The studies are a little all over the place, Dr. DeYoung says, and docs have different takes. But the gist is that your risk of relapse or recurrence—symptoms returning or worsening when you stop medication—goes down the longer you’ve been stable. You reside at home and attend detox sessions for a few hours each week. This is not typically recommended for a severe addiction or someone who has a co-occurring medical or psychological condition. You live at the detox facility during Wellbutrin withdrawal but there is limited access to medical care. Your doctor may also recommend you switch to a different antidepressant if the reason for your tapering was because of Wellbutrin side effects.

What Is Wellbutrin Withdrawal?

Mr. A remains tobacco free at 7 months, again based on his honest self-disclosure. Managing withdrawal symptoms involves self-care, professional support, and possibly medication. Engaging in light physical activity and mindfulness practices can also help. If symptoms are severe, consult a healthcare provider, as they may recommend therapy or medications to ease the transition.

Harvard Health explains that having more mood-regulating chemicals floating around can reduce depressive symptoms and improve mood. By blocking the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine, Wellbutrin increases their availability in the synaptic cleft. Doing this increases the availability of these neurotransmitters in your synaptic cleft – that small gap between nerve cells where chemical messages are sent. You live at home and attend detox treatment sessions at a clinic for up to 30 hours per week, depending on the specific program. Use a nicotine patch or gum if you were using Wellbutrin to quit smoking.

Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

You will receive a combination of services, including medical detox, behavioral therapies, group counseling, relapse prevention planning, and more. Yes, it is generally recommended to taper off 150 mg of Wellbutrin gradually under the guidance of a healthcare professional. You should not try to start getting off Wellbutrin by yourself, as abrupt discontinuation may lead to withdrawal symptoms while weaning off Wellbutrin slowly helps to minimize potential side effects. Wellbutrin withdrawal symptoms (AKA bupropion) can range from mild to moderate or be severe enough to require hospitalization. Wellbutrin is a stimulating drug and the effects look a lot like the reactions of coming off any other stimulant drug.

How to Approach Tapering

As addiction is increasingly accepted as a disease, more and more insurance providers have become willing to cover services in the addiction treatment field. At PAX Memphis, we understand the importance of extending addiction treatment coverage to all those who need it. We have partnered with multiple insurance companies with the intent to help as many individuals as possible to attain excellent drug and alcohol rehab care. If you or a loved one suffers from a substance use disorder, it’s time to seek help. Drug and alcohol abuse can be difficult to overcome, but drug addiction treatment centers make it possible to recover.

Wellbutrin Withdrawal Symptoms and Timeline

Unlike most antidepressants (which affect sertraline levels), bupoprion affects the levels of dopamine and noradrenaline. If you’re all the way down to 100 mg SR per day, you’d think perhaps seizure risk is pretty much gone at that point. Many people will be reluctant to go get a new prescription just to stop.

How long will Wellbutrin withdrawal symptoms last?

• Special training requirements for would-be prescribers have been eliminated.
• Research suggests rebound symptoms can appear when you suddenly stop taking your medication.
• The half-life refers to how long it takes for the medication to be reduced by 50% in the body.
• About a year ago, when I began reporting this story as part of an Atlantic podcast series, I asked Mallory how important this treatment was to her recovery.

The half-life of a medication refers to how long it takes half of the drug to leave your body. For Wellbutrin, this half-life is relatively short – around 21 hours when taken regularly. This means that after about a day, half of the Wellbutrin in your system is gone, which is why it’s normally taken once or twice a day.

• There is fairly strong evidence that tapering most antidepressant drugs will lessen the risk of withdrawal symptoms (sometimes known as a ‘discontinuation syndrome’) occurring.
• Your doctor is there to guide you through this process, and you don’t have to manage it alone.
• However, not everyone will experience these effects, and the symptoms are manageable.
• One of the most effective tools for defusing a crisis that in recent years has killed more than 80,000 people annually is going unused.
• For someone who’s had three episodes, some guidelines recommend staying on maintenance antidepressants for at least two years, Dr. DeYoung says—if not for the foreseeable future, according to Dr. Siegel.
• Since Wellbutrin affects brain chemistry, it should not be stopped without consulting your doctor.

We will assess your history of substance abuse to determine what type of treatment program is best suited to your needs. The drug treatment programs we work with always use an individualized and evidence-based approach, giving you the best shot at recovery possible. The psychological symptoms of Wellbutrin withdrawal will continue to be intense for 1 to 2 weeks. You might deal with insomnia, vivid dreams, mood swings, severe depression, and more. However, the physical symptoms like headaches and body aches might become more mild. Yet approximately 20% of patients experience Wellbutrin withdrawal symptoms when abruptly ceasing or significantly reducing the dosage of an antidepressant they have been taking continuously for one month.

By reducing withdrawal symptoms and cravings, it assists individuals in overcoming nicotine dependence. Whether or not the person took the drug as prescribed, or as a drug of choice for abuse, the risks, barriers, and difficulties of abrupt Wellbutrin withdrawal are well-documented. Gently tapering off Wellbutrin is the safest approach to managing Wellbutrin withdrawal symptoms. Wellbutrin has a low risk for physical dependence and severe withdrawal if taken as prescribed by a doctor.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

Your symptoms will begin within 2 days of your last dose and can continue for over 3 weeks. Because of this, you should always work with a healthcare professional to slowly taper off of Wellbutrin. Pollock1 states that all SSRIs should be gradually tapered to minimize the possibility of discontinuation symptoms. As more physicians prescribe antidepressants for a myriad of clinical entities, they need to remain alert for withdrawal symptoms and work in educating patients to the possibility of discontinuation symptoms. This type of education will not only increase compliance but also decrease the abrupt discontinuation of antidepressants by patients.

Addiction Resource team has compiled an extensive list of the top drug rehabilitation facilities around the country. Click on the state you are interested in, and you’ll get a list of the best centers in the area, along with their can you just stop taking bupropion levels of care, working hours, and contact information. All information provided in featured rehab listings is verified by the facility officials. The details are kept up to date to help people with addiction treatment needs get the most full and precise facts about the rehabilitation facility. If you have health insurance, another way to find a therapist is to search your insurance plan’s website. Typically, insurance companies have a list of local providers who accept your insurance.

The helpline at AddictionResource.net is available 24/7 to discuss the treatment needs of yourself or a loved one. This helpline is answered by Treatment X LLC, an addiction treatment provider with treatment facilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California. Doctors often recommend tapering off Wellbutrin gradually, especially for those who have been taking a high dose of Wellbutrin for a long time. ✔️ Stopping any drug, including Wellbutrin, all at once isn’t recommended.

The cost of treatment will vary depending on what health insurance plan you have, but paying for rehab with health insurance can help mitigate the toll that addiction treatment can take on your wallet. Most insurance plans consist of payments through copays, coinsurance, premiums, or deductibles. At PAX Memphis Recovery Center, our goal is to furnish readers with the latest and most precise addiction and healthcare insights available. We strictly adhere to accuracy standards, relying solely on reputable sources for the information provided on our website. You might be given medications to reduce symptoms like headaches, muscle aches, insomnia, or depression.