Posted by Ritch on September 19, 2002, at 0:19:55
In reply to pelvic pain from Effexor XR ?, posted by sid on September 18, 2002, at 23:22:51
> Hello all –
> I've been on 75mg/day of Effexor XR for about 9 months now, and from the beginning I've had abdominal/pelvic discomfort. It seems to be getting worse, and it seems to be linked to my bowel movements - I feel some discomfort after, on the right hand side, right about where my right ovary is. I've had my ovaries checked (echography), they are fine. I'll soon go for a baryum thing (I forget the word) to check my lower intestine - :-(. Still, I find the whole thing weird... Also, sometimes it hurts after I pee, and my orgasms have been painful as well, right after I peak. It seems like something is wrong around my pelvic area, but so far my doctors have not found anything. They also tell me they've never heard of such a side effect from antidepressants.
> Does anyone have the same problem? If so, was it treated? What did you do?
> Thanks in advance to anyone who might have info…
>
> And hello to the people who knew me when... I hope you're doing well!
>
> sid
>
>Hi, you're the economics prof. right? I bet your classes have been a lot livelier over the last few months!
Anyhow, SSRI's and Effexor can *cause* weirdo pain syndromes in some individuals. Zoloft (and Prozac to lesser extent) gave me some nasty lower back pain. Celexa, Zoloft, and Prozac all caused an old injury in an ankle to hurt so bad I limped at work when I was on my feet too long. I also have mild GERD and all of them can cause reflux and sharp stabbing pains at times just below my ribcage. On Effexor at just 12.5mg I notice a traveling, shooting, pain originating from my hip and going through to my left foot (occasional). Kind of like a "zap". There might be some strategies to combat this. You could try adding Buspar, Periactin, Vistaril (anti-serotonergic meds) or add a low-dose TCA (amitriptyline, nortriptyline, desipramine), an anticonvulsant with neuropathic pain-relieving properties (Tegretol, Trileptal, Depakote, Topamax, etc.), add an antidepressant with 5-HT antagonist properties like Remeron, Serzone, ie.. Remeron has 5-HT3 antagonist properties which work on receptors in the gut. I found it wonderful for regulating GI motility, just didn't like the weight gain and antihistamine zombification. There is Ondansentron, which is used for chemotherapy nausea, but is expensive as the yin-yang. If it is neuropathic "phantom" pain, you could try this stuff and see what happens. If it doesn't help, then you may have to get away from the Effexor...
Mitch
poster:Ritch
thread:120333
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020914/msgs/120345.html