I stopped taking Wellbutrin. How long till out of my system?

I started taking it for the "depression" I was experiencing, prior to apnea diagnosis. I tapered for two weeks, even though I was on the lowest dosage. How long before its out of my system? I'm hopeful that stopping it will positively affect my ability to stay asleep.

Thats a question you need to ask your doctor, not anyone on the net. I do know you need to come down slow. Like with radiation, the drugs have a half life serum level, its listed of the sheet that comes with the meds, it can be googled. Jim

According to this site, 21 hours (+ or - 9 hours) for immediate release Wellbutrin: http://survivingantidepressants.org/ind ... uproprion/

So you can probably be confident that it is out of your system 60 hours after last dose?

Goofproof wrote:Thats a question you need to ask your doctor, not anyone on the net. I do know you need to come down slow. Like with radiation, the drugs have a half life serum level, its listed of the sheet that comes with the meds, it can be googled. Jim

Sorry for not being more clear. My doctor gave the instruction about tapering for two weeks. I've certainly been in contact with him. I asked the question here because so many are knowledgeable about sleep hygiene. That was the nature of the question, not medical advice I was seeking.

RandyJ wrote:According to this site, 21 hours (+ or - 9 hours) for immediate release Wellbutrin: http://survivingantidepressants.org/ind ... uproprion/

So you can probably be confident that it is out of your system 30 hours after last dose.

Thanks much! Now, here's hoping my ability to stay asleep improves.

Two weeks after you stop taking ALL the antidepressant and most antidepressants are out of your system. Prozac has a really long half life, however, and takes at least five full weeks to clear your system. Two weeks, definitely three and there should not be any significant effect of Wellbutrin on your sleep architecture. Well, except perhaps for your nervous system and brain "readjusting" to sleeping without the Wellbutrin effect on them.

Eric

Randy J link talks about how to taper off Wellbutrin:

http://survivingantidepressants.org/ind ... uproprion/

avi123 wrote:Randy J link talks about how to taper off Wellbutrin:

http://survivingantidepressants.org/ind ... uproprion/

I have already tapered per instructions from my doctor. I was curious about how long it takes to leave my system since I suspect it was a source of some of my sleep problems.

Thanks.

ughwhatname wrote:I started taking it for the "depression" I was experiencing, prior to apnea diagnosis. I tapered for two weeks, even though I was on the lowest dosage. How long before its out of my system? I'm hopeful that stopping it will positively affect my ability to stay asleep.

According to my Epocrates data base, the half-life of Welbutrin is 21 hours. This means that 1/2 of the dose is gone 21 hours after taking a dose. So roughly 1/3 of the med from yesterday is still present the next day, and so on.

That's why the two week tapering off that allows for the serum level to gradully decline.

To be completely clear of the drug will take more than 2 days after the last dose. By 4 days, it will almost certainly be gone.

Big if here:

If you are a relatively young person the above discussion applies.

If you are old like me, then the times could be double and it take a week to clear you system.

I checked a couple websites and found that the halflife of Wellbutrin (bupropion) is 21hrs ± 9hrs. So it could take up to 30 hours to get to half, another 30 to get to one quarter, thirty after that to get to 1/8, and another 30 hours beyond that to get to 1/16, and so on.

Also, the half lives hydroxybupropion and threohydrobupropion, which your body makes from bupropion, are 37±13hrs and 33±10hrs respectively. And with such variable half-lives, it's very hard to tell what level of the drug you had in your blood when you decided to go off it. In other words, it could take weeks after your last dose before the drug and all it metabolites have cleared your system.

Guessing wildly, if you tapered off over two weeks, that might have gotten you down to half your previous level. Give it at least another week, maybe three after your last dose. Your doctor may have the experience with the drug and with you to make a better guesstimate, and if you really need to know, he could order a blood test.

Even once some drugs are gone, your body may have adapted to the presence of that drug, and you may suffer aftereffects until your body readjusts.

I don't know how this works for Wellbutrin in particular.

Otter wrote:I checked a couple websites and found that the halflife of Wellbutrin (bupropion) is 21hrs ± 9hrs. So it could take up to 30 hours to get to half, another 30 to get to one quarter, thirty after that to get to 1/8, and another 30 hours beyond that to get to 1/16, and so on.

Also, the half lives hydroxybupropion and threohydrobupropion, which your body makes from bupropion, are 37±13hrs and 33±10hrs respectively. And with such variable half-lives, it's very hard to tell what level of the drug you had in your blood when you decided to go off it. In other words, it could take weeks after your last dose before the drug and all it metabolites have cleared your system.

Guessing wildly, if you tapered off over two weeks, that might have gotten you down to half your previous level. Give it at least another week, maybe three after your last dose. Your doctor may have the experience with the drug and with you to make a better guesstimate, and if you really need to know, he could order a blood test.

Thanks for the info. I don't have a need to know, really, but was just curious how long before I can ascertain whether my frequent awakenings are resolved with the absence of the medicine. I had read that it could be a factor in sleep problems. I guess I'll give it a few weeks before making a determination about that. I sure hope so!

May you sleep soundly.

archangle wrote:Even once some drugs are gone, your body may have adapted to the presence of that drug, and you may suffer aftereffects until your body readjusts.

I don't know how this works for Wellbutrin in particular.

Totally agree arch and this is very true for most psych meds. I am not a medical professional but it is my understanding in talking to folks who are is that these meds aren't like aspirin as far as it leaving your system. They make several neurochemical changes throughout your body that may take awhile to readjust.

Of course, this depends on the med and how long you have been on it and how fast you tapered off of it.

Wellbutrin seems to be the one psych med that many people don't have trouble getting off of and can actually do a quick taper of without harm. So your odds are good based on alot of anecdotal evidence. Of course, your mileage will vary.

By the way, this was the one med of my 4 med cocktail that I was able to get off pretty quickly with very few problems. The other meds I had to taper very slowly.

Good luck to you.

49er

49er wrote:

archangle wrote:Even once some drugs are gone, your body may have adapted to the presence of that drug, and you may suffer aftereffects until your body readjusts.

I don't know how this works for Wellbutrin in particular.

Totally agree arch and this is very true for most psych meds. I am not a medical professional but it is my understanding in talking to folks who are is that these meds aren't like aspirin as far as it leaving your system. They make several neurochemical changes throughout your body that may take awhile to readjust.

Of course, this depends on the med and how long you have been on it and how fast you tapered off of it.

Wellbutrin seems to be the one psych med that many people don't have trouble getting off of and can actually do a quick taper of without harm. So your odds are good based on alot of anecdotal evidence. Of course, your mileage will vary.

By the way, this was the one med of my 4 med cocktail that I was able to get off pretty quickly with very few problems. The other meds I had to taper very slowly.

Good luck to you.

49er

Thanks 49er. I was on Wellbutrin, the lowest dose, for about a year. My doc said I could go straight off, but suggested a two week taper, which I did. I haven't noticed any problems yet, so hopefully, its a non-event, other than improved sleep!