lavender fairy Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 (edited) 2 months ago, my pdoc changed my Wellbutrin dose from 200 mg SR to 300 mg XR, and I swear I have had a headache ever since, 24 hours a day. Most of the time, it's minor enough that I can ignore it and go on with my day. I have had migraines since I was 15, so I am used to dealing with the pain. I have tried tylenol, ibuprofren, and Relpax, and they have not helped the headache go away. 2 nights ago, the pain got so bad that I couldn't stand it anymore. I broke down and took 2 tizanidine (a muscle relaxer that I'm supposed to use for fibromyalgia pain) at bedtime and that seemed to ramp down the pain. Anyway, I'm at the point where I can't stand it anymore. I put in a call to my pdoc, but he's out of town and I'm waiting on his back up person to call. In the meantime, I decided to go back to the 200 mg SR until I can discuss this with my pdoc. I know it's not a good idea to change meds without talking to my pdoc, but I seriously can't stand the pain anymore, and I dont' know what else to do. Has anyone else gotten headaches from Wellbutrin? Any suggestions for what to do until I hear back from the pdoc? Edited September 12, 2012 by lavender fairy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proxy Wolf Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I know this will sound sort of odd, but sometimes if my headache isn't a terrible migraine I grab a fistful of hair and pull it hard, but not painfully hard. I will do this around my scalp. A massage therapist suggested this could help headaches sometimes by creating more blood flow to the area. Sometimes, strange enough, it helps. Sometimes not. I've also tried the home remedies suggested on this site: http://www.healyourheadachenow.com/home-remedies-for-migraine-headaches.html Unfortunately they are pretty short-term and the headache is just dulled. I also have read positive results with Magnesium preventing migraines by taking 600mg for a 6 month period...but you'll have seen your pdoc by then (I hope). Also, I know that supplements could possibly react with medication so I don't want to suggest you take anything without checking it out first. I hope you feel better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender fairy Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Thanks for the suggestions. Unfortunately, I already take magnesium every day. I have also tried ice packs and massage, which hasn't helped. Caffeine usually helps my headaches, but hasn't helped these. I have also seen my Chiropractor twice, and the last time she did an ultrasound treatment which didn't help at all. It was after talking with her that I was able to realize how bad this has gotten and that it hasn't gotten better despite being on this dose of Wellbutrin for 2 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Proxy Wolf Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 (edited) It does sound like you've tried many things (if not nearly everything). I've been having bouts of migraines lately myself and had one a couple months ago, on Wellbutrin as well I'll add, that lasted for about 3 days. The third morning I instantly wanted to start crying when I woke up and it was STILL there. I remembered I had an old prescription from last year of some Maxalt MLT 10 MG tablets. I cringed at the thought of having to dissolve it on my tongue but I was desperate so I took one. It worked! It also seemed to have broken the cycle! Have you ever been prescribed this? If not, I think it would be worth talking to your pdoc to see if it would help. Other than that, I'm sorry I don't have any in-the-meantime suggestions for you except maybe a hot bath or something with moist heat since cold hasn't helped. This sometimes helps me a little. I forgot to add that, if you don't already, be sure you're drinking enough water or other hydrating fluids (water is best). Being dehydrated only adds to an already terrible headache. Edited September 12, 2012 by Proxy Wolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moody Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I had the same problem with Wellbutrin. I was on 150 mgs of Wellbutrin XR, after about 9 months I suddenly had the 24 hour a day headache. I also tried over the counter pain killers and prescription migraine meds, but nothing helped. I cant remember why I suspected the Wellbutrin, but I tried not taking it for a few days, and after two days without it, the headache went away. I started taking it again, and the headache came back. Since I was on the lowest dose of XR, my doctor just took me off Wellbutrin, which was sad. I liked it a lot until the headache started. When did you switch back to the SR? If your theory is correct and it is the XR causing the headache, hopefully the pain will stop soon. My headache went away within a day or two after my doctor took me off the Wellbutrin. Maybe your doctor could try putting you on a higher dose of the SR instead of the XR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 I havent had any problems on Wellbutrin, but I wonder if it is because Wellbutrin is a stimulant, which races your brain more than it would if not on it. Caffeine is also a stimulant (I know not a Rx med, but still a stimulant of some kind). Too much caffeine might give you a headache (at least it does with me-- a terrible one that only goes away when the caffeine wears off), so maybe the Wellbutrin works in the same way for you, so it races your brain too much, causing the headache (if that makes sense). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender fairy Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 It does sound like you've tried many things (if not nearly everything). I've been having bouts of migraines lately myself and had one a couple months ago, on Wellbutrin as well I'll add, that lasted for about 3 days. The third morning I instantly wanted to start crying when I woke up and it was STILL there. I remembered I had an old prescription from last year of some Maxalt MLT 10 MG tablets. I cringed at the thought of having to dissolve it on my tongue but I was desperate so I took one. It worked! It also seemed to have broken the cycle! Have you ever been prescribed this? If not, I think it would be worth talking to your pdoc to see if it would help. Other than that, I'm sorry I don't have any in-the-meantime suggestions for you except maybe a hot bath or something with moist heat since cold hasn't helped. This sometimes helps me a little. I forgot to add that, if you don't already, be sure you're drinking enough water or other hydrating fluids (water is best). Being dehydrated only adds to an already terrible headache. Unfortunately, I have tried Maxalt in the past. It worked for a while, and then it stoped working. My doctor had me try out a range of Triptans, and they all stopped working. Relpax is a similar med, and it didn't work on this headache. I did take a hot shower this morning, and noticed that the headache dissipated for a while. So I will try that again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender fairy Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 I had the same problem with Wellbutrin. I was on 150 mgs of Wellbutrin XR, after about 9 months I suddenly had the 24 hour a day headache. I also tried over the counter pain killers and prescription migraine meds, but nothing helped. I cant remember why I suspected the Wellbutrin, but I tried not taking it for a few days, and after two days without it, the headache went away. I started taking it again, and the headache came back. Since I was on the lowest dose of XR, my doctor just took me off Wellbutrin, which was sad. I liked it a lot until the headache started. When did you switch back to the SR? If your theory is correct and it is the XR causing the headache, hopefully the pain will stop soon. My headache went away within a day or two after my doctor took me off the Wellbutrin. Maybe your doctor could try putting you on a higher dose of the SR instead of the XR? Today is my second day taking the SR, and I have noticed that the headache has not been as intense. I have actually had breaks where it seems to go away and then it comes back. I really hope my pdoc agrees to let me switch back to the 200 mg SR since the 300 XR didn't seem to be working any better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lavender fairy Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 I havent had any problems on Wellbutrin, but I wonder if it is because Wellbutrin is a stimulant, which races your brain more than it would if not on it. Caffeine is also a stimulant (I know not a Rx med, but still a stimulant of some kind). Too much caffeine might give you a headache (at least it does with me-- a terrible one that only goes away when the caffeine wears off), so maybe the Wellbutrin works in the same way for you, so it races your brain too much, causing the headache (if that makes sense). I have read that it's because Welbutrin is a stimulant. It's strange that caffeine usually helps make my headaches go away, and this is making them worse. But maybe it's just too high a dose for me. I remember I had a headache for a while when I started Wellbutrin because my pdoc asked me about it, but it seemed to go away after a while. This one's not going away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Maybe Wellbutrin is *similar* (or whatever) to caffeine, in the sense that it acts like caffeine. So for me too much caffeine causes headaches, as opposed to headaches caused by other factors. Maybe you are on too high a dose, like you said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnackAttack Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 I had the same exact side effect with wellbutrin, especially after I increased my dosage. Eventually the headaches mostly subsided although I still frequently have mild headaches that feel like some sort of pressure in my head. I also think it's because the medicine acts as a stimulant because I've noticed that whenever I drink coffee, even at small amounts, I almost always get a headache and the intensity depends on how much coffee I've had. And I know it's not from simply drinking too much coffee because prior to taking wellbutrin I would drink several cups of coffee a day and never had any headaches caused by coffee. It's ironic because before I would occasionally get headaches from caffeine withdrawal but now I get headaches from drinking caffeine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissaw72 Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 5 hours ago, SnackAttack said: And I know it's not from simply drinking too much coffee because prior to taking wellbutrin I would drink several cups of coffee a day and never had any headaches caused by coffee. Maybe now that you are on Wellbutrin, the amount of coffee you drink does matter. The wellbutrin and caffeine are both stimulants, so when taken together I can see how your usual coffee intake would cause you to have headaches. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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