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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 8 of 8. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by KarenB on March 27, 2000, at 15:36:57
In reply to feeling stoned off of effexor xr, posted by kate on March 27, 2000, at 13:38:44
Uh, Kate: Have you been diagnosed bipolar...YET??
I think stripping in public ONCE would warrant a fast phone call to the pdoc. I'm curious, though - what exactly do you mean you "stripped in public?" Choreographed stripping? In front of a crowd?
Have you ever been prescribed a mood stabilizer in addition to your AD? I'm no expert but I am bipolar myself and it sounds as if it may be in order.
Karen
Posted by Noa on March 27, 2000, at 17:00:14
In reply to Re: feeling stoned off of effexor xr, posted by KarenB on March 27, 2000, at 15:36:57
I'm thinking...severe disinhibition? Manic switch? BTW, were you mixing any alcohol or anything else in there with the effexor?
In any event, a visit to the doctor, pronto, is in order.
Posted by Chris A. on March 27, 2000, at 18:16:57
In reply to Re: feeling stoned off of effexor xr, posted by Noa on March 27, 2000, at 17:00:14
I do not believe in blaming meds for all our moods, etc., as often (usually) cause effect relationships are hard to prove. Anything that is pharmacologically active will have potentially unwanted effects.
That being said, I definitely switched while on Effexor, a terrifying experience, and was subsequently started on aggressive treatment for bipolar. The pDoc had to work really hard to convince me that it was bipolar. It seems to be a very easy illness to deny. If he had bought into my denial I would be dead today. A good pDoc needs to be a good listener, but if he or she always agree with their patients they are not going to be a good doc. I had iatrogenic hypomania once prior to that, but hadn't been diagnosed with bipolar.
Bipolar is one disease for which overwhelming literature/research/ and clinical experience point to it getting worse without proper treatment (usually mood stabilizlers). Some of us cannot take ADs at all, even in combination with mood stabilizers, though our experience is 99% + unhappy. ADs can make our moods worse in the long run. Everyone is different. One misconcention is that hypomania is a pleasant experience. More often than not irritability tops the list for many sufferers.All of medicine is a risk vs. benefit undertaking.
Hope you get immediate help.Chris A.
Posted by kate on March 28, 2000, at 13:53:15
In reply to Re: feeling stoned off of effexor xr, posted by Chris A. on March 27, 2000, at 18:16:57
no. i did not mix anything with my antidepressant. that was why i was wondering why i was acting so strangely. it is hard for me to concider that i have bipolar. is it really possible? this is the first time i have ever had a "manic" experience. don't you have to have it more often than once to qualify as bipolar? (i don't know much about the disease.) when i am depressed i never get manic or crazily happy i just stay down in the dumps all the time. i'm confused now. can someone help to fill in the gaps where my misinformation is concerned about bipolar? see, i'm not really sure if it is just the meds or something else. i have talked to a few people who think that i have just been burnt out on school and depression for so long that this is my compensation for it. but i can definitely say that the way i have been acting has been way out of character for me. i am going to see my therapist on friday so i will talk to her then. why would the effexor effect manic episodes in the first place? i guess the main thing is just that i have changed so much. i don't want to do any work. i am always bouncing up and down all the time and happy and silly. i like the way it feels. but i have been being more reckless. i was planning to get realy wasted this weekend which is something i rarely do. i think i am doing it because of how crazy this medicine or whatever it is is making me feel. what should i do?
~kate
Posted by Cherie on March 28, 2000, at 14:39:33
In reply to feeling stoned off of effexor xr, posted by kate on March 27, 2000, at 13:38:44
They put me on Effexor along with Klonopin a week ago with devastating effects. Retrying Effexor alone and half dose and i am definately high and very happy :o) :o) :o)
love
Cherie> has anyone felt a little like they are under the influence while taking effexor xr? i have been noticing that i feel like i am losing all of my inhibitions. (this weekend i stripped in public three times and did a few other things that i am not going to mention.) this just started happening a few weeks after i started taking the drug. it seems to have taken away my depression and given me back my appetite but now, i am just this wild child who can't sit still for a second. it is weird. my friend xoey has had the same experience on the drug. i was wondering if anyone else had. bye for now.
>
> ~kate
Posted by Noa on March 28, 2000, at 15:08:28
In reply to Re: feeling stoned off of effexor xr, posted by kate on March 28, 2000, at 13:53:15
Sometimes, an antidepressant can cause what is called a "manic switch", meaning, it causes someone who has depression to have a manic or hypomanic episode. Often it can be the first episode, and might not have occurred without the medication. All it means, in effect, is that it is possible that that person needs a different kind of antidepressant, one that will not cause a manic switch. Sometimes, a person who has been depressed and has had a manic or hypomanic episode from an antidepressant, will do well on a mood stabilizing medication. It doesn't always mean the person will develop a more overt bipolar illness. They might, or might not.
As for getting wasted this weekend, I encourage you not to because you are in an unstable place at the moment. Clearly, you're frustrated about the medication. But don't deal with it by getting wasted. You need to go back to your doctor and talk to him or her.
As for not wanting to work, it sounds like you are overwhelmed with the demands of school. Can you get some help? Is there a learning center? Is there someone to help you get organized? How about some counseling?
I also get the impression that it is possible you behaved in an uninhibited way because you are frustrated and overwhelmed and this might be your way of expressing it.
Posted by kate on March 28, 2000, at 16:54:11
In reply to Re: feeling stoned off of effexor xr, posted by Noa on March 28, 2000, at 15:08:28
i am not working for many reasons but mainly i think it is senoritis also with a little bit of just general frustration. i do go to a counselor and she helps me a lot. she is out town right now so i can't talk to her. but i will be seeing her on friday. i think you are right about the whole getting wasted thing. i just have so little self discipline to tell myself no. it is difficult to motivate yourself when you just don't care you know? i know this does not replace a clinical diagnosis, but i took this bipolar quiz at a pretty good interent site and i scored a 57 out of 60. so if i don't have bipolar disorder, it is probable that this is at least one manic episode. many people have said that bipolar is often misdiagnosed as major depression which is what i have been diagnosed with. i wish i could talk to my counselor tonight. oh well. i guess i just have to wait. i just can't sit still and i want to do all of these random reckless things. i am thinking about sex all of the time which is a major symptom of a manic episode. i don't know. i just feel hyper and silly all the time and i can never focus on one thing for very long. i am going to try to call someone who can help me tonight. i'll let you know how that goes. bye for now and thanks for being interested.
~kate
Posted by Cindy W on March 28, 2000, at 21:41:37
In reply to Re: feeling stoned off of effexor xr, posted by kate on March 28, 2000, at 16:54:11
Kate wrote:> i am thinking about sex all of the time
Kate, I hope I'm not bipolar. I think about sex all the time, no matter what medication I'm taking (I have OCD)! 8) Seriously, hope you figure out a solution and get your mood stabilized soon.
This is the end of the thread.
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