Anxiety and Wellbutrin:
Does Wellbutrin Cause Anxiety on Steroids?

Wellbutrin, or Bupropion, as it is scientifically known, was developed as an anti-depressant. For people whose brains suffer from a chemical imbalance of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine, it is often a lifesaver. But combining anxiety and Wellbutrin? It can be, well, a recipe for mental and physical meltdown.

If you suffer from anxiety disorder, and have decided that you need to consider prescription drug therapy as a part of your treatment, you'll be interested to learn how Wellbutrin works. And then you'll understand why combining anxiety and Wellbutrin is only going to make a bad situation worse.

Wellbutrin, and other antidepressant prescription drugs, treat depression by acting as "neurotransmitter reuptake inhibitors". The sound of that can itself be somewhat depressing, but it's really not too complicated.

Your brain produces the three neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. In a properly balanced brain, nerves release the neurotransmitters which attach to receptors on nearby neurons. But with a chemically imbalanced brain, some of the neurotransmitters will get sucked back into the nerve cells which released them, to be recycled and sent out again. This is called "reuptake."

If your brain is reuptaking too much of its neurotransmitters, it won't be able to zip thorough its millions of ongoing communications at the proper speed, and you will feel that familiar fog descending.

"Dopamine reuptake inhibitors" like Wellbutrin go into action when your brain nerves release some dopamine, and keep them from sucking it right back in.

By elevating the level of extracellular dopamine in your brain, Wellbutrin counteracts the symptoms of depression, because dopamine is the brain chemical associated with feelings of pleasure, encouraging us to continue those behaviors which make us feel good. No dopamine means no appetite, no desire to procreate, and in depressed people, no desire to get out of bed each day.

But Wellbutrin is also a norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. So while it is letting your brain enjoy increased amounts of extracellular dopamine, it is also increasing your levels of norepinephrine. Anxiety and Wellbutrin could be anxiety on steroids.

That's because norepinephrine is, in layman's term, the "flight or fight" neurotransmitter. It's the one that sets you entire body on alert when danger is near.

And it's also the one associated with anxiety attacks. When you begin feeling keyed up, and your muscles are tensing, your heart is racing, and you are ready to jump out of your skin, you can thank your norepinephrine levels. Now picture your existing anxiety, and Wellbutrin.

What song and dance do you think the anxiety and Wellbutrin duet might produce? The increased dopamine might make you happy enough to sing and dance, while the increased norepinephrine would have you thinking about climbing the walls. Donald O'Connor, doing his "Make ‘Em Laugh" number from "Singin' in the Rain" comes to mind, except that you might not feel like laughing.

Anxiety and Wellbutrin are a combination which makes as much sense as sedatives and depression.

You are already suffering from anxiety disorder. Do you really want to add fuel to the fire by combining your anxiety and Wellbutrin?

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