Posted by Kaysey on June 6, 2001, at 12:03:42
In reply to effexor is a life saver, posted by teachermom on June 6, 2001, at 8:12:33
> Hello all. This is the first time for me to post. I have been reading these posts for about 3 months now. That's when I first taking effexor. I have been suffering from depression for about 6 years now. I knew something was wrong, but I didn't want to admit it. I have a family history of depression. I tried to say it was all an excuse for all the women in my family. I was going to different. It all came to head when I had thoughts of suicide. I would tell my husband not to worry about me and then the next moment I was at the medicine cabinet contimplating what I should take to make it all feel better. I finally called the doctor and she immediately put me on effexor. i had all the side effects, but I knew that I had to hang on or I would be right back where I was. I have a wonderful family that have supported me through this all. All the women in my life are all on meds and now I am too. I would not trade this feeling for anything. i have read some real negative post. I know that effexor is not for everyone and I hope that those of you who it did not work for can finally find something that works. Sorry this is so long. Thanks for your time.
Hi Teachermom! This is my second post--first was yesterday. Our lives seem so similar (except for the support system that you have). I was diagnosed with GAD and depression approximately 10 years ago (was also in higher education for 12 years--so also similar). As mentioned in the previous post I was on--successfully for awhile--1 mg Ativan, 50mg lopressor and 20mg Prozac. It really fizzled out over time (much more than I realized). At times I too, found myself looking at the medicine bottles and thinking hmmm, this would take care of things for everybody. Actually my family, other than my husband, is unaware of the problem. You see, depression also runs in my family--in women; however, those who were diagnosed as such were ostracized from everyone and labelled as 'crazy and lazy.' To avoid the stigma, I have only told my husband and a couple of friends (one of whom has recently also been put on effexor). My husband has been moderately supportive, only because I have not fallen into the stereotype of what he always thought was a 'depressed person.' He has seen some really down moods with me, but always tries to chalk it off to hormones or just being female. He really doesn't like to ever say that I suffer from GAD and depression.
And yes, this post turned out to be much longer than I intended; but as with most people, this only touches the tip of the iceberg.
Regarding effexor, are you having consistantly good results? The friend I referred to earlier, loves it--has been at 150 mg for sometime--and it has been a life saver for her. For me, I have some wonderfully pleasant days (not manic at all, just very real and focused and 'normal'). However, as the month progresses, my symptoms reappear to a certain extent. As mentioned in the post above, I take OC's and the hormone levels seem to greatly impact the effexor impact (I have been on it since April, and am currently on 225 mg--it often makes me sleepy).
Oh dear! I didn't mean to go into this much detail.
I am so glad that things are working for you. I'll post again. Let us know if things continue so positively (or if they don't!)
Thanks again for this message board.
poster:Kaysey
thread:65532
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010605/msgs/65544.html