I was wondering how likely seizures are on wellbutrin are, and how much it increases when combined with a stimulant such as adderall. I asked my psychiatrist about switching from paxil to wellbutrin on my last visit and he said he didnt want to put me on it because stimulants increase the risk of seizures. I am currently on 20mg of paxel and 30 mg adderall xr and 10 mg ir a day. Ive been on this doseage for about 4 months and feel wellbutrin would help me more than paxil. Im 18 years old and have got add inattentive with some depression. Any information well be greatly appreciated.

Phone a pharmacist.

That's a good question. I know that with Wellbutrin alone, unless you're anorexic, at prescribed doses, the risk is very minimal. I'm not sure what adding stimulants on top of that would do.

Stimulants lower the seizure threshold.

An increased risk of seizures can cause many many problems in your daily functioning. For instance, driving....which most of us rely on. If you are going to have a seizure, you cannot predict when it will occur. They can have devastating effects on your life.

I have a seizure disorder and even though I am successfully medicated I was told to avoid stimulants. I've had several injuries in the past and am very concerned with the possibility of hurting others. So it is my responsibility to avoid anything that can lower the threshold.

If stimulants added to your current medications or medical conditions increase the possibility of seizure I would steer clear and take your doctor's advice.

Breeding trouble can hurt you and no amount of improvement would be worth that in my opinion.

take care,

~gourmet~

At 300mg the incidence of seizure is 1 in 1000, and 450mg it is 4 in 1000, and increases markedly at doses that are higher. The most vulnerable population to these effects are anorexic and bulemic people.

are we talking about epilepsy ? why would you have a seizure ?

what would cause your seizure ?

This drug can cause seizure in people with no history of it. I have read it does that by blocking an ion channel, and is most likely to occur if at all in the first few days of a dose increase.

Here is the source of most of my information, it was written by a scientist who helped develop the drug. http://www.preskorn.com/columns/0001.html

the reason I ask is that I have a seizure disorder also ,but if I eat right and get enough sleep I'm in no danger .
I have abused myself in the past although and had two in my lifetime

Hi william tell..


Because of the frequency of my seizures, they do refer to my disorder as epilepsy.

This is how my neurologist explained seizure threshold.

"Everyone has a seizure threshold. If I were to lose my wife, lose my job, start drinking heavily, not sleep and stop eating, I would most likely have a seizure. Because the seizure threshold for anyone would be lowered with those types of stresses thrown on them all at once."

I just happen to have an extremely low threshold to begin with and yours must be somewhat lower also.

So according to my neurologist, someone suffering from depression may have a lowered threshold and adding a medication that further lowers the threshold could most likely cause seizures.

By the way, I am really glad that yours is not causing problems for you. :)

~gourmet~

Thank you all for your input. Im just trying to find what will give me the most benifit and wanted some more information on this side effect of wellbutrin because
my doctor didnt give me very much, and I always have to figure out why things are the way they are.

On an unrelated note, there was just a sever thunderstorm in the area and i had to go sit outside and watch the lightning. Ive never really noticed how spectacular a thunderstorm can be untill tonight.

93j9dx,

I think the spectacular thunderstorm is extremely relative :)
~gourmet~

I have been taking Wellburtin XL 150 for 9 months and Focalin 15 mg a day(stimulant similar to adderall or Ritilan) and have had no problems at all.

I actually have been concerned about the possibility of a seizure as of recent with the depression and the seperation and not being able to sleep also my job keeps getting thrown into nightshift in the middle of the week ,wreaks havic with my emotions .
I do think that adderall has prevented me from having one .and thank god ,they tend to freak other people out :eek:

hi william tell.
I don't want to sound like a "know it all" :) but I have had this disorder for 25 years....don't know how long you have had yours or how old you are. And you don't seem to have yours to same extent that I do.
I don't know what yours were precipitated by or how long ago it was that you had them.

But I can tell you what my case is.
Mine is idiopathic (unknown cause) primary generalized seizures of the temporal lobe and also absence seizures which have progressively gotten worse as I have aged.

I was actually at my neurologist's a few months ago discussing my ADD treatment options.

Aderall does not prevent seizures,

but theoretically lowers the seizure threshold.....meaning that it may increase your possibility of a seizure.

I am on strattera because this is the safest to take for ADD in someone with a severe seizure disorder. Do you see a neurologist?

Lack of sleep is probably the WORST thing you can do for seizures...so take care of yourself :) It would do you good to speak with a neurologist, paricularly one who specializes in seizure or sleep disorders.

~gourmet~

mine were precipitated by drinking ,abusing alcohol ,
I have given up on the alcohol ,one drunk in 7 yr.s ,last siezure 7.5 yr.s ago and yes at that time I was hospitalized because it happened at work ,and had to see a neurologist and the ensuing tests ,I remember he told me that my type had a latin name and that I would'nt remember it but that I had to change my lifestyle which isn't easy but mine was easier than most -eat ,no alcohol ,and get plenty of rest .
the last one was triggered by a week of about 3hr.s sleep a night and barely any food .Thankfully I treat myself- 40 yr.s old now -much better now .
I appreiate your sharing info from your neurologist about stimulants

Seven and a half years seizure free is a great record :)
I'm glad you were able to change your lifestyle for the better....I knew someone else who would get those due to alcohol and drug combinations.
You are right...they are scary.

Best wishes

~gourmet~

After being on ritalin for 3 years I was also put on wellbutrin. Then one day in July of last year I had a grand mal seizure and I totally passed out. I had no previous history of seizures nor have I had one since. The ER doctor and the neurologists I was sent to concluded that it was induced by the wellbutin. I was immediately taken off the medication and have been seizure free ever since. I am still on the ritalin though. The combination of the ritalin and the wellbrutin may have been a factor, but the doctors blamed the seizure on the wellbrutin. I don't mean to scare anyone. I know several people that are on this wellbutrin, but no one who has ever had a seizure from it. Though there are siezure warnings in commerial advertisements for wellbutrin.

I was taking Wellbutrin, Prozac, and Adderall when I had my one and only seizure last September. I had no history of seizures and never even thought of it happening to me. Same thing with me though- my seizure threshold was LOW because of all the medicine. Plus the night before the seizure, I was awake the entire night and hadn't eaten at all, again lowering my seizure threshold even more.

Scary thing is I drove to class, was sitting in class and had a grand mal seizure about 10 minutes after class started. I was completely unconscious for probably 20 minutes total... including the postical state (where you are "waking up" from the seizure). What if I would have been driving? I could possibly be dead or have killed somebody else. I don't like to think about this, but the point is- don't take the seizure thing lightly! :soapbox: I saw a neurologist who concluded that the seizure was caused by Wellbutrin. It may very well have been the combination of drugs. At any rate, I'm now completely off wellbutrin and prozac. I only take Adderall, yet still worry about the likelyhood of a seizure. I've been about one year seizure free and still take Adderall. My psychiatrist is very good (he didn't prescribe the wellbutrin to begin with- another doctor had) and feels that for me, the Adderall alone that I take now doesn't pose any risks to seizure- pending I maintain good sleeping and eating habits.

Hope this helps.

Welbutrin increases your risk of having a seizure. The more you take , the greater the risk of seizure. For people who are already at high risk for seizures welbutrin might be a bit risky.

I have been on welbutrin for about 6 months, with no problems. The attractive thing about welbutrin is that it is nonaddictive and has few nasty side effects. The bad thing about it is that it can cause seizures...

Me :D



are we talking about epilepsy ? why would you have a seizure ?

what would cause your seizure ?

You are right Speedo.

The point I was getting across was: when the chances say "1 in 1000" everyone always thinks "pretty low chance. It won't happen to me." Well it happened to me and I was a pretty healthy girl so I thought and no history of seizure! Especially if you are at increased risk of seizure, just be aware of this.

Hey, so as for seizures, if you get one from too much bupropion, then is it going to be permanent, or only just one seizure? I can handle one, but if it's chronic, then I'm quite concerned.

Wellbutrin lowers your siezure threshold. If you stop taking it your siezure threshold returns to whatever level it was at beore taking wellbutrin.

I've read that the risk is very significant for persons taking more than 450 mg of wellbutrin.

I've been on 150 mg wellbutrin and it has helped control my adhd for 17 months.
I was on risperdal, but have stopped taking it fulltime to reduce my risk of siezure.

Recently, I have been having an increase in myoclonic siezures at night. This means that my siezure threshold is getting very low. Now I have to stop taking wellbutrin and find something else to control my adhd.

It is no joke. Wellbutrin increases your risk of siezure. If you are epileptic or have a history of past epilepsy (like I have) wellbutrin is not a safe drug. That is too bad, because it works well for my adhd.

ME :D

Hey, so as for seizures, if you get one from too much bupropion, then is it going to be permanent, or only just one seizure? I can handle one, but if it's chronic, then I'm quite concerned.

Okay. So if I get seizures and then stop taking the medication, then they won't return, right?

I've read that the risk is very significant for persons taking more than 450 mg of wellbutrin.
Who takes more than 450 mg? I thought 450 mg was the maximum prescribed dose for the general public?

My p-doc said the only time he has known of people not prone to seizures having seizures from Wellbutrin is when the dose was higher than 600 mg daily, which he said would only be the case in a psych hospital.

hi, i'm on wellbutrin it's the only thing that works for my depression, and adderal. What signs should i look for or do seizure just happen without warning????

Read through this entire thread- there is some really good information here.

Pudding:
Remember to eat right (i.e. don't go an entire day without eating like I did) and definitely get a good sleep pattern (i.e. don't stay up all night like I did) and your seizure risk will be reduced. You can read about what happened to me in this thread. I described what happened the day of my seizure. I hadn't slept in about 24 hours and I hadn't eaten anything for a while, took Adderall (and actually I think it was dexedrine at the time) AND wellbutrin AND prozac. Drove to school and had a seizure a few minutes later. It happened without any warning. However, when I look back on what I had done to my poor body, I was practically asking for a seizure.

Point is: The better you take care of yourself, the lower your risk for having a seizure caused by Wellbutrin.

I had a seizure during class on the first day of last semester (i was a junior at A&M) it sucked so bad. I had no idea what happend. The funny thing is I was taking the lowest dose and hadn't even been diagnosed ADHD yet, so I wasn't taking any stims either. I'd be careful with this one. I had a really low blood sugar level that day too so I'd watch that too...this med really does lower the seizure threshold a lot in some people. just fyi guys.

should have read this first...yeah definately take care of yourself...u should have no probs...mine came without warning too...****ing sucks. I take prozac too. I don't even want to imagine what it wouldhave been like if I had been taking meds for my adhd too. damn....



Read through this entire thread- there is some really good information here.

Pudding:
Remember to eat right (i.e. don't go an entire day without eating like I did) and definitely get a good sleep pattern (i.e. don't stay up all night like I did) and your seizure risk will be reduced. You can read about what happened to me in this thread. I described what happened the day of my seizure. I hadn't slept in about 24 hours and I hadn't eaten anything for a while, took Adderall (and actually I think it was dexedrine at the time) AND wellbutrin AND prozac. Drove to school and had a seizure a few minutes later. It happened without any warning. However, when I look back on what I had done to my poor body, I was practically asking for a seizure.

Point is: The better you take care of yourself, the lower your risk for having a seizure caused by Wellbutrin.

Hi william tell..


Because of the frequency of my seizures, they do refer to my disorder as epilepsy.

This is how my neurologist explained seizure threshold.

"Everyone has a seizure threshold. If I were to lose my wife, lose my job, start drinking heavily, not sleep and stop eating, I would most likely have a seizure. Because the seizure threshold for anyone would be lowered with those types of stresses thrown on them all at once."

I just happen to have an extremely low threshold to begin with and yours must be somewhat lower also.

So according to my neurologist, someone suffering from depression may have a lowered threshold and adding a medication that further lowers the threshold could most likely cause seizures.

By the way, I am really glad that yours is not causing problems for you. :)

~gourmet~Jesus.
Considering all the things I've experienced, comparable to your neurologist's 'bad story' plus inability to go into the sauna because I will get nausea because of a high heartbeat (I've had my heartbeat/bloodpressure tested tho, and there was nothing wrong with it -- although its said docs are not highly professioned in this kinda thing), I have thought multiple times that I might've had a minor seizure.
Hell; I don't know why I didn't get a major one.

Wouldn't the seizure treshold be upped, because of the anti-depressant and thus anti-stress effect of wellbutrin?
I know my heart's calmer cause I don't get angry all the time on wellbutrin.

Questions:

1. Are there any things that counter the lowering of the treshold (Besides lowering stress, eating well, etc..)?

2. What's a seizure like, and am I right that the after effect is 99% of the cases brain damage?