Switched to Wellbutrin XL versus Generic Budeprion XL, thoughts?

Question

PLEASE READ: Please, only people who have actually taken these products, and ONLY people who want to help. None of those who just want to say something sarcastic or negative.

Ok... I went into a heavy depression after moving from California to Illinois with my husband and daughter. I had been on Prozac for about 5 months after the birth of my daughter for postpartum... and stopped.

After living in Illinois, I was at my lowest, and packed on 15 lbs in two months.. which made my depression worse. I started seeing a therapist who recommended Wellbutrin XL.

GODSEND. Wellbutrin XL worked GREAT for me. I had energy, was positive and even lost a little weight without the weird loopy side effects I had with prozac.

NOW, the issue... I was given the generic Budeprion XL two weeks ago... and am now back to being loopy, lethargic, and can feel the weight creeping back in... NOT TO MENTION the HORRIBLE nightmares I now have.

Anyone else have this happen?

Answer 1

If the switch was really correlated to change in brands, you may seriously consider going back to the brand name, or alternately going to the plain old bupropion (not SR or XL version) and dosing at 2 to 3 times daily.  talk to your doctor.  \

From Wikipedia.  

Availability and dose forms

Brand-name and generic bupropion tablets are available in three forms, each as the hydrochloride salt: immediate release (Wellbutrin), sustained release (Wellbutrin SR), and extended release (Wellbutrin XL or XR). "Sustained release" and "extended release" are generally interchangeable terms, but in this case Wellbutrin SR is intended for twice-daily dosing and Wellbutrin XL is intended for once-daily dosing. Not all generics have retained this naming scheme, and the United States Pharmacopeia requires all prolonged-release drug formulations (including generics for Wellbutrin SR) to be labeled "extended release", which has caused confusion and medication errors.[107][108] According to GlaxoSmithKline, a 150 mg Wellbutrin SR tablet can be split in two and retain its sustained-release characteristics.[109] An extended-release form of bupropion hydrobromide was approved by the FDA in April 2008. It will be marketed under the trade name Aplenzin.[110]

On October 11, 2007, two providers of consumer information on nutritional products and supplements, ConsumerLab.com and The People’s Pharmacy, released the results of comparative tests of different brands of bupropion.[111] The People's Pharmacy received multiple reports of increased side effects and decreased efficacy of generic bupropion, which prompted it to ask ConsumerLab.com to test the products in question. The tests showed that "one of a few generic versions of Wellbutrin XL 300 mg, sold as Budeprion XL 300 mg, didn't perform the same as the brand-name pill in the lab."[112] The FDA investigated these complaints and concluded that the Budeprion XL is equivalent to Wellbutrin XL in regards to bioavailability of bupropion and its main active metabolite hydroxybupropion. The FDA also noted that the coincidental natural mood variation is the most likely explanation for the apparent worsening of depression after the switch from Wellbutrin XL to Budeprion XL.[113]

Answer 2

For whatever it is worth, I have not switched from some branded drugs, depending on what they are, based on my background of having a PhD in Biochemistry.  For some specific drugs, there are certainly people who feel that they experience different effectiveness or side-effects when they are moved from a branded drug to a generic drug.   Drugs that affect brain chemistry (and other sensitive biological processes) can have different levels of effectiveness depending on how they are manufactured, and how strict the levels of active ingredient have been maintained by a manufacturer.  Branded drugs are very tightly controlled, and need to contain the same exact levels and effectiveness of ingredients for many years.   Generic drugs are regulated, but they are allowed by law to vary +/- 20% in bioequivalence (can be a very confusing topic) and also can vary +/- 10% in weight from branded drugs.  Some older regulations allowed for +/- 25% variation.  Combining weight and bioequivalence variability could create a range of about 75% to 125% of the branded drug.  Also, it is hard to measure and compare the effect of the "XL - Extended Release" feature of drugs, e.g. between Wellbutrin XL vs budeprion XL.   For many drugs, the variability does not make a difference, since an individual patient's response to any drug will vary somewhat, depending on many personal factors.  However, patients who need a drug with a tight range of ingredients to be effective, will sometimes find that they cannot tolerate a generic drug, possibly due to the +/- drug variability.  In most cases, moving back to a branded drug resolves the problem and re-instates effectiveness.

I am sure that generic budeprion XL falls within the required limits from the FDA, but it can legally vary from the exact levels contained in Wellbutrin XL.  If you find you are having problems on the generic form, I would recommend that you ask your doctor to please move you back to a Brand-only prescription.

just my humble opinion ...hope it helps.

Answer 3

Yes it is the same stuff, but the Budeprion XL dumps all the medicine into your system on the front end of the day and makes you crash at the end of the day. Below is an excerpt on how serious this problem is in the wall street Journal. The solution is get a rival generic which is carried by wall-mart( stay away from the yellow pill). The pharmacists at Wall greens had no idea about this.

The FDA approved a generic version of Wellbutrin XL 300, a long-acting once-daily version, in December 2006. The generic, named Budeprion XL 300, soon accounted for roughly 40% of the one million monthly prescriptions for the antidepressant.

But patients soon started logging complaints about Budeprion at PeoplesPharmacy.com, a Web site that has become a clearinghouse for medication gripes. "We've received hundreds of complaints about generic drugs in general. But with this one drug, all of a sudden -- kaboom -- right after it was approved," says Joe Graedon, a pharmacologist who runs People's Pharmacy with his wife. Readers' postings cite side effects such as tremors, headaches, anxiety and sleep disturbances. Some consumers said their depression had returned, in some cases bringing thoughts of suicide. Many reported that their adverse effects stopped when they returned to the brand-name drug.

Mr. Graedon alerted the FDA. He also asked ConsumerLab.com, which normally runs tests for dietary supplement manufacturers, to compare Budeprion and Wellbutrin. Using a test-tube test that some industry experts question, ConsumerLab found that Budeprion dissolves faster, releasing 34% of the drug within the first two hours, compared with 8% for Wellbutrin.

"If you get four times the drug in the first two hours, that's too much drug in the beginning and not enough for the rest of the day," says Mr. Graedon, who worries that what he calls "dose dumping" could cause seizures, a concern with the brand-name drug as well.

Complaints about Budeprion also were coming into the FDA -- at least 130 from December 2006 to January 2008, according to Andy Georgiades of Dow Jones News Service, who filed a Freedom of Information Act request. Only four complaints were filed about two rival generic versions of Wellbutrin XL 300 that went on the market in June 2007.

Answer 4

Budeprion is the one off-brand version of Wellbutrin that hasn't been shown to work the same as the others. I don't know why your doctor would prescribe this particular drug but ask him to put you on Bupropion or back on the brand name Wellbutrin. If the drug was so terrible, why didn't you tell your therapist sooner and have your regimen changed? I'm wondering why you even switched off the name brand in the first place.