Published on 24 January 2023

Wellbutrin And Sleep: Is It Really Helpful To You?

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Sleep is an essential one every human body needs; to relax your mind and body. A healthy adult must sleep at least 7 hours a day. Sleep differs from person to person according to age factors. Suppose you have disturbed sleep due to work, financial issues, stress, or trauma. Your whole body gets affected, and you cannot concentrate on your daily task.

Some health conditions also promote you to feel a loss of sleep, such as depression, the one linked with sleep deprivation; a person with extreme depression will find it difficult to fall asleep. In such cases, you should consult your healthcare provider, and your doctor suggests taking antidepressants like Wellbutrin.

If you take Wellbutrin, it affects your insomnia and leads to the development of your condition. Yes, some studies suggest that Wellbutrin may trigger or worsen your insomnia.

People taking Wellbutrin with Wellbutrin SR 6% and Wellbutrin XL 7% are affected by insomnia. Now let us understand the reality between Wellbutrin and sleep below in detail.

What Is Wellbutrin?

Wellbutrin is a medication in the form of immediate release or an extended-release tablet. The brand name is called Bupropion. They are used in the treatment of depressive disorders and seasonal affective disorder. It is available on prescription drugs. It is a Food and drug administration drug approved for treating depression and quitting smoking.

How Does Wellbutrin Work?

Wellbutrin belongs to the class of antidepressants and Norepinephrine dopamine reuptake inhibitors. The drug helps to bind with Norepinephrine and Dopamine transporters; it will inhibit the neurotransmitter in the brain, which is responsible for mood regulations like sleep, memory, and pleasure.

By decreasing the reuptake effects in the neurotransmitter, the drug will help ease symptoms like depression and seasonal disorders. The drug works slowly in your system; it is a slow-acting drug; you can see the changes after one or two weeks, and it takes a long time to achieve the full effects.

Relation Between Wellbutrin And Sleep

Wellbutrin was prescribed for the person with thoughts of depression. Now also available in treating conditions like ADHD, eating disorders, stopping smoking, etc. People with depression have typical symptoms of insomnia side effects, and making the person sleep at night is challenging.

So it is necessary to inform your doctor if your insomnia lasts over a few days. Due to insomnia effects, your doctor will likely address your issue by lowering your drug dosage. Or else prescribe a sleep aid during the night or change the medication.

People taking Wellbutrin improves sleep once their body is adapted to the drug. In some cases with depression, when the depressive episodes improve typically, insomnia also will improve. It would help if you informed your doctor to address your present conditions.

Frequently Asked Questions

No, the drug is not associated with a soothing effect; like any other antidepressant, it helps to calm and reduce your Anxiety level.
At the initial stage, you feel improvement in the physical activity of sleep, energy, and appetite level within 1 or 2 weeks. Other than symptoms, it helps to improve your mood and behavior.
By increasing the dopamine level in the brain area, it will be able to produce energy and will help you to improvise in other activities.

Can You Sleep While On Wellbutrin?

Yes, But if you are dealing with insomnia, take Wellbutrin or other antidepressants. The doctor says that prescribing the lowest dose is possible. Also, the study suggests that taking 150 mg of Wellbutrin reduces insomnia symptoms, while XL has fewer side effects than other forms of Wellbutrin.

How Much Should You Take?

Drug dosage depends upon your age, health status, and symptoms. Some possible drug dosage of Wellbutrin is mentioned below, such as,

Generic: Bupropion

  • Form: Oral immediate release
  • Starting dose: ted: Oral Extended Release
  • Starting Dose: 100mg, 150mg, 200mg

Wellbutrin XL

  • Form: Oral Extended Release
  • Starting enhances0 mg 300 mg

Wellbutrin SR

  • Form: Oral tablet
  • Starting Dose: 100mg, 150 mg

When Should You Take Wellbutrin?

If you are consuming Wellbutrin IR, you should take a dosage of at least 6 hours of gap. If you are taking Wellbutrin SR one, you can take a gap of 8 hours. If you feel discomfort while taking it at night, you can avoid it near bedtime Or else, if your doctor suggests you take Wellbutrin, you can take your dose in the morning.

You can take the drug with or without food. The most side effect of the drug is nausea, which will be seen after taking the medication. Then you can take medicine after the food to control nausea.

Can You Take Wellbutrin At Night Instead Of Morning?

Depending on the particular circumstances, you can take the drug in the morning during the daytime, so if you have side effects, they will lessen the impact on the day. Officially, the health care provider won't recommend taking Wellbutrin during the night, closer to bedtime, due to the side effects of insomnia; you don't need to skip your doses.

Precautions That Should Be Taken

Precautions are the general measures one should follow before taking the drug; they will help you overcome unwanted side effects or drug interactions. You can speak to your doctor about your health history; some of the Wellbutrin guidelines are given below

  • Allergic warnings such as,
  • Rashes
  • swelling on lips or tongue
  • hives
  • itching
  • Trouble in breathing
  • inform your doctor if you have any allergic reaction, and do not take this drug.
  • Avoid taking alcohol; the drug will increase the seizure risk, so avoid taking the medication with alcohol.

People with any other existing health conditions like

  • Kidney dysfunction
  • Liver insufficiency
  • Respiratory condition
  • Heart failure
  • Any other mental illness
  • During pregnancy: Taking antidepressants will affect your fetus due to the high-risk medication. So inform your doctor about your drug history.
  • During breastfeeding: The drug will pass into your breast milk, so inform you about your history and avoid taking antidepressants as much as possible.

Possible Side Effects Of Wellbutrin

Side effects are the adverse reactions to the drug; each drug has its effects, which vary from one to another, according to your health status; some side effects will go on their own, but some need emergency medical help, so be aware of it and take the drug with the service of your healthcare provider.

Common side effects

Severe Side Effects

  • trouble in breathing
  • Attempting dangerous activity
  • sweating
  • Vision changes
  • constipation
  • Seizure
  • agitation
  • Sleeping Trouble
  • vomiting
  • Panic attack
  • Nausea
  • Worsening depression
  • Headache
  • Worsening Anxiety.

Some common side effects are mild effects that will go on their own; if you face severe effects, visit your doctor immediately and seek help.

How Long Will Insomnia's Side Effects Last?

Acute insomnia will last for a few days; chronic insomnia will last for months. The primary causes are some trigger events, changes in surroundings, mental health issues or conditions, etc.

Some of the symptoms, like difficulty sleeping, loss of consciousness, waking up too early, restlessness, disturbance, and difficulty concentrating, are some primary symptoms.

The symptoms will last depending upon your condition, acute insomnia will go away in a couple of days, but chronic ones take months to recover. So it is better to start with the treatment process; your doctor will likely cope with your situation. This will help you to manage your symptoms.

How Long Does Wellbutrin Stay In Your system?

Half-life determines how long the Wellbutrin stays in the blood plasma to drop about 50% Of concentration in original strength. The drug half varies depending on the formulation from one but rarely can stay up to 21 hours in your system.

Moreover, the amount of drug in the system will determine how long your body metabolizes it. Wellbutrin is metabolized through your liver. If you have any liver dysfunction, it can take longer for the drug to process in your system.

If you have kidney disease, clearing the drug from your system is challenging. Other factors like age, pre-existing conditions, a combination of drugs, or alcohol will vary from how the pill stays in your system.

Wellbutrin Interactions

Drug Interaction happens with two medicinal substances together. An infliction of a drug changes the other substance's working state and produces harmful effects. You should speak to your doctor about your drug history to avoid such interaction. Inform your doctor about all the drugs you are currently using.

Wellbutrin can interact with other drugs like vitamins or herbal supplements.
Do not take these drugs with Wellbutrin. It leads to dangerous effects on your health, such as

  • Monoamine oxidase inhibitors(MAOIs) drugs like Phenelzine and selegiline
  • This drug will increase your blood pressure level, so avoid taking them for the last 14 days after taking Wellbutrin
  • Antidepressants drugs like venlafaxine, Nortriptyline, Imipramine, fluoxetine, sertraline, and Paroxetine
  • Antipsychotic medications like Haloperidol, Risperidone, and Thioridazine
  • Beta Blockers like Metoprolol.
  • Avoid taking Anti arrhythmias such as propafenone.
  • Corticosteroids drugs like Prednisone, and Methylprednisolone
  • Avoid taking benzodiazepines like alprazolam, and clonazepam.

Bottom Line From Practical Anxiety Solutions

We have discussed Wellbutrin so far; It belongs to the class of antidepressants. It is an effective drug to treat depression and seasonal affective disorder. You can also use it as an off-label in similar conditions.

If you have depression related to insomnia, it will not be much helpful in treating insomnia. Researchers say the drug can trigger insomnia, so you should immediately consult your doctor if you have any side effects.

Insomnia can be treated with proper medical intervention; You don't need to worry about your condition. Wellbutrin can reduce your symptoms by increasing the neurotransmitter in the brain to prevent depression.

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  • Ascher, John A., et al. "Bupropion: a review of its mechanism of antidepressant activity."The Journal of clinical psychiatry (1995). Obtained on 24/01/2023
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