My First Week On Wellbutrin For Crohn's

Good luck!

Definitely keep us informed. Wishing you the best of luck.

Thank you for the support! Here's an update. Tomorrow will be 1 week at my therapeutic dose.
I truly was skeptical about this with very little actual feedback except from Ubob on this forum.

I think it is making a difference already. Even though my flare had died down a week before starting Bupropion,
today I noticed that my bowel movement was wider than ever, which my gastro doc said was a good indication
of inflammation levels. It was half the size during my worst flares. I have very little cramps, maybe 2-3 short ones
per day, this is a good reduction though no different from the end of my last flare.

Insomnia has been the worst side effect so far. I don't drink anything caffeine but it can't be worse than this. Dry mouth takes 2nd place.
I was prescribed Xanax to help with sleep and I've been taking .25mg max. at bedtime. Xanax doesn't give
good stage 4 deep sleep, and I can't explain how I've been able to do so well without the sleep. I know about the addictive qualities of Xanax, and hope the insomnia at least improves after week two.

I am faster out of bed every morning. I do have more energy. I also haven't had any headaches, which I often had from lack of sleep. That makes sense since it's a stimulant. My blood pressure increased at the beginning but stabilized on day 4.

Another bad side effect is that I am a bit more anxious than before, the drug is known for this, not a good antidepressant for anxiety. I sometimes feel my heart beat harder. This may be an illusion related to the anxiety.
Also there are report of weight loss, and I may have lost a pound already which I DON'T want. Seems that my bowels can't wait to clear,
though the stools are still solid (I was constipated before). I don't feel as bloated as before.

I am very hopeful and will give the drug at least a month before deciding how well it worked for Crohn's.

I need to let everyone know, I am seeing a huge improvement every day now with Wellbutrin! Tomorrow will be 2 weeks
at the full 300mg dosage, and my cramping is about a 1/10 vs. 8/10 when I was in a flare. I haven't felt this well since my last remission.
BUT, I am having some side effects which are definitely a problem. I have lost about 6 pounds in 2 weeks without even realizing it. I was aware it was a
potential side effect and that the drug is being reviewed as a possible weight loss drug. I think it makes me less hungry. This is GREAT if you want to lose weight but my guess is that most Crohn's sufferers need to gain weight. I have weighed the same 140 pounds (I am 5'8", slender) for the last 10 years while in remission, and even when the Crohn's was active the last year and a half I kept my weight.
Also, the insomnia is still very present as is the awful dry mouth. Finally, I've started having night sweats where I will wake up with the bed sheets soaked. My doctor knows about these and is OK with my continuing for now. The sweating is a listed side effect too.
Other than that, this drug has given me more energy and kept my prior headaches from recurring. If it is truly putting me into remission,
I will live with all these side effects vs. going on Remicade. I'm going to try to eat even when I am not hungry and hope to put the pounds back on.
I do wish the XL extended release would be as effective as it may lessen the insomnia, but the immediate release is the one indicated for Crohn's.
I was VERY skeptical about this, so there is definitely no placebo effect. I do need to give it more time and see how I do with different foods and
stressful situations. I Will keep posting!

Wow, sounds pretty good!

I am a 35 year old female and was diagnosed with Crohn's in 2009. Until this November had a very manageable case- was able to stay relatively symptom free by taking a daily dose of Tumeric and one Canasa suppository per week. This November I had my worst flare start and had me lose 18lbs (I am 5'7 and usually around 127 so REALLY was thin). A month in it was discovered I had salmonella poisoning which possibly is what kicked off the flare (but was missed for a month as the symptoms are so similar to Crohns). In January after a colonoscopy I was put on 40mg of Prednisone and 400mg of Asacol. This put me in remission for about 1.5 months but as I got tapered off the Prednisone the symptoms (mostly bloody stools and gas) started coming back (at 25mg). My doctor now wants to put me on both 6MP and Remicade and I am very nervous for both. I am especially interested in alternative medication options and especially these posts about Wellbutrin. I have never had any depression/anxiety issues so I would be looking to it solely to treat Crohn's. My doctor has never mentioned it. I want to do everything I can to avoid the more intense drugs (especially the Remicade) as I know once I start them I will be on them relatively indefinitely, so want to know I have explored all other options. I am also really needle phobic so the idea of having to have monthly IVs is NOT appealing, and I have heard the Remicade is really expensive. This whole flare and my doctor's desire to move to these more intense drugs for an indefinite time is especially discouraging for me as I had such a manageable case prior to this Nov and want to believe I can get back to that baseline. Maybe this is naive and unrealistic but I have always been super healthy, am very active, and want to believe my body can sort this out. If I do need to be on long term meds anything sounds better than the scary side effects and administration process of Remicade. I also hope to get pregnant in the next few years so have concerns about that and medications as well.

I would greatly appreciate any advice/thoughts on Wellbutrin. Are people on it taking it alone as the only med to treat their Crohn's or in conjuntion with other drugs? How long did it take to work on symptoms?

Thanks so much!

Jess :)

Hi 7007, Your timing is good, I am due for an update here. Unfortunately, I have just stopped the Wellbutrin. It was a great ride and I hope to have the chance to try it again. The problem, for me, was the quick and significant weight loss that I could not accept. I hadn't lost any weight in over 10 years. Apparently it had curbed my appetite without realizing it. It also sped up my metabolism. Now I am struggling to get the weight back. I loved it in many ways and I do feel it improved my Crohn's tremendously. I was not put into remission though during my month on the drug. I enjoyed the increased energy; the ability to get up faster in the morning and hit the day. I also noticed almost immediately that my bowel movements were larger (wider) which I felt showed decreased inflammation. At first, I had terrible insomnia and dry mouth. The insomnia went away completely but the dry mouth was persistent. I have also tried LDN and failed it miserably. The insomnia on LDN was 5x as bad as the Wellbutrin even at the lowest starting dosage, and I had an increase in symptoms which I understand may have been as a result of an undiagnosed Candida problem. I am considering one last effort to combine Wellbutrin with the LDN skin cream which has worked for a few members here. I haven't specifically seen results from anyone using solely this combo. Otherwise, I give up and will start Remicade,which has been difficult for me to accept because although I'm told my inflammation is severe, I have normal bowel habits and only moderate intermittent cramps at the worst. There are a few people who claim that only the immediate release Wellbutrin works for Crohn's. so that is what I did. I may try the extended release the next time just to compare. Good luck with your transition!