Posted by Lyrical13 on December 26, 2003, at 0:51:57
In reply to Re: Effexor XR - I'm new! Please help...., posted by Rev. J. on December 20, 2003, at 23:29:07
I am very sensitive to meds and so it is always scary when I start a new med. What is it going to do to me? My main side effects are the sweating, feeling tired and then later, having some difficulty sleeping. These fade after a few weeks, except I am still hotter than usual but not nearly as clammy as I felt at first. Every time the does gets increased the side effects come back full force but gradually lessen. Be careful with Effexor if you are bipolar...it can push you into a manic or hypomanic state...that's what it does for me...after the holidays we will be adjusting my meds but I didn't want to be a mess during med changes for the holidays. What happened after a few months on it, and during a time of the year when I usually feel pretty good, I started waking up after only 2-4 hours of sleep and not being able to go back to sleep...excess energy, euphoria (which was wonderful after being depressed for so long...but it was hard to tell..is this what normal feels like or not?) and I was "on the go" non-stop all day until 10 or 11 at night and then the pattern would repeat. I would go like that for several days and then be wiped out and sleep fairly normally for a couple days and then the cycle would repeat. I also had several spending sprees...
But anyway, side effects do generally lessen. As far as the sexual side effects go, I've always had difficulty climaxing but my sex drive used to be very high. For the past several years it had been very low...but I've been on various ADs (Paxil, Celexa, Serzone) With Effexor, it has been low but I didn't know if it was the depression killing my sex drive or the med. But as I started to feel better, the sex drive started coming back, so there is hope. My husband has been very patient and understanding but this is very frustrating for me.
I am reading a book right now that I stumbled onto at the library looking up books about depression/anxiety/BP etc. It's called "The Antidepressant Survival Guide" I don't have it handy right now to tell you the author but so far it's very good. It talks about how changes in diet and other lifestyle changes (exercise etc) can reduce side effects from meds and enhance how well the ADs work. It is written by a pdoc who has treated many many patients with mood disorders. He thought that just "dealing with" side effects and being thankful for having a med to help wasn't enough and wasn't truly living. That people who are on these meds should have as rich and full a life without the sacrifices in QOL that meds often bring. I am in the middle of it but so far it is very good. I am already doing some of the things it mentions (on my own before reading it) and I have noticed a definite help in how I feel. I exercise almost every day...when my anxiety is high I get to Curves every day and it reduces it significantly. I also avoid sugar, caffeine and white flour products (I am also hypoglycemic). I have more energy and don't feel so fatigued. There's also info about supplementation (vitamins, minerals ,etc)
anyway, if anyone is interested I'll type in the rest of the publishing info later.
but to make a short story long....there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Good luck
Lyrical 13
poster:Lyrical13
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20031225/msgs/293457.html