Posted by cindy on September 30, 1999, at 10:53:01
In reply to Effexor for GAD (Anxiety), posted by Annie S. on September 28, 1999, at 7:45:02
Hi,
Not sure of your dosage, but you may want to consider cutting back. Perhaps the reason you felt great the first month was due to the Effexor initially taking effect. Typically, maximum therapeutic effect may not be reached for up to 8 weeks or more. So, you may not be getting the full effect, which is more than you'd like. By the way, I took Effexor for anxiety for about 4 weeks, but without any significant benefit. The drugs I've found to be most beneficial are Klonopin (Clonazepam) at 2.0 to 4.0 mg/day and Phenelzine (at 60 mg/day). The SSRI's and others, like Effexor are generally only partially effective in treating anxiety, and seem to exert much of their effect, indirectly, through the action of allopregnanolone on the GABAergic system.
So, what this all means is you might want to reduce Effexor if it works for you. If you can't get it to work for you by itself, you could consider an augmentation strategy which includes pindolol. It has been found to potentiate the action of anti-depressants. Lastly, you could also augment effexor with low dose Klonopin (Clonazepam) or try an alternative drug.
Good Luck
poster:cindy
thread:12181
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990914/msgs/12315.html