Posted by omegon on October 7, 2003, at 18:41:38
Hi,
I'd like some advice on an odd side effect, from anyone who's used venlafaxine / efexor.
I switched from paroxetine (20mg) to efexor XR (75mg) four days ago, due to strong side effects, mood swings, anxiety and little antidepressant effect from paroxetine.
So far, I'm finding efexor much better in every way. However I have one weird symptom: twitches of my lower eyelids! The lid "vibrates" up and down; feels like a tiny muscle contraction near the outer corner. This happens on and off all day. Maybe not quite continuous, but near enough. It's not particularly noticeable to others (as far as I can tell looking in a mirror) but it's occasionally a bit annoying and is probably not helpful for my social confidence!
I've noticed over the last year or so (during which time I've used St John's Wort, selegiline, and then paroxetine) that I get occasional muscle jerks / twitches (myoclonus?), usually of shoulder or back muscles, but they were single jerks rather than the vibrating thing I'm getting here, and now it's in this one eyelid muscle / group and started when I switched.
Anyone else had this? Is it efexor (and will it fade with time) or paroxetine withdrawal, in as much as there IS any withdrawal when switching meds?
thanks...
poster:omegon
thread:266505
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031004/msgs/266505.html