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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Searching for Sanity on February 25, 2005, at 21:38:21
to no avail. I was just prescribed Effexor yesterday. I was previously on Paxil which made me so very drowsy all the time & I gained a lot of weight on it. Tried Buspar too, didn't work for me.
Any input on side effects while on it, & withdrawals when off it very welcomed!!!
Posted by snapper on February 25, 2005, at 22:04:32
In reply to Is Effexor effective? I have tried others...., posted by Searching for Sanity on February 25, 2005, at 21:38:21
Effexor can be very effective when just the plain old ssri's have failed, or not given adequate relief. It is an snri-meaning that it affects both norepinephrine and serotonin in the brain. As far as weight gain, it usually varies from person to person like most meds. It also depends on how long as well as how deep your depression is. For some it is like a magic pill and others complain that it is 'poison'. I personally have taken it off and on(mostly on) for the last 11 years. Every time I try to change to the 'newest and latest' hyped AD , I always end up back on FXR.
Good Luck and welcome to 'Babble'!
Snapper
Posted by alexandra_k on February 25, 2005, at 23:23:00
In reply to Is Effexor effective? I have tried others...., posted by Searching for Sanity on February 25, 2005, at 21:38:21
Different people respond differently to the same medications. What works for one person may not be helpful for another. The only way you will know if it works for you is to try it and see.
I went through a few anti-depressants trying to find one that gave me some relief.
Some people get severe side affects coming off effexor (you could check out the withdrawal board) - but personally I didn't get any noticable side affects coming off of it.
I hope it works out for you and you feel better soon.
Posted by alexandra_k on February 25, 2005, at 23:23:36
In reply to Is Effexor effective? I have tried others...., posted by Searching for Sanity on February 25, 2005, at 21:38:21
PS I meant to say:
Welcome to Babble.
I hope you like it here :-)
Posted by Phillipa on February 26, 2005, at 0:19:27
In reply to Re: Is Effexor effective? I have tried others.... » Searching for Sanity, posted by alexandra_k on February 25, 2005, at 23:23:36
Hope you find success on Effexor. Fondly, Phillipa
Posted by Searching for Sanity on February 26, 2005, at 0:27:10
In reply to Re: Is Effexor effective? I have tried others.... » Searching for Sanity, posted by alexandra_k on February 25, 2005, at 23:23:36
Thx for the info & welcome. I have to admit, visiting the board & reading the threads has me more scared then when I first came to learn about Effexor.
The withdrawals from Paxil were quite disarming. I had bad vertigo, could not focus, was forgetful, & extremely tired (still am). I also find myself crying over tiny things & my temper is really bad too. I stopped Paxil approx. 3 wks ago. I wouldn't wish those symptoms on anyone & don't want to ever experience them again!
Besides Buspar, it is the first time I have been on any type of antidepressant. This is all relatively new for me, so I feel like taking things cautiously. I may even wait a little more before starting my 37.5mg Effexor to see if these mood swings subside a bit more.
I was better before I started the Paxil. I don't want to start a new med just b/c the Paxil's made me crazier, lol.
Still welcoming all thoughts/info. Thx again!
Posted by alexandra_k on February 26, 2005, at 0:50:04
In reply to Re: Is Effexor effective? I have tried others...., posted by Searching for Sanity on February 26, 2005, at 0:27:10
> Thx for the info & welcome. I have to admit, visiting the board & reading the threads has me more scared then when I first came to learn about Effexor.
Yeah. Though the most vocal are probably the ones who experience the most problems. Effexor really has been beneficial to a lot of people who didn't benefit from other anti-depressants, though, and so I guess the idea is that the likely benefits outweigh the likely risks..
> The withdrawals from Paxil were quite disarming. I had bad vertigo, could not focus, was forgetful, & extremely tired (still am). I also find myself crying over tiny things & my temper is really bad too. I stopped Paxil approx. 3 wks ago. I wouldn't wish those symptoms on anyone & don't want to ever experience them again!
Did you stop taking it altogether quite suddenly?? Quite often a gradual tapering off over a number of weeks can reduce withdrawal considerably. Sorry you had to go through that :-(
I wonder, though how much of that was due to withdrawal from the medication, and how much of it might just be due to the underlying depression that the medication was preventing??
> This is all relatively new for me, so I feel like taking things cautiously. I may even wait a little more before starting my 37.5mg Effexor to see if these mood swings subside a bit more.Maybe talk to your doctor again and tell him about your concerns??
> I was better before I started the Paxil. I don't want to start a new med just b/c the Paxil's made me crazier, lol.I dunno. Maybe the Paxil made you crazier, or maybe that was just what was going on for you. It may have been worse without the Paxil?
Posted by Searching for Sanity on February 26, 2005, at 10:46:21
In reply to Re: Is Effexor effective? I have tried others.... » Searching for Sanity, posted by alexandra_k on February 26, 2005, at 0:50:04
> > Thx for the info & welcome. I have to admit, visiting the board & reading the threads has me more scared then when I first came to learn about Effexor.
>
> Yeah. Though the most vocal are probably the ones who experience the most problems. Effexor really has been beneficial to a lot of people who didn't benefit from other anti-depressants, though, and so I guess the idea is that the likely benefits outweigh the likely risks..
>
> > The withdrawals from Paxil were quite disarming. I had bad vertigo, could not focus, was forgetful, & extremely tired (still am). I also find myself crying over tiny things & my temper is really bad too. I stopped Paxil approx. 3 wks ago. I wouldn't wish those symptoms on anyone & don't want to ever experience them again!
>
> Did you stop taking it altogether quite suddenly?? Quite often a gradual tapering off over a number of weeks can reduce withdrawal considerably. Sorry you had to go through that :-(
>
> I wonder, though how much of that was due to withdrawal from the medication, and how much of it might just be due to the underlying depression that the medication was preventing??
>
> > This is all relatively new for me, so I feel like taking things cautiously. I may even wait a little more before starting my 37.5mg Effexor to see if these mood swings subside a bit more.
>
> Maybe talk to your doctor again and tell him about your concerns??
>
> > I was better before I started the Paxil. I don't want to start a new med just b/c the Paxil's made me crazier, lol.
>
> I dunno. Maybe the Paxil made you crazier, or maybe that was just what was going on for you. It may have been worse without the Paxil?
>
>
>
>
My thoughts exactly!!! It is quite a conundrum that I am in. I did stop the Paxil suddenly, naively thinking that because I was on it only 10 wks that I wouldn't have a problem with discontinuing it. I have talked to my doctor about my concerns, I am thinking he is not hearing me. But I am willing to try the Effexor with caution, & if it doesn't help, or as I fear, makes me feel worse, I will taper off gradually. I have learned my lesson from Paxil. I really did like the Paxil a lot, as it helped with my depression, anger, & anxiety, but it just made me a walking zombie. Put a lot of weight on too. Obviously, that doesn't help my depression, lol.
Posted by Spriggy on February 26, 2005, at 13:43:30
In reply to Re: Is Effexor effective? I have tried others.... » alexandra_k, posted by Searching for Sanity on February 26, 2005, at 10:46:21
I'm in a similar situation as you are.I was on Lexapro for almost 6 weeks- it made me MUCH (MUCH!!!) worse. The withdrawal from it (stopped too soon) actually put me in my first trip to the psych unit for 4 days.
This is all new to me as well.
My doctor is now recommending Cymbalta (which is similar to Effexor) but I am pretty concerned about taking something else.
I guess where I am at this point, is do I want to go on another drug that will be complete and utter hell coming off of eventually?
The things I've read on here about Effexor have terrified me personally.
BUT, I do have two good friends' who have had good success ON Effexor.
It's all a risk we have to decide we want to take. Is living without the chemicals worse than the side effects of living with them?
I'm asking myself all this right now.
Until I decide, I just bought some sublingual b-12 and Omega 3's. We shall see if it helps.
* I should also note that for anxiety- I am taking .25 Klonopin that seems to be helping so you could ask for that if anxiety is an issue. It can be taken as needed.*
Posted by alexandra_k on February 26, 2005, at 15:21:21
In reply to Re: Is Effexor effective? I have tried others.... » alexandra_k, posted by Searching for Sanity on February 26, 2005, at 10:46:21
> It is quite a conundrum that I am in. I did stop the Paxil suddenly, naively thinking that because I was on it only 10 wks that I wouldn't have a problem with discontinuing it.
Ah. Please don't do that again :-)
>I have talked to my doctor about my concerns, I am thinking he is not hearing me.
Could you tell him that? Could you maybe find another doctor who is prepared to listen a little more?
>But I am willing to try the Effexor with caution, & if it doesn't help, or as I fear, makes me feel worse, I will taper off gradually.
You should really discuss when and how you come off it with your doctor. I do think it is fair to insist on gradual tapering off, though. I wouldn't be very happy if they didn't suggest that themself.
>I have learned my lesson from Paxil. I really did like the Paxil a lot, as it helped with my depression, anger, & anxiety, but it just made me a walking zombie. Put a lot of weight on too. Obviously, that doesn't help my depression, lol.
Ah. Maybe the dosage was too high for you? It sounds like it helped, but in my personal experience 'walking zombie' syndrome is a consequence of OVER medication. I don't know whether a reduced amount would have helped with your weight or not...
I hope things work out for you.
Posted by Damos on February 27, 2005, at 14:52:34
In reply to Is Effexor effective? I have tried others...., posted by Searching for Sanity on February 25, 2005, at 21:38:21
Hi,
I was on Efexor-XR for just over 2 years max dosage 225mg/day. This came after a short and very unpleasant expereince with Zoloft. I've been on 0mg for 22 days now and am still having some (what I can only assume are) withdrawal symptoms. The biggest withdrawal learning is that you simply have to come off any of these drugs very slowly and that Efexor-XR can't be taken every other day because it has such a short life.
This drug was good for me and has helped me a lot. I'd never been on any medication of this type before (though I can now clearly see that I should have been), and the Zoloft experience scared the hell out of me. The important thing is that I really trust my Doctors. Do they get it wrong sometimes, yes they do, but we really talk about every single aspect of my health and they genuinely listen. All of the choices have been made together, taking into consideration my feelings and experiences - even the choice to stop the Efexor the way we did. The right doctors are really, really important to success, there just has to be trust and confidence there.
Good luck, I'll be thinking of you.
Posted by Searching for Sanity on February 27, 2005, at 20:57:46
In reply to Re: Is Effexor effective? I have tried others.... » Searching for Sanity, posted by Damos on February 27, 2005, at 14:52:34
> Hi,
>
> I was on Efexor-XR for just over 2 years max dosage 225mg/day. This came after a short and very unpleasant expereince with Zoloft. I've been on 0mg for 22 days now and am still having some (what I can only assume are) withdrawal symptoms. The biggest withdrawal learning is that you simply have to come off any of these drugs very slowly and that Efexor-XR can't be taken every other day because it has such a short life.
>
> This drug was good for me and has helped me a lot. I'd never been on any medication of this type before (though I can now clearly see that I should have been), and the Zoloft experience scared the hell out of me. The important thing is that I really trust my Doctors. Do they get it wrong sometimes, yes they do, but we really talk about every single aspect of my health and they genuinely listen. All of the choices have been made together, taking into consideration my feelings and experiences - even the choice to stop the Efexor the way we did. The right doctors are really, really important to success, there just has to be trust and confidence there.
>
> Good luck, I'll be thinking of you.Thank you, that was very sweet :) It is nice to see a positive story, honestly, it really, really is. Keep them coming, please!
This is the end of the thread.
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