Smoking is a real problem of our time. Hundreds of millions of people around the world sit on the “nicotine needle”. Quitting smoking is accompanied by a number of symptoms, which in terms of severity can be compared with withdrawal from an alcoholic when refusing alcohol. Of course, other receptors are involved in the process of becoming dependent on nicotine, and the mechanism is also different, but the essence is the same. Reviews on Zyban report that this drug makes smoking cessation easy. Also, the medicine is prescribed as an antidepressant and anti-anxiety agent.
Release form and composition
The main active component of the Ziban preparation is bupropion. This is a relatively new drug with anti-anxiety antidepressant effect. It was widely used as part of complex therapy for getting rid of nicotine and alcohol addiction.
The drug is available in the form of tablets. Belongs to the class of strictly prescription drugs. Alas, without a prescription from a doctor (the seal of the medical organization and the doctor who wrote it) should be on paper today it is impossible to buy. Despite the fact that reviews about Zyban report that it is well tolerated and helps to get rid of bad habits, the drug belongs to the psychotropic class. Therefore, such strict rules for dispensing from pharmacies of this drug are established.
Indications for use
The instruction for use reports that the drug is active in the following conditions and pathologies:
- therapy of various kinds of depressive states - mild, moderate or severe;
- prevention of depressive anxiety disorders;
- relief of manifestations of depressive anxiety disorders as part of complex therapy;
- neurotic conditions of various etiologies - another indication for taking the drug;
- as part of complex therapy for social phobia;
- obesity and erectile dysfunction after therapy with antipsychotic drugs;
- with exacerbation of seasonal affective disorders;
- withdrawal period in people with alcohol and nicotine addiction.
Contraindications
If there is at least one diagnosis from the list below, then you should not start taking the drug. This fact is confirmed by numerous reviews. Instructions for use with "Zyban" reports that the contraindications for use are as follows:
- individual intolerance to bupropion;
- epilepsy, convulsive syndrome;
- sharp abolition of the use of alcoholic beverages (way out of hard drinking);
- withdrawal of sedatives (tranquilizers) - should take about two weeks;
- parallel therapy with other drugs, which include bupropion;
- anorexia, bulimia, or other eating disorders;
- chronic renal failure;
- children and adolescents;
- taking MAO inhibitor drugs;
- severe pathologies of the functioning of the liver.
Side effects of Zyban
Typically, the drug is well tolerated, especially when compared with antidepressants of other pharmacological groups (this is also evidenced by reviews). The instruction to "Zyban" reports that against the background of taking, the following side effects may develop:
- on the part of the central nervous system - severe drowsiness, lethargy, exacerbation of convulsive syndrome;
- on the part of the CCC - arrhythmia, tachycardia, possibly increased blood pressure;
- from the gastrointestinal tract - nausea, loss of appetite (in some patients, on the contrary, there is an uncontrolled desire to eat more - therefore, it is not advisable to prescribe the drug for bulimia);
- on the part of the endocrine system, weight gain is possible, but unlike other antidepressants, Zyban does not affect the level of prolactin (this is possible only with an individual patient’s propensity), therefore weight gain occurs due to increased appetite.
Drug interaction
Reviews on "Zyban" report that the drug is usually well tolerated. Unlike the famous drugs of the SSRI group, the start of taking Zyban is almost never accompanied by disorders such as tremors, insomnia, nausea and loss of appetite. all these symptoms are very mild, if not absent.
In the world of psychiatry, there is debate about whether it is advisable to prescribe only Zyban tablets as an independent remedy in severe cases of depressive disorder. Reviews of patients with severe depressive or any other affective disorder report that the drug is especially effective in conjunction with antidepressants of other groups. With TCAs, it is rarely prescribed, as with SSRIs. But with “Mirtazapin” and “Venlafaxine, many psychiatrists like to experiment, prescribing Zyban in parallel.” Reviews about this combination are different, but in any case, the use of such combinations of drugs should take place exclusively under the supervision of a treating psychiatrist or psychotherapist.
Recommended Dosages
Dosage can only be prescribed by a doctor after compiling a clinical picture. It is strictly forbidden to prescribe a drug for yourself, the more so combine it with other psychoactive substances. Instructions for use with "Zyban" reports that the following dosages are usually used: one tablet during the first week. If the drug is well tolerated, you can double the dosage from the second week. This will be the therapeutically necessary dose. Conclusions should also be drawn from the reviews of the Zyban of the patient. If there is drowsiness or other side effects, then the dosage should be reduced.
The tablet should not be chewed - just swallow it with water. Taking the drug is not related to eating. The duration of therapy is 12 weeks, the appropriateness of further admission is determined by the attending physician.
Reviews on Zyban tablets from people with nicotine addiction
Nicotine addiction is a difficult condition, because when you give up your "doping", the smoker experiences severe irritation, sometimes panic and aggression. It often happens that the symptoms appear on the physical level. These are headaches, heart rhythm disturbance, nausea. Also, abstinence from smoking often contributes to the appearance of "brutal" appetite. It is not without reason that smokers complain that even when they give up cigarettes for a short time they suffer from weight gain. This is quite predictable: one dependence is replaced by another (in this case, from food).
Reviews of smokers about "Zyban" are different. For some, the drug really helped forget about the addiction for many years. And someone complains that he only spent money on the drug in vain - a couple of weeks after the cancellation, the person starts smoking again, and even more cigarettes than before the start of the intake. This phenomenon is explained simply: each person is individual, and dependence on nicotine for everyone also manifests itself in different ways.
What a person experiences when quitting
When refusing cigarettes, an avid smoker experiences the following conditions:
- severe irritation, up to a psychotic state (he is ready to throw objects, pounce on loved ones, try to sublimate the absence of nicotine in the body at least somehow);
- unpleasant somatic conditions;
- ringing in the ears, feeling as if the head were pulled together with forceps;
- anxiety, tearfulness increases;
- among women - anxiety that she supposedly “gets fat” when she refuses cigarettes;
- increased appetite (but with a strong-willed effort, the appetite can be controlled quite well), and some patients want to quit smoking so badly that they become not afraid of a side effect in the form of a set of several extra pounds;
- hypochondria increases - the patient runs to the doctors in an attempt to diagnose his body and identify the damage caused to him over the years of smoking;
- insomnia or other sleep problems appear.
Zyban and withdrawal syndrome
All this set of symptoms is characteristic of those people who are heavy smokers. Of course, if the dependence is still small, then the failure is simpler, easier and faster, you just have to endure the irritation for several days.
Reviews on the Ziban smoking pill report that the antidepressant effect of the drug helps to get rid of such a severe withdrawal syndrome. It makes no sense to take the drug if the smoker is a beginner and does not yet experience such unpleasant sensations from withdrawal.
Testimonials for patients with depression and anxiety disorder
"Zyban" (the analogue of which is "Bupropion", costs a little cheaper, is also sold strictly according to a doctor’s prescription) is also actively prescribed in modern psychiatry for various degrees of severity of depressive disorders. Patient reviews report that, compared with other antidepressants, drugs with bupropion in the composition do not cause side effects.
The mood is quickly leveled. There is no euphoria and stimulation of the psyche, as, for example, against the background of taking Prozac. There is no excruciating drowsiness and the state of the "vegetable", as when taking drugs based on paroxetine. Medications with bupropion as the main active ingredient really help people improve their psycho-emotional state, while with a minimum of side effects - you can not take a sick leave, do not go to hospital, but carry out treatment in parallel with work.
Sleep Impact Reviews
Preparations with bupropion in the composition practically do not affect sleep. Reviews about the "Zyban" of some smokers report that in the first days of admission they experienced drowsiness, but then it passed.
The fact is that the nervous system of each person is individual. And in such a difficult period as the refusal of alcohol or drugs, sleep problems are quite natural. So it’s hard to say what exactly in some cases is the cause of increased drowsiness - the start of taking the drug or refusing nicotine.
Reviews on the compatibility of the drug with alcohol
Drugs with bupropion in the composition are also prescribed for refusal of alcohol. It is optimal to start taking a couple of weeks after the last drunken use. As a rule, tablets help get rid of manifestations of mild withdrawal symptoms. If it is strong, then drugs with a more powerful action will be required.
Reviews about the “Zyban” of people with alcohol addiction report that, while taking drugs, the phenomenon of “craving” for ethyl alcohol is noticeably less. It is important not only to take pills, but also to work with a psychotherapist on your addiction, then you can really achieve long-term remission.