![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by blg on May 4, 2002, at 21:46:48
Ive just started taken Effexor Xr 35mg 2 days ago. I took the first pill. Had real bad naseua and kinda felt in lala land. I skipped the next day cause i had to work which I drive for a parcel company. Anyhow, I took it yesterday with milk and krackers which helped alot with naseua. But when I awke in the morning Im real twitchy like. The shakes and my pupils were huge! And I had naseua again. I awoke in the middle of the night to feed my child and it was like I was grinding my back teeth. Like my jaw was tightening up. I dont have bad depression very mild it happened after I gave birth. But ive always had anxeity were I couldnt be around a large crowd or would freak out for no reason. Anyways, I dont want to take the pill again kinda afraid of what its doing. And then after the 7th pill it goes to 75mg. If 35mg is doing this already what the heck will 75mg do to me??? Should I ask to go on Prozac or Adavant..low doses of course?
Posted by Rathrbfishn on May 4, 2002, at 22:05:35
In reply to new need answers please, posted by blg on May 4, 2002, at 21:46:48
Ah, the serotonin AD dilema. Most patients experience increased side affects like anxiety when they first start one of the ssri's or snri's. Usually a knowledgable pdoc will rx a small dose of a benzo to help with the initial side affects your experiencing until the AD kicks in. I would call your doc and discuss your side affects to the effexor and see what he/she says. I had wierd side affects the next day when I tried effexor too. Called my pdoc and he told me to stop taking it. There are lots of other options. Hang in there, tomorrow may be your day.
Posted by pedr on May 5, 2002, at 3:30:25
In reply to new need answers please, posted by blg on May 4, 2002, at 21:46:48
=> If 35mg is doing this already what the heck will 75mg do to me??? Should I ask to go on Prozac or Adavant..low doses of course?
Blg, I'm afraid that no one can answer that with any real certainty. From researching PB on people's reactions to Effexor, I've seen just about every everything - short, painless start up, nausea for weeks, headaches, sleep disturbance and so on. Bottom line is that you could feel dodgy for a week or not stop feeling dodgy the whole time you take effexor. In my experience, if you're still getting unacceptable side-effects after a month then jack it in. That's just my opinion though - I'm sure others think differently.
HTH & Good luck!
pete
Posted by fairnymph on May 5, 2002, at 9:41:46
In reply to Re: new need answers please » blg, posted by pedr on May 5, 2002, at 3:30:25
As someone said, Effexor typically causes the symptoms you described (esp nausea, VERY common), when a patient first begins taking the medication. Usually, but not always, these side effects subside or disappear completely after a week or two of treatment. I would wait it out for a bit before deciding whether you want to continue or not.
Regarding the nausea, I too had this and my doctor wisely put me on a VERY gradual taper which basically eliminated the nausea.
I think 35 mg is too high of a starting dose, especially if you get nausea from it. I would talk to your doctor and get some Effexor IR (instant/immediate release -- in tablet not capsule form), which comes in doses as low as 25 mg. I started on 12.5 mg (I would split a 25 mg tablet in half) and increased my dose every 3-5 days, depending on how well I was tolerating it (dosage levels: 12.5, 25,50,75, 100, 125, 150, 200, then after that up by 50 mg every 3-5 days).
I also found Effexor IR to be much more pleasant than Effexor ER, which gave me headaches and insomnia.
Posted by Zo on May 5, 2002, at 16:31:52
In reply to new need answers please, posted by blg on May 4, 2002, at 21:46:48
For one, unless side effects are truly unbearable, these meds have to be given time. I think Effexor needs at least two weeks to evaluate, if not more.
Usually even if side effects are overwhelming, it simply indicates too much of an increase, or too soon.
It really doesn't follow, with ADs, that more is worse. For one, side effects go away!
Zo
Posted by blg on May 6, 2002, at 8:43:03
In reply to Re: new need answers please » blg, posted by Zo on May 5, 2002, at 16:31:52
> For one, unless side effects are truly unbearable, these meds have to be given time. I think Effexor needs at least two weeks to evaluate, if not more.
>
> Usually even if side effects are overwhelming, it simply indicates too much of an increase, or too soon.
>
> It really doesn't follow, with ADs, that more is worse. For one, side effects go away!
>
> ZoThanks for the input. But I really cant take time off for work to give these meds time to adjust. i just came back from having a baby. And as I stated I drive a UPS vehicle. Which Im sure once they find Im on these they'll find away to put me in the warehouse. I just dont want to behind that wheel and hurt another. I have appt with my primary doc and hopefully she'll help me more than my OBGYN can..Thanks again
Posted by ST on May 8, 2002, at 17:01:05
In reply to Re: new need answers please » blg, posted by pedr on May 5, 2002, at 3:30:25
HI blg,
I found this site because I was going to try Effexor and wanted feedback. I kept reading posts from people who said this drug was a nightmare. I decided to try Effexor anyway, thinking it may be different for me. Nope.I'm weaning myself off it after about 5 months because of a lot of reasons (side effects).
Yes, at first I was nauseous, had flu-like symtoms and was edgy. As my system became used to it, those light-headed nervous feelings wore off. What then set in was comlplete exhaustion. I needed tons and tons of sleep a night. I found out from posts on this board that this was common. Also - my libido was completely wiped out. Again, common.Good luck with Effexor, but I suggest reading as many archived posts about it as possible!!!! I would say one out of 10 or so people seem to be happy with Effexor.
VERY IMPORTANT - as you may have read so far on this board, the withdrawal symptoms from Effexor are truly devastating. I'm down to only 5 mg a day from 225 mg. I weaned myself off of it very slowly, but some days are really difficult for me as I feel like I have the flu. I tried to quit completely this past weekend and it was as if I had the worst flu I'd *ever* experienced. I also was an emotional wreck.
Keep reading about this drug. It may be great for you....
Good luck,
Sarah
Posted by blg on May 8, 2002, at 21:18:28
In reply to Re: new need answers please, posted by ST on May 8, 2002, at 17:01:05
Thanks but I didnt try it again after 2 days. Ive gone to my family doctor and she has put me on Celexa. 20mg So I took it earlier today and Ive just been real tired. Which she said would happen. So tomorrow Ill take it after I get off work. No nausea so far. I need to go to the site and check it out.
Posted by pedr on May 9, 2002, at 3:21:23
In reply to Re: new need answers please, posted by ST on May 8, 2002, at 17:01:05
Hi ST,
like you I had a very crap time on effexor. But, I think you're a bit wayward with:
"I would say one out of 10 or so people seem to be happy with Effexor."What you have to remember is that for every person who finds PB, there are 100 [1000?] others who don't. And, from what I've seen on PB, it tends to be populated by a large proportion of treatment-resistant people. In addition, if you tried effexor and it worked well, would you be looking for a support site like PB? Probably not. So, I'd say that you can't use PB as a good yardstick for a drug on the whole.
Don't get me wrong, I think ADs have far more side-effects than manufacturers claim and are far less effective than they claim but a site like PB can easily skew your view on things.
Cheers and good luck with the remaining withdrawal.
pete.
Posted by Marie416 on May 9, 2002, at 12:00:37
In reply to Re: new need answers please » blg, posted by pedr on May 5, 2002, at 3:30:25
Hey,
Start slow. You probably shouldn't increase the dosage until you feel you can handle the side effects you have, they should lessen or disappear over a few weeks. I agree with going on to something else if it's been a while and the side effects are too much for you. Give everything a fair chance though and talk to your doctor.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.