Posted by SLS on September 18, 2005, at 10:07:09
In reply to effexor, posted by lisa jorgensen on September 18, 2005, at 9:02:17
> I have been on effexor for the past 3 weeks
Is it helping?
It can take as long as 6 weeks to notice a significant improvement at the right dosage. If the dosage isn't high enough, it is reasonable to allow 3 weeks at each dosage to evaluate the drug's effectiveness.
> and have noticed on the message board that people go off of it.
Most of the people here do not respond satisfactorarily to their first trials of antidepressants. It is not unusual to find accounts of people discontinuing their antidepressants in order to continue to look for ones that work for them. There is no one antidepressant that cures everyone. Although it is one of the better antidepressants, Effexor is no exception. It is perhaps no surprise that such a high percentage of the treatment-resistant people posting here have tried and failed to respond to Effexor. It is usually one of the first drugs chosen by physicians to prescribe because of its better track record.
> Does it take more and more after your body gets used to it.
No, not really. Once you and your doctor find the optimum dosage of Effexor, it should continue to work without further dosage increases. Note that many people take 300mg to get the best results.
> Is it something you can't be on forever.
As of right now, I don't think there are any reasons why one couldn't continue to take Effexor indefinitely.
> i don't understand why anyone would want off if it is helping.
In my case specifically, if Effexor were to work, I would gladly continue to take it indefinitely.
Different people have different physiological and psychological needs that can be met by using Effexor for short periods of time. Some are valid and some are not. Very often, what happens is that someone decides on their own that they don't need the drug anymore because they have been feeling so well for so long. Of course, for many of these people, they felt well precisely because they were continuing to take the drug, and that they go on to relapse once the drug is removed. This is a problem of compliance. However, if someone with no history of depression is reacting to a stressful situation that triggers a depression, a short course of Effexor might be sufficient. However, it seems that even under these circumstances, it is recommended that they take the drug for a minimum of 6 months. For someone whose history is of a recurrent or chronic depression, treatment is usually administered for a longer term or indefinitely. Another reason to discontinue a particular drug is that people sometimes switch antidepressants in an effort to resolve side-effects. For others, they must switch because the first one stopped working. Known as "poop-out", this phenomenon is known to occur with just about all antidepressants. However, Effexor is less likely to do this than the SSRI drugs.
Unfortunately, Effexor is one of the antidepressants that is most difficult to discontinue without suffering a withdrawal syndrome. For this reason, it is important to taper the drug gradually. Effexor attracts much attention because of this difficulty, but there are several ways to make the discontinuation easier. You will find quite a bit about this archived on the Psycho-Babble Withdrawal board. I have been on and off Effexor several times at dosages of 300mg. My motivation for discontinuation was that it did not provide adequate improvement in my condition, despite being combined with other drugs. When it came time to discontinue it, I was able to do so in less than two weeks by using a flexible-dose strategy. Some people prefer to temporarily switch over to Prozac because Prozac is an easier drug to withdraw from.
Speak with your doctor. Ask him how long he would like you to continue on an antidepressant once you find one that works. There is much that a physician must consider to make such a decision, including family history.
- Scott
poster:SLS
thread:556351
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20050914/msgs/556358.html