Does Wellbutrin show up on drug tests?

No, Wellbutrin does not show up on a standard urine screen drug test. But Wellbutrin can be detected using blood tests. More on Wellbutrin detection here.

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No. Wellbutrin won’t show up on a standard urine screen, such as a DOT 5 panel screen, that are used by many employers.

Why? Because most medical professionals agree that you cannot get high on or  addicted to antidepressants, so the abuse potential for Wellbutrin is low. However, Wellbutrin will show up on special blood tests which look specifically for prescription drugs. More here on drug testing for Wellbutrin. We invite your questions about Wellbutrin use and testing at the end.

Why order a drug test for Wellbutrin?

Can I get high on Wellbutrin? No. For most of the population, Wellbutrin is not a drug that can get you high, but it does cause a physical dependence with long-term use. Therefore, Wellbutrin drug testing may be ordered for medical reasons on occasion. While Wellbutrin abuse isn’t a huge problem, isolated cases exist of people attempting to get high on Wellbutrin by crushing and snorting pills. This can be dangerous, as snorting Wellbutrin or smoking Wellbutrin leads to emergency room visits for seizures.

Be cautious! Abusing Wellbutrin recreationally or in doses/ways other than prescribed can lead to addiction. Learn more about Antidepressant Addiction Treatment Programs and Help to get ready to find the best recovery options for you.

Types of Wellbutrin tests

Wellbutrin will show up on a blood toxicology screen specifically ordered for Wellbutrin. Blood testing for Wellbutrin shows the amount of Wellbutrin in your system, so doctors will be able to tell if it’s consistent with normal prescription use or not.

Wellbutrin detection

Blood toxicology screens for Wellbutrin measure the amount of prescription drugs in blood serum. The testing isn’t meant to screen for intermittent use of illicit drugs, since those often fall beneath the threshold required for a positive result. Instead, the test that doctors order for Wellbutrin is looking for medications which could be the cause of someone’s symptoms. Additionally, blood tests for Wellbutrin are used to monitor Wellbutrin use in people with prescription drug dependence.

Wellbutrin cutoff levels

Typical therapeutic use of Wellbutrin results in blood plasma concentrations of 10-100 ng/mL. Higher concentrations due to Wellbutrin abuse or overdose can cause health complications, or increased adverse effects from the medication.

Positive drug testing for Wellbutrin

If you have a prescription for Wellbutrin, there likely won’t be any questions if you test in the normal range. In fact, a positive blood test for Wellbutrin is unlikely to impact your employment or cause legal trouble due to the low abuse potential of this drug. However, Wellbutrin drug testing may be ordered to determine if your dosage needs to be changed, or to determine how to proceed if your doctor is slowly tapering your use of the drug.

Wellbutrin drug test questions

Do you still have questions about drug testing for Wellbutrin? Please leave your questions or comment here and we will do our best to answer you with a personal and prompt response. If we don’t know the answer, we will try to refer you to medical authorities who do.

Reference Sources: PubMed Central: A Case Report of Seizure Induced by Bupropion Nasal Insufflation
PubMed Health: Bupropion
NIH Test Guide: Lab Test: Toxicology Screen, Blood
About the author
Lee Weber is a published author, medical writer, and woman in long-term recovery from addiction. Her latest book, The Definitive Guide to Addiction Interventions is set to reach university bookstores in early 2019.
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