Posted by Melinda on April 27, 2000, at 14:02:39
In reply to Re:I did'nt know, posted by Rhonda Hudson on April 27, 2000, at 12:41:36
I have been on a very low dose of Effexor XR (75 mg/day) since late August, 1999. For me, this drug has been a miracle, even though it seemed to take awhile to truly work (about 4 months before I truly felt my depression was controlled and my olde self was back). I didn't experience many of the side effects listed in the package insert, but I did notice that I would get extraordinarily jittery about an hour after taking my once a day pill. Luckily, that tapered off after about a month and a half. Then the crazy dreams started....dreams that were long and complicated and like really weird movies playing in my head. The weirdest part is that the dreams stay with me when I wake up and I remember them in great detail, something that NEVER used to happen to me before. I also experienced a slight amount of anorgasmia and lowered libido, but those effects also tapered off. However, I've noticed if I forget to take my pill every morning at the same time, I tend to get pretty major headaches. I thought maybe I was imagining things, but after reading all of your experiences, I realize it was indeed probably caused by the medication. All these effects are not enough to make me regret taking this pill though. I have fought my way through periods of major depression all my life, starting when I was 12. Counseling and other alternative methods were usually enough to get me out of it before, but last year, I was so low that I spent most of my time staring at the wall. I literally did not care about anything, including my health, my job, my family, or my bills, and as a result, I almost lost all of it. Thank God my doctor recognized the fact that this time I needed more than just conversations. Luckily for me, I haven't needed to go to a higher dose.
I've read a lot about the withdrawal effects of Effexor and am wondering if you have all found that withdrawal causes the same effects in people who have only taken Effexor XR. Have any of you tried getting off Effexor XR when that was the only drug you had been on? I'm curious because I would like to be off the drug by the end of this year if things keep going well.
Also, to BJ- have some faith in doctors and pharmaceutical companies. As someone who has worked in the biotech field (currently for a pharmaceutical research and development firm), I've seen the years and years of testing that drugs go through before they are even looked at by the FDA. The ones the FDA actually get to look at is only a small percentage of what's out there, and the ones they actually approve are only a percentage of those. Trust me, we're not the human guinea pigs....they already tested the drug on other human guinea pigs who volunteered. And as far as long term studies....almost no drug gets tested for years and years before being released....not even allergy, pain, or cold medications.
poster:Melinda
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000420/msgs/31476.html