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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 15 of 15. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by thinkfast on March 19, 2004, at 5:07:49
We always hear the negative sides of effexor, and I was wondering how many people have had positive effects with this med? I'm tired of the 'hangover' effect of Remeron, and ready to try something different. Something that rids one of obsessive type thinking is desperatly needed. I need a break. The Rem just doesn't do anything for my thinking. It slows down my body, but not the mind. Also, would anyone reccomend the XR over the regular?
Posted by green hornet on March 19, 2004, at 6:51:36
In reply to Any positive's for effexor?, posted by thinkfast on March 19, 2004, at 5:07:49
> We always hear the negative sides of effexor, and I was wondering how many people have had positive effects with this med? I'm tired of the 'hangover' effect of Remeron, and ready to try something different. Something that rids one of obsessive type thinking is desperatly needed. I need a break. The Rem just doesn't do anything for my thinking. It slows down my body, but not the mind. Also, would anyone reccomend the XR over the regular?
Effexor worked very well for me. I never took the regular except for about a week in the beginning in the hospital. Sorry. GH
Posted by cocohoneynut on March 19, 2004, at 7:02:28
In reply to Any positive's for effexor?, posted by thinkfast on March 19, 2004, at 5:07:49
I'm on the "regular" Effexor. I don't seem to have any side effects from it other than the weight gain....I've only been on the med for 3 weeks, so maybe it's too early to tell. Overall, I've have a positive effect on the drug. Good Luck in the med you decide to choose!
> We always hear the negative sides of effexor, and I was wondering how many people have had positive effects with this med? I'm tired of the 'hangover' effect of Remeron, and ready to try something different. Something that rids one of obsessive type thinking is desperatly needed. I need a break. The Rem just doesn't do anything for my thinking. It slows down my body, but not the mind. Also, would anyone reccomend the XR over the regular?
Posted by Racer on March 19, 2004, at 7:55:58
In reply to Re: Any positive's for effexor?, posted by cocohoneynut on March 19, 2004, at 7:02:28
It worked well for me, for as long as it worked. When I first started it, it absolutely saved my life. Within a few days (days!) I could sleep again, no more agitation or anxiety, I did need a low dose of Prozac for it to help the depression itself, but it did fix everything else that went along with it. (Warning: the first few days -- less than a week -- I couldn't sleep. I'd lie awake at night, but not tossing and turning, I did rest for the first time in months. Within about a week, though, I could sleep and did and restfully too.)
I took the XR, which worked well for me for about three years. After that time, though, it stopped working. During that time, very few side effects. At first, I didn't gain weight, but over the three years I was on it, I did slowly gain a good deal of weight. Then again, you know that disclaimer? "Your mileage will vary?" I didn't gain as much weight as I did on every other anti-depressant I've been on.
Good luck, and see what your doctor says.
Posted by starr7462 on March 19, 2004, at 8:24:17
In reply to Any positive's for effexor?, posted by thinkfast on March 19, 2004, at 5:07:49
hi i have been on effexor xr now for about a month and a half, at first i had some bad side effects so we stated taking it at night befopre bed and now i have switch back to taking during the day i have more energy now , i do have to take ambien to sleep at night and also take adivan when things get real rough but that has been less and less now that the meds have kicked in, i am definaly in a beter mood and it seems like i am on my way back to being myself again.
candy
Posted by Sad Panda on March 19, 2004, at 10:50:52
In reply to Any positive's for effexor?, posted by thinkfast on March 19, 2004, at 5:07:49
I take 300mg of Effexor + 30mg of Remeron per day. They work well together.
Cheers,
Panda.
Posted by Thereishope on March 19, 2004, at 11:49:24
In reply to Re: Any positive's for effexor?, posted by Racer on March 19, 2004, at 7:55:58
What dosage were you taking? My doctor is thinking that a low dosage along with Wellbutrin should help my symptoms.
> It worked well for me, for as long as it worked. When I first started it, it absolutely saved my life. Within a few days (days!) I could sleep again, no more agitation or anxiety, I did need a low dose of Prozac for it to help the depression itself, but it did fix everything else that went along with it. (Warning: the first few days -- less than a week -- I couldn't sleep. I'd lie awake at night, but not tossing and turning, I did rest for the first time in months. Within about a week, though, I could sleep and did and restfully too.)
>
> I took the XR, which worked well for me for about three years. After that time, though, it stopped working. During that time, very few side effects. At first, I didn't gain weight, but over the three years I was on it, I did slowly gain a good deal of weight. Then again, you know that disclaimer? "Your mileage will vary?" I didn't gain as much weight as I did on every other anti-depressant I've been on.
>
> Good luck, and see what your doctor says.
Posted by jesstam on March 19, 2004, at 19:44:40
In reply to Any positive's for effexor?, posted by thinkfast on March 19, 2004, at 5:07:49
I was put on Effexor XR over a month ago for severe depression. For me it has worked wonders, I do have some night sweats and for the first few weeks had a hard time sleeping, but now that has tapered off and I feel so much better. I do not have an appetite on Effexor so I have lost about 10 pounds so far. For me this drug has been wonderful, it takes a few weeks to kick in, for some maybe longer. Good luck everyone!
> We always hear the negative sides of effexor, and I was wondering how many people have had positive effects with this med? I'm tired of the 'hangover' effect of Remeron, and ready to try something different. Something that rids one of obsessive type thinking is desperatly needed. I need a break. The Rem just doesn't do anything for my thinking. It slows down my body, but not the mind. Also, would anyone reccomend the XR over the regular?
Posted by Sooshi on March 20, 2004, at 8:18:32
In reply to Re: Any positive's for effexor?, posted by jesstam on March 19, 2004, at 19:44:40
Works great for me. Been on it for years. No poop-out, like every other AD.
Posted by thinkfast on March 20, 2004, at 11:05:07
In reply to Re: Any positive's for effexor?, posted by Sad Panda on March 19, 2004, at 10:50:52
Hey panda, I also take Remeron (60mg) How does the Effexor augment the Rem? Does it help with the 'hangover' at all? I guess I'm looking for the specifics.....
Posted by noa on March 20, 2004, at 12:04:07
In reply to Any positive's for effexor?, posted by thinkfast on March 19, 2004, at 5:07:49
Yes, there are positives.
Effexor works for me, better than the other meds I tried before. But I don't tolerate the SEs at higher doses, so I take it in combo with other meds becuase the dose I'm on by itself gives partial effect, but wouldn't be enough by itself. I took the regular until the the XR came on the market and I have foudn the XR to be far superior becuase of the very short lived effect of the regular, combined with the organizaitonal challenge of taking it the doses on time. Wiht the XR, I take it once a day in the morning. Some of us get insomnia from effexor, others find it sedating. I get insomnia, so the morning dosing is best for me.
Effexor, for me, is a good AD but it is also a serious med that tends to come with some SEs, and is hard to withdraw from when discontinued. So I think whether someone goes on Effexor depends on what other meds they've tried without success, for example, and having a doctor who would be willing to try combo therapy if the person gets some effect at lower doses and better effect at higher doses, but can't tolerate the SEs at the higher doses. I guess what I'm saying is that my experience tells me that if I had had a doctor who was strictly a monotherapy doctor, it would not have been worth it for me to try effexor at all.
Good luck.
Posted by Sad Panda on March 20, 2004, at 17:58:29
In reply to Re: Any positive's for effexor? » Sad Panda, posted by thinkfast on March 20, 2004, at 11:05:07
> Hey panda, I also take Remeron (60mg) How does the Effexor augment the Rem? Does it help with the 'hangover' at all? I guess I'm looking for the specifics.....
>
>I think Remeron is an average AD at best, it gives good sleep & is anxiolytic, about as good as a weak Benzo, but non-addicitive. For me 15mg gives 8 hours sleep, 30mg gives me 9 hours sleep, I guess 60mg would keep me dopey all day. It's supposed to be stimulating at higher doses (30+) but I don't like it's stimulation as it feels like mostly irritation.
Effexor is a strong AD, but it has more side effects & a terrible withdrawl syndrome as it's cost. I wouldn't recommend it unless you have failed with atleast trying two SSRI's first, say Zoloft & Lexapro. Effexor worked instantly for me, but the nausea was horrible & it produced aorgasmia & worse sleep for me, this is where Remeron solved the problems. I think of Effexor + Remeron as Effexor being the AD & Remeron being the antidote to side effects. I'd say Remeron would be good to add to all the regular SSRI's too.
Does it help with the 'hangover' at all? I guess it would, but with 60mg of Remeron I reckon you would need 600mg of Effexor, a huge dose. :)
Cheers,
Panda.
Posted by PoohBear on March 22, 2004, at 13:31:46
In reply to Any positive's for effexor?, posted by thinkfast on March 19, 2004, at 5:07:49
Thinkfast:
Since I hate writing the same things all the time, here's my recap from another thread:
My personal experience with many of the common antidepressants and side effects lead me to request Effexor from my pDoc this time around. For me at least, it has been a miracle, regardless of the negative posts that one finds here. I have tried to be as positive as possible over the last 5 months of posting because there are MANY for whom Effexor works and works WELL. For many there are issues with withdrawal after stopping the med, but this can be midigated by using Prozac when stopping Effexor.
I had a number of side effects when I started Effexor, none of them extreme. Among these were troubles getting to sleep at night, frequent urination, difficulty urinating, erectile disfunction and anorgasmia, plus ring ears, dry mouth some dizziness and brain "zaps". All of these went away with time and as my system got used to the drug. The erectile disfunction I was able to counter for a while with Wellbutrin, but I don't even need that now. For me, the most aggravating side effect when first beginning Effexor were the absolutely bizzare technicolor dreams. But these too went away with time.
My point here is that I was determined to make this work and stuck with it long enough, adjusting doseages with my pDoc until we achieved satisfactory results...
I didn't notice any real weight GAIN with Effexor, but I did notice that it was much harder to LOSE weight, which has not helped me reaching my Weight Watcher goal, but hey, that's the way it goes.
The biggest thing for me is that Effexor stopped my suicidal ideation *dead* in its tracks and for the first time in my memory I was able to stop unwanted thoughts from contantly streaming into my brain, out of control.
I am now augmenting 150mg of Effexor each morning with 100mg of Seroquel at night for mood moderation and sleep and 20-30mg of Adderall daily for ADHD. This combo seems to be working very well for me.
Tony
Posted by thinkfast on March 23, 2004, at 9:55:34
In reply to Any positive's for effexor?, posted by thinkfast on March 19, 2004, at 5:07:49
thanx sooo much guys....i think it will be my suggestion with the pdoc...side effects are the least of my concern...it would be worth it, if these dam* obsessions will cease, even for a while...
another ?....does it help any with social anxiety?
Posted by PoohBear on March 23, 2004, at 10:29:07
In reply to Re: Any positive's for effexor?, posted by thinkfast on March 23, 2004, at 9:55:34
Thinkfast:
Now I know how you arrived at your pseudonym...
I reread your initial post and wanted to add some clarification to my post above.
Besides being prone to depression, I have suffered for many years with unwanted, uncontrolled thoughts. If things went wrong or there was any conflict at all with my wife, etc, I would have suicidal ideations run through my head unchecked. Not that I would have acted on them; I believe suicide is NOT an answer to life's problems, but diconcerting nevertheless and something I NEVER shared with anyone because I though people would think I was weird. (My pDoc later told me that these thoughts are a normal response to stess and depression...)
Additionally, I have been plagued all of my adult life by unwanted sexual thoughts of other women, no matter how hard I tried to stop the thoughts they would just pop out of nowhere: I'd instantly visualize my friends or other women naked and be making love to them in my mind. Some would say this is normal. For myself, I desire to lead a moral life and these things are NOT what I want to be thinking of... I'm not a prude, but I desire to be faithful to my wife , even in my thoughts. No amount of prayer, etc. seemed to make a difference. There was a part of my mind out of control.
Like you've experienced, I also have had to contend with a mind that would race in high gear without the ability to slow down; especially disconcerting when one wants to sleep or concentrate on any one thing.
I was looking to Effexor to help with my depression. I never IMAGINED that it would help me with my thoughts, but it has and I a unbelievedly grateful. My pDoc seemed to be surprised when I mentioned this "side effect", as if she'd never heard of this benefit. Perhaps it's just me, but it would be worth a try for you.
PM me at treynolds@teague.com if you have any further questions...
Good Luck!
Tony
> thanx sooo much guys....i think it will be my suggestion with the pdoc...side effects are the least of my concern...it would be worth it, if these dam* obsessions will cease, even for a while...
>
> another ?....does it help any with social anxiety?
This is the end of the thread.
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