Wellbutrin
Wellbutrin is one of the newest drugs to appear on the market to treat depression. The generic name for this antidepressant is Bupropion hydrochloride and it is sometimes also referred to as Wellbutrin SR. Wellbutrin comes in the regular formula while Wellbutrin SR means it is “sustained-release.”
Wellbutrin is prescribed to treat the most serious cases of depression and it tends to have a stimulating effect upon the patient who takes it. In order for depression to be considered major or serious it must take place over a period of two weeks or more and it must involve a loss of enthusiasm and interest in the activities a person enjoyed in the past. It is also accompanied by a lack of appetite, sleep disturbances, a feeling of lethargy, a problem with attention scan and concentration, feelings of unhappiness, hopelessness and/or guilt, a lack of interest in sex and sometimes even thought of doing harm to oneself.
A doctor will usually recommend that a patient starting on Wellbutrin take the drug three times a day making sure to evenly space out the time between each does. For example, it is important to allow for approximately a window of six hours between each dose. This very likely could mean that a patient will have to set his alarm clock during the night to alert him to when it is time for a dose. Most physicians will start their patients at the lowest dosage possible (200 milligrams a day for example) and then will increase the dosage as required.
For those patients who are prescribed Wellbutrin SR (the sustained-release form of the drug) they will need to take the pill twice a day and spaced the dosages eight hours apart. Most doctors begin their patients on 150 milligrams a day to be taken in the morning hours. Both Wellbutrin and Wellbutrin SR tablets need to be taken with a glass of water and they necessitate being swallowed whole and not crushed, chewed or cut into small pieces.
Disclaimer: Cliff Schaffer does not personally endorse or support any of the comments made within the writings of this article. |
