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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by trobyn on December 4, 2000, at 16:53:19
since starting effexor i am terribly manic, are the two related. i sleep an average of 5 hours a night and am up at 3am for the day. i have no concentration and and losing my mind. any one out theree have this???
Posted by Noa on December 4, 2000, at 17:33:45
In reply to jumping out of my skin on effexor, posted by trobyn on December 4, 2000, at 16:53:19
> since starting effexor i am terribly manic, are the two related. i sleep an average of 5 hours a night and am up at 3am for the day. i have no concentration and and losing my mind. any one out theree have this???
It can be a trigger for a "manic switch"---ie, if you have depression and have a vulnerability toward mania or hypomania, some ADs can trigger this.I did not become hypomanic on effexor, but it is very activating for me, causing insomnia, restlessness, twitchy muscles.
You should probably let your doctor know this right away. How much are you taking? Sometimes, one can take a lower dose and augment with something else, like lithium or another mood stabilizer, and this controls the tendency to become hypomanic.
There are others here with more direct experience with this than I have.
But also, talk to your doctor ASAP.
Posted by tenuous on December 4, 2000, at 18:51:02
In reply to Re: jumping out of my skin on effexor, posted by Noa on December 4, 2000, at 17:33:45
I agree with Noa about contacting your doctor about this. ADs can trigger a full-blown mania, and it's not a pleasant experience. The manic symptoms can be controlled with the use of mood stabilizing drugs such as lithium, or the newer anti-convulsants (All should be renamed anti-manics). At a minimum you can get help sleeping by adding in 50-100mg Trazadone, which is a non-addicting anti-depressant that has a side-effect of making you really sleepy for about 4 hours; no druggy feeling the next day either.
I had worse insomnia than you described, but I didn't have serious concentration problems or any more jitters than usual. However, I have always had bouncing legs, fidgeting, distractibility, and forgetfulness so maybe I'm just used to it! The insomnia got better around the fifth week, but I continue to cycle through hypo-manic phases about every 6-8 days. I apparently have bipolar II, but I choose not to treat the hypo-mania because it is not currently interferring with my life and in the past, mood stablizers have triggered life-threatening depression.
Posted by Sandee on December 4, 2000, at 21:13:14
In reply to jumping out of my skin on effexor, posted by trobyn on December 4, 2000, at 16:53:19
This is my 4th week on Effexor XR. It has not yet worked for the depression so I'm still down and blah. But I can't sleep a wink. I wake up about every 2 hours! I took 50 mg. of Trazadone and the most of the next day, I didn't know if I was coming or going. *sigh* I feel so out of it because my memory and concentration has declined like you wouldn't believe. I can't remember what happened 5 minutes ago. It really scares me sometimes, not to mention the embarassment. It makes you look totally incompetent at work. I'm already spacy and forgetful enough without meds. Ugh!
Glad to know I'm not the only one.
Posted by cs on December 4, 2000, at 21:30:22
In reply to Blah but still losing my mind, posted by Sandee on December 4, 2000, at 21:13:14
I only lasted 3 days on Effexor-I did not sleep one minute for 3 nights, and was crying constantly the 4th day due to complete exhaustion and anxiety. I went off it after 3 days and went back to trazadone which I had taken in the past.
Posted by Erinn on December 4, 2000, at 21:34:42
In reply to jumping out of my skin on effexor, posted by trobyn on December 4, 2000, at 16:53:19
> I had that problem when I first started Effexor. I thought I would never sleep again! It was better by six weeks and gone at eight. Just be patient if you can - see if your pdoc will prescribe something to help with sleep.
Posted by S. Howard on December 4, 2000, at 22:29:33
In reply to Blah but still losing my mind, posted by Sandee on December 4, 2000, at 21:13:14
Sandee-
My unofficial opinion is that you should stop the effexor (with your doc's approval of course)... there are so many alternatives. I'm not familiar with effexor but I am personally familiar with the effects of sleep deprivation. While everyone requires different amounts of sleep, the amount required for you- whether it's 5 or 10 hours -
MUST be uninterrupted and consistent, or around the same time in every 24-hour period, for good mental and physical health. When the sleep cycle is constantly interrupted, bad things start to happen inside you once your body has reached it's limit. Your memory and concentration start to suffer, you're more susceptible to illness, you become irritable and depressed, and your looks go to hell (raccoon rings, pasty skin, etc.)Again, this is all from personal experience.
I can't imagine any drug so wonderful that it counteracts all this stuff. There must be something else you can try.
Wishing you sweet dreams-
Gracie
Posted by NikkiT2 on December 5, 2000, at 5:01:52
In reply to jumping out of my skin on effexor, posted by trobyn on December 4, 2000, at 16:53:19
Oh, you poor thing.. First time I tried ffexor I was just like this. Wired as hell, hardly sleeping, and driving myself out of my mind because of it.
But, then, Effexor became my "miracle" drug. I changed from standard Effexor, to Effexor XR (I had to go back to standard temporarily last week, and within two tablets, I was going crazy again), and also increased the dose to 150mg am, and 150mg pm. It then settled right down, and has made me so much better.
Please, speak to your pdoc asap and try and get these changes made.
Nikki
Posted by Noa on December 5, 2000, at 5:59:23
In reply to Re: jumping out of my skin on effexor, posted by NikkiT2 on December 5, 2000, at 5:01:52
It is not easy to know when it makes sense to stick with it and when to stop a medication.
My effexor experience: I also had better luck with the XR version. I had taken the regular, but then when the XR came out, I switched to that and, taken in the morning, it seemed to lessen the sleep problems a bit. But I have also needed something to counter the sleep problems. First, it was trazodone, which I found intensely sedating. That worked for a while, but I needed more AD effect, and since raising the Effexor dose was not an option (insomnia, twitchy muscles, fidgetiness, restlessness, etc.), my pdoc recommended substituting Serzone for the trazodone, because it could add AD effect and also help with sleep.
I now take 350 mg Serzone, at around 5-6 pm, and 300 Effexor XR in the morning. The Serzone is somewhat sedating, but not as much as the trazodone. I have to take it early in the evening, tho, as it seems to be longer acting than the trazodone.
Talk to your pdoc, see what he or she recommends as far as sticking with it or aborting for another med option. Effexor has been pretty good for me and there are other people here who have had good expriences with it, but it is clearly not the best option for everyone.
This is the end of the thread.
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