Psycho-Babble Medication Thread 425389

Shown: posts 1 to 9 of 9. This is the beginning of the thread.

 

Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor

Posted by sfe on December 6, 2004, at 18:25:50

When I started using Effexor, I had extreme chest pain for weeks and finally went to the emergency room. There, they said I has having a panic attack and treated me with ativan, which did nothing for the pain. They also gave me a heart burn cocktail, which helped slightly for about an hour.
I took antacids, pain meds and nothing worked. Finally the pain lessened, but it took 3 weeks.
Has this happened to anyone else and what did you do to lessen the pain?

 

Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor » sfe

Posted by MKB on December 6, 2004, at 18:36:08

In reply to Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor, posted by sfe on December 6, 2004, at 18:25:50

This did not happen to me, but I did have other negative side effects. I chose to stop the medication and am now treating my depression with L-Tryptophan. Please read through the many other messages on this site about Effexor and also what some of the signers of a petition have said. www.petitiononline.com/effexor/

 

Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor

Posted by linkadge on December 6, 2004, at 22:19:03

In reply to Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor » sfe, posted by MKB on December 6, 2004, at 18:36:08

If effexor is working for your depression, there is no need to discontinue it. Alternative therapies don't alwyas work for depression.

Effexor has a noradrenic effect which can stimulate the beta adreno receptor. This can lead to anxiety and/or heart palpitions and pain.

Ask your doctor if a beta blocker might lessen the symptoms of pain.


linkadge

 

Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor

Posted by MKB on December 6, 2004, at 23:03:33

In reply to Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor, posted by linkadge on December 6, 2004, at 22:19:03

Antidepressants don't always work on depression either. Most of the more commony used antidepressants just recycle serotonin. L-tryptophan helps produce more serotonin. If serotonin is the issue, L-Tryptophan would seem to be safer and more effective.

 

Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor

Posted by linkadge on December 7, 2004, at 10:05:35

In reply to Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor, posted by MKB on December 6, 2004, at 23:03:33

I have taken 5-htp before. It did not work for me.
I would feel an effect but it might only last 30 minautes or so and then I'd crash and be crying again. If the theory is correct in the depressed brain, not enough serotonin is reaching the synapses because not enought is being release, no necessarily because not enought is in supply.
The supply of serotonin will limit the release, but increasing the supply will not necessarily increase the release.


SAMe did work for me.

Depression is a serious illness. If you can find releif with a med, then I say stick with it an tackle the side effects of the med.


Linkadge

 

Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor » linkadge

Posted by MKB on December 7, 2004, at 10:18:11

In reply to Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor, posted by linkadge on December 7, 2004, at 10:05:35

You're absolutely right that depression is a serious illness and that people should stick with a med that works. However, for information purposes, I want to say that 5HTP is not the best way to get tryptophan. Pharmaceutical grade L-Tryptophan can be legally purchased in the U.S. from www.healthrecovery.com. This is superior to 5HTP, even though you may find a website or two that say otherwise. These sites usually say this because they are selling 5HTP, not pharmaceutical grade tryptophan. I've found the Wikepedia article on tryptophan to be a good place to get general, unbiased information.

 

Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor

Posted by Dan Perkins on December 7, 2004, at 15:21:55

In reply to Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor, posted by sfe on December 6, 2004, at 18:25:50

After reading this article (link below) and reading everyone's negative posts about Effexor side-effects, I can't imagine why anyone would take it given the dozens of other antidepressants out there.

http://www.forbes.com/technology/ebusiness/feeds/ap/2004/12/06/ap1694586.html

 

Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor » Dan Perkins

Posted by MKB on December 7, 2004, at 16:53:11

In reply to Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor, posted by Dan Perkins on December 7, 2004, at 15:21:55

Thank you for sharing that. Now I'm angrier than I already was. I was already taking medication to control irregular heartbeat. My doctor knew that. Why in the world did she give Effexor to me? I have to believe she did it out of ignorance. Who is to blame here?

 

Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor

Posted by Dan Perkins on December 7, 2004, at 19:30:22

In reply to Re: Extreme Chest Pain on Effexor » Dan Perkins, posted by MKB on December 7, 2004, at 16:53:11

> Thank you for sharing that. Now I'm angrier than I already was. I was already taking medication to control irregular heartbeat. My doctor knew that. Why in the world did she give Effexor to me? I have to believe she did it out of ignorance. Who is to blame here?

I think the blame needs to be put squarely on the shoulders of your doctor. The pharmaceutical companies can be deceptive and downright evil in their pursuit of profits (note that Vioxx is responsible for killing 55,000 people - approx. same number of Americans killed in Vietnam), but when in comes down to it their only real responsibility is maximizing value for their shareholders.

Your doctor, on the other hand, is responsible for your health and well being and should understand and take seriously the side-effects of any drugs he prescribes. I would tell you to find another doctor, but frankly I think doctors who are truly conscientious about prescribing meds - taking it upon themselves to research the drugs they prescribe rather than relying solely on information from pharmaceutical sales representatives - are few and far between.

Best of luck.


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