Posted by Scott Hendrix on March 9, 2002, at 21:16:25
In reply to Re: I'm soooooo depressed!!! » Angel Girl, posted by Ron Hill on March 9, 2002, at 14:34:00
I just completed my first 7 days of the 37.5 Effexor XR 1xday. Really the only good thing I have to say about it is that my original complaint of sleeping to much has been resolved. I now have begun to have mixed thoughts / depression but now I'm awake, but sleepy by 5pm. I have been haveing really vivid and sometimes anxiety type nightmares, also I am still having Anxiety during the day, although a little less than before taking effexor but its also making me more unfriendly, edgie, and thinking negatively about other people in the office, which I didn't have before, and very slightly depressed, with the negative thoughts. I have started to seem to gain weight and eat lots more than normal (Went shopping and bought two 1/2 gallons of Chocolate Ice Cream. I have also notice an increase in weired out of the norm type thoughts, which scare me, I have never had before while on prozac. I am suppose to start to the next increased dose of 75mg today for 7 days. I have noticed increased sweating since not taking my next dose today. I called my Primary Care doctor yesterday and left a message, he has yet to return my call. I told him I wanted to go back on the Prozac that he took me off of 7-8 days ago, because he said it would help me wake up and lower my anxiety so he could take me off xanax and prozac with one drug (Effexor). I have been waking up like at 5am everyday and then forcing myself back to sleep till 7 am sometimes waking again before 7 at 6am. Traditionally I have been a very heavy sleeper and enjoy my sleep, but with the negative dreaded oversleeping syndrom in the mornings. So with all this hype about withdrawl and it's really not making me happier like the prozac did, I think I am calling it quits on Effexor. I just read about Brain Zaps today?? What is that?? I have never heard of that side effect, should I expect it from quiting Effexor after only 7 days on the 37.5mg dose? I am concerned about stopping it now. I had some left over prozac so I started taking those today, until my doc calls me back. I still have my anxiety med. xanax but at a low dose of .25mg 2xday to keep the prozac jittery side effects and my panic attacts in control. Any suggestions? By the way I am Mixed Bi-polar or Bi-polar II. I have tried lithium, and it doesn't work for me, metalic tastes, flat mood, no emotions, zoobie type attitude. I have heard about the other bi-polar meds, but my main problem is deppression not the mania as much just anxiety. I keep asking my doctor for Ambiem to help me with my sleeping patter, which really is my only problem when taking prozac and xanax. He for some reason doesn't want to prescribe Ambiem, He just wants to keep changing my meds that work for everything but sleeping too much. What are everyones thoughts.
> Angel,
>
> Are you bipolar? Have you told your pdoc about your mania/hypomania? Are you taking a mood stabilizer? If not, could it be that you are bipolar and a mood stabilizer is needed to, among other things, facilate to effectivenes of the AD?
>
> -- Ron
> -------------------
>
> > I've been taking Effexor since last November. I never felt any improvement in my moods and constant suicidal thoughts until my dosage was increased 2 weeks ago to 225mg. Unfortunately, with the good came the bad. :( I started having severe muscle twitches and jerks and it was hard to get to sleep. So when I went to my doctor last Thursday he decreased my dosage back to 150mg with hopes that the twitches/jerks would go away and then when I go back this Wednesday, he wants to start more slowly to increase it again.
> >
> > Unfortunately, even though I was severely depressed before, on the first day on the reduced dosage I was manic. I haven't had a manic episode since last summer. I thought they were a thing of the past. I actually like the manic episodes but what I don't like is the inevitable crashes that follow and that is where I have been ever since. I can't stop crying. I feel sooooo sad again. AND to make matters worse the twitches and jerks are still here. :( I HATE feeling so depressed. I had finally had some relief for 2 weeks and now I'm back into this once again. I'm so tired of dealing with this all the time. I need the higher dosage but yet I can't take these side effects. All I can do is cry, cry, cry!!!! And I've yet to find a dosage that has given me any slight bit of motivation to do anything. :( :( :(
> >
> > Sorry to be such a downer. I just felt like getting it out. :(
> >
> > Angel Girl
poster:Scott Hendrix
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020307/msgs/97265.html