Posted by Noa on October 16, 2004, at 12:12:46
In reply to My list of 17 side effects from Effexor XR 150mg, posted by saw on October 12, 2004, at 7:26:34
Before I respond item by item to your list of SEs below, I want to say that you listed a few things that could be signs of hypothyroidism---edema in hands and feet, extreme fatigue, and hair loss. Since hypothyroidism causes skin problems as well, perhaps even the sores, as well (don't know about that one). Though not the sharp pains you describe, when I was hypothyroid, I had lots of muscle and joint aches. Please check out some information at the following pages at about.com.
main page: http://thyroid.about.com
Start here--the basic overview: http://thyroid.about.com/cs/basics_starthere/a/thyroid101.htm
Next--Hypothyroid symptom checklist:
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/basics_starthere/a/hypochecklist.htmThen--key tests and result ranges.
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/newsinfo/l/bltest_values.htmQuestions to ask your doctor:
http://thyroid.about.com/cs/hypothyroidism/a/6questions.htmMore about interpreting tests:
http://thyroid.about.com/library/howto/htthyroid-test.htman article about thyroid test interpretation:
http://thyroid.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.healthy.net%2Fhwlibraryjournals%2Fnaturopathic%2Fvol1no1%2Fthyroid.htmAlso--here is the link to Dr. Bob's Psychopharm Tips page, where pdocs discussed thyroid and depression--
http://www.dr-bob.org/tips/split/Thyroid-replacement.htmlOK, here are the item by item comments:
> 1. Sedative effect--I actually have the opposite of this. I've found from reading here that some people find it sedating, while others find it very activating.
> 2. Short term memories issues--I have had this and it is very dose-dependent for me. The specific memory issue for me is word retrieval problems. When I lowered the dose, it got better.
> 3. Yawning, frequently & deeply--I have had this and it is dose-dependent. At higher doses, I'd feel the need to yawn a lot but the yawns were hard to complete normally--so I'd still feel like I had to yawn again. Don't have that anymore on lower Effexor dose.> 4. Very bad leaking eye--I did not have this.
> 5. Developed sores in nose on starting Efexor--I did not have this. Do you think it is an allergic type reaction? Did you tell your doc about this one?
> 6. Loss of hair and hair has become dry and brittle-----I definitely have had loss of hair, though I don't think my hair is more brittle.
>
> 7. Increasing lack of motivation and concentration at work. Continuous battle to apply myself. Spend a fair amount of time “just doing nothing” and am becoming alarmingly overwhelmed with backlog that I just “can’t get into./> 8.Motivation in tackling existing projects at home, keeping house tidy etc. has never returned. Still battle to “get going”-----I do have the motivation problem, especially at home. I, too, spend a lot of time doing nothing. I was discussing this very recently (again) with my pdoc. He agreed it could be from the Effexor, but that it could also be residual depressive symptoms, too. He thinks it's hard to figure out which unless I make a change in meds, either increase or decrease significantly. I am not ready to do either at the moment. But in terms of lack of concentration--I had that in the extreme when I was hypothyroid. I would sit at work and look at my desk and be totally confused and unable to figure out what I was supposed to do with the stuff on my desk. I felt like the entire content of my head was made of cotton balls.
>
> 9. Physical and mental exhaustion--I don't have physcial exhaustion from Effexor, by had it in the extreme when I was hypothyroid.>
> 10. Extreme flatulence and disturbed stomach (no constipation though)--no, I don't have this.>Stomach distends uncomfortably to double its size. (Have even been asked how far along I am)--
--Hmm....I'm wondering if this is related to the weight gain you mention below. I don't remember where I heard or read this but I think that I heard that ADs like Effexor can cause weight gain in the abdominal area, where the fat tissue holds a lot of hormones. I have had this. Whereas I always used to gain weight in other parts of my body, after being on Effexor, I started gaining around the middle, losing my waist, which used to quite a bit smaller than my hips and thighs. Now they're all huge.
Another thought about the distended abdomen--do you have any menstrual problems or pain? The reason I ask is that my friend had the distended abdomen when she had fibroids.
>
> 11. Severe water retention and swelling, particularly on hands and feet-
---no, I don't have this with effexor, but did have it with Lithium. Again, see my comments on hypothyroidism.
>
> 12. Sharp, stabbing sensations ---
--Don't have this on Effexor, except some pain in calf muscles sometimes.
>
> 13. Hyper-vigilance ---I don't have this but do have internal energy/agitation--ie energy not of the type that I can mobilize and make good use of.
>
> 14. Sleep problems, night terrors. Get frights while sleeping causing whole body jerks and pounding heart-----I defintely have sleep problems on Effexor: mostly insomnia. In the beginning, I also was very aware of bizarre dreams and in the beginning I did feel anxious or frightened at these. I still dream a lot but it's strange now that no matter how grotesque the dreams are, I have very little feeling associated with them. I also usually don't remember my dreams.
The way I've dealt with the insomnia and with other sleep problems like myoclonus, which is the muscle jerking you describe, is that my pdoc and I decided to lower my Effexor dose and add another AD (for me it is nefazodone) that is sedating. I take this at night to offset the sleep problems of Effexor. This worked for the insomnia and myoclonus, but not so much for the restless legs I get from Effexor, so I also take a very small dose of lorazepam before bed and this controls the restless legs.
As for the myoclonus, sometimes it would be the huge, whole-body jerking, with the feeling of falling or some other sudden startle--apparently, it is normal to have these once in a while for most people, but I'm talking about extremely frequent and much more intense. Besides these whole-body jerks, when at rest, either before sleep or when stretched out on the couch to watch tv or read, I also used to get these random small single muscle jerks in muscles in different places--muscles that I couldn't possible have flexed on purpose if I tried. I got these on Paxil as well--in fact, on Paxil, it was even worse--once as I was lying in bed, my arm pretty much shot straight up in the air!
But I'm thinking that perhaps you should investigate whether you have a sleep disorder related to this--if you have myoclonus and it is preventing you from staying fully asleep through the entire sleep cycle, this could also explain your fatique and concentration problems.
Other sleep disorders that are common are from acid reflux disease, and sleep apnea.
>
> 15. Anxiety--for me, there is some restlessness and internal agitation from Effexor.>No tolerance in crowded situations too much noise, too loud TV etc.
---I have always had difficulty being in large crowds, and I'm very sensitive to loud noises. The noise sensitivity is much worse when I'm depressed (like not even being able to tolerate the radio on in the car). I don't think Effexor has increased these issues for me.
>
> 16. WEIGHT GAIN. Yes, I very definitely have had this.Here are a few I have had that you didn't mention having:
1. Headaches--at higher doses, I had frequent bad headaches.
2. Sweating. At higher doses, I used to sweat profusely, especially on my head.
3. Orthostatic hypotension--ie, feeling like I was going to faint when I stood up from sitting. Or if I stretched vigorously. I did actually faint once. This was another SE that was dose dependent, so I don't get it anymore.
4. Acne (although my pdoc thinks the Adderall is a more likely culprit for this).
5. Sexual SEs--at higher doses, unable to achieve orgasm. At current dose, orgasms are what I call "fragmented"--as if 2 or 3 different components of orgasm occur at different times, taking away from the full intensity experience.
poster:Noa
thread:402040
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041012/msgs/403832.html