Posted by bigcat on December 4, 2005, at 21:01:05
In reply to Re: Effexor and shortness of breath » bigcat, posted by ed_uk on December 3, 2005, at 15:05:38
> Hi Matt :-)
>
> >I've been on Effexor about ten days and have been doing wonderfully on it.
>
> :D
>
> >I was at 75mgs a few days ago (working great for a few days, then dropping off some later in the day, and more so after a couple days at this starting dose.
>
> 75mg was working well in most respects. Perhaps you should decrease the dose back down to 75mg. Effexor XR has a *short* duration of action, you may need to take it *twice* daily to get the best effect. Taken as the single daily dose, problems may arise. Withdrawal symptoms can occur between doses!
>
> Here is my suggestion.........
>
> Tomorrow: 75mg in the morning, 75mg in the evening.
>
> The next couple of days: 75mg in the morning, 37.5mg in the evening
>
> Then: 37.5mg in the morning, 37.5mg in the evening.
>
> Kind regards
>
> Ed
>
>So Ed, you think I should back off on the dose? I can sense that this may be the thing to do, especially since it's counterintuitive, and my intuition has had me trying to chase my tail for so long. But, could you explain your reasoning? I definately need to divide the dose. Maybe 37.5mgs three times a day or something?? I've been taking 150mgs in the morning, and then 37.5 or 75 in the evenings when I reflect on the day and the current moment and can tell to what degree I've been slipping. It's crazy this drug- one minute I'm convinced I'm good, then the next I'm confused and scared sh*tless that I'm already losing the therapuetic effect. I'm worrying and short of breath, but at moments I do feel quite good. You are DEFINATELY right about the short half life. I don't know where I stand. Two days ago I was ready to sign up for Master's courses in Bio, now I'm terrified at this prospect. I just can't predict the future and am ambivalent to take steps that could have devastating consequences if I should fail yet again.
There was one morning when I took 75mgs of Effexor and five minutes later I couldn't remember if I had taken the Lamictal with it. (I've moved the dose up on my own- my pdoc is entirely too timid. So I've been taking 400mgs Lamictal [up from 225mgs]). So when I couldn't remember if I had taken the Lamictal with it, I popped one just 'cause I thought it couldn't hurt (I'm bad, I know). Within ten minutes I felt an undeniable lift. Is this (600mgs) an extremely high dose of Lamictal? I wonder if the Effexor and Lamictal are playing off eachother, and the Effexor is finally helping the Lamictal do something. My head is all over the place. My recent remission has shown me that perhaps my worst depressive symptom has been the obsessing, which may be rearing it's ugly head again. Since the Effexor kicked in immediately, could it still need time to settle in? For some reason I think this right now is the totality of it's effect, and that it may not be leading towards something to keep me more stable and consistantly calm. Maybe I need to toy around with some Adderal and/or Ativan. Maybe some Seroquel during the day. I have a great deal of social anxiety. I can tell when I'm good by my level of articulation. I stumble when the depression is ruling, and the thoughts just flow seamlessly from my lips when I feel just right. At least the Effexor is stirring something up, but I'm so confused. This hurts.
-matt-
poster:bigcat
thread:584758
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051203/msgs/585573.html