only experience with tricyclics, but he relented with the promise from m hat I would follow up with my GP (which I am in 3 weeks).

So it's been about a month and I have to say I haven't had any explosions nor super urgent episodes even. I still have a lot of low level nausea, and I'm not going every day like I would like, but if you divide the world into positive and negative ibs treatments, this one is a definite positive. I don't want to up my starter dose so I may add in a Lotronex now and then or some Desipramine (pharmacist says ok to take both that and Wellbutrin).

Anyway, just wanted to let you guys know.


----------



## AZGuy (Nov 15, 2017)

What is the dosage of Wellbutrin (bupropion) that you are taking?

I'm curious if its just constipating you or if its giving you more formed, harder stools too. I find often many anti-depressants might constipate you a bit...but really does nothing for stool consistency.


----------



## RubyinMD (Jul 16, 2016)

75 mg once a day. Starter dose. I'm afraid to take more b/c of the seizure risk but my gastro says constipation is easier to treat than diarrhea so I might increase.

My stools, while still not perfect, are more formed and a more normal color. Like I said, this is the best it's been for me in awhile. Of course I probably just jinxed myself.

I was reading that Wellbutrin can help with appetite too. One of my other issues since this all started is that I am never hungry. Never. I have had hunger pains once since starting Wellbutrin but it was just that one time : (


----------



## AZGuy (Nov 15, 2017)

Seems like anything above 300mg could induce seizures. So I would never go more than that. I think there are other drugs out there that are just as effective without the seizure risk.


----------



## Green Floyd (Aug 8, 2017)

Just posting to warn anybody with epilepsy - *Don't take Wellbutrin. *

If you read the info, it's right there in the contraindications.

I feel strongly about this because my sister died immediately after starting it to quit smoking. She had epilepsy all her life but they prescribed it anyway.

I've found that I'm allergic to bupropion and Buspar, however, I don't have epilepsy.


----------



## AZGuy (Nov 15, 2017)

My doctor prescribed me the 150mg of Wellbutrin XL (the extended release) kind. Once a day. I asked about the seizure issue and she said thats very rare and only if you have history of seizures, stroke or epilepsy which I dont have. I'm just desperate to get my IBS-D under control and I will say I'm falling more into depression. She said this should release the cloud and give me more energy and a better outlook but takes about a month. I am hesitant to take it...but I've tried every other class of anti-depressant for its off-label use.


----------



## PD85 (Aug 19, 2010)

AZGuy said:


> My doctor prescribed me the 150mg of Wellbutrin XL (the extended release) kind. Once a day. I asked about the seizure issue and she said thats very rare and only if you have history of seizures, stroke or epilepsy which I dont have. I'm just desperate to get my IBS-D under control and I will say I'm falling more into depression. She said this should release the cloud and give me more energy and a better outlook but takes about a month. I am hesitant to take it...but I've tried every other class of anti-depressant for its off-label use.


Please keep us updated on your progress!


----------



## AZGuy (Nov 15, 2017)

Well its been awhile since I posted. I had some other meds I needed to try first. But I've finally started the Wellbutrin XL. I'm at a 150mg dose. I'm not sure how I am. I certainly have side effects..but not as bad as the tricyclic or SSRI anti depressants. At first I thought it was helping my IBS-D as my stools seemed to be changing. Maybe a bit more formed. But after just about a week I'm not sure, yet. Overall it might be improving it a bit but not what I was hoping for. I still have to take imodium. But some of the other side effects are tough.


----------



## RubyinMD (Jul 16, 2016)

Funny that you would post now AZGuy as i was just going to come here and give an update too!

Things are going ok for me on the Wellbutrin. I had one bad week in August when I tried taking antibiotics for my SIBO but all in all, things have been much better these last 6 mos than probably any other time in the last 2 and a half years. I even had a normal poop a few weeks ago. My first one since 7/31/2016!

I'm going to up my dose to 100 though since things still aren't as good as I'd like.

What side effects are you having? I'm finding this drug to be pretty tolerable. Way, way better than the amitriptyline.


----------



## AZGuy (Nov 15, 2017)

The ringing in my ears is driving me crazy. I think I'm gonna stop because of it. I dont want my hearing permanently damaged.

I'm also having some insomnia and some strange body twitches every now and then. I'm dizzy a bit too.

I do think my bowels have improved...but I might test out some other antidepressants that are supposed to help with IBS-D.


----------



## AZGuy (Nov 15, 2017)

RubyinMD said:


> Funny that you would post now AZGuy as i was just going to come here and give an update too!
> 
> Things are going ok for me on the Wellbutrin. I had one bad week in August when I tried taking antibiotics for my SIBO but all in all, things have been much better these last 6 mos than probably any other time in the last 2 and a half years. I even had a normal poop a few weeks ago. My first one since 7/31/2016!
> 
> ...


You said you're upping it to 100mg? So what dose are you taking now? I'm on the Wellbutrin XL 150mg which is the smallest dose with the XL. Are you on the standard release ones? I wonder if that might be different with different side effects.


----------



## RubyinMD (Jul 16, 2016)

I was on 75 mg. Not extended release. The 100 I just started is also not XR. Maybe you could try dropping down to one of those?

Do let me know if you have any luck with any other meds, though. Still can't believe how horrible amitryptilne was. Weight gain, weird dreams. No thanks.


----------



## AZGuy (Nov 15, 2017)

RubyinMD said:


> I was on 75 mg. Not extended release. The 100 I just started is also not XR. Maybe you could try dropping down to one of those?
> 
> Do let me know if you have any luck with any other meds, though. Still can't believe how horrible amitryptilne was. Weight gain, weird dreams. No thanks.


Going to the SR over the XL might be an option. Regardless..I've stopped the XL so I hope the tinnitus stops soon. Amatriptyline was awful for me too and did nothing for my bowels. I'm gonna try Anafranil next. I've read good things about that one. If not...I might retry the Wellbutrin SR as my bathroom habits haven't been horrible these past 2 weeks. I'll update later.


----------



## RubyinMD (Jul 16, 2016)

How are you doing AZGuy? Any luck with the Anafranil?

I just wanted to post that I got back from a 10 day vacation and I didn't have to take a single immodium. I had one morning where I had a minor "flair" but I think it was because I had lettuce wraps for lunch the previous day (I forgot I shouldn't eat lettuce!) I will also say that I did not take any super early morning flights, which tend to make me very, very anxious so that could have had something to do with it too.

I'm still on 100mg of the Bupropion. I'm actually a little bit constipated (#1 on the chart).

And here is the link to the article that started it all for me: https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/19/health/new-use-for-antidepressants-bowel-crohns-disease-partner/index.html

I'm still not sure I believe I have IBS as people don't get IBS at 51. I've always thought I had a bug or parasite that got missed in testing or something. I also wonder if menopause could be causing me issues too. I guess time will tell for everything.


----------



## AZGuy (Nov 15, 2017)

Actually I did have some success with Anafranil. I found my stools formed a bit better. (Still not a hard stool which I prefer but it did help). But what I found to be huge benefits was it reduced my chronic pain by 50%. That made my mornings far better in regards to chronic inflammatory back pain I have. I would say it also cleared my head a bit and helped me with some energy. Now the downfalls and the reason I had to stop Anafranil were the side effects. I'm unusually sensitive to medications. (I've always had this problem). But the typical TCA side effects were raging. Especially nausea and dizziness. But the big one for me I started to have urinary issues. I couldn't pee which is a serious side effect so I had to call my doctor ASAP. Other than that...I would certainly say give the drug a try. Another problem is it isn't cheap. Its like a Tier 4 or 5 drug. The cheapest I could find was $85 which I would have been willing to pay if I didn't have all the unbearable side effects.

As for Wellbutrin. That helped me too. I'm not sure it firmed up my stools as much but it wasn't a bad drug. But I had to stop that one because I developed severe ringing in my ears. I already suffered from light ringing from all the antidepressants and antibiotics i've had to take over the years. So Wellbutrin really amped it up so it was unbearable for me. But I'm so happy you are having some success with that.

Like you...I dont believe in the umbrella diagnosis of IBS. But whatever they call it...I have it and there really isn't much I can do but keep trying various meds to see if any work. LIke you mornings are horrendous for me. I dont schedule anything before noon. Right now I'm taking xanax daily to help with anxiety and I'm back to using Lomotil. I want to try Motofen but I need to wait till my insurance puts it on their formulary or I can afford the out of pocket costs which right now is about $210 for 30 pills where i am. Thats just not affordable for me at this point as a monthly cost.


----------



## mellosphere (Sep 22, 2015)

Agreed that mornings are horrendous. From about 4am to noon i dont feel good. My spirits generally perk up a bit after lunch.


----------



## AZGuy (Nov 15, 2017)

RubyinMD said:


> How are you doing AZGuy? Any luck with the Anafranil?
> 
> I just wanted to post that I got back from a 10 day vacation and I didn't have to take a single immodium. I had one morning where I had a minor "flair" but I think it was because I had lettuce wraps for lunch the previous day (I forgot I shouldn't eat lettuce!) I will also say that I did not take any super early morning flights, which tend to make me very, very anxious so that could have had something to do with it too.
> 
> ...


I'm curious if you're still on the 100mg of Bupropion SR and how its going now that its been almost a year.


----------



## RubyinMD (Jul 16, 2016)

Hi AZGuy,

Yes, I am still on it and it's going well. I had a bad week in August (just like last year) and two episodes in July but otherwise, things are very good. (My doc wondered if I had a stomach virus as he treated a lot of people for that around that same time period. Yes, a 6 wk virus. Or one that took that long to go away). My stools are still too soft and too narrow but at least I'm not having explosions. And the weird nausea/sick feeling I was cursed with has become less frequent as well. I really urge everyone to read that article and discuss with your doctor about giving it a try.


----------



## AZGuy (Nov 15, 2017)

Thanks for the update. I've had no luck with other things. I was going to try imipramine (Tofranil) but I think I'll revisit the Buproprion SR 100mg since you seem to be doing so well with it.


----------



## Green Floyd (Aug 8, 2017)

Edit: post deleted by me

Oops, don't know how my post ended up here, but now I know why it didn't show up where I meant for it to go.

https://www.ibsgroup.org/forums/topic/339682-22-yrs-of-ibs-d-halted-with-first-dose-of-kratom/page-12


----------



## Noca (Oct 24, 2015)

AZGuy said:


> Thanks for the update. I've had no luck with other things. I was going to try imipramine (Tofranil) but I think I'll revisit the Buproprion SR 100mg since you seem to be doing so well with it.


It is impossible to pee on Imipramine, even worse than Anafranil.


----------



## AZGuy (Nov 15, 2017)

Noca said:


> It is impossible to pee on Imipramine, even worse than Anafranil.


Ugh, thats not good. And I just got a script for the Imipramine to start in the new year. I had problems with Anafranil too with urination so I stopped that. Its not surprising since both of those drugs are used for bedwetting too. Did the Imipramine help with diarrhea or bowel frequency/urgency at all? Any other pros or cons?


----------



## AMARNA (Sep 2, 2015)

Hello everyone &#128075;&#127998;

So I am considering taking Bupropion, since the last 2 medications I have been on for my IBS-D(Amitriptyline & Nortriptyline) made me gain a TON of weight(80+ lbs)! So I would like to know if Bupropion helps with visceral hypersensitivity/pain from IBS like the TCAs do?? Also, could I lose weight if I started taking Bupropion & Nortriptyline(which I am currently still on), or would BOTH drugs just cancel each other out?! Taking Nortriptyline for the visceral hypersensitivity, and taking Bupropion to combat the weight gain side effects of Nortriptyline?!? &#129300;


----------



## AZGuy (Nov 15, 2017)

I'm not sure why you would take both Buproprion and Nortriptyline. Both are anti-depressants from different classes. That seems dangerous to me. I would talk to your doctor about that. Not sure why you were taking Amitriptyline and Nortriptyline either at the same time. However I have never really had pain associated with my issues. Just the pain from when you constantly have to go or have the urge. My issues were getting the diarrhea under control...which I never had success with any of those meds and I've tried all 3.


----------



## AMARNA (Sep 2, 2015)

AZGuy said:


> I'm not sure why you would take both Buproprion and Nortriptyline. Both are anti-depressants from different classes. That seems dangerous to me. I would talk to your doctor about that. Not sure why you were taking Amitriptyline and Nortriptyline either at the same time. However I have never really had pain associated with my issues. Just the pain from when you constantly have to go or have the urge. My issues were getting the diarrhea under control...which I never had success with any of those meds and I've tried all 3.


Oh wow! I'm sorry to hear that

I also didn't take Amitriptyline & Nortriptyline together; I took them separately actually. And yes, I have very bad stomach pain associated with my IBS. Which is why I would want to take Nortriptyline for the pain, and Bupropion for the weight gained caused by Nortriptyline. ‍♂


----------

