Question:
GENERIC WELLBUTRIN OKAY?

Hi I recently started taking the Welbutrin XL but my insurance changed and I'm not going to be able to pay the $100 a month it will cost me. My doctor put me on the REGULAR formula and said the generic would be okay. What are your thoughts? This is only costing me $23. THANKS, Kelly*    — Kelly* P. (posted on April 10, 2004)

April 10, 2004
The only difference is that the brand Wellbutrin XL is once a day (eXtended reLease). Generec buproprion is NOT extended or timed release, so you may have to take it twice a day or even three times a day. The medicationin both the brand and genereic is exactly the same. (Note to flamers: IT really is the same. I know people say there is a difference between brand and generic drugs, but they have to be pharmcologically equivalent to be sold in the United States.) I say go ahead and try the generic and save the $$$ if it works just as well for you.
   — koogy

April 10, 2004
I'm on the generic,non timed release form and it's working fine.
   — jennifer A.

April 10, 2004
I was on Wellbutrin XL prior to surgery but switched to the immediate release (generic) after surgery. Extended realease pills don't work for post ops because we really can't do slow release due to the bypass. The only challenge I have found is the size. It is way to big to swallow whole so I cut it. It then gets stuck! I have been trying to find out about crushing it but my pdoc and the pharmacy canot tell me if that is OK. I have found that it is coated enterically so I am afraid crushing it will leave this funky coating intake. Any advice is greatly appreciated. (I am supposed to take it 3x a day but have not been able to so far. I am thinking of taking the XL again only because it is smaller and I figure I will absorb what I absorb, it has to be more than what I am getting now. I should take 450mg and I am lucky to get in 150mg. My pdoc knows the challenge.)
   — jeh

April 11, 2004
Hi Kelly, I also got switched to the generic wellbutrin and I have not had problems. The only difference is having to take more pills. I take 2 in the a.m, one at mid-day, and 2 in the p.m. I also have to cut them into fourths to get them down. They taste really, really nasty if you happen to get the taste in your mouth before they go down, but as far as effect on my depression, no difference for me and it has been almost 8 weeks. I would most definitely know the difference by now. Best to you...Pat
   — Patricia F.