Bupropion Hydrochloride is the generic name for a drug that is also known as Amfebutamone, Wellbutrin or Zyban.
It is usually used to treat depression, but it is also used to treat ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), manic depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, and as a smoking cessation tool (when it's called Zyban).
Bupropion is a monocyclic aminoketone. This is one of the things that distiguishes it from other antidepressants, whose usual classifications are Tricyclic, SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor), or MAOI (Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitor). It works by increasing the levels of norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain.
Many people taking bupropion notice a change in appetite. 28% of the people taking the drug will lose 5 pounds or more.
One of its effects is the lowering of the seizure threshold, so in combination with other drugs (alcohol, speed, certain antidepressants) that have the same effect, it can induce seizures. It does in about 0.04% of people taking it. That number seems small, but one of those people could be you. Please don't mix. It's dangerous.
Other common side effects are agitation, constipation, diarrhea, dizziness, dry mouth, headache, increased perspiration, insomnia, nausea, or vomiting. But at least you won't be depressed! (Ha ha, little joke. You are not likely to get more than two or three of these, and the duration is short, however long it takes your body to adjust to the drug.)
Contraindications for bupropion include epilepsy, heart/liver/kidney problems, alcoholism, a history of anorexia/bulimia, pregnancy.
Also, it is never prescribed to anyone under the age of 18—it has the slight side effect of encouraging adolescents to commit suicide. Uh oh, spaghetti-o's! For a few years in the late 1990s, it was also deemed to be responsible for the suicides of a number of bulimic women, so it is typically not prescribed to people with bulimia anymore.
Fainting, seizures and skin rash indicate a very bad reaction to the drug. Go to your doctor immediately.
It makes your coffee taste bad. How? By blocking the pleasure pathways in your brain. You will not get the same enjoyment out of cigarettes, coffee and chocolate that you used to.