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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by not2late4u on January 20, 2005, at 1:11:07
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by dancingstar on January 20, 2005, at 0:43:19
Please keep in mind when doing your research that most medications have side effects, some more than others. Withdraw side effects may differ from side effects while you're on the medication and how you withdraw is also a major factor in those side effects. I am not here for or against your use, just trying to answer your questions based on my experience too. Renee
Posted by dancingstar on January 20, 2005, at 1:32:35
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by not2late4u on January 20, 2005, at 1:11:07
If you have a potential problem with seizures, it is my impression after reading many hours of documents and other information that you might consider options other than Effexor. As of now over 7400 people have signed the online petition. If you click on the numbers, you can read the problems that each person has had. I am not saying that this is where I specifically got the seizure information, because it isn't, but it might give you an idea of what you are getting into before you decide to take a drug that could potentially be harmful to you.
There are a lot of options, and it is my opinion that Effexor is greatly over-prescribed. It must be the opinion of a lot of other people, too, because lots of people write to me, saying that they have also had problems with this drug. You only have one nervous system. Is it really worth your taking a chance with it?
Please do your homework by doing a thorough search online and by reading everything you can about Effexor before you take it. Wyeth is just now being forced to be more forthcoming about some of the nastier side effects of Effexor; so you can find the information that you need to make an educated decision pretty easily.
Best of luck to you whatever you decide.
Bebe
Posted by not2late4u on January 20, 2005, at 1:51:34
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by dancingstar on January 20, 2005, at 1:32:35
Sounds like you better listen to this one, she's done far more research than I have and has most of the answers. Good luck to you.
Posted by sam7iam on January 21, 2005, at 13:00:35
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? , posted by Donna Odom on May 23, 2000, at 11:41:56
Yes, I have had excellent success where all others failed, with Effexor XR. I started taking it for depression and mild bipolar, but about 3 yrs ago was hit with a rare spinal chord disease and we upped the dose to 450mg / day...way above the so-called limit. At first, I did experience dizziness, hand tremors, and some minor muscle spasms, but nothing very severe. It has worked wonders for me and keeps the 'fog' away and I've not gone into that 'pit' of depression even once!
I am on 17 meds for the spinal problems and my MD does have to ck my BP regularly, but never ever having had any heart or BP problems, my BP has risen only slightly. The Effexor seems to be balanced by the Neurotin that I take. I also use Duragesic ( Fentanyl ) in the patch form for pain control. The short answer is an emphatic YES! It works great for me. Good luck, best wishes for your health, Sam
Posted by KaraS on January 21, 2005, at 14:37:32
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » Donna Odom, posted by sam7iam on January 21, 2005, at 13:00:35
Do you find enhanced motivation and energy at that high of a level? I never went higher than 225 mg. It helped to lift my mood but it seemed to be at the expense of motivation. Effexor is also the only thing I've tried so far that has helped much with depression but it gave me the typical SSRI apathy. I'm wondering now if it would be worth a trial at the higher dosages.
Posted by dancingstar on January 21, 2005, at 17:51:33
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » Donna Odom, posted by sam7iam on January 21, 2005, at 13:00:35
And that is, indeed, the point. Effexor is an extremely powerful drug. I am hoping that the FDA considers limiting its usage to very serious conditions, like yours.
Effexor(XR) is too powerful to be used for the kinds of things it is prescribed for every day; mild depression, hot flashes, etc. The withdrawal symptoms are outrageous and not acceptable to the average person. It causes severe fatigue after a prolonged period of use. In many of us it causes debilitating depression after taking it for a while, and it does all of these things slowly and silently so that we haven't a clue as to the cause of our problems, and the usual solution is to increase the amount of the drug we take rather than remove it from our bodies entirely, not knowing that we have become allergic to it and are being poisoned.
In extreme situations, as in yours, Effexor might be useful, and I am glad that it has helped you. They need to keep it away from the average person, though.
Bebe
Posted by corafree on January 21, 2005, at 20:52:03
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » Donna Odom, posted by sam7iam on January 21, 2005, at 13:00:35
Hi Sam. I also take Eff-XR and have chronic back injuries. What do you mean when you say,... "The Effexor seems to be balanced by the Neurotin."? I was on Neurontin 300mg for a while, but noted nothing. What did it do for you. I have only one prob' w/ Eff-XR and that's dulled emotions/fatigue. Nice to meet ya' cf
Posted by not2late4u on January 21, 2005, at 21:45:30
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » sam7iam, posted by corafree on January 21, 2005, at 20:52:03
Hi Sam, glad to hear your success story! Its great to know that it is helping someone. It helped me during my time of need. I've been weaning off now for a few weeks, its just time for me to try to go on my own. Mine was for anxiety. Thank you for posting your experience! Renee
Posted by not2late4u on January 21, 2005, at 21:50:34
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by dancingstar on January 21, 2005, at 17:51:33
Bebe, would it be fair to say "it could" or "it can" rather than "it does" for "some" not "all".
Posted by becci on January 21, 2005, at 22:25:33
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » dancingstar, posted by not2late4u on January 21, 2005, at 21:50:34
hey there. i just noticed this board toay, and say a message from toady. I am just getting off of effexor and had great success with it... but.. if i was ever even a few hours late taking the med i had severe with drawl from it. it is horrible. i am on day two of not taking it (after tapering dosages for nearly three weeks) and i fell really bad physically. i have lost a lot of depth perception, and have an electric shock sensation going through my body at all times. i just want it to stop. please consider this when starting the med.. i wish someone had told me. i never would have taken it if it was going to be this horrible coming off of it.
Posted by KaraS on January 21, 2005, at 22:43:24
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by becci on January 21, 2005, at 22:25:33
> hey there. i just noticed this board toay, and say a message from toady. I am just getting off of effexor and had great success with it... but.. if i was ever even a few hours late taking the med i had severe with drawl from it. it is horrible. i am on day two of not taking it (after tapering dosages for nearly three weeks) and i fell really bad physically. i have lost a lot of depth perception, and have an electric shock sensation going through my body at all times. i just want it to stop. please consider this when starting the med.. i wish someone had told me. i never would have taken it if it was going to be this horrible coming off of it.
Have you tried adding in a small amount of another serotonergic agent? I decreased very slowly off of Effexor. I had two bad days at the end when I went off of the last 10 mg. of it. At that point I started on Cymbalta and ALL of the problems went away. Prozac is supposed to be very good to use for this purpose as well.
Posted by becci on January 21, 2005, at 22:55:50
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » becci, posted by KaraS on January 21, 2005, at 22:43:24
>
> Have you tried adding in a small amount of another serotonergic agent? I decreased very slowly off of Effexor. I had two bad days at the end when I went off of the last 10 mg. of it. At that point I started on Cymbalta and ALL of the problems went away. Prozac is supposed to be very good to use for this purpose as well.
>thanks but no. i am trying to get off all my psyc meds one at a time, i don't want to add new ones. i have gained serious wieght over the past year and a half (about 75 lbs) I was even excersizing for a bit, then after six months and still gaing rapid weight I said "screw exercising if it doesn't help" So I really don't want to add anything new for long term use. I just talked to my mom though and she brought over some klonopin to help me through this (short term hopefully)
Posted by not2late4u on January 21, 2005, at 23:05:26
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by becci on January 21, 2005, at 22:55:50
Hi, I too have been tapering off. May I suggest that you take the lowest dose of Effexor every other day for a week or two, then every two days or whatever? This is what I am doing, per my psychs advise. I tried going two days in a row without it and the second day wasnt too good (yesterday). I took a 37.5 dose of Effexor and a klonopin and felt much better and didnt take Effexor today, so far so good. I'll take another Effexor tomorrow and so on. Thats my suggestion. Hope it helps you, it is me. Renee
Posted by KaraS on January 21, 2005, at 23:15:39
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by becci on January 21, 2005, at 22:55:50
> >
> > Have you tried adding in a small amount of another serotonergic agent? I decreased very slowly off of Effexor. I had two bad days at the end when I went off of the last 10 mg. of it. At that point I started on Cymbalta and ALL of the problems went away. Prozac is supposed to be very good to use for this purpose as well.
> >
>
> thanks but no. i am trying to get off all my psyc meds one at a time, i don't want to add new ones. i have gained serious wieght over the past year and a half (about 75 lbs) I was even excersizing for a bit, then after six months and still gaing rapid weight I said "screw exercising if it doesn't help" So I really don't want to add anything new for long term use. I just talked to my mom though and she brought over some klonopin to help me through this (short term hopefully)
>
>
>I wasn't talking about adding in something new for long-term use. I took a small amount of Cymbalta (about 10 mgs) for a few days. When I stopped that, all of the Effexor symptoms were gone. It stopped ALL of the suffering in my case. I understand if you don't want to take anything else. I'm just saying that this helped me.
Posted by becci on January 21, 2005, at 23:25:50
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » becci, posted by not2late4u on January 21, 2005, at 23:05:26
renee
thanks for the support. my mom just gave me some klonopin to try, it seems to help. it's at least bearable for now. this was my second day and i hope it gets better. one thing is for sure, this message board has been a god send. I e-mailed it to friends who thought i was just trying to milk up sympathy, and also to my parents who have been great.
Posted by dancingstar on January 21, 2005, at 23:56:08
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » dancingstar, posted by not2late4u on January 21, 2005, at 21:50:34
Renee,
If the words you used were true, I would use them.
Posted by dancingstar on January 21, 2005, at 23:57:41
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » not2late4u, posted by dancingstar on January 21, 2005, at 23:56:08
I misspoke. If the words that you like for me to use were true, I would use them.
Sorry. Hope you're feeling better today.
Posted by dancingstar on January 22, 2005, at 0:36:36
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » dancingstar, posted by not2late4u on January 21, 2005, at 21:50:34
Hey, Renee, I've got an idea!
Let's do a survey and see if we can get a little more information about a couple of the side effects that I contend are a problem, just to see what happens. No harm in it. Worse case scenario, I'm wrong. I'll apologize, maybe it'll even get me to shut up....
Here's a link:
Posted by corafree on January 22, 2005, at 0:37:25
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » sam7iam, posted by corafree on January 21, 2005, at 20:52:03
Same post, just changed amount of Neurontin.
Neurontin no longer for me; I can't remember why went off .. think is was just insurance issue.
I never thought of an AD as treatment for pain. But, finding a lot of people w/ chronic pain here on one AD or another. Ya' know, even discussions re: pain and Eff-XR vs. Cymbalta.
The anniversary of my father's death is coming, ... still grieving. I have a dx of borderline after much trauma over years.
Now in skills training. Take Eff-XR, trazodone, and small dose benzo for borderline personality disorder, panic, and now wondering about ADD or ADHD. Probably have it from being on all these drugs so many years, but then again there are things in my childhood that line up with ADD or ADHD.
I took an ADD/ADHD test online and scored HIGH. Well, I know that's no answer; but if, of all the psychs I've seen, they've missed this, I'm on the war path.
Nice to meet you Sam. Hope to hear from you. It's hard to describe pain and I can certainly identify with that, even tho' depression came before pain. Did I write anything here that is valuable info for anyone?
Because on Eff-XR, like to keep up w/ posts re: it. best wishes cf
Hi Sam. I also take Eff-XR and have chronic back injuries. What do you mean when you say,... "The Effexor seems to be balanced by the Neurotin."? I was on Neurontin 900mg for a while, but noted nothing. What did it do for you. I have only one prob' w/ Eff-XR and that's dulled emotions/fatigue. Nice to meet ya' cf
Posted by snakeadelic on January 22, 2005, at 1:49:57
In reply to EFFEXOR , posted by kcg33 on September 30, 2003, at 5:49:39
I know three people who've taken Effexor and ALL THREE are in terrible shape now! An old friend is still suffering neurological disturbances such as loss of balance, vertigo, and stuttering FOUR YEARS after being abruptly removed from this drug. It took my mother 3 months of migraines, vomiting, dizziness, falling down, nausea, and the certainty that she'd gone mad to wean off this drug. My current partner was on it only a few months and now has severe stuttering problems, a totally shattered confidence level in all areas of his life, and MUCH worse social anxiety and generalized anxiety than when he started--and he took over a month to wean.
What I am wondering is, since 100% of the people I know who've taken this drug suffered for it, and I see from some of your posts you have too, IS ANYONE SUING THE HOLY LIVING (UNLADYLIKE WORDS HERE) OUT OF THE MANUFACTURER YET?
Posted by FaithT on January 22, 2005, at 7:59:44
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by not2late4u on January 21, 2005, at 21:45:30
Dear Renee~
It's great to see your post. I haven't checked the board in about a week, but I was wondering how you were doing. You sound really good!
Keep taking it one day at a time. I know that you're going to be just fine!
I love reading your posts...You seem like such a positive person.
Many hugs, Faith~
Posted by FaithT on January 22, 2005, at 9:41:51
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » not2late4u, posted by dancingstar on January 21, 2005, at 23:56:08
Dear Bebe~
The words that Renee used ARE true.
Sadly, you had a very bad experience with Effexor,and again I am sorry. I understand what the withdrawl is, because I went through it. Bebe, I was fine afterwards, and I would have been fine if there weren't the circumstance in my life, that there is. As you know I CHOSE to go back on Effexor. I was not forced or persuaded,or sick from the after effects of the medicine.
I have clinical depression, and this drug helps me greatly. It helped me so much, that I made the mistake of thinking that I could handle the fear of a cancer recurrence without it, and that's when I went off the drug. Well, guess what? I found out that it was the Effexor that was helping me cope, and funcion, and not be scared every single second.
Bebe, you should use those words that Renee suggested. For "some" of us, Effexor really is a good drug. I can still say this AFTER going through the withdrawl from it, and I would imagine there are others who feel the same.
My best wishes to you,
Faith~
Posted by FaithT on January 22, 2005, at 9:43:34
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by FaithT on January 22, 2005, at 9:41:51
Posted by dancingstar on January 22, 2005, at 9:47:04
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR?, posted by FaithT on January 22, 2005, at 9:41:51
Faith,
My position is perfectly clear.
You can continue to address this if you'd like, but you will be speaking to me all the way to the floor of Congress.
Bebe
Posted by sam7iam on January 22, 2005, at 11:27:07
In reply to Re: Anyone had success on Effexor XR? » corafree, posted by corafree on January 22, 2005, at 0:37:25
Hi Cora, and everyone! Wow, there are so many posts on this 'thread' and I'm not all that experienced with this sort of thing; it took me some time to catch up. I am sorry to hear that so many people have had such horrible problems with Effexor. I did once try to come off it; my psychiatrist ( drug pusher ) just said, ' drop one dose a day and see what happens...' so I did drop one 150mg pill; the next day I did not get out of bed except to use the bathroom and drink water!! Now from reading the posts, I am very concerned about withdrawl and do feel that I've been lied to!
Before starting Effexor or any of my meds, I read all the manufacturer data carefully; the printed and on-line as well. NOTHING was said about withdrawl problems except that it should be done slowly and that seizures might be a problem. This was all very understated IMHO.
The Neurotin/Effexor balance I spoke of was in re to blood pressure. I use 600mg/day for pain, at 900/day there was no benefit re pain, so we increased my dose of fentanyl. Effexor raises and Nerotin lowers. Neurotin is an amazing chemical; it is a very simple derivative of a naturally occuring neurotransmitter: GABA ( gamma amino butyric acid ) I am a research chemist, Ph.D. physical chemistry...so I find the chemistry side of all this facinating. Also took a few courses in Neuropsychology...incomprehensible to me! Much of it is a sort of , try it and see what happens, attitude!!
Neurotin was originally 'invented' for seizure control for epileptics, its analgesic qualities where latter discovered from those patients and now is also found to have some effect on mood. I take it mainly for pain control. The disease that hit me is a rare autoimmune where my body attacked the myelin sheath on the nerves of my spinal chord: the name of the disease is TM; transverse myelitis and has many causes but mine is idiopathic, no known cause. Could be from exposure to some chemical from my lab...after the acute attack I was partially paralized from the waist down and lost the normal excretory functions. BUT I am one of the lucky ones; I can now walk, breath on my own, and with some meds generally seems 'normal' to most people. I am the walking wounded.
My experience with Effexor at the very high dose of 450mg/day has been generally good, but I do drink a lot of water: it goes right through me and that was a problem only because I couldn't pee 'normally'! I take Flomax for that and it helps a lot. But now I've read that in Great Britain, Effexor will not be approved for use due to a connetion to heart disease and heart attack. It seems that if one has any underlying heart problems, Effexor may aggravate them. The data are, however, controversial and the final word is not yet in. This is how I found your group; in searching for any reported problems with Effexor as my therapist told me that my old psych MD was taking a lot of his patients off Effexor and she was concerned. Now not only do I know why, but also about all the potential difficulties with withdrawl that are not properly reported by the manufacturer. Oh! There is one side effect that I do have that does cause me problems; physical intimicy with another is pretty much gone except if I use Viagra which I do...but carefully as that noticably increases my blood pressre...now I'm curious about cymbalta as my MD just prescribed it for me to try to improve my energy level and it does! Immediately the first day I took it and then the next morning I was out of bed and doing chores before noon which has not happened in years. Any opinions on this one? We all certainly do have quite an interesting mix of meds and effects from them...Every post I've read has been very informative; thank you, Best to everyone,Sam
> Same post, just changed amount of Neurontin.
>
> Neurontin no longer for me; I can't remember why went off .. think is was just insurance issue.
>
> I never thought of an AD as treatment for pain. But, finding a lot of people w/ chronic pain here on one AD or another. Ya' know, even discussions re: pain and Eff-XR vs. Cymbalta.
>
> The anniversary of my father's death is coming, ... still grieving. I have a dx of borderline after much trauma over years.
>
> Now in skills training. Take Eff-XR, trazodone, and small dose benzo for borderline personality disorder, panic, and now wondering about ADD or ADHD. Probably have it from being on all these drugs so many years, but then again there are things in my childhood that line up with ADD or ADHD.
>
> I took an ADD/ADHD test online and scored HIGH. Well, I know that's no answer; but if, of all the psychs I've seen, they've missed this, I'm on the war path.
>
> Nice to meet you Sam. Hope to hear from you. It's hard to describe pain and I can certainly identify with that, even tho' depression came before pain. Did I write anything here that is valuable info for anyone?
>
> Because on Eff-XR, like to keep up w/ posts re: it. best wishes cf
>
> Hi Sam. I also take Eff-XR and have chronic back injuries. What do you mean when you say,... "The Effexor seems to be balanced by the Neurotin."? I was on Neurontin 900mg for a while, but noted nothing. What did it do for you. I have only one prob' w/ Eff-XR and that's dulled emotions/fatigue. Nice to meet ya' cf
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