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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 11 of 11. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Sad Panda on March 9, 2004, at 9:04:21
Went to my GP today & got the green light to increase my Effexor from 225mg to 300mg to hopefully gain some drive & motivation. My blood pressure is still good, hope it stays the same with the increase. I also take 30mg of Remeron for sleep & help with Effexor side effects. Hoping this will be the last time I need an increase.
Cheers,
Panda.
Posted by Sooshi on March 9, 2004, at 16:50:53
In reply to Increasing my Effexor., posted by Sad Panda on March 9, 2004, at 9:04:21
Going to 300mg worked for me...it's considered on the higher end of dosaging (at least it was over 4 years ago when I started it) and it's definately helped my energy and motivation. Good luck!
Posted by Sad Panda on March 10, 2004, at 11:35:46
In reply to Re: Increasing my Effexor. » Sad Panda, posted by Sooshi on March 9, 2004, at 16:50:53
Thanks Sooshi :)
I'm on to day 2 of the increase, no changes good or bad as yet.
Cheers,
Panda.
Posted by PoohBear on March 11, 2004, at 11:34:52
In reply to Increasing my Effexor., posted by Sad Panda on March 9, 2004, at 9:04:21
Panda:
Glad to see that you're able to make strides in fine-tuning your meds. I personally hope that I can stick with 150mg Effexor XR because going to anything greater means two capsules and that doubles the cost. Insurance pays 90%, but with Effexor, Seroquel and possible Adderall added in this week, that mean three patent medications and about $75 per month in copay.
I personally had too many side effects from 225mg of Effexor and we dropped it down to 75 and now back up to 150mg. I'm hoping that the Adderall will help with motivation. Effexor makes me feel very nice, but I find myself unmotivated and staring into space more than I'd like.
Take care,
Tony
> Went to my GP today & got the green light to increase my Effexor from 225mg to 300mg to hopefully gain some drive & motivation. My blood pressure is still good, hope it stays the same with the increase. I also take 30mg of Remeron for sleep & help with Effexor side effects. Hoping this will be the last time I need an increase.
>
> Cheers,
> Panda.
>
Posted by Sad Panda on March 12, 2004, at 4:14:59
In reply to Re: Increasing my Effexor. » Sad Panda, posted by PoohBear on March 11, 2004, at 11:34:52
> Panda:
>
> Glad to see that you're able to make strides in fine-tuning your meds. I personally hope that I can stick with 150mg Effexor XR because going to anything greater means two capsules and that doubles the cost. Insurance pays 90%, but with Effexor, Seroquel and possible Adderall added in this week, that mean three patent medications and about $75 per month in copay.
>
> I personally had too many side effects from 225mg of Effexor and we dropped it down to 75 and now back up to 150mg. I'm hoping that the Adderall will help with motivation. Effexor makes me feel very nice, but I find myself unmotivated and staring into space more than I'd like.
>
> Take care,
>
> Tony
>Thanks Tony :)
I had really poor motivation before I started any AD's. At 150mg I felt pretty happy & slightly less procrastinating, 255mg made me more happy. Been at 300mg for a few days now & when I walk it feels easier! I though I was having trouble doing things becuase I am getting badly obese, but it turns out I must have the 'leaden paralysis' symptom of atypical depression because it seems easier to move about all of a sudden.
It's starting to look like Effexor+Remeron is the medicine for me. Initially I thought it would be a failure as I expected my BP to soar since I am taking Ramipril for that, but it actually seems to be going lower. I am still wondering would it be better to go down to a lower dose of Effexor & use something else to boost energy(Reboxetine, Nortriptyline or Desipramine). I guess i'll wait a month or so & see how I settle in to 300mg.
Cheers,
Panda.
Posted by DepNYer on March 12, 2004, at 13:04:12
In reply to Re: Increasing my Effexor. » PoohBear, posted by Sad Panda on March 12, 2004, at 4:14:59
Panda,
It sounds like you're doing well on the effexor/remeron combo. That your BP has remained stable is terrific. My only question for you is why add another med? If this works, why risk potential drug/drug interactions and perhaps additional side effects. I've always believed that the fewer things you take, the better (as long as things are going OK). Regardless, it's nice to read about someone doing well.
Posted by noa on March 12, 2004, at 18:27:47
In reply to Re: Increasing my Effexor., posted by DepNYer on March 12, 2004, at 13:04:12
FWIW, When I had a hard time tolerating 300 mg, instead of going back to 225, I went down to 262.5, which was a good dose for me for a long time. It was a bit more expensive, however, because I had to buy 2 different strengths--75's and 37.5's. It would have been cheaper to get all of in in 37.5's, but the doc said the insurance companies look askance at docs who do that. So I would buy the two different strengths and pay two co-pays. At the time, my insurance had decent co-pays so I didn't mind.
(Subsequently, I went down to 225 because I was feeling better after initiating fish oil every day.)
But I just wanted to add that in case anyone's best dose is between the standard dose numbers.
Posted by Sad Panda on March 13, 2004, at 2:36:43
In reply to Re: Increasing my Effexor., posted by DepNYer on March 12, 2004, at 13:04:12
> Panda,
> It sounds like you're doing well on the effexor/remeron combo. That your BP has remained stable is terrific. My only question for you is why add another med? If this works, why risk potential drug/drug interactions and perhaps additional side effects. I've always believed that the fewer things you take, the better (as long as things are going OK). Regardless, it's nice to read about someone doing well.
>
>Hi,
I am pretty happy with my meds, I am just need some drive & motivation & I will be great. I am just thinking about the alternatives that may possibly be better. I am thinking that 150mg of Effexor + 4mg of Reboxetine may work better than 300mg of Effexor. Would this be safer? I am also thinking about replacing Remeron with Nortriptyline. I am not actually going to try either of these things until I reach the upper limit of my Effexor dose & I am going to spend 4-6 weeks at this dosage to see what things are really like. So far it's been good.
Cheers,
Panda.
Posted by Sad Panda on March 13, 2004, at 2:42:34
In reply to Re: Increasing my Effexor., posted by noa on March 12, 2004, at 18:27:47
> FWIW, When I had a hard time tolerating 300 mg, instead of going back to 225, I went down to 262.5, which was a good dose for me for a long time. It was a bit more expensive, however, because I had to buy 2 different strengths--75's and 37.5's. It would have been cheaper to get all of in in 37.5's, but the doc said the insurance companies look askance at docs who do that. So I would buy the two different strengths and pay two co-pays. At the time, my insurance had decent co-pays so I didn't mind.
>
> (Subsequently, I went down to 225 because I was feeling better after initiating fish oil every day.)
>
> But I just wanted to add that in case anyone's best dose is between the standard dose numbers.
>
>Hi noa,
We don't get the 37.5mg capsules here. I'm not looking forward to the day that I am trying to get off Effexor. 75mg to 0 is a big jump. :) I guess I'll be mucking around with empty caps making my own custom dosages.
Cheers,
Panda.
Posted by noa on March 13, 2004, at 7:54:03
In reply to Re: Increasing my Effexor. » noa, posted by Sad Panda on March 13, 2004, at 2:42:34
Panda, where are you--not in the US?
Posted by Sad Panda on April 5, 2004, at 6:34:56
In reply to Re: Increasing my Effexor. » Sad Panda, posted by noa on March 13, 2004, at 7:54:03
> Panda, where are you--not in the US?
Hi noa,
sorry I missed this, I am in Australia.
I've been on 300mg of Effexor XR for nearly a month & I am not handling it very well. It has boosted my physical energy somewhat, but my short term memory has suffered. I am countinuously loosing the plot & forgetting what I was doing & doing silly little things like punching my phone number in to the bank's ATM(instead of my PIN). It is also taking longer for me to type these messages because I type in the wrong word atleast once per message.
Cheers,
Panda.
This is the end of the thread.
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