Posted by Alesa on August 11, 2004, at 15:23:59
In reply to Re: losing mind » Alesa, posted by Racer on August 11, 2004, at 15:04:32
Thanks for that advice Racer. You are absolutely right-I should not fear other people's experiences since everyone is different. I did have a very bad experience with a low dosage of Paxil, which is what stems my fears.
I have a very very high metabolism (one of those super skinny people who never gain weight, even after eating a whole cheesecake). That is maybe why I'm reacting well and quickly to such a low dose of Effexor (37.5 mgs per day).
My question is, if I am fine now on 37.5, do I need to raise it to 75 mg, which is the required dose? I guess only I can answer that question, but is there usually a need to raise it since 37.5 is usually a "warm-up" dose?
Alesa
Hey, relax on this one, 'K? Your mileage is very likely to vary with Effexor.
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> (It always worries me to see people just starting a drug reading the Scary Posts about those drugs. It may work for you, even if it didn't work for someone else. And, especially for those of us who have had multiple drug failures, it's very easy to get carried away calling a failed drug Devil's Spawn or something, you know? Please keep that in mind, 'K?)
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> Anyway, when I started taking Effexor XR, it worked great for me -- once we got the dosage as right as we ever did. There were a few not-so-great adjustment phase effects that I could have done without, but they went away once I got through the adjustment. When it worked, it worked with few side effects -- for me, if not for others.
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> Just as your mileage with this or any drug may vary quite a lot, the optimal dosage for your body will vary, too. I'm a poor metabolizer, and usually require very high doses of these meds. Others are such efficient metabolizers that they can get the same effects at one tenth the dose. What's most important, though, is to find the optimal dosing range for you. If that means raising the dose, then that's probably your best bet -- no matter how much you'd prefer to minimize the dose. Because of the differences in how each individual reacts to a drug, someone else's reaction to a higher dose is very likely to differ quite a lot from your reaction. (My reaction to 75mg, for instance, would be very different from that of someone who hit the target dose at 75mgs.)
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> I know, I'm sounding like a schoolmarm or something. It just concerns me that someone who could benefit a great deal from a med will see something here from someone who had a bad reaction and miss the opportunity to get that benefit, from fear that the same thing will happen...
poster:Alesa
thread:375848
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040811/msgs/376484.html