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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Violetskyye on April 18, 2006, at 20:36:21
I have a situation common to many on these Boards; have taken numerous meds for anxiety, OCD and depression, with less than spectacular results [Remeron-somewhat effective, but felt groggy and gained 10 pounds; Wellbutrin-also effective, but made me nervous, ears rang and hair fell out; Prozac-massive panic and anxiety; Zoloft, triggered hypomania, an so on and so on.]
Anyway, my current doc. highly recommended Effexor XR, and says his patients have had great results for both anxiety and depression. However, I have heard horror stories about terrible withdrawal, and bad symptoms if a dose is missed, etc.
I was just looking for anyone who has had good results with Effexor for anxiety and/or depression, and who hasn't had horrid side effects or trouble stopping it. These boards seem to be slanted toward people with bad experiences [cause I guess the people who just popped the meds, and felt normal don't need to cruise message boards to commisserate.]
So, can any of you give me some assurance on this med. before I take the leap?
Thanks so much.
Posted by Phillipa on April 18, 2006, at 22:48:49
In reply to Positive experiences with Effexor, Anyone?, posted by Violetskyye on April 18, 2006, at 20:36:21
I think there are a lot of positive posts about effexor and how much it has helped people. Have you tried googling effexor? Try it on the bottom of the page under Dr. Bob. Love phillipa good luck!!!!!
Posted by Racer on April 19, 2006, at 13:52:04
In reply to Positive experiences with Effexor, Anyone?, posted by Violetskyye on April 18, 2006, at 20:36:21
A lot of people on these boards have had good experiences with Effexor, and some have even stopped it without much in the way of withdrawal symptoms. Everyone reacts differently, so there's no way to predict what your experience will be.
In general, Effexor is more effective for a lot of people than the SSRIs, probably because it targets both serotonin and norepinephrine; and it has far fewer side effects than the TCAs, which also target a broader range of neurotransmitters. Yes, it is known for a particularly nasty withdrawal syndrome, but most ADs have some withdrawal symptoms associated with them. So, it's a trade off. And, if it works for you, that probably outweighs the downside of potential withdrawal, right?
As for withdrawal, there are a lot of things that you and your doctor can do to reduce the discomfort when and if the time comes. Possibly the most effective is taking a bit of Prozac at the end, because Prozac's long half life means it's effectively self-tapering. It's Effexor's short half life that causes the withdrawal, including the withdrawal that will start if you are late enough on any dose. My own experience wiht that was that I had to miss at least two doses before I had any problems, but again -- your mileage is likely to vary.
Also, and this is probably better incentive to try it, I didn't have trouble missing a dose or two until I'd been on it for more than a year. If you try it, and it isn't effective for you, you can probably taper down pretty quickly.
So, the potential up side is that it might be more effective with fewer side effects than the alternatives; the potential downside is that you might have some withdrawal symptoms when and if you try to come off of it, but those are likely to be mild if you come off it within the first six to twelve months, and they can be minimized.
Does that help?
Posted by CEK on April 19, 2006, at 19:44:24
In reply to Re: Positive experiences with Effexor, Anyone? » Violetskyye, posted by Racer on April 19, 2006, at 13:52:04
I had good experiences with Effexor at 75mg. My only real complaint was I felt too good at this dose and found myself wanting to eat like I was celebrating something. All of my aggitation and worry was gone. Things that normally aggrivated me or hurt my feelings rolled off my back. I didn't cry over little things anymore either. At 37.5 mg I didn't feel so good as I did on the 75mg but the wanting to party it up by eating pizza and ice cream and cookies was gone. I wanted to try something else that wouldn't affect me wanting to eat. This was just my experience. I've heard and read in the pamplet on Effexor that weight gain usually isn't a problem. Everyone is different.I also got nausiated when I would take the 75mg. It would happen within 30min of taking it and only last an hour. It didn't do this if I took the regular Effexor tablet and split it in half. Coming off of it the correct way was not a problem. Cold turkey was a nightmare. The last time I came off of it my doctor started me on Cymbalta. I took the Effexor and 30mg of Cymbalta for 10 days. She said that way the Cymbalta would be completely in my system before we started tapering the Effexor. We then started halfing the dose of Effexor then fourthing it for a couple of days. Then started taking it every other day, then every two days and then stopped.After the first 10 days it took about two weeks of tapering before I stopped it all together. I had no withdrawl at all. There are different ways of stopping it that prevent the withdrawl. Just don't do it on your own by just stopping it cold turkey. Like Racer, I was able to miss 2 doses before I felt a difference. Don't be affraid to try it. I'm more affraid of how bad I feel without any medicine in my system. Effexor at the time when I started it, saved my life and my marriage. I am thankful for that. Good luck!
Posted by LynnPerley on April 21, 2006, at 22:24:02
In reply to Positive experiences with Effexor, Anyone?, posted by Violetskyye on April 18, 2006, at 20:36:21
Violetskyye - EffexorXR was the second med I tried, after giving up Prozac due to excessive bruxism (jaw clenching). I still take Effexor, but in a combination. I started taking it about 3 and a half years ago. I have a seizure history, so I can't take Wellbutrin, otherwise, I would probably not have taken Effexor at all.
The thing about Effexor is that it seems to be dose dependent and you can't jump right in at a high dose. I have taken from 37.5 to 300 mg a day. It is more stimulating at some doses and more sedating at others. At one point I took generic Ritalin to offset the sedating effect. You have to be able to pay close attention to how it affects you. It had a tendency to demotivate me, and I think I went about 6 months before I realized it was too sedating/demotivating. I think I forgot what it felt like to have motivation - but I certainly wasn't depressed, and I was more functional than I had been before. I set my psydoc appointments too far apart and I wasn't very self aware.
Withdrawal is certainly a problem. I tried going off it and could not go below 75mg at all. We added back the Prozac because I said I would deal with the bruxism just to get some motivation back. Going from 150mg to 75mg while taking prozac (and not abusing alcohol) has been very easy. I'm going to stay at this level for a few more months, then try to get off the Effexor entirely if I can.
Also - one time I went on a weekend trip and forgot my Effexor. I bummed some Celexa from a relative, and it got me through the weekend, although I felt a little weird.
Let us know what you do. Are you seeing a general doc or a psydoc?
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