Bupropion for motivation

[Tomas]

Hello there,

I have been reading some pots ensuring good results by using Bupropion (wellbutrin) for energy and motivation. Anyone here has tried it? What results? Secondary effects?

Thanks in advance!

[Sawproblemo]

I have been taking it for a year:

-libido up. At times quite high
-depression down
-motivation up but not great
-suicidal thoughts greatly reduced

Sides
-Coordination issues

[Tomas]

It does not sound bad at all…

[kan]

I took ritalin in the past while having PFS, and it caused me terrible problems including worsening of mental sides and shrinkage. A doctor told me that bupropion and ritalin are similar, but I don’t know.

I think some users have had problems with bupropion, do a quick search just in case.

[SolutionSeeker]

Been on it for more than 2 years. Will definitely improve some side effects and keep your mind off PFS.

[Tomas]

Hi solutionseeker!
Could be a bit more specific regarding what have improved? What dose do you take? Why you dont tapper it off?

[Chris74]

Hallo Tomas,

i am taking 150 mg Zyban (Bupropion) for a month and it works very good:

Libido increases,
sexual dreams happen again after years,
the orgasm is more intense, lasts a bit longer and is more satisfying.
Sexual arrousal is better.
Now i can be stimulated again by normal things like a good looking Woman or “normal” porn.

But there are also non-sexual effects:

Anhedonia disappeared
I can feel pleasure again
Fatigue is much better, i have more energy
i can motivate myself better
I don´t have any desire for Sweets or salty things

I am convinced that the main reason for the good results is the dopaminergic effect of Bupropion.
I don´t know if Bupropion is a possibel Cure for PFS. But it improves the Symptoms that are caused by PFS. I quit Propecia in Jan. 2008. I have tried many natural things. But Nothing really worked for me.
I will continue with 150 mg of Zyban/Bupropion. After 9 month i will try to taper off and then i will see if PFS returns again or not. If PFS won´t return again, then i will make a post on Propeciahelp and claim for me to be cured. At the moment it is too early to claim a victory over this damned syndrome.
I wish you luck Tomas. Don´t give up.

[slick1]

can someone PM me where can I order bupropion. I saw its available on kiwidrug, but maybe there are cheaper sources ?

[Chris74]

Hallo slick1,

here in Germany Bupropion is also prescribed as a drug for people who want to quit smoking. It is called Zyban. It contains 150 mg of Bupropion. That´s what i am taking. You get it with a private recept from your doctor.

[lakehouse]

@axolotl @awor any reason why this might be helping?

[orthogs]

Maybe boosting available dopamine concentrations?

[kan]

There have been mixed experiences on wellbutrin. I’d say that in bad cases it has made people worse, but in people that are not so severely affected, it has helped some.

@whalen72

Well Guys I’ve been on Wellbutrin over a month now.Initially at 150mg/day and sometimes up to 300mg/day for several days.Forget about all the hype over libido boosting.I had a couple of horny days here and there just like before I used it.All the hype over the internet had me believing that this was the cure.I’m seeing my psych tomorrow and will discuss how to taper off safely.

@awor

I also tried bupropion a while back, and it did not do me good. A recent study done on mice found:

BUP had toxic effects on testicular function

and

The BUP group showed a decrease in […] testosterone levels (Control, 783.5 ± 154.2 ng dL−1; BUP, 201.4 ± 54.8 ng dL−1)

Hence I would be at least cautious in recommending bupropion to our patients, but as usual, YMMV

@awor

I tried Wellbutrin (Bupropion) and after a brief improvement, it made me worse. I do not believe that antidepressants are of help in our situation, and mostly see the risk that they can make us worse. But maybe some will benefit, idk.

@ehh

t’s curious that also “youngbuck21” mentions that he crashed after taking another dopamine reuptake inhibitor (wellbutrin)

@Terp03

I’m off Wellbutrin as it was making things worse, amplifying my anxiety/depression etc

@Lostinaustin

I just tapered off of Wellbutrin. It was definitely improving my mood and outlook on life but I feel it worsened anxiety for me and also started to feel like it made some of my sexual symptoms worse (less libido and longer time it took to ejaculate).

He is also talking about wellbutrin:

@ihatefin

i stopped a while ago after a couple of months. i think my brain fog ultimately became worse, honestly

[Chris74]

Hallo,

i want to post two links, that could explain why Bupropion (and other dopamin agonists) works for libido and other non-sexual dopamin-dependent functions (at least in my case).

Androgen Regulation of the Mesocorticolimbic System and Executive Function

Dopamine activates masculine sexual behavior independent of the estrogen...

In my modest opinion the two most important messages are:

1. AR receptors are important for a normal dopamine transmission. AR receptors can be found in dopaminergic brain cells. An impairment of AR receptors (as we suppose in PFS) leads to an impaired dopamine-transmission in the brain.
   Clinical symptoms are: low libido, fatigue, affective nivelation, depression-like Symptoms.

2. Dopamine-agonists like Apomorphin (Bupropion is also an Dopamin Agonist) raise sexual behaviour in castratet male mice and knock-out mice without ER-receptor. That means: Dopaminagonists don´t need AR or ER for having an effect. They are independent from these receptors.

That´s why i believe that Bupropion works for me. (At least at the moment. I hope it will last.)

[Tomas]

Thanks for your feedback!
This is great news indeed. Please keep posting in the future either eith good or bad results…it is always good to know how it affects to different people.
I had heart that wellbutrin can help our situation from a doctor who knows about pfs…and i do still think this as a possibility.

Regard.

[orthogs]

Agreed. As far as things go Wellbutrin is definitely something I am strongly considering. Naturally I’m still quite cautious as to any negative effects it may exert.

[Chris74]

I have waited over 10 years until i decided to try it on a pharmacological way. I lost 10 years of quality of life. I wish i would have decided earlier to take Zyban/Bupropion. Now i feel alive again after years. The possible adverse effects of Bupropion are Nothing compared with the negative effects of this Poison called Propecia. At the moment i don´t notice any negative effect from Zyban. Perhaps a bit of decreased appetite. That´s all.

[Jaime]

Hey Chris! So you’ve been on bupropion for a month now, right? Did you take the XR or SR formulation? Have you noticed a change in your sleep at all, for better or worse?

[Chris74]

Hallo, fortunately i never had problems with sleeping. I take Zyban. I don´t know what kind of forumulation it has. But Zyban doesn´t cause me any sleeping problems. By the way, are you from Spain?

[Jaime]

No sir, I am from the states. I speak Spanish, however!

[Chris74]

Ah, ok.
I would like to mention one more thing. It is known that active substances like Bupropion and many other drugs like L-Thyroxin, antipsycotics (dopamine-antagonistic drugs) etc. can have stronger or minor effects depending on the formulation, the dosis and the Company that produces this drug. I don´t know if this phenomenon could also be found in Bupropion. So perhaps 150 mg Zyban has another efffect than 150 mg Bupropion from the company X or 150 mg Wellbutrin XR or SR. And also it is important to know, that if you double the dosis from 150 mg to 300 mg, that doesn´t automatically mean a double effect. In some cases in could have an inverse effect. So if we want to compare the effects of Bupropion to us, we should take the same drug from the same company. Don´t get me wrong: I don´t want to make any advertisement for Zyban. But we should be aware of this mentioned phenomenon.