Bupropion is a prescription medicine for the treatment of depression. It can improve mood and well-being. It can work by restoring the balance between certain natural chemicals in the brain.
It belongs to the class of antidepressants amino-ketone, which are no longer chemically related to the selective inhibitors of serotonin reuptake (SSRI).
This prescription medicine can also be used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It can also be used as a prescription treatment to help stop smoking by reducing the craving for nicotine and nicotine exposure. It can be used to prevent seasonal depression in autumn and winter. This medicine can also be used with other medicines to treat bipolar disorder. It can also be used to treat anxiety in people with depression.
Bupropion Uses
- Major depressive disorder
- Depressed mood
- Bipolar disorder,
- Anxiety, and
- Persistent depressive disorder
- Obesity
- Mild depression
- Anxious mood
- It may also be used to help quit smoking
Bupropion mechanism
Bupropion selectively inhibits the neuronal uptake of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin; The increase in norepinephrine may reduce the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal, and the increase in dopamine in neural sites may reduce the desire for nicotine and the desire to smoke. Bupropion shows moderate anticholinergic effects.
Bupropion Side effects
The most common side effects of bupropion are:
- Dizziness
- Nervousness
- Constipation
- trouble sleeping
- dry mouth
- nausea
- vomiting
- Tremor
- headache
- Joint aches
- Ringing in your ears
- Urinating more than usual
- Flushing
- Appetite loss
- Gas
- Abdominal pain
Serious side effects
- Mental health effects
- Eye problems
- Seizures
If you have nausea, take your medicine with food.
Bupropion can cause serious side effects like it contain a “Black Box Warning”
Like other antidepressants, bupropion should carry a black box that indicates an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in children, adolescents, and adolescents aged 18 and 24 years.
The black box warning warns of the need to monitor patients taking antidepressants for signs of worsening depression and the onset of suicidal thoughts, especially during the first months of treatment or when the dose rises or falls.
Interactions
Antidepressants such as,
- Nortriptyline,
- Imipramine,
- Venlafaxin
- Desipramine,
- Paroxetine
- Fluoxetine or
- Sertraline.
High side effects may include seizures. If these medicines are needed, your doctor may start with a low dose and slowly increase it.
Antipsychotics such as
- Thioridazine
- Haloperidol,
- Risperidone.
Increased side effects may include seizures. If these medicines are needed, your doctor may start with a low dose and slowly increase it.
Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOI) such as
- Phenelzine or
- Selegiline.
Using these medicines with bupropion can cause severe hypertension. There must be at least 14 days between the use of MAOIs and the use of bupropion.
Beta-blockers like
- Metoprolol.
Increased side effects may include low blood pressure. Your doctor may reduce the dose of these medications if you are taking bupropion.
Antiarrhythmia such as
- Propafenone or
- Flecainide.
Strong side effects include weakness and changes in the heartbeat (too fast or too slow). Your doctor may reduce the dose of these medications if you are taking bupropion.
Theophylline Increased side effects may include seizures. If you need this medicine, your doctor may start with a low dose and gradually increase it.
Corticosteroids are, for example,
- Prednisone or
- Methylprednisolone.
Using these medications with bupropion can cause seizures. If these medicines are needed, your doctor may start with a low dose and gradually increase it.
Using these drugs with bupropion will increase side effects
- Levodopa and
- Amantadine.
Increased side effects may include restlessness, agitation, shaking, loss of body movement, dizziness, balance disorders or difficulty walking.
Substances that dilute the blood, such as
- Ticlopidine or
- Clopidogrel.
If you are taking any of these medicines with bupropion, your doctor may adjust the dose of bupropion to keep bupropion levels in your body too high.
Dosage
- The usual starting dose for adults with depression is 100 mg twice daily, 3 to 100 mg twice daily. The maintenance dose is 100 mg three times a day.
- Bupropion immediate release tablets are usually given in one, two or three doses daily. For immediate release tablets, a single dose should not exceed 150 mg and each dose should be separated by 6 hours.
- For depression, the recommended dose of immediate release tablets is 100 mg (300 mg / day) three times daily. The maximum dose is 450 mg daily. The starting dose is 100 mg twice daily. The dose may be increased to 100 mg three times daily after three days and to 150 mg three times daily after several weeks if the initial response is insufficient.
- The initial dose of sustained release tablets is 150 mg per day; The target dose is 150 mg twice daily. The maximum dose is 200 mg twice daily.
- The starting dose of prolonged-release tablets is 150 mg per day; The target dose is 300 mg per day; The maximum dose is 450 mg daily. Prolonged tablets are given once daily.
- When used to quit smoking, bupropion usually starts at 150 mg once daily for three days, and then the dose is increased to 150 mg twice daily for 7 to 12 weeks if the patient tolerates the initial dose. Smoking is stopped two weeks after starting treatment with bupropion.
- The dose of seasonal affective disorder is 150 mg once daily up to 300 mg daily using bupropion hydrochloride prolonged release tablets.
- Alternatively, treatment with 174 mg bupropion hydrobromide can be started daily and increased to a target dose of 348 mg daily. Starting treatment before the onset of seasonal depressive symptoms and continue the winter season.