Posted by Ann NY on May 11, 2001, at 15:09:18
In reply to Re: New to Effexor, posted by battygoth on May 10, 2001, at 17:49:24
I'm sorry to hear you are having trouble on Effexor. (Read my post - I started a new thead)
I have had a great experience on it. But like you, I didn't respond to a 75mg dose and it made me absolutely hypersomatic - which is a known and common initial side effect. I, like you, have slept through entire weekends. I was given a sleeping pill perscription when I started Effexor because the of the conflict of side effects - sleepy during the day and awake at night. I got Xanax and the Ambien and now nothing.
My doctor wouldn't increase my dose to 150 mg until I was on 75 mg for 4 weeks. It took 3-4 weeks for the 150 mg to kick in and suddenly I woke up one day and felt great!! At this point my energy level and sleep cycle were completely back to normal.
My anxiety was reduced after about 3 weeks at 75 mg and completely at 150 mg. Maybe you just need longer - but I also had a little help from the Xanax.
I didn't have bad dreams like you but I couldn't remember my dreams which was unusual for me. The first dream I could remember was the one on the morning I woke up feeling great - and it was a great dream!
In the begining, I was also on Ritalin which is a stimulant. It was absolutely necessary because it was taking me 4 hours to get up and brush my teeth!
I'm now at 225 mg and my anxiety and obsessive thinking are gone! The drug takes a while to kick in.
I hope you will be feeling better soon. If you've been on it this long maybe you should give it more time before you switch to another med. I stayed on it because I new there wasn't much else that would work for me - and I'm glad I did. The sleeping problem is a difficult one to deal with but it got better for me.
poster:Ann NY
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010507/msgs/62502.html