![[dr. bob]](/dr-bob-sm.gif)
Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 6 of 6. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by CaptainD500 on June 14, 2003, at 16:08:35
I have been taking Effexor XR for about 3 months now and my doctor just increased my dosage to 150mg this past Monday, 06/09. It is working for me pretty good, as far as stablizing my mood swings, but some of the side-effects are making it a little tough. I have constant fatigue, headaches, lack of motivation, and an overall lethargic, or "zoned-out" feeling. There are times that my body tells me that I am hungry, but I just don't feel like eating. I was wondering if anyone else has some of these same issues and if this is something I will have to live with. This is very annoying. However, after trying Wellbutrin and Paxil, Effexor XR is still working the best for me.
I used to be on Paxil, but I didn't like it because I kept having to increase my dosage every few weeks because it felt like it wasn't working anymore. I also gained 30 pounds quickly while I was on Paxil. I haven't gained any weight while on Effexor XR.
I am interested to hear what other people using the same product have to say about it. I have read some of the posts on this subject and some like it and some don't, and I understand that different people react differently. However, after recently losing my job and going through a divorce, all at the same time, I would have to say that Effexor XR really helped me cope and work through it all.
Posted by Janelle on June 14, 2003, at 17:41:35
In reply to Effexor XR - Working for me, but tough., posted by CaptainD500 on June 14, 2003, at 16:08:35
I was also on EffexorXR, worked up to 150mg/day but couldn't tolerate it, so I stayed at 75mg/day for months. It worked for me for awhile, then it began to induce bad, and I do mean bad, hypomania.
I never had the side effects you mentioned while on EffexorXR (constant fatigue, headaches, lack of motivation, and an overall lethargic, or "zoned-out" feeling). However, my body STOPPED telling me I was hungry - I never felt hungry, never felt like eating - but I forced myself to eat at meal times because I knew I had to keep my strength up, etc. (thus, I never lost any weight on it, but didn't gain either!)
I also used to be on Paxil, for many years, with great success - no side effects for a long time, no weight gain, no sedation that's been reported, nothing, until it also began to induce hypomania before pooping out. (I'm now on a small dose of Celexa and that's it as far as SSRI).
These are just my (one person's) experiences with EffexorXR and Paxil. Everyone sure is different - there are some who *love* EffexorXR while I did NOT, some who *hate* Paxil while I really liked it for many years!
Since EffexorXR helped you cope and work through losingn your job and going through a divorce, all at the same time, I'd say stick with it awhile longer and see if the side effects lessen and/or go away. They often do. If not, perhaps you can just lower your dose a teeny bit and see if that helps.
Good luck 2 U.
Posted by CaptainD500 on June 14, 2003, at 22:14:53
In reply to Re: Effexor XR - Working for me, but tough., posted by Janelle on June 14, 2003, at 17:41:35
Thanks Janelle, your response is appreciated. I'm glad that Celexa is working for you. My doctor says that he has had a lot of sucess with celexa and wanted to put me on it, but my health insurance would not pay for it. As usual, the insurance companies try to control our life by controlling our health by telling us what meds we can and can not take, but that's another sore spot with me and I am not going to go there.
I'm sorry you had so much trouble with Effexor XR, but as you said, we are all different. I have never experienced hypomania, but from what I have read, it's pretty bad stuff. Although one time my doctor and I decided to try Wellbutrin, and I had such a bad reaction, with severe agitation and anxiety, that I thought I was losing my mind. Not fun.
Anyway, thanks again for your post. I'll keep an eye on my side effect symptoms. Although I need to lose a few pounds, I don't want to end up in worse shape than I already am.
Posted by Willow on June 17, 2003, at 7:55:51
In reply to Re: Effexor XR - Working for me, but tough., posted by CaptainD500 on June 14, 2003, at 22:14:53
The negative side effects that you are experiencing will dissipate over time. What I found helped during my content apathetic period was literally forcing myself into action. The hardest thing for me was to go to bed. I don't know if I could have functioned in the "working world" during the first four months when I started the medication.
BEST WISHES
Willow
Posted by Baby on June 18, 2003, at 0:52:46
In reply to Effexor XR - Working for me, but tough., posted by CaptainD500 on June 14, 2003, at 16:08:35
I've gone from medication to medication in the last 9 months. I'm now on Effexor XR 225 mgs twice a day. Even though the side effects suck I was really happy to this post. I have them too. That feeling of being hungry all the time but really don't feel like eating is annoying. I sometimes feel like im hardly here I get zoned out easily.
I feel really tired and feel like i have to be pushed to do stuff. I'm always tired and can sleep for hours. Am I alone on this ?
Effexor XR is working good for me emotion wise. I feel a lot better than I did b4 and out of all the meds I've been on it works the best.
Posted by Simcha on June 18, 2003, at 2:05:22
In reply to Effexor XR - Working for me, but tough., posted by CaptainD500 on June 14, 2003, at 16:08:35
CaptainD500,
I have not responded to an EffexorXR post in over a year. I still feel grateful for my experience with EffexorXR. It was my first med prescribed to me by my GP at the time.
The 75mg dose did well for me but it did not take the depression away. I was in a bad Major Depressive Episode that seemed to have no end. Anyway, my GP increased the EffexorXR to 150mg per day. After a few weeks on it I woke up one morning and it was like a veil had lifted. I wanted to be awake and I wanted to be alive. I never remember feeling like that upon waking. Even as a child I never wanted to be awake in the mornings.
The progress was going along swimmingly. For me the side effects were increased sweating and an inability to acheive orgasm. For me at the time that seemed to be a small price to pay to be out of the sheer Hell of an all-encompassing depressive episode. I never wanted to go back to feeling like that again so I stuck with the Effexor for a while.
Then I went through a move and I ended up dating this really great guy. (Yes, I'm also a man. Anyway...) I was not able to acheive orgasm at all during sex. This was crippling for the relationship after a while and it was starting to depress me.
I saw a psychiatrist for the first time and he helped me to switch medication so that I could be rid of the depression and have a sexual/romantic life. I told him that I did not want to go off of EffexorXR if it meant that I would go back to severe and crippling depression. I told him that I'd gladly not have an orgasm ever again if I had to in order to keep the depression at bay.
Well, it was rough to switch. We experimented and we finally got the right mix. Let me tell you, the withdrawal from the EffexorXR was not pleasant. I had an aweful nightmare that had me leaping out of my bed and bashing myself against the wall to get away from a huge-hairy spider that was going to eat me. Only, I ended up on the floor with bruises and awake in the real world.
Don't be too quick to give up on the EffexorXR. It really did the trick for me at a time where I really needed it. I still feel a fondness for the medication because it gave me the first glimpses of what it was like to live free of depression in my life.
And I still mean this... If my current mix did poop out and the depression returned, I would gladly give up orgasms and go back to EffexorXR. The depression was that bad and the relief I got from EffexorXR was that good.
Blessings On Your Journey,
Simcha
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.