Posted by SLS on September 29, 2011, at 13:11:24
In reply to Re: What do you think of a effexor - should I try it?? » SLS, posted by Laney on September 29, 2011, at 12:16:56
> I gained about 22 lbs. in like 4 months. I craved food and mostly sweets. I am normally 128 lbs. I went up to 150 and said ok this is it. I'm stopping. But my mood was great!
If God came down and said, "Laney, it is either nortriptyline or nothing", would you take it? I am not trying to force feed you nortriptyline, but if nothing else works, at least you know what you can take as a last resort to feel great.
Have you tried desipramine? No weight gain - usually.
> What do you think of Savella or Cymbalta because they have a better Nort. to Sert. ratio than effexor?
As you may have noticed, I am not spending too much time lately predicting an individual's reaction to a given drug based upon what little we know about its mechanisms. I do not ignore these things, but I will not so quickly exclude or include a drug from consideration based upon my layman theories. Ratios? I don't know. Maybe.
Cymbalta has been studied as an antidepressant more closely than Savella, and demonstrates robust antidepressant activity. It is particularly useful when pain is a symptom. I read recently that people were most likely to respond to Cymbalta if their pain resolved during the first two weeks of treatment. I am dubious that Savella should get as many people well as does Effexor or Cymbalta. However, if you are one of those people who respond to Savella, percentages of success are of little relevence. I tried Savella. It didn't help me.
My doctor is still trying to develop a "feel" for Pristiq and how it compares to Effexor. A friend of mine who failed to respond to high dosages of Effexor went on to achieve remission with Pristiq.
> The thought seriously scares me!
You can find horror stories about almost every antidepressant drug synthesized. Statistics? I haven't seen any describing how often people must take a year or longer to discontinue Effexor or Paxil. Just because I can get off these drugs easily using a flexible taper strategy doesn't mean that you can. I am not unique in this regard, though. I know withdrawal is a scary thing to consider.
> What do you think?? If Nortriptyline helped so much what could a replacement?
Desipramine.
- ScottSome see things as they are and ask why.
I dream of things that never were and ask why not.- George Bernard Shaw
poster:SLS
thread:998146
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110925/msgs/998247.html