Posted by Cindy W on March 16, 2000, at 20:26:17
In reply to Re: Effexor CamW,Noa Or Anyone Taking Effexor, posted by michael on March 16, 2000, at 18:25:24
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> > Hi, I had my first visit with a pdoc today. I liked him. He says I have low level energy chronic depression. He has prescribed Effexor. I tried Celexa(weight gain and lethargy) Prozac, Buspar, Zoloft (to weird side effects) So my question is will I get bad side effects and will I have weight gain and be just a couch potoato. Pdoc said no, but I am leary. I did not want to make a fuss on the first visit. I follow these posts all the time. So is Effexor a crap drug or a keeper. I know everyone is different! Just want to hear stories good or bad. Thanks Gloria
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> Like you said, everyone is different. For me, effexor made me slightly less withdrawn/more outgoing - like I used to be. Didn't mind or avoid talking to people (in stores, etc.) and would even start conversations. Previously, hoped nobody would start a conversation with me, just wanted to be left alone. Not a very big change, but I noticed it.
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> Other than that, it made me pretty sleepy, a little less so as I increased the dose. As for side effects, a little tinnitus (sp?) as the dose increased. More so at the higher doses, I would occassionally wake up in the middle of the night soaked in sweat (through what I was wearing, to even the sheets) - uncomfortable and very annoying.
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> As for weight, if anything, I may have lost a couple pounds. Oh yeah, main drawback was difficulty with orgasm. Impossible in the beginning, close to impossible later.
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> Aside from that last point, not a real big impact pro or con for me. I started @ 75mg/day and went up to 225mg/day - also taking wellbutrin, which doesn't really do anything for me related to psych stuff, but helps w/reducing (hopefully stopping) smoking.
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> Might someday go back to a low dose, (for the "more outgoing" aspect) as part of a cocktail, if I can also find something to counter the anorgasmia.
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> Not terribly interesting, but you asked for it. (btw, I've got similar symptoms - dysthymic)
Gloria, I'm taking Effexor-XR 375 mg/day for OCD and depression. It has really helped to "quiet" my mind and I feel a lot less depressed. It isn't as good for social anxiety as Serzone was. It doesn't make me anorgasmic (like Prozac, Luvox, and Zoloft did; Serzone is touted as not interfering with sex, for most people). The frequency of my orgasms has declined a little, but the quality is dramatically better (takes a little longer to get there but is much more intense!). For me, I think Effexor-XR is a keeper. At times, I have some dizziness but am not aware of any other side effects, except for feeling "hot" a lot (and I'm perimenopausal probably so it's hard to tell if it's the Effexor).
poster:Cindy W
thread:27219
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000312/msgs/27253.html