Posted by medlib on February 23, 2000, at 2:11:29
In reply to Too sleepy on Effexor, posted by Renee N on February 22, 2000, at 23:16:23
Renee-
I'm relatively new to Effexor, too (late November). Each time I increased the dosage, the initial side effects would return--for me, excess sleepiness and nausea--and each time they went away eventually. My sleep is still messed up, but it's difficult to tell whether that's due to the remaining depression, the fact that I have always been a night owl, or from the lack of external structure (no job right now). I sleep in 2-5 hour chunks.
So, your sleepiness, too, may be due to the recent E. increase. At higher doses Effexor is supposed to affect the NE receptors in addition to the seratonin ones. More time at this higher dose may decrease the sleep side effect and increase energy (NE effect). BTW, Effexor raises BP in some people.
Also, many BP drugs can cause sleepiness (especially the Vasotec I'm on and betablockers).And did your pdoc ever explain why Adderall? I'm under the impression that Ritalin is more effective for ADD--maybe Cam can tell us for sure.
Few things in life are as frustrating as tweaking drug cocktails--it takes so much time and there seem to be an infinite number of permutations and combinations. For me, the stress and uncertainty this causes tends to make each minor setback seem like a last straw! That's why this board is so helpful; no reasonably normal person can possibly understand this. (I'm on the 3rd week of a BuSpar augmentation trial; so far it has done nothing--except reliably generate migraine headaches.)
Don't beat yourself up over small "failures." We each have to play the hand we were dealt; mine didn't include "perfection," or even "normal." So far, wishing, and occasionally striving for those has left me unable to see, much less enjoy, what I do have.
Re your pdoc: Unless you really like him, why put up with that kind of treatment? If you feel confrontational, you could call, insist on talking with him "about the course of your treatment" and tell him you're dissatisfied with the behavior of his front office staff and have been unable to get an appointment per his request.
If you don't like him enough to bother with that, pick out another pdoc and go with a list of questions (including his policy on stimulants).
Transferring medical records is no problem; you just sign a release form at your new docs, give them the name and address of your old doc and they will request your records.This certainly isn't my most coherent post; hope some of it helps. Good luck.
medlib
> I had a long weekend(President;s Day) and just slept it away. I would crawl back to bed after being up only an hour or two. I was yawning in the shower right after getting up from seven or more hours of sleep. I could barely stay awake at work today. I take 225mg Effexor XR(recently went up in two baby steps from 150. I had read that sometimes you need a higher dose to get to the energizing effect!? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but I have read it more than once. I also take 150mg Wellbutrin Sr, and 10 mg of ADDerall three times a day. At one time I took 30 mg of ADDerall twice a day, or was it three times? Anyway my pdoc had me lower the ADDerall due to BP problems. I'm now on BP medicine, and my BP is back in the normal range. I feel like getting off all my meds, because nothing helps my *@#! memory and pooor attention to detail anyway! Maybe I should go back to just coping with the ADD the best I can, and learning to accept what I can't change. I had big plans about all the housework I could get done with the extra day off. What a joke!I feel like an incompetent loser.
> It sure didn't help that today I had to go pay $20 to get my speeding conviction back to court. I paid the fine the day I got it, but didn't send the request for court supervision in in time, so I was convicted. Now I also will lose a day's pay at work. Subs don't get paid when they don't work.
> I realize that others here have some much more serious problems than I do, but I needed to tell someone how I'm feeling. My husband certainly doesn't want to hear it. My pdoc told me to come in every 3 weeks for awhile, until we can find the right meds, or figure out if ADD, or depression, or both are the cause of my problems. Well, that was right before Christmas! The receptionist said she would call when they figured out his new schedule of having med checks on Saturdays now. A couple of weeks ago I called, and she said that their computer was down for 5 days, so it wasn't a good time to ask about schedules. Yesterday I wnet in to pick up a scrip, and finally got an appointment for the middle of March. Should I change pdocs? Are they all like this? Are the only ones who take hmo patients a bunch of losers desperate for patients? If I do change, what do I do? Do I tell the old one why I'm changing, or just do it and ask him to send my records?
poster:medlib
thread:23255
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000220/msgs/23272.html