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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
[email protected]Shown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by cs on October 13, 2000, at 19:42:19
Hi all- Have been noticing some mild depression and sleeplessness. Dr. prescribed effexor xr which I took for 3 days, and I couldn't stand it. I was so agitated, spent the whole nights awake and crying. I added a xanax the third day and finally slept but don't want to ever take the effexor again. What anti-depressants are good for taking at night to help with sleep-I have heard of amityiptyline, and trazadone.
Posted by stjames on October 13, 2000, at 20:40:55
In reply to effexor xr, posted by cs on October 13, 2000, at 19:42:19
> Hi all- Have been noticing some mild depression and sleeplessness. Dr. prescribed effexor xr which I took for 3 days, and I couldn't stand it. I was so agitated, spent the whole nights awake and crying. I added a xanax the third day and finally slept but don't want to ever take the effexor again. What anti-depressants are good for taking at night to help with sleep-I have heard of amityiptyline, and trazadone.
James here....
Almost every AD will have side effects for the first few weeks, you have to be willing to wait it out to see if the AD will really work.
james
Posted by JohnL on October 14, 2000, at 6:52:48
In reply to effexor xr, posted by cs on October 13, 2000, at 19:42:19
> Hi all- Have been noticing some mild depression and sleeplessness. Dr. prescribed effexor xr which I took for 3 days, and I couldn't stand it. I was so agitated, spent the whole nights awake and crying. I added a xanax the third day and finally slept but don't want to ever take the effexor again. What anti-depressants are good for taking at night to help with sleep-I have heard of amityiptyline, and trazadone.
CS,
There are two distinct camps on this issue. The more common one is to stay with it, give it time. The other camp says that any adverse reaction such as yours--especially crying all night--should be discontinued immediately. That's the camp my doctor is in. He never never allowed me to continue if a medication made me worse right away. Even if it was just the first day, he would pull the plug. The reason? He has seen too many patients end their lives during those adverse moments. A bad reaction that causes all-night crying, agitation, and insomnia is an open invitation to a much worse outcome. The risks are too high, the risks are too severe. I don't know about your doctor, but mine would stop the Effexor immediately.Could the Effexor end up working if you stick out? Yes, it could. Could you instead continue to worsen? Yes, that could happen too. I personally am not willing to take such a gamble. Especially when there are so many other wonderful meds to choose from.
All medications do not require lengthy time periods to adjust to them. There are superior meds, and there are inferior ones. What is superior to one person will be inferior to another. It depends on each person's own unique chemistry. A superior med is characterized by fairly rapid good response with few side effects. An inferior one is characterized by fairly rapid bad response, intolerable side effects, or takes a long time to work, if it ever works at all. A superior med is one that matches the patient biochemically. An inferior one doesn't. We can only tell the difference through personal trial and error. Based on what you've experienced so far, I would think it's fair to say Effexor for you is an inferior choice. Your body will likely embrace a different medication instead. My doctor would pull the plug right away, and start me on another med.
We are lucky these days that there are so many good medications to choose from. There is absolutely no reason and no justification in my mind to stay with one that makes you feel worse, especially when there's no guarantee it will ever make you feel better either. Better to start off with one that doesn't make you feel worse right away. The stakes are too high to take this lightly.
John
Posted by stjames on October 14, 2000, at 12:35:44
In reply to Re: effexor xr, posted by JohnL on October 14, 2000, at 6:52:48
I guess I am from the other camp. The AD's that work for me all had sometimes ruff side effects at first but proved to be OK after the usual 4 weeks, and things got better after 2 weeks.
james
Posted by JohnL on October 14, 2000, at 18:39:35
In reply to Re: effexor xr, posted by stjames on October 14, 2000, at 12:35:44
> I guess I am from the other camp. The AD's that work for me all had sometimes ruff side effects at first but proved to be OK after the usual 4 weeks, and things got better after 2 weeks.
>
> jamesYeah, me too. The few things that have worked with me took at least 2 weeks to be sure it wasn't a fluke, but there were always side effects to adjust to. It's just that in CS's case, the all night crying thing is a bit more than a normal side effect. I don't think it's a side effect at all. It's just a plain flat out bad reaction to a wrong drug. Hopefully it will get better. I know I wouldn't have the endurance to try to get through that though.
John
Posted by cs on October 15, 2000, at 11:24:11
In reply to Re: effexor xr, posted by JohnL on October 14, 2000, at 18:39:35
> Hi John, and Stjames. Thanks for the info. I know things usually take a while to work,as I took Prozac in the past and didn't notice anything until the 3rd week. This was just strange though-and I think a wierd reaction. I am going back to my old drug trazadone for now until I see the doctor again. Thanks-cs
Posted by noa on October 16, 2000, at 17:53:28
In reply to Re: effexor xr, posted by cs on October 15, 2000, at 11:24:11
You might want to ask the doc about serzone (nefazodone) which is somewhat similar to trazodone. It tends to be more sedating than activating, which was the problem for you with effexor xr, it sounds like. But serzone is less intensely sedating (for me anyway) than trazodone.
I have also heard that Remeron helps with sleep.
Posted by stjames on October 21, 2000, at 20:04:43
In reply to Re: effexor xr, posted by JohnL on October 14, 2000, at 18:39:35
It's just that in CS's case, the all night crying thing is a bit more than a normal side effect. I don't think it's a side effect at all. It's just a plain flat out bad reaction to a wrong drug. Hopefully it will get better. I know I wouldn't have the endurance to try to get through that though.
> JohnJames here....
At least in me this happens anytime I switch meds but I have learned
to take Atavin for a few days to smooth things over. It takes 4 weeks to
improve mood but drastic changes happen in the body after a dose or
so. Inhibition of reuptake happens after a dose or so. Given that these are drastic
changes over a short period of time it is no surprize the first week is rocky. Is crying
all night not fun ? Yes. Are you going to die or be forever physically hurt ? No.
However, each of us has our limits. For me, being a nor-e person, meaning few AD's will
work, my choices are limited so I am/was willing to wait out anything that does not have
long term effects. Since I know why these things happen it really helps me to put up
with them.
james
This is the end of the thread.
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