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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 3 of 3. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Rob1963 on April 4, 2004, at 12:06:36
Long story short: Began taking Effexor in Sept '00. Was sick for a min of 2 wks before beginning to see hint of improvement. After 2 months, coworkers wanted to know where to get what I was on (great benefits, I felt like a real person again). But by approx May '03 was taking 150 mg/day and had returned to depression similar to pre-Effexor days. The XR seemed to help minimize the nausea, but all other side effects remained the same. Currently (Mar ’04) began weaning off of Effexor, but have many of the withdrawal side effects noted by countless others. My doctor is prescribing Paxil CR, but after hearing some of the comments here, I'm reluctant. Sounds like if it doesn't work, the withdrawal may be worse than Effexor. I wished I had the foresight to have kept at least a weekly journal and more importantly to have investigated the personal testimonies of Effexor patients to at least have a better understanding of what could be expected.
Has anyone gone from Effexor to Paxil? Good or bad comments welcome. Thanks
Posted by Sad Panda on April 4, 2004, at 14:18:37
In reply to Effexor Wd - Switch to Paxil CR?, posted by Rob1963 on April 4, 2004, at 12:06:36
> Long story short: Began taking Effexor in Sept '00. Was sick for a min of 2 wks before beginning to see hint of improvement. After 2 months, coworkers wanted to know where to get what I was on (great benefits, I felt like a real person again). But by approx May '03 was taking 150 mg/day and had returned to depression similar to pre-Effexor days. The XR seemed to help minimize the nausea, but all other side effects remained the same. Currently (Mar ’04) began weaning off of Effexor, but have many of the withdrawal side effects noted by countless others. My doctor is prescribing Paxil CR, but after hearing some of the comments here, I'm reluctant. Sounds like if it doesn't work, the withdrawal may be worse than Effexor. I wished I had the foresight to have kept at least a weekly journal and more importantly to have investigated the personal testimonies of Effexor patients to at least have a better understanding of what could be expected.
>
> Has anyone gone from Effexor to Paxil? Good or bad comments welcome. Thanks
>
>Hi Rob,
What side effects are you suffering? Is Effexor still working? I take Effexor & Remeron, Remeron is a heavily sedating AD that improves sleep & it fixes some of Effexor's side effects such anorgasmia & nausea.
Paxil would be the last AD that I would try, Zoloft or Lexapro would be better. Paxil has the worst side effects of SSRI's & is the worst one to withdrawl from, Zoloft is the SSRI that is above average in efficacy & Lexapro is an improved version of Celexa which was Europes most popular SSRI. SSRI's are generally not likely to be as effective as Effexor, but SSRI's are usually tried first, and if they fail, then you go to Effexor. You don't normally head in the opposite direction.
Cheers,
Panda.
Posted by Rob1963 on April 5, 2004, at 23:30:49
In reply to Re: Effexor Wd - Switch to Paxil CR? » Rob1963, posted by Sad Panda on April 4, 2004, at 14:18:37
My side effects from Effexor withdrawal are nausea, body aches, light-headedness, ringing or thundering sensation in my ears, insomnia or long periods of sleep (inconsistent sleep patterns), twitching in legs when trying to sleep, definite lack of cognitive focus (really irritates the fire out of me), uncontrollable trembling, minor skin irritation (itching), and a noted increase of exhausing dreams. I don't think I left anything out... did I mention my memory loss? Fortunately for the family cat, these symptoms are sporadic in frequency and intensity. It hasn't been in my Top 10 List of things I want to continue to experience. Why would anyone want to get "hooked on drugs" if they know they'd have to "unhook" from them?
The Effexor has become ineffective and my mental well being is much worse - I had to do something. Effexor worked great in the beginning. I started Paxil today and so far I haven't been sick like I was with Effexor. I got extremely nauseated after only 1 hour of starting Effexor.
Give me a couple of weeks with the Paxil and we can let the results speak for themselves. The human body is an incredibly complex chemistry lab. I really don't think anyone really knows what makes this stuff work the way it does. If the results were consistent and the all the pertinent factors known, there would be no reason for debate or specualation. They just know that it does certain things given a limited number of known conditions. Anything beyond this is speculation. I'm an laid off engineer and I understand data. Show me unbiased data which significantly supports the speculation and you may have a legitimate case. Which is not saying much, just the obvious. But when literally billions of dollars are at risk, and the medical community is unwillingness to admit that they don't know everything at the risk of getting sued, the water can get pretty murky. I guess that's why they call it "practicing medicine."
I know - more information than you needed. ;-) I need to find a good day job.
This is the end of the thread.
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