Posted by Bonnie_CA on April 29, 2006, at 1:52:31
In reply to Re: Effexor results so far » unknown_usr, posted by detroitpistons on April 13, 2006, at 13:40:16
> > After a week and a couple of days on the 75mg I have no energy. I can barely drag my butt out of bed and my moods have gone down the tube. I left a message for my Doc and everything, but i wonder if anyone else had this experience, and if it got better.
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> I'm on Effexor for the second time. The first doctor who put me on it told me specifically that things "might get worse before they get better." Any antidepressant trial should last at least six weeks before making a determination. In fact, the research shows that there is evidence of significant improvement in a relatively large percentage (forgot what the percentage is) of patients between the 6th and 8th weeks.
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> > I find it weird that I am tired and depressed. On the 35.5mg with the 150mg of Welbutril I was feeling great. I even had insomnia for 2 days. But now I am completely drained. At least my appetite is still low.
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> Many people get wired on Effexor, but many people also get tired and lethargic. I was probably tired and lethargic the first time around, but I think that was mostly due to the depression itself. I gradually went up to 225mg. That's when I started feeling better. Keep in mind that if it takes you 4 weeks to get up to your dosage, it may take another 4 weeks to feel better after you've titrated up to that dosage. The insomnia is rather common with Effexor, and so is a fast heartbeat. This will go away. For the insomnia, many doctors prescribe a sleep aid for about a month until you have gotten used to the meds. Let your doctor know if you have insomnia. If it's a bad problem, just give him a call and he will just call a prescription in to the pharmacy. Trazadone is a good one. That's what I take.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I just started taking Effexor XR a little over 2 months ago, and I had some problems. I was on Celexa (which worked for awhile, but then stopped working) and my doctor switched me to Effexor. I started with 1 37.5 effexor and half my dose of celexa (20mg), then 2 37.5 effexor and no celexa, then 3 37.5 effexor, and then 1 150mg effexor. This transition was over about a month. I was okay, but then after almost exactly 2 months, I started having serious problems sleeping, and it made me feel "high" and my heart was pounding out of my chest. My doctor didn't perscribe a sleep aid, but he lowered my dosage to 1 37.5 mg tablet twice a day. That has been working for me so far. I just thought I'd mention that your doctor might try a lower dosage for awhile, at least until that dosage isn't working anymore. So far so good for me, but I know I'm not out of the woods. Also, when I first starting taking Effexor, it made me extremely tired, but that went away after about two weeks. I have to be medicated, because I have tried not to take meds and it was a mess. I have GAD and probably depression too, but the GAD is diagnosed. I've been taking meds since I was 18. I started on BuSpar, which made everything a lot worse, then I took Paxil which worked extremely well but made me gain weight and made me lose my sex drive. So I switched to Celexa, and that was okay for awhile, but then it just didn't work anymore. If I don't take any meds, I can't leave my house without freaking out. I inherited this problem, and no amount of counseling will make it go away. Hang in there and communicate with your doctor is the only advice I have for anyone with these kind of problems.
poster:Bonnie_CA
thread:13781
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20060423/msgs/638018.html