27M - PSSD - 7 pills of Bupropion

Member Stories
#1

Welcome to our community. Please fill in the following template as a way of introducing yourself, and helping others to understand your background and situation.

Where are you from (country)?
USA

How did you find this forum (Google search – if so, what search terms? Via link from a forum or website – if so, what page? Other?)
Google, Reddit

What is your current age, height, weight?
27, 5ft 9in, 220lbs

What specific drug did you use (finasteride, dutasteride, saw palmetto, isotretinoin/Accutane, fluoxetine, sertraline, citalopram, leuprorelin, etc…)?
Bupropion XL

What dose did you take (eg. 1 mg/day, 1 mg every other day etc.)?
150mg/day

What condition was being treated with the drug?
ADHD

For how long did you take the drug (weeks/months/years)?
1 week

Date when you started the drug?
jan 14 2022

Date when you quit the drug?
jan 21 2022

Age when you quit?
26

How did you quit (cold turkey or taper off)?
cold turkey

How long into your usage did you notice the onset of side effects?
day 1 mild mental side effects, day 7 sexual side effects

What side effects did you experience that have yet to resolve since discontinuation?

genital numbness.

Check the boxes that apply. You can save your post first, then interactively check/uncheck the boxes by clicking on them. If your symptoms change, please update your list.

Sexual
[x] Loss of Libido / Sex Drive
[ ] Erectile Dysfunction
[ ] Complete Impotence
[x] Loss of Morning Erections
[x] Loss of Spontaneous Erections
[x] Loss of Nocturnal Erections
[x] Watery Ejaculate
[x] Reduced Ejaculate
[x] Inability or Difficulty to Ejaculate / Orgasm
[x] Reduced Sperm Count / Motility

Mental
[x] Emotional Blunting / Emotionally Flat
[x] Difficulty Focusing / Concentrating
[ ] Confusion
[x] Memory Loss / Forgetfulness
[x] Stumbling over Words / Losing Train of Thought
[ ] Slurring of Speech
[x] Lack of Motivation / Feeling Passive / Complacency
[ ] Extreme Anxiety / Panic Attacks
[x] Severe Depression / Melancholy
[x] Suicidal Thoughts

Physical
[ ] Penile Tissue Changes (narrowing, shrinkage, wrinkled)
[ ] Penis curvature / rotation on axis
[ ] Testicular Pain
[x] Testicular Shrinkage / Loss of Fullness
[x] Genital numbness / sensitivity decrease
[x] Weight Gain
[ ] Gynecomastia (male breasts)
[ ] Muscle Wastage
[x] Muscle Weakness
[ ] Joint Pain
[ ] Dry / Dark Circles under eyes

Misc
[ ] Prostate pain
[x] Persistent Fatigue / Exhaustion
[ ] Stomach Pains / Digestion Problems
[ ] Constipation / “Poo Pellets”
[x] Vision - Acuity Decrease / Blurriness
[ ] Tinnitus (ringing or high pitched sound in ears)
[ ] Hearing loss
[ ] Increased hair loss
[ ] Frequent urination
[ ] Lowered body temperature

[ ] Other (please explain)

What (if any) treatments have you undertaken to recover from your side effects since discontinuation of the drug?

various supplements with little to no benefit

If you have pre or post-drug blood tests, what hormonal changes have you encountered since discontinuing the drug (please post your test results in the “Blood Tests” section and link to them in your post)?

Anything not listed in the above questions you’d like to share about your experience?

Tell us your story, in your own words, about your usage and side effects experienced while on/off the drug.

4 Likes
#2

Never heard anybody getting PSSD from Bupropion. It’s not an SSRI.

3 Likes
#3

it acts as an SNRI which can trigger PSSD aswell although more rare. I unfortunately am unlucky.

2 Likes
#4

It actually a NDRI, and like @orthogs said it shouldn’t affect serotonin. It’s commonly Rx’d as an alternative to those who need more dopamine activity instead of serotonin (like most here react very badly to serotonin, including myself) and to those who need to counteract their PSSD-type symptoms.

I don’t doubt that it affected you in a weird way though. Everybody is different, but I will say that WB has helped me tremendously.

3 Likes
#5

What effect did it have on you?

1 Like
#6

Agreed! WB has gotten me out of my dark day…it’s not perfect but it helps

1 Like
#7

Hey @whm,
Welcome to the forum.
I’m sorry to hear you’ve been going through these awful experiences with these awful symptoms.
I’m also sorry to see that you are being welcomed with immediate skepticism from other users.

While it’s true that Bupropion isn’t exactly one of the ‘usual suspects’ in terms of drug types that we know cause this condition, I think there is certainly some gray area in the sense that we are not at a point where we know exactly what causes this situation and which factors absolutely are or aren’t involved. So I wouldn’t want to immediately rule out the possibility.

When I first got PFS, I happened to also be taking bupropion (fellow ADD/ADHD diagnosis here).

However, while I had some side effects from bupropion, it never gave me PFS-like side effects such as libido-loss — not on its own at least — those only started for me when I was taking finasteride.

I think it would be wise to check if there have been no other substances you may have used or consumed that could be contributing to this situation. This could be anything from ketoconazole shampoos, minoxidil, saw palmetto supplements, excessive quantities of zinc, rosemary oil, etcetera. There’s quite a long list of 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors.

Regardless, PAS/PFS/PSSD or anything of the sort is no pleasant situation and we welcome anyone who is going through this awful ordeal regardless of the origin.

4 Likes
#8

Let’s be honest we don’t have a clue what it’s affecting and we also don’t know if the serotonin modulating effect is the cause for PSSD from SSRI.

From Bupropion wiki page.

The mechanism of action of bupropion is unclear but believed to be related to the fact that bupropion is a norepinephrine–dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI) and antagonist of several nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. It is uncertain if it is a norepinephrine–dopamine releasing agent.

In accordance with its low DAT occupancy, no measurable dopamine release in the human brain was detected with bupropion (150 mg/day) in a PET study. These findings raise questions about the role of dopamine reuptake inhibition in the pharmacology of bupropion, and suggest that other actions may be responsible for its therapeutic effects. More research is needed in this area.

All these meds more or less are developed by “trial and error” not “cause and effect”. We don’t know how they work, just that they kind of work for most people but not exactly how.

2 Likes
#9

Helps with the fatigue, brain fog, and libido. Like @MatchaTea said, it’s not perfect but it significantly improves my baseline.

2 Likes
#11

Just remembered this isn’t the first case of someone suspecting Wellbutrin as the cause of a post-drug syndrome:

@MatchaTea, the problem is that by the time an individual figures out what absolutely doesn’t work for their body, it can be too late; so why not encourage people to err on the side of caution.

#13

How exactly has it helped you?

1 Like
#14

Guys, OP got hit badly with PSSD because of this drug, let’s not discuss how it ‘helped’ anyone. If you want to do so at least do it via PM.

2 Likes
#15

Technically combination of two drugs per initial post.

2 Likes
#16

Hi everyone,

Bupropion is 100% the cause of these issues for me. It was like night and day since taking it.

I was not consuming anything else that could cause this. The only thing that may have contributed in some way was my covid infection 2 months prior.

2 Likes