Effexor

[zak]

Hello everyone,

I have been dealing with depression for a couple of years now...but i know mostly it is related to certain issues in my life. what i mean by this is that for the past month or so has been the only time in the past couple of years that I have experienced depression for no particular reason. Hope I am making sense! I have been having symptoms such as extreme fatigue, lack of libido, etc. plus there is IC flare ups. I have recently had my 2nd Hydro 2 weeks ago...My doctor feels all of these symtoms are related to my depression and has prescribed Effexor for me. starting of with 37.5 mg for a week and then going up to 75mg. I have researched on the drug and the strange thing i find is that either it totally works for you or it is horrible. I have also found an internet petition going around against the drug. If any of you would like to read its at www.petitiononline.com/effexor/

Has anyone use this drug? my major concern is that alot of people talk about how difficult it is to give up, the MAJOR side effects, sleepiness, lack of libido etc. I am really scared of taking this drug, but am at a point where i really need help with extreme fatigue, anxiety, panic, lack of libido. at this point in my life i am not so sure if i am strong enough to handle the major side effects of this drug.

on the other hand, some people are calling this a miracle drug! I am so confused...if anyone has tried or has anymore knowledge about this drug, please do let me know..

thank you
Zak

[Mishka]

Hi Zak,

I'm sorry you are dealing with this right now.

I got PPD when my daughter was 8 months old. The first one I tried was Effexor. I took one pill and was a complete and utter wreck for the next 3 days. I had a REALLY bad reaction to it.

I then tried Paxil, and that worked great. Coming off of it was a pain though. I weaned off as slowly as I could but still had a hard few weeks after. My doc gave me liquid Prozac and it worked like a charm. It's got a longer half life so it takes away the symptoms, until your body goes back to normal. I used it for a few weeks and then was fine.

I think it's really a case of hit or miss with any antidepressant. My husband took Effexor for a little while and didn't have the same reaction, so everyone is different.

Have you thought of trying St. John's Wort? I have used that for depression and it was fantastic with NO side effects. Do some research on it. I can't take it anymore because of being on birth control though.

Take care.

[BAM]

Hey Zak,

I really got upset when I read that your doc thinks that your physical problems are related to your depression. Not that the depression doesn't play a role. I find it to be a catch 22. My physical problems with IC rule my life now and that causes me to be depressed, then the depression only aggravates my situation. But I think IC causes one to get depressed not that the depression causes the IC. Maybe I am super sensitive to that approach for when I was much younger I almost died because of an urologist treating me like it was psychological. I even read in my medical record where he wrote to the gynocologest that I was 'a young hysterical female'. Ended up I had endometreosis and had about a month before the endometreosis "ate" though my bladder.
There is a fine balance between the mental and physical in IC. I think all areas should be addressed especially the physical. As far as the meds your doc wants you on. Personally I would try it just so I would not play the "what if" game later. If it doesn't work for whatever reason you will know and if it does .... what a wonderful thing.
I know I thot nothing would work and have now found some that do work and am learning how to deal with the side effects.....which are not too terrible though very much annoying.
Hope everything turns out well with whatever decision you make.
BAM

[Jlandry2244]

I love this medication. I have lost a lot of weight due to its side affects. I am feeling great. But, I was told that it is not theraputic (sp) until 150mg. I did not see any difference until that dose. Also anyone who takes one without following up the next day with another will have several days of wackyness. This is that type of drug. I asked my doc, if he could give me something to help me deal with the withdrawals when it is time to get off. He said yes. But, don't skip a dose. Again wackyness can come.

[caitlinsmom]

I took Effexor 2 to 3 years ago for several years. It worked for the depression weel, but I gained 20 pounds, it killed my sex drive. I went off of it to get pregnant, and went to Weelbutrin after my son was born. i have also tried Celexa, but it REALLY made me gain weight. Most of the SSRIs and the tricyclics will cause weight gain and many have the sex side effects.

Good luck

[MakinIT]

Isn't it funny how all this stuff works? I gained 70 pounds on it, the wieght gain caused diabetes (I wasn't yet dx'd w/IC) So I went very slowly off the effexor (like 6 mos) cause I got SOOOO sick and got those brain jumps. Then when finally off, I started migraines of a horrible kind (like docs all said seratonin shortage) So then I had oompherectomy (just to round out my prior hysterectomy at 35) then started the IC hell. I have been a burning hunka medication experimentation and other methods I don't care to think about. I am now on (in addition to morphine and valium, sometimes percocet and everynight zonegran and atarax I also take well butrin.) No serotin help in there (again) We did that cause my wieght went back up 20 pounds on 20mgs of LExapro. I've lost 10 ppunds now but having horrid migraines again, along with the severe IC symptoms. :dogrun: AAAAARRRRRGGHHHH.

THEN, My husband had a nasty surgery this last week and needed a week to recover and since I can't drive and have a lot of difficulty with taking care of my children, my mother in law came down and made my life a living hell!!!!

Maybe I'll post about that down in venting later..my daughter really is going to die without her neopets....

[donutgirl]

Well...I LOVE my Effexor XR...I'm on 150 mg and have been for several years. I had tried other meds for depression, but I knew w/in 2 wks that this was going to be the one. Now, it's like the American Express commercial....I don't leave home w/o it. As far as sleepiness, I was not sleepy, I was a little hyper and had trouble going to sleep and did lose weight when I first went on it. I've read all the info. about the drug side effects and at one point was really upset, but when you have a major situation that changes your entire life, most people need to have something to help them cope. For me Effexor was my better option....that and therapy. I've been on it for 4 yrs now. I know it may be different for men, but I've had no change in libido from it. At one point I had to go up over 300 mg. when something else major was happening in my life and going back down afterwards was L...but most of the anti-depressants are that way. You usually have to wean yourself back down w/ the help of medical professionals. Feel free to pm me if you want to discuss more.

DIANE

[MakinIT]

I'm not knocking anyone's drug that works for them, I was just offering my experience with that drug. For me, it's a vicious circle, I need ssri's but I can't take them because my wieght gets outta control. AND I did indeed wean myself very slowly. It took over 6 months and I had to cut the stupid pills down to a 1/4 of 37.5mg....It majorly sucked. And I could not stop vomiting. But the side effects, wieght gain and "brain zaps" (anyone whose had them knows what I'm talking about....like your body stops but your brain keeps moving...forward, backward, upside down...and you just feel strange) If I even missed a dose by an 'hour' I was feeling that. My docs said that is just a very strong me for some people. I decided, because my headaches were coming back, to take a small dose of lexapro. The docs like what it did to my mood so much that he upped the dose. My wieght has been creeping up and so my doc slowly reduced the dose. Wieght down, but brain zaps back up.

Anyway....I'm very glad Effexor works for you. That's awesome. I just don't recommend anything to anyone because I know how crazy and messed up our bodies can be when it comes to drug responses.

Take care and good luck! I hope you continue to do well!