Can Wellbutrin SR be a short term (one day) substitute for Wellbutrin XL (in a bind here)?

November 14, 2008 6:16 AM

I have left a msg for my pdoc, but haven't heard back from him yet, and see below, it wouldn't really matter. Anyway I've found myself out of Wellbutrin XL this morning (i take 1 300mg tablet every morning) and I'm out of refills AND there is no opportunity to get to the pharmacy till this evening. Just not possible, tho the pdoc will call in my prescription today. I do have a bottle of Wellbutrin SR 150mg tablets. The reason I switched off of the SR was because I generally can't remember to take a pill twice a day, and I needed to go up to 300mg which can't be taken all at once in SR form. I think that today, this once, I can remember to take the pill 2x a day -- but is Wellbutrin SR in 2 150mg doses ok to substitute for Wellbutrin XL 300 mg for one day? I don't want to get off my med schedule because it makes me crazy. Thanks, if you have an answer?
posted by Soulbee to health & fitness (13 comments total)

Call your pharmacist.
posted by grouse at 6:28 AM on November 14, 2008

I am not your doctor, nor is this medical advice, and I am just a measly Ph.D. working in the pharmaceutical industry. If it were me, I would do it. Docs often start with 150 mg for a week or so and then instruct patients to take 2 150's, after which scripts are for the 300 tabs.

I AM NOT AN M.D. OR YOUR M.D. Call the nurse at the office. This is ONLY my opinion of what I would do and I think you should call the office. Good luck!
posted by Punctual at 6:32 AM on November 14, 2008

Warning: Seeking medical advice on the internet can lead to side effects such as: itchy skin, hemorrhoids , and death.

Seriously though, call your doctor, pharmacist or go to a walk in clinic. This is not the place to figure out matters of your health.
posted by scarello at 6:40 AM on November 14, 2008

Warning: Seeking medical advice on the internet can lead to side effects such as: itchy skin, hemorrhoids , and death.

Helpful, thank you for reading that I a) called my doctor already and b) cannot go to the pharmacy and they won't dispense info on this issue. I won't die without 1 day of Wellbutrin so I'll just skip it till I hear back from my pdoc.
posted by Soulbee at 7:12 AM on November 14, 2008

If your pharmacist won't give you advice on this sort of thing (and it would be hard to read that earlier since you didn't write it), you might consider a different pharmacy.
posted by grouse at 7:20 AM on November 14, 2008

If your pharmacist won't give you advice on this sort of thing (and it would be hard to read that earlier since you didn't write it), you might consider a different pharmacy.

Agreed. This is one reason they go through so much schooling, they are more knowledgable than the doctors about side effects and the pharmacokinetics of the drugs they dispense, if they won't pass on the info then get a new one. This is their job.
posted by LunaticFringe at 7:43 AM on November 14, 2008

I think people get a bit paranoid about this kind of thing. Most of the people I know who take psych meds over the long term end up comfortable with making these kinds of minor changes. I've done very similar things in the past, so I'd make the substitution without hesitation.
posted by xchmp at 8:11 AM on November 14, 2008

I set a daily appt on my cell phone to remind me to take my meds.
posted by theora55 at 8:32 AM on November 14, 2008

IANAD, but I am a Wellbutrin taker, and I'd rather take a substitution than skip a day. (Skipping a day makes me crazier than usual.) I would say try calling the pdoc again on that specific point & ask for a return call, though.
posted by epersonae at 8:53 AM on November 14, 2008

Having a good relationship with my pharmacist is as important to me as having a good relationship with my psychiatrist. These people (pharmacists) know as much or more than many docs about interactions and dosages and what works and what doesn't and why. I've got my pharmacy phone number in my cell, and it's proven really helpful -- called them one time from out of town, ran into a huge bunch of allergens in the desert in southern Arizona (you just wouldn't believe all the shit that grows in the desert, grows and then throws off trash to make my life miserable) and didn't want to take anything that would interact poorly with the medications I take etc and etc; Gary set me on the path to anti-histamine peace and joy and whatnot.

And I am not your doctor or your pharmacist blah blah blah, but take the two 150s and get about your day. The formulation is a bit different but the medication inside those pills is the same stuff.
posted by dancestoblue at 8:55 AM on November 14, 2008

Your plan is fine. Two 150 mg SR tablets, 1 each morning and night, will substitute for the one 300 mg XL tablet. Do it and quit worrying about it, and give your doc a little more notice next time.
posted by ikkyu2 at 10:06 AM on November 14, 2008

ok thanks for the answers. i did take one 150 and will take another one later and re-evaluate my relationshp with my pharmecist (i honestly didn't know that pharmecists would dispense this type of info with regards to taking meds not prescribed or not as prescribed currently by my doc. i try to stay on top of which ones of my half a dozen meds i need refills written every month, and am typically good at it, but i just borked it this time. thanks guys and gals.
posted by Soulbee at 10:20 AM on November 14, 2008

See if you can get them to write them for 3 months, or at least 2 months.

Good luck!
posted by sondrialiac at 2:18 PM on November 14, 2008