Active Ingredients: Bupropion SR
Typical Brand Names: Wellbutrin SR, Zyban
What is it used for?
Zyban is used in smoking cessation. Zyban is the first nicotine-free pill to help you quit smoking. A prescription medicine available only from your healthcare professional, Zyban has helped many smokers, even those who have smoked 10 years or more, put down their cigarettes. No one has to know you're using it, except you and your doctor.
It is a mood elevator (antidepressant) and is also used to treat depression. This medication is sometimes prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
How Is It Used?
ZYBAN gets you ready to put down your cigarettes. You start taking ZYBAN and set a quit date to stop smoking during the second week. Most people should take ZYBAN for at least 7 to 12 weeks. When you stop smoking, continue to take ZYBAN as recommended by your healthcare professional. One pill 2 times a day can help you break free from smoking.
Zyban comes as a tablet to take by mouth. You usually take it one to three times a day and may be taken with or without food.
Do not crush, chew, or divide the tablets. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take Zyban exactly as directed. Continue to take Zyban even if you feel well. Do not stop taking Zyban without talking to your doctor, especially if you have taken large doses for a long time. Your doctor probably will want to decrease your dose gradually. This drug must be taken regularly for a few weeks before its full effect is felt.
Are There Possible Side Effects?
Side effects from Zyban that are most common:
Drowsiness - weakness or tiredness - excitement or anxiety - dry mouth - insomnia - nightmares - change in appetite or weight.
Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:
Frequent urination - difficulty urinating - constipation Blurred vision - change in sex drive or ability - excessive sweating - headaches.
If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor
immediately:
Seizures or tremors - loss of coordination - fever - severe skin
rash - yellowing of the skin or eyes - irregular heartbeat -
Some interactions between medications can be more severe than others. Tell your doctor and/or pharmacist what medications you are currently taking, including any over-the-counter products, vitamins, and herbals.
Is It Safe?
Zyban has been approved as safe for most cases. However, Zyban may cause seizures when taken in large doses. Tell your doctor if you have or have ever had seizures, brain tumors, head injuries, or an eating disorder or are taking anti-psychotics, tranquilizers, or other antidepressants.
In addition, also tell your doctor if you have or have ever had glaucoma, an enlarged prostate, difficulty urinating, an overactive thyroid gland, or liver, kidney, or heart disease.
Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, plan to become pregnant, or are breast-feeding. If you become pregnant while taking Zyban, call your doctor immediately.
If you are having surgery, including dental surgery, tell the doctor or dentist that you are taking Zyban.
This drug may make you drowsy. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this drug affects you. Remember that alcohol can add to the drowsiness caused by this drug.
What About Interactions With Other Drugs?
Tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to Bupropion or any other drugs.
Tell your doctor and pharmacist what other prescription and nonprescription drugs you are taking, or have taken in the last 2 weeks, especially anticoagulants [warfarin (Coumadin)]; antihistamines; carbamazepine (Tegretol); cimetidine (Tagamet); levodopa (Sinemet, Larodopa); lithium (Eskalith, Lithobid); MAO inhibitors [phenelzine (Nardil), tranylcypromine (Parnate)]; medication for high blood pressure, seizures, asthma, colds, or allergies; methylphenidate (Ritalin); ritonavir (Norvir); sedatives; sleeping pills; thyroid medications; tranquilizers; and vitamins.
What If I Miss A Dose?
If you take several doses per day, take the missed dose as soon as you remember it and take any remaining doses for that day at evenly spaced intervals. However, if it is almost time for the next dose, skip the missed dose and continue your regular dosing schedule.
If you take Zyban once a day at bedtime and do not remember to take it until the next morning, skip the missed dose. Do not take a double dose to make up for a missed one.
How Should It Be Stored?
Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Store it at room temperature and away from excess heat and moisture (not in the bathroom). Throw away any medication that is outdated or no longer needed. Talk to your pharmacist about the proper disposal of your medication.
Anything Else I Should Know?
Although your health insurance company may cover smoking cessation therapy, many don't. Assuming a pack of cigarettes costs $3.00, a year's worth of smoking one pack a day costs $1,095.00 ... 2 packs a day cost $2,190.00. ZYBAN costs less than cigarettes and is a far better investment in your future than smoking is.
Zyban regulates certain brain chemicals--dopamine and norepinephrine--to
elevate mood. It is believed that depression is caused by chemical
imbalances in the brain. Controlling these chemical imbalances
will help improve depressive symptoms.
NOTE: The above information is intended to supplement, not substitute
for, the expertise and judgment of your physician, pharmacist,
or other healthcare professional. It should not be construed to
indicate that the use of the product is safe, appropriate, or
effective for you. Consult your healthcare professional before
taking the product.
