Has anyone taken Wellbutrin for depression and weight loss?

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Hello all. I just wanted to see if anyone has taken Wellbutrin for depression but it helped with weight loss as well. If so, how much did you lose? How long did it take you? Did you feel better after treatment? Thank you kindly

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  • smoofinator
    smoofinator Posts: 635 Member
    edited May 2019
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    I've been on Wellbutrin (300mg time release) for over a year now. It's been amazing for my chronic depression, but it hasn't affected my weight (up or down). I have several friends and family on it as well, and no one has reported weight loss or gain except those who were taking it to help with quitting smoking. They gained weight, but that was most likely a result of the quitting cigarettes.
  • CorkyLaRue
    CorkyLaRue Posts: 29 Member
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    Been on 300mg Wellbutrin for 20 years. Great for depression and feeling like you have the energy to get through the day, but no for weight loss.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
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    I was on it but it gave me vertigo. so i lost weight because i couldn't get food into my mouth
    :D
  • cmarangi
    cmarangi Posts: 131 Member
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    Been on it for about a year. Didn't notice anything for weight, but depression was better and energy went up. The first couple of weeks I was nauseous so didn't eat much, but that went away.

  • zli1974
    zli1974 Posts: 1 Member
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    I have been on it for many, many years. It may have helped with weight loss a bit at first but now I don't notice any difference at all.
  • endermako
    endermako Posts: 787 Member
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    Wellbutrin isn't a magical weight loss/antidepressant. It just has a side effect of decreased appetite that not all users get. I've been taking it for 3 years but I didn't use it for weight loss. I just ate at a deficit to lose.
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 6,612 Member
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    I took it years ago for chronic pain. I don't recall weight loss, but I was a smoker then and I went down to a couple a day from a pack a day. I didn't do well aside of that, I was angry all the time so I stopped it.
  • YaGirlMaddi
    YaGirlMaddi Posts: 88 Member
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    Wellbutrin has just made it easier to control my appetite. I was daily binger, usually between 6-8pm after work and before bed. Wellbutrin has eliminated that urge to binge and given me more willpower to not over eat.
  • gcminton
    gcminton Posts: 170 Member
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    I took it for a little while for depression, but all it did was make me so anxious I couldn't sleep and could barely leave the house. I didn't notice any difference in appetite, though I definitely had bigger fish to fry at the time!
  • PrismaticPhoenix
    PrismaticPhoenix Posts: 65 Member
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    I took Wellbutrin for a while for depression. It never did anything to my weight, but it was either the one that made me vomit while extremely tired (horrible combination, vomiting while trying to not fall asleep) if I took it too close to another medication or it was the one that made my balance really bad and I walked into things and was too afraid to take the stairs. I don't remember.
  • IAmWomanHearMeRoar15
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    I took Wellbutrin but didn't notice weight loss.

    I did notice a reduction in sugar cravings with trileptal and a decrease in appetite with topamax
  • RCPV
    RCPV Posts: 342 Member
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    I took Wellbutrin and was in a program at the VA called the MOVE program. You track your food intake, concentrating on whole, healthy foods and exercise daily. Within 16 weeks, I had lost 17 pounds. Unfortunately, the Wellbutrin caused me to have nose and eye bleeds, so I stopped taking it. Even though I continued with the program for some time after that, the weight crept back on. I'm afraid the majority of my weight loss was due to the drug and not to my weight loss efforts.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,950 Member
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    Some anti-depressants are associated with an increase in hunger. Since Wellbutrin is not, that makes it a good option for people who need an AD and to lose weight. I tried 5-6 other ADs before settling on Wellbutrin. The others all had negative side effects. Wellbutrin does not (for me.) I find it a little "speedy" and that helps motivate me to exercise.
  • Duck_Puddle
    Duck_Puddle Posts: 3,224 Member
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    My weight changes according to CICO whether I am on an antidepressant or not. I’ve taken a few and been able to lose on all of them-but some had effects that made it more difficult to moderate my intake.

    Wellbutrin was the opposite for me. It didn’t act as an appetite suppressant, but it does wonders for impulsive behaviors and cravings. I had quit smoking about a year before I started Wellbutrin. I was white knuckling it EVERY day to keep from smoking. There was no improvement, no lessening, no easing up. Until I started Wellbutrin and I haven’t had a craving since. It was that much of a night and day difference for me. This carried over to food as well. Although my food cravings have never been quite as strong-Wellbutrin allows me to respond to them in what I presume is a “normal” way. It is also a big help in managing the urge to binge (meaning-it makes it possible to not end up binging - even very successful with BED treatment).

    So the drug itself doesn’t affect my rate of loss, or by physiology or cause any change to the CICO equation. But it makes an ENORMOUS difference in my ability to control the CI side.

    It did take me 12-16 weeks to fully adjust/acclimate/whatever-it’s-called to where I was able to sleep normally and other side effects died down. The night and day difference with the cravings was so impactful that I probably would have continued with the Wellbutrin even if it made my eyes burn with 17 ft flames.
  • CassieVoiles
    CassieVoiles Posts: 26 Member
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    I’ve been on Wellbutrin 300mg for almost four years. It’s never helped me lose weight or quit smoking, sadly. I also take Seroquel, though, and that’s made it impossible to lose weight (the only time I’ve lost weight has been when I’ve stopped taking it) so that might be why.
  • Luke_rabbit
    Luke_rabbit Posts: 1,031 Member
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    I have found Wellbutrin to be an effective antidepressant. I have lost, maintained, and gained weight while taking it (the gain was only when it was paired with a second antidepressant). It does have a small appetite suppressant effect for me.

    After being diagnosed with GERD, my gastroenterologist found a large amount of benign polyps in my stomach. Turns out this is a known side effect of Wellbutrin, seen mainly in women in their 50s. I have since stopped taking it (and other antidepressants).
  • Katmary71
    Katmary71 Posts: 6,612 Member
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    I took it to help chronic pain. It got me down to 5 cigarettes a day (quit since) and I lost weight. Something about it caused me to have alopecia, I lost all my hair and had no clue why until I went off it and it started growing back. Needless to say I was depressed because I was in pain AND bald!