Posted by brockstar on November 9, 2004, at 0:30:13
In reply to My list of 17 side effects from Effexor XR 150mg, posted by saw on October 12, 2004, at 7:26:34
> i just wanted to make a few notes on the side effects yu mentioned, i found this site really helpful for me wondering if it was all in my head or a part of the medication!
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> 1. Sedative effect,this wasn't something i experienced personally, but when my brothers doctor tried him on the same medication, he refused to take it as he felt he was being supressed and felt very sedated. i feel the opposite, even if i don't sleep well the night before, i still feel more awake than before i started on effexor-xr
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> 2. Short term memories issues.i hve noticed this a little bit, if someone asks me what i did last night i'd have trouble remembering and would have to really concentrate. but the worst is the inability to remember the correct words for what i'm trying to say.
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> 3. Yawning, frequently & deeply.i was put on effexor for anxiety rather than depression, and one of my symptoms was excessive yawning when tired, so i guess i never considered it to be a side-effect as it was something i'd always had anyway.
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> 4. Very bad leaking eye (Right eye).never had this problem, however i did notice vision problems, a sort of double vision, or halo/fuzzy effect around certain objects. and quite often my pupils remain enlarged.
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> 5. Developed sores in nose on starting Efexor.not a side effect i'm aware of.
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> 6. Loss of hair and hair has become dry and brittle.now that i think about it i have certainly lost a lot of hair, but i'm pretty sure that was before i started the meds as a symptom of anxiety, but its possible its also happening from the meds.
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> 7. Increasing lack of motivation and concentration at work.
i thought i was actually doing better in the motivation part, especially at work, as i'm not as tired as i used to be, but thinking about it now, all i ever want to do is sit on the computer, rather than doing any of the physical jobs i'm required to do, i tend to leave them until someone else does them for me, so yea definately lack of motivation, all i want to do is the work that can be done whilst i sit here.
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> 8. Motivation in tackling existing projects at home, keeping house tidy etc. has never returned.
this is one sysmptom i'm definately going to have to mention to my boyfriend whom i live with, as he's contantly complaining about my laziness around the house! in the last couple of weeks i've managed to be fairly vigilant and kept on top of things, but if it piles up in the slightest then i have no interested in fixing it. i find that if i come home from work and sit down, thats it, i'm not moving until bedtime, but if i go home and get straight into the housework then i feel much better and get much more done.>
> 9. Physical and mental exhaustion fairly common.if i let myself then yea, definately, but i'm trying really hard to keep at it. except for exercise, which i simply cannot motivate myself to do at all.
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> 10. Extreme flatulence and disturbed stomach (no constipation though).oh hell yes! i have disturbed stomach problems anyway as i also have irritable bowel syndrome, but definately an increase in flatulance, and at the risk of embarassing myself, a definately unpleasant smell!
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> 11. Severe water retention and swelling, particularly on hands and feet.nothing i've noticed out of the ordinary
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> 12. Sharp, stabbing sensations on various parts of body which only occur for a few seconds but are very startling.i think i may of had this a couple of times, but not often enough to consider it a SE i don't think.
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> 13. Hyper-vigilance has become extreme and is distressing and sometimes embarrassing for me.i'm actually not too sure what hyper-vigilance is to be honest, but i noticed someone else mentioned they experienced 'nervous energy' and thats something i can identify with. sometimes i feel like i just need to run around and expend some energy, but in actual fact i'm too tired to do so!
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> 14. Some sort of hyper-vigilance continues when sleeping. Amount of quality sleep I am getting is not healthy. Frequent, sometimes almost constant dreaming. Often night terrors that I am unable to wake from but that I am aware of. Sense evil. Screaming, crying or hitting out in sleep. Get frights while sleeping causing whole body jerks and pounding heart. Feel sedated and unable to wake up out of the dream even though terrified. If I do wake up, sedated feeling sends me back to sleep and the dream just takes up where it left off.this is the part that got me. i have real trouble with my sleep patterns. i wake up constantly throughout the night, usually drenched in sweat, and quite often my mind is a little slower to wake up than the rest of me resulting in sleep hallucinations which are terrorfying and have actually resulted in me pole-vaulting over the bed in my sleep to get away from whatever it was i saw!!
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> 15. Anxiety relative but panic attacks appearing to be on the increase.considering i was put on this medication for anxiety, i do actually find i'm much better. only extreme situations can bring on an attack.
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> 16. WEIGHT GAIN.yea to the weight gain around my middle, which sux. but i've also had an increased appetite and lack of exercise, so it could be due to either
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i also had to have tests due to a high level of the hormone prolactin in my blood (causing nipple discharge) went thru a scary week of tests for tumours on my pituatary gland but luckily was given the all clear. read somewhere on the net this high level can be a side effect of effexor-xr however my doc didn't think so, she thought it would just go away on its own. just recently upped my dosage to 150mg and noticed the discharge again, sposed to get another blood test but really don't want to go thru all the tests again!! seeing a different doc this arvo tho, will make sure to mention all this and hopefully come up with a solution!oh and thank god i never had any problems with orgasm unless i thought about it!
poster:brockstar
thread:402040
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041108/msgs/413612.html