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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by Wil on July 23, 2004, at 23:33:43
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » dusty534, posted by corafree on July 22, 2004, at 11:44:28
Hello, I just started Effexor Xr 3 days ago. I started taking Zoloft (for only 10 days), but I was experiencing really bad side effects. I believe I have been depressed most of my life and have not trully been aware of it. It took the loss of a loved one to shove me into a deeper darkeness and from these depths and fail to see the light. I feel as if someone has been holding my head below murky water and I am finally beginning to drown. My anxiety is mostly gone. Specially when I keep busy. I have started to experience really bad, horrible dreams. Has anybody else experienced this?
My depression is slightly better, but I really do not know what to do. I am at a loss. Does Effexor XR really work?
Posted by pablo1 on July 24, 2004, at 0:26:44
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by Wil on July 23, 2004, at 23:33:43
Effexor definitely worked on anxiety for me. I wonder about your saying that keeping busy keeps the anxiety at bay though. My guess is that's not the ultimate goal but if it's a new thing for you, that's interesting to explore. Folks with ADD will call that hyperfocusing and it's a miracle cure thanks to the power of procrastination and hyperfocusing (joke).
Effexor totally eliminated my dreams but I've heard it can have the opposite effect as well. I concur about not knowing I was depressed all my life.
Posted by lorily on July 24, 2004, at 7:10:46
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by Wil on July 23, 2004, at 23:33:43
Wil, I gone into my experience with effexor in depth in my other posts. Short and Sweet Version:
EFFEXOR SAVED MY LIFE and enabled me to get my life together in other areas than depression.
Posted by corafree on July 24, 2004, at 15:51:10
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by lorily on July 23, 2004, at 8:48:08
Your messages are so helpful. Yes, I can identify with many of your thoughts, especially the one about people understanding. I think sometimes that my children know I am just not strong enough to go on and deserve peace. I called a crisis line two days ago and they sent out a team to talk with me. My only real support, my daughter, is going out of town and I'm getting scared. This team will help me get through the next few days or week. My counselor was notified and called me. She said that the next time I call the crisis line, ask them to talk me down. Where I was in my head was this quiet calm place where dying was playing over and over and over and over. I was so calm. That is what scared me. I know I have been unsuccessful in my past attempts, so feel capable of doing it right now. That scares me too. I'm okay today, Saturday. Took a couple day break from my computer. love cf
Posted by corafree on July 24, 2004, at 16:15:00
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by starlight on July 23, 2004, at 11:42:49
So many good writers here, such as you. I have a hard time getting a handle on my thoughts, but sometimes, if calm, can put them down. Yes we are missing the freedom we once had and I guess will always somewhat, but maybe you're right, that just knowing that, makes it easier to live on! Connecting here is very helpful. I am a higher functioning mentally ill person too, and shy away from some. Fear is hard on my spirit. Effexor-XR still working o.k. today....cf
Posted by lorily on July 24, 2004, at 17:40:49
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » lorily, posted by corafree on July 24, 2004, at 15:51:10
Corafree, It's a really good thing that you can take a look at your "calmness" and be afraid of it. I think fear is what sometimes just keeps us here. We know this. We know our pain, maybe not why it's there, but we know it. We don't know what's going to happen if we were to go through with the great escape. We don't know the pain it would cause others. And most importantly, we don't know about all the good things that are instore for us once we get through the pain. And, there ARE GOOD THINGS WAITING FOR US. If anyone had told me that back then, which they did, I'd not have believed them. Look where I am today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would have missed out on all this. There is nothing on this earth that I can not overcome. Some things I would just have to deal with, there are things that could happen that I wouldn't be able to CHANGE, but I can deal with ANYTHING. I can't always do it on my own, like you, I need support for some things, but guess what? That's ok. And it's good that your support person is able to get away on a vacation, sure, you feel insecure about that but you have done what's good for you, you have other support available for you. That's progress, not a sign of weakness. Remember that. You are able to see that sometimes you can't do it alone and are not afraid to get that help you need and deserve. Good luck.
Posted by corafree on July 24, 2004, at 21:20:20
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » corafree, posted by lorily on July 24, 2004, at 17:40:49
Lorily - Thanks for your inspiration and insight. Just visited w/ some counselors that came to my home. We talked about alternatives when the thoughts keep resounding, when the doctors wait to hear the first word out of your mouth, and I've thought a lot about my daughter maybe needing me someday. Best wishes cf
Posted by Atticus on July 24, 2004, at 21:47:02
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by Wil on July 23, 2004, at 23:33:43
I have been on Effexor XR about two months now, and while I think my dosage needs some fine-tuning at this point (it has started to fade in effectiveness toward the end of the day, leaving me jittery), overall this has really been an incredible med for me. Following eight years of disappointments and a real crash-and-burn early in June, it has turned my life around. I also have noticed the onset of incredibly vivid and stunningly intricate dreams since I started taking it, but they haven't been particularly nightmarish -- just exhausting. The same plotline, with a million complex twists, turns and challenges, seems to run all night long. It's a little like playing the hardest video game I've ever encountered for seven or eight straight hours, and I usually wake up drenched in sweat. Maybe there are frightening parts that I'm just not remembering. I'm not sure. This med definitely is screwing around with my REM sleep. In spite of that, though, I'd have to agree with lorily: the positives and gains have far outweighed any negatives at this point. Atticus
Posted by PoohBear on July 26, 2004, at 9:45:30
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? - Wil, posted by Atticus on July 24, 2004, at 21:47:02
> I have been on Effexor XR about two months now, and while I think my dosage needs some fine-tuning at this point (it has started to fade in effectiveness toward the end of the day, leaving me jittery), overall this has really been an incredible med for me. Following eight years of disappointments and a real crash-and-burn early in June, it has turned my life around. I also have noticed the onset of incredibly vivid and stunningly intricate dreams since I started taking it, but they haven't been particularly nightmarish -- just exhausting. The same plotline, with a million complex twists, turns and challenges, seems to run all night long. It's a little like playing the hardest video game I've ever encountered for seven or eight straight hours, and I usually wake up drenched in sweat. Maybe there are frightening parts that I'm just not remembering. I'm not sure. This med definitely is screwing around with my REM sleep. In spite of that, though, I'd have to agree with lorily: the positives and gains have far outweighed any negatives at this point. Atticus
Atticus:
Yes, you may need to play with the doseage; I did. However, just to let you know, some of what you're experiencing are normal side-effects of Effexor...
These include (and I've experienced each...):
- Extremely vivid technicolor dreams
- Night sweats
- Jitteriness/shakiness
- Orgasm or erectile dysfunction
- Dry mouth (cottom mouth)
- Extreme yawning/tiredness (all those dreams...)
- plus some that I've forgottenMy dreams have moderated somewhat, though I'd really prefer not to dream at all. I still get night sweats sometimes, though more infrequently than before. The erectile dysfunction (for males) is much better now, though Wellbutrin helped at the beginning. The dry mouth isn't as bad, but I still drink plenty of fluids. I don't yawn anymore like I did, etc.
I think you can see a pattern here: The side-effects tend to either go away or moderate with time.
My pDoc and I did, however, go on a 3 month side trip to find a good sleep med that didn't cause to many side-effects ( like Remeron that caused terrible weight gain). We finally managed to land on Seroquel at 100mg every night. I now can sleep through the night most nights or wake and go back to sleep, something I've never been able to do.
The biggest thing for me is that Effexor not only helps with the depression, but also help me to control my streaming thoughts.
There IS life after depression, or near misses like you experienced. Hang in there and continue on your road of improvement: it DOES get better.
Tony
Posted by lorily on July 26, 2004, at 12:00:03
In reply to Re: Effexor Side Effects Atticus, posted by PoohBear on July 26, 2004, at 9:45:30
IT GETS WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY BETTER. :)
Posted by starlight on July 26, 2004, at 12:59:07
In reply to Re: Effexor Side Effects Atticus, posted by PoohBear on July 26, 2004, at 9:45:30
I'm happy to report that I went to a party on Saturday night and my social anxiety was reduced so much it was impressive. Great drug.
starlight
Posted by corafree on July 26, 2004, at 14:47:27
In reply to Re: Effexor Side Effects Atticus » PoohBear, posted by lorily on July 26, 2004, at 12:00:03
I'm away from computer on and off for a couple weeks as am staying out near my children a bit, while my supportive daughter goes to CA for a vaca. Still hanging in there, but missed my appt with my DBT counselor this a.m. I can't seem to keep track of time....thought I had time. Looked at clock. Too late. Anyway, I've been getting some help here while she is gone. My energy level is so low tho', can really only do one errand a day, two if have a nap. cf
Posted by corafree on July 26, 2004, at 14:48:58
In reply to Re: Effexor Side Effects Atticus » PoohBear, posted by lorily on July 26, 2004, at 12:00:03
Oh, this is Effexor-XR, right Atticus? best wishes cf
Posted by corafree on July 26, 2004, at 14:55:02
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? - Wil, posted by Atticus on July 24, 2004, at 21:47:02
What's your dosage and regimen Wil? cf
Posted by carriejane on July 26, 2004, at 16:04:38
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? YES! , posted by Shel on July 18, 2000, at 1:35:45
ive got the prescription in my hand but now ive read about all the side effects some of you have experienced, im worried. I cannot put any weight on, that would just feed this depression, and the sexual disfunction would do me in also, as i have a few probs in that area anyway. What should i do?
Posted by pablo1 on July 26, 2004, at 16:29:27
In reply to pretty scared of venlafaxine!, posted by carriejane on July 26, 2004, at 16:04:38
Well it effects people differently so I'd go ahead & give it a shot if you think it's the appropriate thing for your condition. If you never tried other SSRI's I'd probably suggest starting with Prozac first because it's easier to get off of. If you never tried anything before there are drugs like wellbutrin that are more likely to make you eat less and improve sex but those are generally not as effective on depression.... but might work for you so should be tried first. I don't know your situation & I'm not an expert but that's my advice.
For me the sexual side effects went away in a week and sex was better than before. Some people lose weight on it.
Posted by Camille Dumont on July 26, 2004, at 16:56:46
In reply to pretty scared of venlafaxine!, posted by carriejane on July 26, 2004, at 16:04:38
> ive got the prescription in my hand but now ive read about all the side effects some of you have experienced, im worried. I cannot put any weight on, that would just feed this depression, and the sexual disfunction would do me in also, as i have a few probs in that area anyway. What should i do?
Its true that some of the S-E are bad ... and can be really bad for some people ... but thats not everybody. Many people actually lose weight on Effexor XR (yours truly included) because it supresses the appetite a bit ... its a zillion times better than say ... Paxil in terms of weight gain.
Effexor can be a real life saver if you're in a really deep dark depression where things like sefl injury and / or suicide are very real potential treaths.
If this can help you perhaps gain some confidence, I have had barely any side effects from taking Effexor. The basic dry mouth thing and a bit twitchy and nervous at the beginning and the nightmares but those went away. As for the sexual dysfunction ... its both an issue and a non-issue at the same time. Its not like you "miss" having a desire ... its just not there and most of the time I didn't notice. Seemed more to be a problem for my partner ... and I did feel a bit bad for him.
As for the withdrawal, I did everything wrong, went cold turkey from 300 ... felt bad for a week and now I only take a small dose of Celexa and I'm not feeling any side effects from the withdrawal so Yes it can be bad but it can also make you feel a zillion times better. And its not a necessarily a life sentence ... IT IS possible to get off the stuff either.
I would say give it a try, take it for 2 or 3 weeks but if you feel to horrible, just stop and tell your doctor to give you something else ... and you never know, it could be the right medication for you.
Posted by Violet4EVR on July 27, 2004, at 1:19:40
In reply to Re: pretty scared of venlafaxine!, posted by Camille Dumont on July 26, 2004, at 16:56:46
Hey there,
Do not be so afraid of Effexor.... I have been taking it for three months, and not only do I feel *BETTER* (from anxiety disorder) but I have lost about 8-10 pounds... I would give it shot.....you honestly have NOTHING to lose..rigt? try it out and see for yourself......If you do not like it, you can always ween off it (very slowly of course, as you should with ALL meds.....keep this in mind).
Take care,
-Violet
Posted by Rockson on July 27, 2004, at 11:59:17
In reply to Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by jp on October 24, 1999, at 14:59:14
I wanted to thank all the posters for generously sharing their individual journeys - your words and stories have helped me more than I can say. If I may, I'd like to pose a question/situation to anyone that has any suggestion... My sister recommended Effexor XR to me - it has done miracles for her, although she received it originally for hot flashes. She is on a 75 mg dose. I had been going through a really difficult time and my drinking was slowly overtaking my life. My father is alcoholic and my mother used to say that he would have been an excellent candidate for medication. At any rate, I started Effexor XR six weeks ago but have still been drinking (4-5 drinks) nightly. I recently added another 37.5 XR (total 112 MG) to my regimen, and am feeling quite a bit happier. Has anybody had/heard about this type of situation? I'm wondering whether it makes sense to increase my dosage until the "drive to drink" diminishes. My drinking has diminished somewhat, but I'm concerned that higher dosages may create more problems than it solves. Thanks for your time, everyone. You guys/gals rock!!
Posted by starlight on July 27, 2004, at 12:07:52
In reply to pretty scared of venlafaxine!, posted by carriejane on July 26, 2004, at 16:04:38
No weight gain, and no problems acheiving orgasm AND, I accidentally started at a higher dose. I started at 75mgs instead of the 37. I love it and highly recommend it. I'm planning on staying at 75 since that seems to be working well for me and I take Lamictal and Trileptal in addition. But I've had great success on it.
Good luck & don't be scared! "Fear is the ultimate mind killer" from Dune.
starlight
Posted by starlight on July 27, 2004, at 12:14:01
In reply to pretty scared of venlafaxine! ? carriejane, posted by pablo1 on July 26, 2004, at 16:29:27
I personally would stay away from Prozac because of the weight gain effect, but I'm hypersensitive to weight gain having had an eating disorder in the past. I do recommend wellbutrin, but think it's important to watch out for the agitation that it can cause. So far out of all the ones I've tried (wellbutrin, zoloft & effexor) I've liked effexor the best. I loved zoloft, but the weight gain was too much to bear. To me, effexor has the anxiety reducing qualities of zoloft, but without the nasty side effects.
starlight
Posted by Camille Dumont on July 27, 2004, at 14:32:13
In reply to Effexor and Alcoholism, posted by Rockson on July 27, 2004, at 11:59:17
Thats an interesting question. From what I understand alcohol is a "depressant" so it tends to be rather counterproductive when taking AD medication ... but then again, if it makes you less depressed and maybe give you less of a reason to drink then maybe its a good idea.
My sense is that you would feel even better if you didn,t drink as the meds wil have the opportunity to act unhindered ... but I would talk about it with your doctor and see what he recommends.
Posted by lorily on July 27, 2004, at 14:42:26
In reply to Effexor and Alcoholism, posted by Rockson on July 27, 2004, at 11:59:17
Rockson, I strongly recommend that you stop drinking. Are you taking this medication for depression? If so, why are you taking a depressant? alcohol. The drive to drink is not going to just go away on its own. Trust me, if you are able to stop and your life improves and you work a program of recovery, you will never honestly be able to come up with one good reason TO drink. I'm an alcoholic in recovery, I've had many excuses to drink, they were not reasons. Unless you consider the desire to slowly kill myself and sink deeper into depression a reason, then yeah, sure I guess I did have a reason.
It's extremely dangerous to mix the meds with alcohol. Just imagine how good you would feel if you weren't screwing up what good the effexor is doing for you? I doubt you would have had to increase the dosage.
Good luck to you!!!!
Posted by lorily on July 27, 2004, at 14:53:40
In reply to Re: pretty scared of venlafaxine!, posted by starlight on July 27, 2004, at 12:07:52
Women can take Viagra, too! Yes, it works.
Posted by pablo1 on July 27, 2004, at 15:27:23
In reply to Re: Effexor and Alcoholism » Rockson, posted by lorily on July 27, 2004, at 14:42:26
I had some diminishing of the desire to drink when I started effexor but it didn't last. It almost felt like the effexor sedated me some and that acted as a replacement but as I said, it didn't last. It is supposed to be true that getting the proper medication will help you not to want to self medicate. It's also true I'm sure that the drinking interferes with the medications working properly to some degree.
I guess what the other responses were saying is to go ahead and quit drinking and let the meds do their thing and that it is not possible to diminish the desire to drink. I'm not sure about that. It just came off as a moralistic lecture to me. Sorry I don't intend to attack them for that, these are simply my feelings.
BTW I can quit drinking without major withdrawl, just uncomfortable for a couple days... but I don't 'feel good' so I drink again. So it makes more sense to me that I need to find a way to feel good in order to stop drinking. Being sober doesn't make me feel good. I'm still missing something. Yes drinking makes things worse also and is obviously not a very good med but it works and that's why I do it. I'm looking for other options but until I find something that helps, it's awfully hard to give up and just feel crappy. Effexor helped some but not enough for me to tolerate the side effects for me. So far I'm willing to put up with the side effects of alcohol.
Some people get extremely addicted to alcohol abusing it in enormous quantities and behaving very badly. I don't think that's the case for you or I though Rockson.
So my answer to your question is that no I don't think you should take or increase effexor to limit the urge to drink but rather take it if it works on your symptoms. I think when you find something that works then you can stop drinking comfortably. Obviously cutting back some would be helpful.
I disagree that alcohol is dangerous with SSRI's. That's just scare tactics and simply isn't true. All medications will warn that it's unwise to drink with them but hell, it's unwise to drink alone so that doesn't really mean anything.
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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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