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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 4 of 4. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Angel Girl on March 4, 2002, at 14:45:23
I am severely depressed and started taking Effexor 37.5mg in November last year. It has been slowly increased and 2 weeks ago it was changed to Effexor XR 225mg. Immediately upon taking the first dose at the new level I felt immediate relief from my depression. No more crying or suicidal thoughts UNTIL I was watching a TV show that was talking about death last week. Although I was not feeling at all depressed at the time and the show was upbeat in mood, I started thinking of taking my life and I have no idea why. :( I quickly turned off the show and the feelings went away in a short period of time. Other than that one episode, I have been feeling great. I was also taking Triazolam .25mg every night to enable sleep. I was taking it for 5 months. I've been trying to get off it and last Friday I decided to not take it. It took me a few hours to get to sleep but I did manage without the medication, with no withdrawal effects. I did the same thing Saturday night, again with no problems other than taking a few hours to get to sleep. Last night (Sunday) it looked impossible to get any sleep so I took one Gravol pill, which always makes me sleepy. It worked fine.
But today when I was at work I had a fight on the phone with my sister and then an unpleasant conversation with my manager. I got so upset that I walked out of my manager's office in tears. I ended up taking Alpralozam to calm myself down. Between these two situations I once again had suicidal thoughts. And now I am at home crying. :(
I thought this dosage was working for me but now I can see it's not. I am reluctant to go to a higher dosage because I'm having an extremely hard time dealing with the twitches and jerks that I'm getting.
I have two questions:
1. What should I be able to expect taking Effexor XR? Is it possible to not get so upset and have suicidal thoughts if the right dosage is achieved??? Or is this something that I should still expect to have from time to time???
2. What about my major twitches and jerks??? How do I handle that??? They are unbearable at the dosage I'm on now.
I would be VERY appreciative of any advice anybody would have for me.
Thanks and I wish you all the best!
Angel Girl
Posted by Penny on March 4, 2002, at 15:14:03
In reply to What can I expect from Effexor XR???, posted by Angel Girl on March 4, 2002, at 14:45:23
> I have two questions:
>
> 1. What should I be able to expect taking Effexor XR? Is it possible to not get so upset and have suicidal thoughts if the right dosage is achieved??? Or is this something that I should still expect to have from time to time???I was on Effexor XR 225 mgs for about a year, during which time I thought I was doing 'fairly well.' Mind you, I never thought I was 'good,' but then again, maybe I just don't know what that is...
In my experience so far, occasional suicidal thoughts are normal even for non-depressed folks, though for those of us suffering from depression, we certainly have to be more cautious, like with how vivid/active those thoughts are. I'm sure your pdoc has asked you the questions: do you know how you would do it, etc. The more thought out the plan, the more dangerous it is, so I've been told.
You might talk to your doc about augmenting the Effexor with something else. I currently take Celexa & Wellbutrin & never augmented the Effexor while I was on it, but then again, my pdoc at the time wasn't very observant of my situation. But, it's something to think about.
>
> 2. What about my major twitches and jerks??? How do I handle that??? They are unbearable at the dosage I'm on now.I went back on Effexor after 6 months of being off meds, and my dosage was pushed up to 225 fairly rapidly. Even tho' the Effexor had worked for me pretty well the first time around (plus, I had had no trouble getting on it, b/c I was switching from Celexa), the second time I had terrible side effects (similar to yours) that didn't end. My pdoc at the time was baffled, tho' I now think some of had to do with pushing the dosage up so quickly. (He then switched me to Paxil, which didn't help the matter.) Sounds like your dosage hasn't been pushed up too rapidly, though, so it could be that you just aren't tolerating the Effexor very well. If you can stand it (and, of course, after mentioning all of this to your pdoc), my recommendation would be to give the 225 mgs a little while to stabilize in your system. I can't remember how long you said you had been on it, but if the side effects are still there after a week or two, you might talk to your doc about lowering the dose (were the side effects bad on 150?) and adding something else to help with the depression.
Hope this helps.
Penny
Posted by Taryn on March 4, 2002, at 15:54:14
In reply to Re: What can I expect from Effexor XR??? » Angel Girl, posted by Penny on March 4, 2002, at 15:14:03
Penny and Angel Girl -
I am quite pleased to find somewhere I can go to express my thoughts/concerns. And offer my experiences as well.
I just started Effexor today, from Celexa. I was not having problems with the Celexa, but my doctor switched me for ADD reasons. I am concerned for several reasons. Having read your descriptions of side effects, I'm really not terribly excited to go through them, and I'm worried that the Effexor will not handle my depression as effectively as Celexa.
More than that, though, I worry that Effexor will not treat my ADD as well as Dexedrine. I'm not necessarily asking for help or advice, just voicing my concerns... thanks for listening.
Taryn
Posted by ST on March 5, 2002, at 4:40:29
In reply to Re: What can I expect from Effexor XR???, posted by Taryn on March 4, 2002, at 15:54:14
Taryn,
Everyone (usually) experiences something different with each med. Effexor Xr worked rather quickly for me, I had no jerks or twitches, Valerian root helped me sleep and now 2 months later I feel good. Give it a try, but keep track of side effects/symptoms/mood changes. Good luck!
Sarah
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