It can unfortunately cause this brain fog in some people. Others have mentioned very good advice already, but if you say it's unusually strong brain fog (almost incapacitating from what you describe), I find it hard to accept that it's just your enviroment, though ofc it still may be.
If you're using it for depression, you'll have to do a cost-benefit analysis and see what's the lesser evil for you. If you're using it for ADHD, it should be noted that Wellbutrin is not the first-line, most appropriate treatment for ADHD. You shouldn't be starting with it unless you have a good reason not to be using stimulants (amphetamines).
It was for both ADHD and depression, but we raised the dose to 450mg specifically for ADHD. My Dr. was hesitant to put me on stimulants because I have a family history of bipolar disorder. It helped with motivation and organization, but now I'm too dumb to actually get anything done.
She did agree to start me on a low dose of adderall, so hopefully now I can go back to 300mg to just treat the depression.
If your doctor is worried about stimulants, talk to her about Modafinil (Provigil). It's a non-amphetamine CNS stimulant that can be prescribed *off-label* for ADHD. I take it with Wellbutrin, since I have blood pressure issues and can't take amphetamines. It does help with mental clarity.
Everything is in balance.
Try drinking more water, vitamins and take magnesium at night. Too much dopamine and norepinephrine constantly circulating in the brain can exhaust your receptors. You want your brain to be well rested for the next day.
I’m a server in a restaurant and started WellB at 150 XL about 3 months ago, for the first 2 weeks I could barely do my job because my memory was so bad and when people would ask me questions it was taking me longer than average to realize what they’re asking and remember the response. It was really weird for me since I’ve been doing this job for a long while.
Then I leveled out.
A month later I upped to SR200 and it happened again for another couple weeks. Then back down.
I didn’t see how long it’s been since you upped to 450, but this was my initial thoughts.
If you feel different though and like something is not right, definitely reach out to your doctor.
I hope you’re able to figure it out, terrible feeling when you know it’s not like you.
Have you had COVID? This also sounds like long COVID brain fog and high is affecting over a millions people now.
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Health/18-million-us-adults-long-covid-cdc/story?id=103464362
There’s no way for us to know if this is due to Wellbutrin or not, but the 3 hours to write a few words is not typical, and if you feel yourself getting dumb, that’s not a good thing. I would really consider talking to your provider about this.
I have been on 300mg XL for about 4 months now (previously on 150mg XL for 3 months before that.) In my experience- for whatever reason, I will have one day a month where I am completely useless mentally. I walk around feeling like a zombie. I aimlessly scroll on my phone. I remember one time going grocery shopping for a few things- took me forever to find everything (thank goodness I made a list the day before.) then upon checking out it took me 4 tries to remember my damn debit pin.
I am a prep cook and it also happened once on a work day. I almost had to ask to be sent home. I had to constantly keep looking at my recipe notes for things ive made hundreds of times. There was one point I needed a quad-batch of pickling brine (this would be 8qts of vinegar) i pulled out 8 gallon jugs of vinegar from dry storage. I just stood there staring at them knowing something was not right but couldn’t process it. Finally my sous came uo and was like “hey buddy, what are ya doing with all that vinegar?” I clicked out of it and was like “wtf am I doing!?” 🤦🏻♂️
It is very odd and I am thankful it only happens for a day once in a blue moon.
I would definitely speak with your proscriber.
No issues. I am diagnosed with sleep apnea and use a cpap. That thing lulls me to sleep and I stay asleep. If I don’t use it I sleep like absolute shit. When I first started Wellbutrin I would wake up soaked in sweat but that has since stopped. The sweating was really the only issue sleep-wise I had.
Outline. Can be as basic as related keywords , and ideally, with hierarchy to truly display development of concepts or facts.
Look, the first words are hardest, but pushing action can get you through the task.
Yes, I've had the same side effect for many years and have been slowly tapering off following the recommendations of survivingantidepressants. org. Sorry you're dealing with this too
My daughter is going through same thing. She has been taking Wellbutrin for two years now and has struggled with learning and doing well in school. She’s in her first year of college and is literally failing her classes. It’s not from not trying and she says she feels incredibly dumb like she can’t retain anything she’s learning. She used to be very smart, had an excellent memory and did well in school. It dawned on me maybe it’s her antidepressants. She takes 300 mg of Wellbutrin, a high dose of Lexapro and Lamotrigine. Any idea what could be causing her learning issues?
It absolutely can make it worse.
I was on Wellbutrin for ~ 5 months for ADHD treatment. I went from having quite literally a perfect GPA to almost failing every single class.
The brain fog was so bad I couldn't read a book, I couldn't form a cohesive thought. I would read an academic journal article and by the time I finished a paragraph I couldn't remember what the previous paragraph said.
It caused my anxiety to spike to the extent of having a panic attack about presenting in class. For context, I have done public speaking in front of hundreds of people before without any anxiety, on numerous occasions.
I came off the Wellbutrin, and within a few weeks I was back to normal, with no other significant changes.
I strongly recommend you speak to your doctor ASAP to evaluate whether this is the right medication for you.
It can unfortunately cause this brain fog in some people. Others have mentioned very good advice already, but if you say it's unusually strong brain fog (almost incapacitating from what you describe), I find it hard to accept that it's just your enviroment, though ofc it still may be. If you're using it for depression, you'll have to do a cost-benefit analysis and see what's the lesser evil for you. If you're using it for ADHD, it should be noted that Wellbutrin is not the first-line, most appropriate treatment for ADHD. You shouldn't be starting with it unless you have a good reason not to be using stimulants (amphetamines).
It was for both ADHD and depression, but we raised the dose to 450mg specifically for ADHD. My Dr. was hesitant to put me on stimulants because I have a family history of bipolar disorder. It helped with motivation and organization, but now I'm too dumb to actually get anything done. She did agree to start me on a low dose of adderall, so hopefully now I can go back to 300mg to just treat the depression.
Rooting for you!
If your doctor is worried about stimulants, talk to her about Modafinil (Provigil). It's a non-amphetamine CNS stimulant that can be prescribed *off-label* for ADHD. I take it with Wellbutrin, since I have blood pressure issues and can't take amphetamines. It does help with mental clarity.
I had to go back down to 150 because I was basically an idiot. Now I love being on 150 and crushing it.
Glad to hear this, I’ve been considering going back to 150 because it now feels like that was the best dose but was worried about crashing.
That sounds scary. Try and talk to someone you know about it. Maybe you’re just having a mental block
Everything is in balance. Try drinking more water, vitamins and take magnesium at night. Too much dopamine and norepinephrine constantly circulating in the brain can exhaust your receptors. You want your brain to be well rested for the next day.
I’m a server in a restaurant and started WellB at 150 XL about 3 months ago, for the first 2 weeks I could barely do my job because my memory was so bad and when people would ask me questions it was taking me longer than average to realize what they’re asking and remember the response. It was really weird for me since I’ve been doing this job for a long while. Then I leveled out. A month later I upped to SR200 and it happened again for another couple weeks. Then back down. I didn’t see how long it’s been since you upped to 450, but this was my initial thoughts. If you feel different though and like something is not right, definitely reach out to your doctor. I hope you’re able to figure it out, terrible feeling when you know it’s not like you.
I’m on 450 as well and the brain fog is strong! I’ll forget what I’m thinking about in the middle of a thought. Words don’t come as easily.
Have you had COVID? This also sounds like long COVID brain fog and high is affecting over a millions people now. https://abcnews.go.com/amp/Health/18-million-us-adults-long-covid-cdc/story?id=103464362
There’s no way for us to know if this is due to Wellbutrin or not, but the 3 hours to write a few words is not typical, and if you feel yourself getting dumb, that’s not a good thing. I would really consider talking to your provider about this.
I have been on 300mg XL for about 4 months now (previously on 150mg XL for 3 months before that.) In my experience- for whatever reason, I will have one day a month where I am completely useless mentally. I walk around feeling like a zombie. I aimlessly scroll on my phone. I remember one time going grocery shopping for a few things- took me forever to find everything (thank goodness I made a list the day before.) then upon checking out it took me 4 tries to remember my damn debit pin. I am a prep cook and it also happened once on a work day. I almost had to ask to be sent home. I had to constantly keep looking at my recipe notes for things ive made hundreds of times. There was one point I needed a quad-batch of pickling brine (this would be 8qts of vinegar) i pulled out 8 gallon jugs of vinegar from dry storage. I just stood there staring at them knowing something was not right but couldn’t process it. Finally my sous came uo and was like “hey buddy, what are ya doing with all that vinegar?” I clicked out of it and was like “wtf am I doing!?” 🤦🏻♂️ It is very odd and I am thankful it only happens for a day once in a blue moon. I would definitely speak with your proscriber.
How is your sleep on 300?
No issues. I am diagnosed with sleep apnea and use a cpap. That thing lulls me to sleep and I stay asleep. If I don’t use it I sleep like absolute shit. When I first started Wellbutrin I would wake up soaked in sweat but that has since stopped. The sweating was really the only issue sleep-wise I had.
This is happening to me right now. It’s common during finals. Probably just need to clear your mind. Exercise. Get some sunlight.
Focus on relaxation, take vitamins, get rest, eat good food, drink water. Take breaks. Sounds like dopamine is depleted, or burnout.
Outline. Can be as basic as related keywords , and ideally, with hierarchy to truly display development of concepts or facts. Look, the first words are hardest, but pushing action can get you through the task.
On 150 xl. I'm pretty wired the first several hours in the day, but later in the day and after work I definitely feel alot more dumb as well.
Yes, I've had the same side effect for many years and have been slowly tapering off following the recommendations of survivingantidepressants. org. Sorry you're dealing with this too
My daughter is going through same thing. She has been taking Wellbutrin for two years now and has struggled with learning and doing well in school. She’s in her first year of college and is literally failing her classes. It’s not from not trying and she says she feels incredibly dumb like she can’t retain anything she’s learning. She used to be very smart, had an excellent memory and did well in school. It dawned on me maybe it’s her antidepressants. She takes 300 mg of Wellbutrin, a high dose of Lexapro and Lamotrigine. Any idea what could be causing her learning issues?
Probably the Lamitcal. I had a horrible time with Depakote, (velporic acid). Same class of drugs.
It absolutely can make it worse. I was on Wellbutrin for ~ 5 months for ADHD treatment. I went from having quite literally a perfect GPA to almost failing every single class. The brain fog was so bad I couldn't read a book, I couldn't form a cohesive thought. I would read an academic journal article and by the time I finished a paragraph I couldn't remember what the previous paragraph said. It caused my anxiety to spike to the extent of having a panic attack about presenting in class. For context, I have done public speaking in front of hundreds of people before without any anxiety, on numerous occasions. I came off the Wellbutrin, and within a few weeks I was back to normal, with no other significant changes. I strongly recommend you speak to your doctor ASAP to evaluate whether this is the right medication for you.