Posted by Racer on September 29, 2007, at 13:15:17
In reply to EFFEXOR XR VERSUS CYMBALTA, posted by SUZY33 on September 29, 2007, at 12:06:28
It's awfully difficult to read posts written with all caps...
As for your questions -- this and the next about Paxil -- I'm going to offer one piece of general advice: ask your doctor. Your doctor can tell you what dosage to start with for any drug, much better than anyone on an internet bulletin board.
That said, Effexor XR does have a reputation for unpleasant discontinuation symptoms. There are things you can do to mitigate those symptoms, many of which are discussed on the Withdrawals board here, but the general consensus is that taking a small dose of another serotinergic medication when you're tapering off Effexor helps a lot. The one I've heard most about is a very low dose of Prozac, taken for a few days, on stopping Effexor.
Cymbalta is in the same class as Effexor, and it should be pretty easy to cross taper onto it. You've been on a very, very low dose of Effexor, though -- so low that you're really only getting serotinergic effects from it. The noradrenergic effects of Effexor really only start to show up around 150mg or so. That might suggest that another serotinergic medication would be a good choice.
As to which of the serotinergic medications would be the best option for you, that depends in large measure what symptoms you're trying to address. "Depression" is a pretty broad term, with an awfully wide range of symptoms -- some of which are rather contradictory. For instance, some cases of depression come along with hypersomnia: sleeping too much. Others display hyposomnia. Which sort of symptoms you have plays a large role in which of the serotinergic drugs is most likely to be helpful for you.
Good luck.
poster:Racer
thread:785887
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20070929/msgs/785895.html