Side effects
Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways. The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with this medicine. Because a side effect is stated here, it does not mean that all people using this medicine will experience that or any side effect.
Headache
Dry mouth
Difficulty in sleeping (insomnia)
Depression
Sweating
Disturbances of the gut such as diarrhoea, constipation, nausea, vomiting or abdominal pain
Visual disturbances
Fever (pyrexia)
Dizziness
Seizures
Chest pain
Anxiety and agitation
Increased heart rate (tachycardia)
Hypersensitivity reactions such as narrowing of the airways (bronchospasm), swelling of the lips, throat and tongue (angioedema), itchy blistering rash or anaphylactic shock
Rash or itching
Concentration disturbance
The side effects listed above may not include all of the side effects reported by the drug's manufacturer.
For more information about any other possible risks associated with this medicine, please read the information provided with the medicine or consult your doctor or pharmacist.
How can this medicine affect other medicines?
There is a rare risk of seizures occuring with this medicine. This risk is greater if you take other medicines that can cause seizures. Tell your doctor if you are taking any of the following:
- antipsychotics to treat mental illness
- antidepressants
- steroids taken by mouth or injection
- theophylline
- antimalarials
- tramodol
- quinolone antibiotics, eg ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin
- sedating antihistamines
- stimulants
- slimming medicines.
This medicine must not be taken by pepole taking monoamine oxidase inhibitor antidepressants (MAOIs). At least 14 days should pass after stopping MAOIs (eg phenelzine, tranylcypromine, isocarboxazide) before starting treatment with bupropion hydrochloride.
Bupropion may increase blood levels of the following medicines. As this may result in an increased risk of side effects, your doctor may decrease the dose of these medicines:
- certain antidepressants, eg desipramine, imipramine, paroxetine
- antipsychotics, eg thioridazine, risperidone
- beta-blockers, eg metoprolol
- medicines for abnormal heart rhythm, eg flecainide, propafenone.
The following medicines may affect the blood level of bupropion:
- carbamazepine
- phenobarbitone
- phenytoin
- sodium valproate
- cyclophosphamide
- ifosfamide
- orphenadrine
- cimetidine.
There may be an increase in side effects if this medicine is taken with levodopa (for Parkinson's disease).
The components of tobacco smoke can cause certain medicines to be removed from the body faster than normal. When you stop smoking, they are removed slower, so their blood levels may increase. Tell your doctor you are giving up smoking if you take any medicines, in particular:
- theophylline
- tacrine
- clozapine
- olanzapine
- pentazocine
- some benzodiazepines, eg oxazepam
- some beta-blockers, eg propranolol
- flecainide
- tricyclic antidepressants, such as imipramine
- fluvoxamine
- phenylbutazone
- dextropropoxyphene.
People with diabetes who smoke normally need more insulin, as smoking reduces the amount of insulin that is absorbed into the blood from an injection under the skin. Therefore if people with diabetes give up smoking, they may subsequently need a reduction in their insulin dose. Discuss this with your doctor.
Using nicotine replacement therapy in combination with bupropion (Zyban) is not currently recommended. However, if it is used with this medicine, your blood pressure should be monitored weekly.
Other medicines containing the same active ingredients
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