Posted by juanantoniod on October 1, 2002, at 1:48:33
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by h20surfer1 on September 30, 2002, at 22:39:56
I have tried almost all the antidepressants (including Effexor) without much success, except for Wellbutrin, which got me activated, but did not take away the feelings of not wanting to live.
I have been on Effexor for 2 months now; it and Provigil have turned my life around. I relied on the POSITIVE information I read on this board for encouragement to keep going on Effexor, even during the first 6 weeks, when I could barely get up to go to the bathroom because of the fatigue. I was hopeful because of what I read here, and the fact that, even at the starting dosage of 37.5mg, it took away some of my anxiety and the constant feeling of wanting to die. Also, my (new) PDoc was smart enough to ramp up my dosage slowly (I stayed at 37.5 for the first month). He told me that the effect on the norepinephrine neurotransmitters -- those responsible for energy and motivation -- would not be achieved until the dosage went over 100mg, so that made me patient as well.
Last week my PDoc gave me Provigil to counter the side effect of the Effexor which was making me unmotivated and without energy. I am currently at 112.5mg of Effexor, scheduled to go up to 150mg in a few days and then stay there. I also have been taking 100mg of Provigil daily since last week, but did not take it yesterday and I still had a lot of energy. I don't know if it was the Effexor working, or the little bit of Provigil still in my system from the previous day.
Either way, Effexor and Provigil have changed my life. I have had depression since 1995 and this is the best that medication has ever worked on me. I think that if I feel much better, I will either be manic or euphoric (hopefully the latter).
I hope this helps someone as you all have helped me.
Take good care,
Antonio
P.S. A big THANK YOU to Dr. Bob for providing this forum!
poster:juanantoniod
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20020930/msgs/121765.html