Posted by Camille Dumont on July 26, 2004, at 16:56:46
In reply to pretty scared of venlafaxine!, posted by carriejane on July 26, 2004, at 16:04:38
> ive got the prescription in my hand but now ive read about all the side effects some of you have experienced, im worried. I cannot put any weight on, that would just feed this depression, and the sexual disfunction would do me in also, as i have a few probs in that area anyway. What should i do?
Its true that some of the S-E are bad ... and can be really bad for some people ... but thats not everybody. Many people actually lose weight on Effexor XR (yours truly included) because it supresses the appetite a bit ... its a zillion times better than say ... Paxil in terms of weight gain.
Effexor can be a real life saver if you're in a really deep dark depression where things like sefl injury and / or suicide are very real potential treaths.
If this can help you perhaps gain some confidence, I have had barely any side effects from taking Effexor. The basic dry mouth thing and a bit twitchy and nervous at the beginning and the nightmares but those went away. As for the sexual dysfunction ... its both an issue and a non-issue at the same time. Its not like you "miss" having a desire ... its just not there and most of the time I didn't notice. Seemed more to be a problem for my partner ... and I did feel a bit bad for him.
As for the withdrawal, I did everything wrong, went cold turkey from 300 ... felt bad for a week and now I only take a small dose of Celexa and I'm not feeling any side effects from the withdrawal so Yes it can be bad but it can also make you feel a zillion times better. And its not a necessarily a life sentence ... IT IS possible to get off the stuff either.
I would say give it a try, take it for 2 or 3 weeks but if you feel to horrible, just stop and tell your doctor to give you something else ... and you never know, it could be the right medication for you.
poster:Camille Dumont
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040724/msgs/370833.html