Posted by Racer on July 13, 2004, at 13:45:02
In reply to Re: Should I stay on Effexor?, posted by volkwag63 on July 13, 2004, at 10:42:49
Aha!!! You didn't mention having run out of Effexor in your first post. Effexor has a very short half-life, which means that you can have withdrawal effects pretty quickly after missing a dose. When I was taking it, missing even two days was enough to set me into withdrawal, which can be quite ugly. If you're feeling better now, that may have been the whole problem you were having. (When you do stop taking it, you'll need to taper very slowly in order to avoid withdrawal. That's true of most anti-depressants, but especially true of Effexor.)
I can't remember any tongue weirdness for me, but then weird side effects are another place that mileage varies quite a bit. I know that my diet changed while I was taking it, and I did eat fewer spicy foods, but that had a lot to do with meeting the man who is now my husband -- he doesn't eat spicy foods, so I stopped cooking them.
As for hyperglycemia and feeling yucky -- oh yeah! Boy howdy can it make you feel run down and generally rotten. Hot, lethargic, like you're moving through jello all the time. Horrible. So, if you have a family history of diabetes or elevated blood glucose, getting that checked out is a very good next step for you.
As far as meds in general go, the rules on that keep changing as studies reveal more and more information about how the brain works and how the medications work. The general rule that I learned way back when which still seems to hold, is that the specific neurotransmitter system that is affected by a drug that works will generally be the effective system in subsequent depressive episodes. Meaning, if you take a drug that effects serotonin, for example, and it works, next time you need an anti-depressant, the serotonin system is the first one to shoot at with a med. All that means in practical terms for you is that, once you find a drug that works, it'll be easier to target a drug that will work next time. (If, of course, there is a next time. There may not be.) So, if Effexor works and you can tolerate it, you may never have to take any other drug. If Effexor poops out for you -- for real poop out, not just because you ran out for a few days which I suspect may be the case here -- then at least the doctor can say, "gee, Effexor hits NE and DA, so let's try [x] which also targets the same systems..." and save you a lot of trial and error. That's a Good Thing, from my point of view.
So, check yourself in the next few days, see if you continue to feel better now that you're back on the meds, and if you are, case closed. No poop out. If this is just a short reprieve, though, and you really are experiencing poop out, check with your doctor. Again, you don't have to take a cocktail, necessarily, although don't rule that possiblity out: for a lot of partial responders, a med cocktail is the best solution: it usually requires lower doses than the individual drugs alone, which usually means fewer side effects. But again, if this is just a case of a few days without meds, all of this is likely moot.
Best luck, and I hope that helps.
poster:Racer
thread:365444
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040712/msgs/365694.html