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Thread: Wellbutrin and eating disorders

  1. #1
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    Default Wellbutrin and eating disorders

    I am aware of Nina's warning, but I know some on here have taken Wellbutrin, so I'm just wondering about that risk factor for people who have had eating disorders. It's not like I'm using this instead of doctor's advice...but I really want to go back on Wellbutrin because I can't handle this consuming wall of despair anymore. I will hurt myself if I don't do something...it's really not getting better and I don't know why I keep pretending that I'll just be able to buck up and fix it myself. I was seeing a psychologist, but it didn't work out...I'm seeing my doctor next week for a referral to a psychiatrist:

    SO I am really worried that I'll be denied Wellbutrin if I fully disclose my food issues. BUT as far as I can tell, the risks are more for anorexics, and I was never anorexic. I also never purged. Even at the height of the crap, which was years ago, I did more of a fasting/ binging/ over-excercising thing. My BMI was not lower than 17.5 or so at the very lowest. So it's not like it was extreme. It barely qualifies as an 'eating disorder', I don't think. The problems are more in my head than my behaviour. And it's not like I'd be doomed...it only increases the risk for seizures. I don't care about seizure potential if it makes me feel better right now.

    So...I'm afraid of other pills. I really want the ones I know that worked before. Would I be wrong in not disclosing that other history? It's not like do cocaine, or even drink anymore. I think the risks would be fairly low.

  2. #2
    zxcire
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    Default Re: Wellbutrin and eating disorders

    I have had ED in the past and have also taken Wellbutrin. I took it to stop smoking (it's also marketed as Zyban) and had no issues with it. The risk for seizures is elevated in any patient taking wellbutrin, but especially in those with current or former eating disorders. The risk is small, but present.

    You say you want to go back on it, so I assume a dr. has prescribed it to you before? Did you have any negative experiences while on the medication then? Did the dr. know your history?

    Also, is the risk too much to you compared to the benefits of coming out of a depressive episode? I've always ended up back on pills when asking myself this question, but only you know what's right for you.

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    God/dess greenidlady1's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wellbutrin and eating disorders

    I took it and it did make me lose my appetite as well as make me super hyperactive. I mean it's your business as to what you want to disclose to your doctor but I can't say he will neccisarily recommend Wellbutrin for you. Different doctors prefer certain medications over others for various reasons. If you mention Wellbutrin I don't think he'll see a lot of harm in you taking it, particularly if you smoke because it's also used to help out with that. If your BMI is healthy now and you don't have a history of seizures I personally don't think it would cause a problem for you. I lost 4 lbs. in about two weeks on it without trying but it just really made me lose my appetite plus I never stopped moving, not a good feeling for me but it may work great for you

  4. #4
    zxcire
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    Default Re: Wellbutrin and eating disorders

    Oh, I just found this information. It seems that the severity of the risk depends on the formulation you're taking, too.

    One safety study raised a major red flag. At high doses, about twice the recommended maximum, the original formulation of Wellbutrin triggered seizures in 0.4 percent of those who took it -- four people per 1,000. That may not sound like much of a hazard, but it was two to four times the seizure risk of other antidepressants, and it doesn't take too many car wrecks caused by seizures behind the wheel to cause sweaty palms at the FDA.
    The study results were reported in the medical trade press, and you could almost hear the prescription pads snapping shut from coast to coast.




    Burroughs-Wellcome scrambled to save its multimillion-dollar investment in Wellbutrin, and came up with a new slow-release (SR) formulation, now the standard prescription. Wellbutrin-SR caused seizures in only 0.1 percent of users, comparable to the seizure risk of Prozac and Paxil, and lower than the risk associated with Zoloft (0.2 percent), Luvox (0.2 percent) and Celexa (0.3 percent), according to the 2000 edition of the standard drug reference "Drug Facts and Comparisons." But the damage had been done. Wellbutrin was a seizure-tainted drug. Today, a dozen years after its release, with no evidence of unusually high seizure risk, "Drug Facts and Comparisons" still includes a warning about its seizure risk. But there is no such warning for Zoloft, Luvox and Celexa, all of which cause seizures at a higher rate.

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    Featured Member tampadancer's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wellbutrin and eating disorders

    Actually, from my understanding, the reason doctors aren't supposed to prescribe wellbutrin to those with past ED, is because those who were bulemic have a higher risk of seizure.

    I struggled with anorexia in the past, and I chose to not disclose that to my doctor when I was given wellbutrin over a year ago. It was a wonderful drug in the treatment of my depression. I stayed on it for about six months at that time, and am actually starting back on it now because I feel myself "slipping" back into that old depression.

    For me, it was a miracle worker. It didn't make me "want to be anorexic" again or anything... just major decrease in appetite and no interest in food. If I were you, I just wouldn't mention the past ED, because most other antidepressants have side effects of weight GAIN, which would be reason enough for me to NOT take them (or, make me even MORE depressed).

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    Veteran Member icey's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wellbutrin and eating disorders

    I told me dr about my anorexia and they would not put me on it. But then again I went to the dr about anorexia because I was lossing weight way to fast and was in a major depression.

    So they put me on one drug to gain some weight and help with depression, and once I got to a weight that was healthy and my mood was good. They put me on a mood contral drug and it does not make me gain weight at all.

    I would say if you are only going to the dr for your depression then don't tell them about you ED unless you are still having lots of problems with it.

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    God/dess Bella21's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wellbutrin and eating disorders

    I think you should tell your dr about your ED. In your post, it sounds like you're trying to convince yourself that you never really had one. If he doesn't give you the prescription, it's probably for a good reason. You need to take care of yourself.
    If you think school is hard, try being stupid.

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    Default Re: Wellbutrin and eating disorders

    Thanks for weighing in everyone. She did prescribe it for me last year, and I went off it because...I don't know why. Even though it helped, I just decided I was too good for pills or something, so now I feel even worse. Kinda my fault. I remember now that my other doctor I had when I was younger used to lecture me about my weight, and probably wrote something about it on my chart...so the info is there. Worse case scenario, I seizure and lose my driver's license, but that's better than feeling so shitty I roll my car off a bridge. She put me on the slow-release ones too...thanks for that info...I feel better about this option now, all things considered.

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    Veteran Member Kitsune83's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wellbutrin and eating disorders

    I've had eating disorders for years, and taken wellbutrin as well.......the highest seizure risk is for bulimics.....with the wacky electrolyte troubles they get, they're predisposed to seizures with or without the drug.......severely underweight anorexics can have the same problem.....but OP: ALWAYS be honest with your Dr.! It sounds to me like you're a little self-deprecating as is....and it's really easy to talk oneself out of the reality of damage done by an eating disorder....and it's also easy to dismiss the gravity of your own troubles....try not to do that! If it hurt you, it *was* serious!......it sounds like you had a case of ED-NOS.....or if the exercise was extreme....that's bulimia too! You don't have to vomit to be bulimic, people! So...please be honest with your Dr. at least this way a CBC can be taken, along with a metabolic table, and perhaps even an EKG....it's an important precaution to take....you need to know where you're starting in order to gauge safety of any line of treatment. If your Dr. isn't someone you think you can talk to....switch to another! It is THAT IMPORTANT!

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    Default Re: Wellbutrin and eating disorders

    hmm I have an eating disorder at the moment and I am trying to deal with it.....I just dont' know how to fix it that's all.... I just don't feel like eating anything and there is nothing to eat to... i also think it might be cause of my depression causing me not to want to eat...i only like sweets... and i weight like 125

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    Default Re: Wellbutrin and eating disorders

    Good luck with whatever you decide!

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