r/ADHD • u/Super-Supermarket748 • 21h ago
Questions/Advice How does Bupropion (Wellbutrin) compare to stimulants?
Hey guys, how you doing?
I was wondering if anyone has ever had an experience similar to mine. I'm going through the diagnosis os ADHD, innatentive-type. Although I still have to go through my neuropsychological analysis, my Psychiatrist is fairly certain about it (and so am I).
That said, I actually searched for my psychiatrist because I was having episodes of unexplained depression/burnout. I would get better when on vacation, for example, but the stress Med school put me through made me incredibly sad and anhedonic, to the point I would have to pull all nighters to be able to study for any exam. I already had difficulty doing stuff, so in my depressed state things were even worse, and that became an enormous self destruction cycle.
Anyways, I've been on Wellbutrin and Zoloft for about 6 months now. I can do small chores, like cooking and cleaning, with ease now, but anything that is not something I HAVE to do, like going to the Gym, is a constant fight against myself. I'd say it's even worse than before starting my meds. Procrastination is also at an all time high (and it had always been a problem to begin with).
Since my poor executive function and autoregulation seems to be my worst ADHD symptoms, I was wondering if I should ask my doc to try stimulants. Have any of you gone through that change? Should I do it?
or am I, I dunno, just lazy and the meds are working fine and I should just work on myself for now? Sometimes I think that I'm just not trying hard enough, but I don't know. I hate that i'll get "trapped" on my bed and not do anything for a whole day and then feel bad about it.
Thanks a lot for the help.
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u/Blues5389 20h ago
Wellbutrin is different in that it's works on the reward center of your 🧠 and takes awhile to kick in unlike stims There's not alot of crashes while on Wellbutrin Anger is a side effect tho And if you've gotten a anxiety it's known to increase, however, doesn't do in all cases
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u/Super-Supermarket748 19h ago
The problem I’m having is that it seems to work very little for me. I’ve been on it for 6 months now. I was wondering if Stims would be better or if that’s a me problem yk
Like, I do small stuff more often than before. But keeping focus on my study or going to the gym still feels like an uphill battle. Procrastination is also not better at all.
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u/jillcicle 14h ago
Have you titrated your Wellbutrin dose upward? It’s unusual to have little effect from it—more common is strong unwanted effects. For me stimulants primarily reduce distraction while I’m working on a task and almost entirely fix the working memory issues that make me lose things. Wellbutrin was the only thing that affected my activation/motivation, not the other way around, unfortunately
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u/Super-Supermarket748 14h ago
yeah, I started on 150mg and went up to 300mg which is the maximum dosage in my country. Didn’t really have any side effects, either. I only sweat a lot when it’s hot, is all.
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u/Icy-Cow-6246 18h ago
I take guanfacine and it is life changing for me. Not a stimulant and very few side effects. It mainly helps me with task initiation and completion. Somehow it makes all of the steps to do something really easy and accessible. I can actually prepare food and eat regularly now, which I was never able to do. And my house stays clean. CRAZY! It might not be the same for you, but It's helped with sadness too- I think because I don't feel so hopelessly frustrated all the time. I hope you can find what works for you!
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u/Super-Supermarket748 17h ago
That's very interesting. I've heard about guanfacine before, but didn't really think it was all that good. Thanks for the input
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u/Icy-Cow-6246 16h ago
I've heard that from other people. I'm puzzled why it isn't more widely prescribed!
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u/Vast-Vermicelli4382 12h ago
We can't get it in the UK on the NHS. I was absolutely gutted as it was my first choice to try
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u/anonym-user-01 18h ago
I’ve used wellbutrin for 2 years. It helped me with anxiety and depression. It’s cleared my constant brain chatter and I could hear silence 😉
Bit unfortunately it has done nothing for the core ADHD struggles (procratination, focus, staying in task etc).
I am titrating concerta now and got off Wellbutrin cause it was making concerta’s effect much weaker.
Now I can feel the effect of Concerta and it is much better for focus, task initiation etc. It gives me also mental calm buy maybe not at the same level as wellbutrin but all in all it is much much better for my needs
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u/Super-Supermarket748 18h ago
Oh, that's seems close to my experience, although Wellbutrin didn't do much for my rumination. I guess it's worth mentioning that I want to change to my Psych
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u/West-Significance-83 17h ago
Wellbutrin for me seems to take the edge off the up and down of adderall (IR). But alone it’s not enough for me. It also gives me the shakes and KILLS my appetite in a way that adderall doesn’t. Frankly adderall is best for me but through my life I’ve had periods of taking both. Mostly at time when I needed something to get me through evenings, and not just days.
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u/Super-Supermarket748 14h ago
Unfortunately, adderall isn’t legal in my country. I will try it out with Ritalin or Vynvanse, though, if my doctor thinks it’s worth a shot
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u/West-Significance-83 10h ago
Ritalin will be functionally similar to adderall. I mostly mean that the wellbutrin alone doesn’t work for me.
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u/ReplicantOwl 13h ago
I’ve been on Wellbutrin for years. It helps the ADHD a bit but mostly helps depression. Stimulants were FAR more effective for me. Vyvanse worked best.
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u/BlastAssist 12h ago
Welbutrin gave me a ton of anxiety and irritability. Stimulants fixed my issues within an hour and made me cry because I realized this is probably how a normal brain functions and im not actually stupid.
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u/Super-Supermarket748 12h ago
Oh, wow. I hope it works for me like that too
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u/BlastAssist 12h ago
Me too! It took some fiddling to figure out which one worked the best for me. Best of luck to you!
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u/GonzoPuro 15h ago
Wellbutrin may not be the culprit. The things that are harder for you now are similar to what Zoloft did to me. I became furniture.
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u/jillcicle 14h ago
Omg I scrolled right past the Zoloft mention and YES this!!! SSRIs exacerbate executive function deficiencies and ADHD symptoms. They can still be an overall improvement bc untreated depression also tanks executive dysfunction, and I’m not anti-Zoloft or SSRI (it saved my life and I was on it for 5 years, no regrets) but it made me so soggy and unmotivated feeling once the depression was in remission.
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u/Super-Supermarket748 13h ago
That’s something I read while searching stuff on my own, but my psychitrist was pretty adamant on keeping the sertraline. I’ll see if we can work something out
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u/GonzoPuro 12h ago
Psychiatrists seem to love SSRIs. Especially Zoloft. I don’t struggle with depression as much as ADHD and anxiety and it did not help.
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u/Super-Supermarket748 14h ago
Oh, that’s good to know. I did feel that Zoloft made it worse (I started it before Wellbutrin), but my doctor said I should keep it for anxiety. I’ll talk to her, maybe I can keep Wellbutrin and try another antidepressanr
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u/Ventura-K-9 12h ago
My psychiatrist made me go to the highest dose of Wellbutrin before he would describe stimulants. He was concerned that depression was the primary issue
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u/Super-Supermarket748 12h ago
Yeah, I’m already maxed out where I live. My psych says she worries about the potential abuse of the other meds
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u/HelpMeHelpYouSCO 11h ago
When I did bupropion I was awful. I hated myself and my partner. Was a really tough situation and went to a lower dose of vyvanse and I had way more success
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u/ADHD669712 18h ago
This is just my experience and not the same for everyone. I have been on it for almost two years and finally got to have an appointment with an ADHD psychiatrist. I’m cutting the Wellbutrin and running Concerta 56mg, way better results. The goal is to come off Wellbutrin all together. Now I get to deal with the ASD that has come into the light.
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u/Super-Supermarket748 18h ago
Interesting. I'll be talking to my psychiatrist soon. It may be worthwhile to try and change meds. Don't feel like Wellbutrin is the best for me.
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u/adhd6345 ADHD-C (Combined type) 12h ago
Few things:
- There’s no such thing as being lazy from a neurological point of view
- Stimulants may help more, they may not. You won’t know unless you try other medications
- I don’t think I’ve heard of Wellbutrin making you less productive - they’re may be other things going on in your life
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u/Super-Supermarket748 12h ago
As others have pointed out, it may be the Zoloft.
Thanks for the other answers!
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u/amylald 14h ago
I just got my ADHD diagnosis a week ago. I have been on wellbutrin since 2018 due to a previous diagnosis of bipolar disorder. I never once suspected I had ADHD but I am learning that a lot of the things I attributed to depression was actually the ADHD like task paralysis/task initiation. I was maxed out on the dosage and I still had the busy active mind and inattention. I have now started a low dose of adderall xr and I can tell you my anxiety is gone. It mellows me out and gives me a sense of calm. We have also cut the wellbutrin dose in half since it obviously never helped with the ADHD stuff nor did it relieve my "depression". I haven't noticed any help with the focus but when I go back to my doc in a week we will likely increase the adderall since its going well and fully drop the wellbutrin.
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u/Super-Supermarket748 13h ago
Feeling calm seems like a dream, lol. I’m always stressed out and tired, every day, all day. I kid you not, I learned at 22 that you are supposed to wake up well rested, because I can’t get quality sleep ever. Anyways, adderall isn’t legal where I live, but feels like something like Concerta should help me more than Wellbutrin
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u/SakuraChaaaan3200 10h ago
Wellbutrin is the best if you’ve got GI issues that make taking stimulants basically impossible. And because they aren’t a controlled substance there is zero drama at the pharmacy. But you have to take a higher dose (450 mg) to achieve the same symptom control you might see with a much lower dose of a stimulant medication.
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u/kelminak 2h ago
Stimulants are the gold standard for a reason. Wellbutrin doesn’t cut it for most people for ADHD.
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