Zyban Medication - Uses & Side Effects

Brand name: Zyban

Pronounced: ZIGH-ban

Generic name: Bupropion hydrochloride

Zyban is a drug marketed by Glaxo-Wellcome and has been used, very successfully, to treat nicotine addiction directly. It works by increasing certain types of activity in the brain. Bupropion comes as a tablet and a sustained-release or extended-release (long-acting) tablet to take by mouth. Zyban was first made to treat depression, but was then found to be useful in helping quitting smoking, regardless of whether or not the person trying to quit is depressed. It acts in the brain but is not the same as nicotine replacement therapy. It comes in a pill form. It gets into the bloodstream, and stimulates the brain. Most regular smokers are addicted to nicotine. It does not contain nicotine. This medication has been shown to work equally well in people with and without a history of depression, so it does not appear that its efficacy is due to its anti-depressant effects. Zyban is a relatively new drug in the UK, where it became available on the NHS in June 2000. Bupropion is used in combination with motivational support techniques.

Zyban Dosage:

• The usual starting dose is one 150-milligram tablet in the morning for the first 3 days.
• After that, take one 150-milligram tablet in the morning and another in the early evening.
• The safety and efficacy of Zyban have not been established in children under 18.
• The maximum recommended dose is 300 milligrams daily.

Uses of Zyban:

• Bupropion is used to treat depression.
• Bupropion (Zyban) is used to help people stop smoking.
• Zyban can also prove helpful when people with conditions such as chronic bronchitis and emphysema decide it's time to quit.
• Bupropion is also sometimes used to treat bipolar depression and attention deficit disorder.

Side Effects of Zyban:

Some common side effects reported with this medicine include:

• The most common side effects associated with the use of Zyban are dry mouth and insomnia.
• Difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.
• Agitation.
• Constipation.
• Excessive sweating.
• Faster heart beat, postural hypotension (feel dizzy if you stand up suddenly), reddened skin.
• Confusion
• Seeing things or hearing voices that do not exist (hallucinating).
• Change in appetite.
• Headaches.
• Seizures - in 1 person in 1000 taking the medicine.

Warnings and precautions before taking Zyban:

• Zyban tablets should be swallowed whole with water - do not chew, crush or break them.
• Tell your doctor and pharmacist if you are allergic to bupropion or any other medications.
• Insomnia and dry mouth are the most common side effects associated with this medication.
• You should know that bupropion may make you drowsy. Do not drive a car or operate machinery until you know how this medication affects you.
• Because the use of bupropion is associated with a dose-dependent risk of seizures,
  clinicians should not prescribe doses over 300 mg/day for smoking cessation.
• Do not take Wellbutrin, Wellbutrin SR, or Wellbutrin XL and Zyban together.

Drug Interaction:

• Stopping smoking can affect some other medicines, e.g. theophylline (Theo-dur, Nuelin).
• Some antidepressants : do not use with MAOIs at all, and take care with desipramine, imipramine and paroxetine.
• If you are taking certain drugs with zyban, then other drugs may decreased or increased and altered the effects.
• It is especially important to check with your doctor before combining Zyban with the following :
  Amantadine (Symmetrel)
  Beta blockers (heart and blood pressure medications) such as Inderal, Lopressor, and Tenormin
  Cimetidine (Tagamet)
  Levodopa (Dopar, Larodopa, Sinemet)
  MAO inhibitors such as the antidepressants Nardil and Parnate
  Orphenadrine (Norflex).

Overdose:

• If you are taking zyban and after taking you feel that the overdose is suspected, then contact with your doctor immediately.
• Symptoms of Zyban overdose may include:
  Blurred vision, confusion, jitteriness, light-headedness, nausea, sluggishness, visual hallucinations
• In case of overdose, call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222.
• If the victim has collapsed or is not breathing, call local emergency services at 911.

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