Wellbutrin for Crohn's-has Anti-TNF factors

[Tikell]

Hey everyone,
I don't know what heading this questions should go under, but I was wondering if anyone has tried Wellbutrin for their Crohn's Disease. My gastro doc prescribed it to me because apparently it has Anti-TNF properties and may help people with crohns. I took my first one last week (100 mg. to start) and within hours my knees and wrists starting hurting. My right knee was so painful I could hardly bend it. I couldn't think of anything different that I had done so I thought that maybe, just maybe it was the Wellbutrin. So, I didn't take any the next day. Well, the knee pain went away along with the wrist pain. Has anyone else been on wellbutrin and experienced this. I am going to try it again this week and see if it does the same thing. I just don't want to take the wellbutrin and experience the knee pain and cause long lasting damage. My right knee seems a little damaged still except the pain is not there. THanks so much.

 

[Goddess]

That's awesome news for me, since I'm on it anyway for other reasons (450 mg).

Never had any joint pain or other side effects to speak of, although my doctor did say to read through the list and note down any concerns...and that it's best to wait a while, because sometimes things settle down after a few weeks.

( the generic name is bupropion)

PLUS, since it's the same as Zyban, it can help with quitting smoking, too!

Actually, I was symptom-free for nearly 2 years (no other Crohn's medication...because I'm dumb.) before the latest flare, so maybe it was protecting me?

 

[superzeeman]

I have been on Wellbutrin for year for depression and it did not seem to help my particular form of crohns. I find it funny that a doctor will prescribe that off label for crohns but the same doctor would turn his nose up to LDN off label.

 

[kiny]

Don't really agree with your doctor's reasoning, because something is "anti-TNF" does not mean it works for crohn's disease. Infliximab and Humira are not simply anti-TNF blockers, they interact with the immune system by causing apoptosis when they bind to TNF-alpha on the cell wall, and only that specific type of anti-TNF blockers is helpful for crohn's disease.

To give you an example, etanercept, that is about a million times stronger than wellburtrin, is an anti-TNF blocker and it does nothing for crohn's disease.

Because something decreases TNF-alpha does not suddenly mean it works for crohn's disease, it's a lot more complex than that.

You can't just start prescribing random stuff because it decreases TNF-alpha, that's not how it works.