Quote:
Originally Posted by valentina
I did some research about Wellbutrin and spoke to Dr Stephen Hymsfeld (very well known authority on weight loss) and was told it's the only anti depressant that you can't gain weight with. It also won't slow down and alter your metabolism permanently the way many of the other anti depressants do. For many people it helps curb their appetite and decreases food cravings, for some it doesn't help in that area at all, but you won't gain weight if that's the only AD you're taking.
Over the years I tried many anti depressants and they all made me more depressed and some, like Celexa - permanently slowed down my metabolism, it was never the same.
I took Wellbutrin for a few weeks? and woke up one day with a hive on my leg. 24 hours later I was covered in them tip to toe including my eyes and eyelids. I'm allergic to it. It's a very common side effect with Wellbutrin, I believe it's over 20% who develop an allergy to it and break out in hives.
Sorry but the above post is rife with inaccuracies. Regarding the idea that you won't gain weight taking Wellbutrin: I don't know of any drug that makes it literally IMPOSSIBLE to gain weigh. If you eat 5,000 calories a day and are on Wellbutrin you will gain weight.
But some people lose weight on Wellbutrin and far it is better for you in terms of NOT GAINING weight than other antidepressants.
But if you're evaluating Wellbutrin as a weight loss drug the results are not that impressive. According to the
prescribing information sheet (can be found by clicking a link on the main Wellibutrin XL page if my link gets taken down) 23% of patients taking between 150 to 300 mg of Wellbutrin XL daily lost more than 5 pounds during clinical trials compared to 11% taking a placebo. For Wellbutrin SR vs. placebo, weight loss of over 5 pounds was seen at 14% for patients taking 300 mg per day and 19% for those taking 400 mg per day vs. 6% taking a placebo.
And the suggestion that over 20% of people taking Wellbutrin will develop hives is
way off. Again, refering to clinical trials 1%-2% of people taking Wellbutrin developed urticaria (hives) vs. 0% taking a placebo. 4%-5% develope a rash compared to 1% placebo. Hives are not one of the most common side effects. Agitation and insomnia are far more likely.
I hope this helps the original poster.