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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 13 of 13. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Smeegle on June 28, 2004, at 0:51:27
I have been on Effexor for about 3-4 years now and mentally it has been a wonder drug for me. Sure the half-life is extremely short and if I miss even one dose, the brain zaps start up reminding me to get my butt in gear and take it asap. (I loathe the day I ever have to wean, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it). Anyhow, I am currently up to 300mg per day (AM) and I have zero energy or motivation. Emotionally, I am more stable than I have been in a very long time. I also take Provigil for sleep disorders which I thought would help out but I am still sooooooo tired day in and day out. My pdoc had indicated when I first started on Effexor that it should give me a slight energy boost yet I feel that it is sucking the energy out of me. Anyone else experiencing this? Is it a side effect of the effexor or just me being lazy? There is so much that I want to do but half of the time I just want to sleep (not the "I'm depressed and just want to escape from the world" kind of sleep, "exhausted, I need some rest kind of sleeping").
Smeegs
Posted by Smeegle on June 28, 2004, at 0:54:06
In reply to Effexor - Sucking the energy out of me?, posted by Smeegle on June 28, 2004, at 0:51:27
Oh, I forgot to mention that taking it at night affected my ability to stay asleep (waking up several time and not able to fall back asleep) which is why I have to take it in the morning.
Posted by psychosage on June 28, 2004, at 1:23:57
In reply to Re: Effexor - Sucking the energy out of me?, posted by Smeegle on June 28, 2004, at 0:54:06
> Oh, I forgot to mention that taking it at night affected my ability to stay asleep (waking up several time and not able to fall back asleep) which is why I have to take it in the morning.
It makes me take a nap everyday for at least an hour. I am on 150mg, and I also take provigil. How much provigil do you take?I am going to ask the doctor to boost my provigil from 100mg a day because i would rather not waste 1-2 hours a day sleeping when i wasn't having this issue before. I like effexor. it seriously has helped me with my depressive and anxiety symptoms. Other SSRIs have a similar effect on me but not as much as an antidepressant kick as effexor, so i have to weigh the pros and cons. wellbutrin was making me irritable, so i made the switch back to good ol' effexor.
Posted by anxiety_free on June 28, 2004, at 3:56:10
In reply to Effexor - Sucking the energy out of me?, posted by Smeegle on June 28, 2004, at 0:51:27
> I have been on Effexor for about 3-4 years now and mentally it has been a wonder drug for me. Sure the half-life is extremely short and if I miss even one dose, the brain zaps start up reminding me to get my butt in gear and take it asap. (I loathe the day I ever have to wean, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it). Anyhow, I am currently up to 300mg per day (AM) and I have zero energy or motivation. Emotionally, I am more stable than I have been in a very long time. I also take Provigil for sleep disorders which I thought would help out but I am still sooooooo tired day in and day out. My pdoc had indicated when I first started on Effexor that it should give me a slight energy boost yet I feel that it is sucking the energy out of me. Anyone else experiencing this? Is it a side effect of the effexor or just me being lazy? There is so much that I want to do but half of the time I just want to sleep (not the "I'm depressed and just want to escape from the world" kind of sleep, "exhausted, I need some rest kind of sleeping").
>
> Smeegs
Hi! Effexor can be a wonderful, albeit tricky drug. I always took mine in the morning, too, because it screwed with my sleep. Anyway, if the Effexor is working on the depression and has been for a while, it'd probably be best to keep with it...perhaps the best approach would be to focus on fixing your daytime sleepiness. Even if the Effexor is the cause of some of your drowsiness, this is something that probably needs to be addressed chemically, at least for now. See if your doc will augment your regimine with a stimulant (Ritalin is pretty standard, but some docs go for dexedrine or adderall) to keep you going through the day. In addition to keeping you awake, stimulants can boost the effects of anti-depressants. Your daytime drowsiness may also be a sign that your Provigil dose needs adjustment or that you may need an old-school stimulant instead. You could also try taking the Effexor at night, with a sleep aid...the only problem with that would be finding one that would work well enough to give you restful sleep, but not cause too many problems in the day. Personally, I'd push the doc for an adjustment in the Provigil dose or a stimulant. Good luck!
Posted by Sad Panda on June 28, 2004, at 7:47:35
In reply to Effexor - Sucking the energy out of me?, posted by Smeegle on June 28, 2004, at 0:51:27
> I have been on Effexor for about 3-4 years now and mentally it has been a wonder drug for me. Sure the half-life is extremely short and if I miss even one dose, the brain zaps start up reminding me to get my butt in gear and take it asap. (I loathe the day I ever have to wean, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it). Anyhow, I am currently up to 300mg per day (AM) and I have zero energy or motivation. Emotionally, I am more stable than I have been in a very long time. I also take Provigil for sleep disorders which I thought would help out but I am still sooooooo tired day in and day out. My pdoc had indicated when I first started on Effexor that it should give me a slight energy boost yet I feel that it is sucking the energy out of me. Anyone else experiencing this? Is it a side effect of the effexor or just me being lazy? There is so much that I want to do but half of the time I just want to sleep (not the "I'm depressed and just want to escape from the world" kind of sleep, "exhausted, I need some rest kind of sleeping").
>
> Smeegs
>Effexor makes me fairly apathetic too. Increasing the dose makes it more stimulating, but I couldn't handle the extra side effects. I take Remeron at night for Effexor side effects.
Cheers,
Panda.
Posted by jms600 on June 28, 2004, at 16:19:35
In reply to Effexor - Sucking the energy out of me?, posted by Smeegle on June 28, 2004, at 0:51:27
Hello,
I can really relate to you - 225mg Efexor made me really lethargic and apathetic. You could try Prozac. I'm on 40mg and its pretty good, although it can meke anxiety worse (as I have already found).
I have found Prozac to be slightly more stimulating - so you may find it useful. Its also allot easier to withdraw from then Efexor, due to its longer half life.
Posted by Stryker88 on June 29, 2004, at 5:52:58
In reply to Re: Effexor - Sucking the energy out of me?, posted by jms600 on June 28, 2004, at 16:19:35
You are not alone, all you have said is exactly what I am experiencing. There are many things I need to be doing during the day, and alot of them I am not doing because the Effexor makes me like a walking zombie. Granted I like Effexor I have been on 150mg for one and half yrs, i like the benefits from it but constantly yawning, scratching my eyes, and wanting to sleep right in the middle of the work day is exhausting and is wearing me out cold. I am getting a little sick and tired of it and will ask my doc for a little Ritalin.
Posted by Stryker88 on June 29, 2004, at 5:57:07
In reply to Re: Effexor - Sucking the energy out of me?, posted by jms600 on June 28, 2004, at 16:19:35
I have found several things to consume that help me in the short term with the fatigue some you may or may not want to use: Coffee, Energy Drinks, Grean Tea, do cure the drowsiness if you are really desperate, you could buy some NoDoz wich are 100% pure caffiene and break them in half to get about 50mg half of the 100mg size tablet, or take the full tab if you want and it will wake you up some and it helps.
Posted by smeegle on July 9, 2004, at 12:49:45
In reply to Re: Effexor - Whoops forgot something, posted by Stryker88 on June 29, 2004, at 5:57:07
My Effexor dose is 300mg daily and my Provigil dose is 200mg daily. The only other medication I am currently on is a low dose of Premarin. Effexor has worked exceptionally well for my depression and mood swings. I have no issue with staying on it as long as it continues to be effective. I have tried other ADs. First Prozac, discontinued after three months because I didn't notice any improvement at all. Remeron and Depokote, which I quess helped somewhat but I gained 50+lbs in six months and that pdoc left private practice to go into research and my new dr put me on Zoloft which worked pretty well for a few years. After a couple of years on Zoloft, I went kinda manic (yeah, ran up some serious credit card debts and have NO idea what I spent all that money on). A really, really weird time in my life, which also coincided with a cancer diagnosis and a year of treatment. Since then I have been on Effexor and feel like ME again. Like I said, I have had two sleep studies and the nap test to rule out sleep related problems. I do have apnea and Ideopathic Hypersomnia (Excessive Daytime Sleepiness). If I sit still for five minutes I zonk out and can sleep for 12-16 hours easily. It's pretty common for me to fall asleep watching the news (before dinner). It just happens. I have considered adding an afternoon dose of the Provigil but have been hesitant thus far. I mentioned the dull, sleepy feeling to my pdoc a couple of months ago and he didn't seem to think it was from the Effexor. I missed my appt today (damn brain fog) so it's reschduled for next week and I will bring it up again. When it (provigil) works, it works well but the minute it wears off, it hits and my thinking is cloudly, weary, tired, blah, blah, blah.
Thanks for the replies. I have wondered for a long time if it might be the Effexor rather than something physically wrong with me (BTW, we also ran all the other usually tests such as Thyroid, etc but nothing showed up in any of the tests that would explain the constant fatigue).
Smeegs
Posted by KaraS on July 9, 2004, at 18:16:19
In reply to Re: Effexor - Whoops forgot something, posted by smeegle on July 9, 2004, at 12:49:45
Did your doctor also test for Hashimoto's thyroiditis? It's a test to see if your body is producing antibodies against your thyroid hormone. It is extremely common in middle-aged women. I have it myself and have several friends who have it. I had all of the symptoms of low thyroid (fatigue, cold all the time etc.) My doctor ran a TSH test and it came back the low side of normal. She was certain that I didn't have any thyroid problem. I begged her to give me a referral to an endocrinologist. She did and he made the diagnosis and put me on thyroid hormone. A simple antibody test would have told my gp that but that's another story. I don't know if this condition pertains to you, but it might be worth checking into.
Kara
Posted by smeegle on July 13, 2004, at 16:31:39
In reply to Re: Effexor - Whoops forgot something, posted by KaraS on July 9, 2004, at 18:16:19
Yes, I have had my thyroid checked and ruled that out as the problem. That was actually one of the first tests he ordered. My rescheduled appt is tomorrow so I will bring it up. I haven't been to see an endocrinologist (sp?), but the lab results indicated that everything was well within normal limits (I ALWAYS request copies of lab/test results...being a 4-year cancer survivor, I know all too well that you have to be your own advocate and be very proactive in your own treatment).
Smeegs
Posted by LynnPerley on July 14, 2004, at 7:38:58
In reply to Re: Effexor - Whoops forgot something, posted by smeegle on July 13, 2004, at 16:31:39
I started ntoicing this after I had been on 300mg effexor for a long time and finally mentioned it to my psydoc. A low dose of generic ritalin (5mg to 10mg, twice daily) was all it took to help with this side effect.
I posted elsewhere that the generic ritalin is helping me with any disontinuation symptoms I am having as well. Generic ritalin is cheap and other than having to hassle with a paper prescription, it is convenient and it really helped a lot.
Posted by KaraS on July 14, 2004, at 15:50:51
In reply to Re: Effexor - Whoops forgot something, posted by LynnPerley on July 14, 2004, at 7:38:58
> I started ntoicing this after I had been on 300mg effexor for a long time and finally mentioned it to my psydoc. A low dose of generic ritalin (5mg to 10mg, twice daily) was all it took to help with this side effect.
>
> I posted elsewhere that the generic ritalin is helping me with any disontinuation symptoms I am having as well. Generic ritalin is cheap and other than having to hassle with a paper prescription, it is convenient and it really helped a lot.
Hmmmmm, I have some of that here. Maybe I could take a little to speed up my withdrawal. Only problem is that the 5 mg. pill makes me sleepy. My doctor at the time said that if I increase the dosage that it might become activating and help with focus (which is what I wanted). I could try taking 10 mg. but I'm too afraid of it totally knocking me out.
This is the end of the thread.
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