Back on Wellbutrin for Crohn's & It's Working Again

Please keep us updated on your progress. I am considering it and would like to know if anyone else has tried it. I tried to research the doc who proposed the treatment but could only find a few small case studies.

Thanks for asking - While I feel that Wellbutrin definitely made a recognizable difference, it did not put me into remission. I must admit that I went back on at a 200mg per day immediate release dosage, and the recommended is 300mg a day. I did this because I lost weight on the full dosage, and wanted to avoid it this time around. I did not lose weight at the lower dosage. It reduced my cramping by at least half or more and the results were almost immediate. It eliminated my constipation too. But, I still had some night sweats and other Crohn's symptoms. My Gastroenterologist had previously agreed to prescribe LDN for me which didn't work for me. His reaction to my being on Wellbutrin (prescribed by primary Internist) was that it couldn't hurt me but was useless for the Crohn's. He has been pushing for Remicade since the beginning which has been difficult for me to accept since I lead a normal life with once a day bowel movements and plenty of energy. I do admit that I have an occasional flare usually brought on by stress. My bloodwork goes back and forth, at worst showing elevated CRP and ESR levels with just under the norm red blood cell counts, slight anemia, and then returning to normal again. He did not believe in all the other drugs because he felt that I needed to be in remission and stay there and the Remicade was most effective for it. I may give in a give it a try; I figure it may not work at all, or I may have some bad side effects and stop, or perhaps it may actually get me into full remission. As Nanners often says, the Crohn's may be damaging the intestines on a microscopic level. I am relatively young (41) and would like to keep most of my bowel if I can! I have a HUGE scar (10 inches) from my first and only resection at age 13. I'd like to avoid surgery if I can. I support trying Wellbutrin fully. The only side effects that stuck around were the dry mouth and occasional insomnia.

Gunmart, are you still taking the Wellbutrin? How are you feeling?

I started the prescription I had and I am doing quite well. I had a bad flare the beginning of May after being on LDN for 6 months. I threw in the towel on the LDN. I have now been on 300 mg for 2 weeks and most of my symptoms have subsided. I started out slow to minimize side effects, I took 100 mg for a couple days, then 200 mg, and then up to 300 mg.

By the end of May I was having elevated body temp every afternoon (almost a fever), blood, D, urgency, and at my low point going almost every 1 - 2 hours. The bleeding and urgency are gone. The D is only my first bathroom trip in the AM. The rest of the day I am having formed pretty normal BMs. My body temp is back down to normal. I am still going about 6-7 times a day. But I did start a high calorie diet recently to help me gain weight, so I am not sure how many of the trips are still my Crohn's and how much is just the increase in the volume of food.

All in all I definitely feel better and feel like my inflammation is greatly decreased. We shall see after I have been on it in a month or two. In the last 2 years I have been flaring most of the time with 1 month spontaneous remission periods here and there. I guess the test will be if I can have little to no symptoms for a period longer than 1 month.

Remicade for me was a miracle for several years. It has been the only thing that has put me in complete remission where I could eat anything and do anything and didn't feel like I had a chronic illness.

I first did Remicade when it was very first approved and you only got 1 dose for non-fistulizing Crohn's and 3 doses for fistulizing Crohn's. I got 1 dose and it put me in remission for 2 years. Started a flare and got 3 doses of Remicade and went into remission for another 2 years. Then flared so bad I ended up in the hospital and restarted Remicade which I continued every 10 weeks for about 5 years.

That is why I was so intrigued by the Wellbutrin, my Crohn's has always responded very well to anti-TNF drugs. I would have normal poop as soon as 2 to 3 days after an infusion. Same with Humira, I would do a shot on a Friday night and have normal poop by Sunday. I only quit the Humira because I had a ton of side effects, including Psoriasis that was progressively getting worse and disappeared when I stopped it. I never had those side effects with Remicade.

Actually with this last flare my doctor wanted me to restart Remicade, but I couldn't face restarting it again. Both times before when I restarted it I would initially have a bad reaction, but then everything would be fine as I continued treatment. We have been moving and starting new jobs and I just couldn't face the initial trouble restarting usually caused me.

Good luck next week, I hope you are one of the lucky ones that responds quickly!

why do you lose weight on wellbutrin? i heard zoloft works as well...anyone heard anything about that? why do these meds seem to help Crohn's?

I just wanted to thank you for this discussion thread. I have cured myself of Ulcerative Colitis using Fecal Transplants. However what finally brought symptoms to a rapid close was the addition of Bupropion 300 mg immediate release 3 times a day and Silenor (6 mg Doxepin). I started the Bupropion after finding this and a few other discussion threads from an internet search. A day after I added those drugs I had a normal, fully formed bowel movement, this at the same time I was tapering Prednisone. The first in years. I don't know if it is the TNF inhibition that did it, or by regulating emotions better it helped slow muscle spasms and diarrhea which helped the fecal transplants finish the job of restoring things to normal. 6 weeks later a colonoscopy revealed healthy patches in my colon where I had had pan colitis for over 10 years. After the first 3 months or so I transitioned to Buproption XL (once a day) and things continued going well.

18 months later I am still completely free of Colitis symptoms with normal bowel movements once or twice a day. This is amazing to me, because even before Colitis I had diarrhea or loose stool for much of my life. I did go back on Bupropion for seasonal depression, although will probably go off it in the spring.

I was wondering if Wellbutrin helped anyone else for their Crohns!! I stumbled on it helping me when I when on Wellutrin a couple years ago after my Mom had passed away and I was becoming more and more depressed. I like Wellbutrin because it helps with my energy levels some and I have constipation a lot and it seemed to help with it. I do still have loose stools mostly when I do go but for me it's better then not going at all which is my biggest problem. I was always wondering if I was the only one that found that it helped my Crohns some.

This is very interesting considering wellbutrin is one of the meds I was taken off of shortly before I got sick. I dont have crohns but have UC that hasnt gone into remission at all. Im curious if wellbutrin helps with crohns could it possibly help ulcerative colitis too? My psychiatrist has been considering switching me back to wellbutrin anyway (instead of taking aplenzin) because it seemed to work a bit better for my depression.