Gentle, Gradual Bupropion Tapering
Antidepressant tapering at Alternative to Meds Center could be the best and safest way to make sure that withdrawal from bupropion is gentle, gradual, and as comfortable as possible. Our luxurious licensed facility provides comfort and care, under the supervision and guidance of a full roster of licensed medical professionals and caregivers who are all familiar with high-level patient care during treatment for bupropion tapering protocols. Getting off bupropion doesn’t have to be a nightmare. If you have been considering the best options for trying to quit bupropion, please read the below summary of information that may help.
What is bupropion prescribed to treat?
Bupropion is a generic antidepressant medication in the aminoketone class and is chemically unrelated to SSRIs, TCAs, or other classes of antidepressants. Bupropion is also chemically unrelated to nicotine. Bupropion has been marketed and/or sold under various brand names around the globe, such as Wellbutrin©, Zyban©, Prolev©, Alplenzin©, and Quomem©, and others, some of which have been withdrawn since their initial approval.1,4
Bupropion is currently marketed as Wellbutrin, and as the extended and sustained release versions, Wellbutrin XR and Wellbutrin XL. These brand names for bupropion are FDA approved to treat MDD (major depressive disorder).
Bupropion marketed as Zyban was classed as a non-nicotine aid for smoking cessation. Zyban was a sustained-release medication. While information is scant, drugs.com reports in 2022 that the brand name Zyban has been discontinued in the US.
Much is Unknown About Bupropion
Did you know that even for the drug manufacturers, the way the drug is purported to work in regards to smoking cessation is unknown? The same is true when bupropion is prescribed for depression. Of particular interest to prospective parents, it is not known if taking bupropion harms the fetus, or if a mother’s breast milk will harm the baby.
The original pre-approval clinical trials under the brand name Wellbutrin totaled 3 — two trials that lasted 3 weeks, and one trial that lasted 6 weeks on an outpatient population.
Known Side Effects of Bupropion
Some of the adverse reactions to bupropion have been reported to include suicidality, insomnia, headaches, dry mouth, seizures, hypertension (high blood pressure), abdominal pain, loss of sex drive, nausea, tremors, and dizziness, as well as cardiovascular adverse events such as irregular heartbeat and chest pain. Other troubling Bupropion side effects include delusions (you think you are someone else), visual hallucinations (seeing things that aren’t there), audio hallucinations (hearing things that aren’t there), confusion, amnesia, paranoia, aggression, and many other difficulties.
Such reactions, especially if these were intense or lasting over a significant period of time, may lead to trying to quit bupropion. More information and recommendations concerning how to get off bupropion safely and gently can be found below, or by calling Alternative to Meds Center directly.
Bupropion for Smoking Cessation
Some may have opted for bupropion in order to help quit smoking but have also found a number of these adverse side effects have negatively impacted their quality of life.2
For those opting to take bupropion for quitting smoking, the statistics are less than encouraging. Studies show that only 6% of smokers remained smoke-free after one year.3 Just as unfortunate, the unwanted side effects from antidepressants such as bupropion can linger far longer than that. Alternative to Meds Center can help where bupropion tapering in an inpatient setting is desired.
Bupropion for Depression
For those persons who have begun taking bupropion for depression, there are other avenues of diagnosis and treatment that do not focus only on pharmaceutical treatment. Alternative to Meds Center provides a wealth of opportunities for diagnostic testing and treatment options within the context of improving natural mental health. Prescription drugs primarily mask symptoms such as depression, and at best, only for a time. There are no curative properties of antidepressant medications.
Utilizing appropriate treatments concurrently with withdrawal from bupropion can make getting off bupropion a more gentle, much more comfortable experience. For example, removal of toxic load can ease compromised neurochemistry. This is helpful because healthy neurochemistry provides the basis for well-being. Therapeutic nutrition may help alleviate vitamin deficiencies, along with providing a clean, (chemical-free) and nutrient-dense diet.
Treatments are backed up by testing to ensure these aims are being achieved effectively. Other types of therapies made available for physical comfort include therapeutic massage, soothing mineral baths, foot baths, cranial-sacral massage, acupuncture, and acupressure, Equine-assisted therapy, music and art therapy, and many other genres of treatments that may help to reduce or entirely eliminate symptoms that typically emerge while trying to quit bupropion medication.
Caution Regarding Abrupt Withdrawal From Bupropion
Simply stopping bupropion “cold-turkey” is not recommended for any antidepressant medications, except in the case of the following reactions:
- Presenting seizures
- Skin rash or eruptions especially accompanied by fever
- Swelling in the lips, face, throat, tongue, hands, eyes, legs
- Chest pain
- Trouble breathing
These reactions can be life-threatening and are the only cases that require immediate bupropion cessation, and it is recommended that the patient be brought to a hospital or ER setting so that life-saving protocols can immediately be put in place to save the life of the patient.
Except in these cases, the FDA also has issued warnings against abruptly stopping bupropion to avoid serious side effects that can occur during withdrawal from bupropion or from abruptly getting off bupropion products including those that are manufactured in a timed-release or sustained format. Studies show various risks involved in getting off bupropion and other types of medications.2
Find Out More About Holistic Bupropion Cessation
For anyone who has been considering how to get off bupropion safely or even multiple medications, we urge you to contact us at Alternative to Meds Center. The center can advise you on science-based methods (i.e., metabolic testing, neurotoxin removal, neurotransmitter rehabilitation, orthomolecular medicine, and much more) that we have used successfully for safely tapering bupropion and other medications. We also blend the program with other holistic methods to improve both health and lifestyle choices to your benefit, as outlined earlier. There is no better program for bupropion tapering help than what we provide our clients in our comfortable, luxury-style, exceptionally well-staffed, inpatient Alternative to Meds Center.
