![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 10 of 10. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Janine on August 10, 1999, at 9:38:33
My doctor recently prescibe me effexor. What are people's experiences with this?
Posted by Racer on August 10, 1999, at 14:12:42
In reply to Effexor (Experiences??), posted by Janine on August 10, 1999, at 9:38:33
The first few days, I had side effects like not sleeping (at all), but even so it was great. I didn't sleep, but I did rest, so I still felt better than I had. It's come with anorgasmia for me, with no lessening of libido, but I've found that cyproheptadine helps that. No weight gain, no weird side effects, I'm relaxed, and now that it's being augmented, I'm not depressed. I love the stuff!
Everyone's different, but that's been my experience with it. It cured my anxiety, but it needed a boost to fix the depression. I tend to be a bit fatigued, but not nearly as much as on other ADs, nor even just the depression itself. So, I'm all in favor of it.
The only caveat I have is that the first few days, the side effects for me included lack of sleep and headaches, which both went away. If you have side effects like these in the first few days, talk to your doctor, but don't despair. My side effects all went away in 3 days or so. They did come back every time the dose was raised, but they always went away in 3 or 4 days.
Good luck! I hope it works as well for you as it has for me.
Posted by Paul on August 14, 1999, at 15:23:19
In reply to Effexor (Experiences??), posted by Janine on August 10, 1999, at 9:38:33
> My doctor recently prescibe me effexor. What are people's experiences with this?
My doc just added it to Prozac and I've been sleeping about 15 hours a day. Everyone responds differently, and I'm hoping this will fade. I've learned over the last 10+ years that it's important to tough it out the first week or two with a new med. My side effects seem to be quite rare, most people get stimulation/black coffee effect. But Prozac also makes me sleepy. There are so many new developments being made on a daily basis so keep the faith. I wish you all the best. Paul
Posted by Paul on August 14, 1999, at 23:09:14
In reply to Re: Effexor (Experiences??), posted by Racer on August 10, 1999, at 14:12:42
> The first few days, I had side effects like not sleeping (at all), but even so it was great. I didn't sleep, but I did rest, so I still felt better than I had. It's come with anorgasmia for me, with no lessening of libido, but I've found that cyproheptadine helps that. No weight gain, no weird side effects, I'm relaxed, and now that it's being augmented, I'm not depressed. I love the stuff!
>
> Everyone's different, but that's been my experience with it. It cured my anxiety, but it needed a boost to fix the depression. I tend to be a bit fatigued, but not nearly as much as on other ADs, nor even just the depression itself. So, I'm all in favor of it.
>
> The only caveat I have is that the first few days, the side effects for me included lack of sleep and headaches, which both went away. If you have side effects like these in the first few days, talk to your doctor, but don't despair. My side effects all went away in 3 days or so. They did come back every time the dose was raised, but they always went away in 3 or 4 days.
>
> Good luck! I hope it works as well for you as it has for me.Hi Racer,
Looks like I got some answers to the questions I posed in a post below.Do you mind sharing what your doc. has used to augment, i.e. what has worked for your depression?I've found that taking the Effexor at night seems to make the fatigue manageable. Nobody told me the stuff would be sedating, I was expecting it to have me bouncing off the walls. Thanks. Glad you're doing well!
Posted by Racer on August 15, 1999, at 1:41:19
In reply to Re: Effexor (Experiences??)? for Racer, posted by Paul on August 14, 1999, at 23:09:14
Let's see, I take 225mg Effexor XR and 10mg Prozac for depression, and 2 or 4mg of cyproheptidine for orgasm or sleeplessness as desired.
The Effexor on its own didn't do much for the depression, but there were almost no side effects. SSRIs had fixed the depression, but with huge side effects. So, the Effexor XR and a low dose of SSRI seem to fix the problem. The anorgasmia is a pain, but the cypro seems to help a lot.
Good luck to you, too. I love this stuff, the best AD I've ever been on, despite it needing help for the depression.
Well, what a night. Everyone have a good sleep, that's my next stop.
Posted by Steve on August 15, 1999, at 11:18:45
In reply to Re: Effexor (Experiences??)? for Racer, posted by Racer on August 15, 1999, at 1:41:19
Does cyrro work for men?
> Let's see, I take 225mg Effexor XR and 10mg Prozac for depression, and 2 or 4mg of cyproheptidine for orgasm or sleeplessness as desired.
>
> The Effexor on its own didn't do much for the depression, but there were almost no side effects. SSRIs had fixed the depression, but with huge side effects. So, the Effexor XR and a low dose of SSRI seem to fix the problem. The anorgasmia is a pain, but the cypro seems to help a lot.
>
> Good luck to you, too. I love this stuff, the best AD I've ever been on, despite it needing help for the depression.
>
> Well, what a night. Everyone have a good sleep, that's my next stop.
Posted by Racer on August 15, 1999, at 13:51:32
In reply to Re: Effexor (Experiences??)? for Racer, posted by Steve on August 15, 1999, at 11:18:45
Dunno why not. It's the same process in men and women, so it should work for both.
Really, it has to do with the development of the structures involved, they're homologous, so a drug that effects one should effect the other. You know, both innies and outies...
Posted by Susan on August 15, 1999, at 19:34:23
In reply to Re: Effexor (Experiences??)? for Racer, posted by Racer on August 15, 1999, at 1:41:19
> Let's see, I take 225mg Effexor XR and 10mg Prozac for depression, and 2 or 4mg of cyproheptidine for orgasm or sleeplessness as desired.
>
> The Effexor on its own didn't do much for the depression, but there were almost no side effects. SSRIs had fixed the depression, but with huge side effects. So, the Effexor XR and a low dose of SSRI seem to fix the problem. The anorgasmia is a pain, but the cypro seems to help a lot.
>
> Good luck to you, too. I love this stuff, the best AD I've ever been on, despite it needing help for the depression.
>
> Well, what a night. Everyone have a good sleep, that's my next stop.Racer,
Are you saying that EffexorXR helps with your anxiety but not as well for depression? Is Prozac the only augmentation you have tried? Have you ever tried a mood stabilizer as augumentation that helped with depression? Is cypro a prescription drug? Thanks for you help.
Posted by Racer on August 16, 1999, at 1:36:53
In reply to Re: Effexor (Experiences??)? for Racer, posted by Susan on August 15, 1999, at 19:34:23
Yes. The Effexor XR was great for my anxiety, but the depression was not fixed. I was not constantly depressed, but I was very fragile, and could be knocked back on my butt by anything - even a bad hair day could send me over the edge. The Prozac was the first augmentation we tried, and it worked. The decision to start with Prozac was made because SSRIs had worked in the past, but with major side effects. The Effexor wasn't working on the depression, but it had almost no side effects. Since the SSRIs had only worked at very high doses, the thought was to augment the Effexor with a low dose of SSRI and see what happened. What happened is it worked. So, we never had to try another.
The cyproheptadine is prescription. It's an anti-histimine, though, so I can't imagine it being a problem to get.
I've never tried any mood stabilizers, largely because I have never shown any real signs of bipolar. I go one direction only. Just down.
Good luck to you.
Posted by me on August 16, 1999, at 23:37:48
In reply to Re: Effexor (Experiences??)? for Racer, posted by Racer on August 16, 1999, at 1:36:53
Any men out there that can tell me of the sexual side effects of Effexor???
> Yes. The Effexor XR was great for my anxiety, but the depression was not fixed. I was not constantly depressed, but I was very fragile, and could be knocked back on my butt by anything - even a bad hair day could send me over the edge. The Prozac was the first augmentation we tried, and it worked. The decision to start with Prozac was made because SSRIs had worked in the past, but with major side effects. The Effexor wasn't working on the depression, but it had almost no side effects. Since the SSRIs had only worked at very high doses, the thought was to augment the Effexor with a low dose of SSRI and see what happened. What happened is it worked. So, we never had to try another.
>
> The cyproheptadine is prescription. It's an anti-histimine, though, so I can't imagine it being a problem to get.
>
> I've never tried any mood stabilizers, largely because I have never shown any real signs of bipolar. I go one direction only. Just down.
>
> Good luck to you.
This is the end of the thread.
Psycho-Babble Medication | Extras | FAQ
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.org
Script revised: February 4, 2008
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/cgi-bin/pb/mget.pl
Copyright 2006-17 Robert Hsiung.
Owned and operated by Dr. Bob LLC and not the University of Chicago.