Posted by Toby on October 26, 1998, at 15:13:08
In reply to TOBY:OMIGOSH,just released from the hospital, posted by Karen on October 21, 1998, at 16:13:41
Effexor 37.5 mg per day is actually the usual starting dose, so I would perceive it as a generally very low dose. In people that are sensitive to meds, though, who can say what dose will cause a reaction? One interesting thing about Effexor, though, is that at low doses it acts like an SSRI but the higher the dose goes, the more it adds norepinephrine and then at fairly high doses it adds dopamine (for our pleasure center). So, if you have the strange SSRI side effects at low doses, they MAY go away at higher doses as the norepinephrine and dopamine override the serotonin effects.
If the SSRI's consistently gave you intolerable side effects, there's probably a good reason for that. I think (personal opinion) that this may be a sign that some other chemistry is involved and another class of medication is indicated.
I have also read about the robust response to Effexor possibly being an indication of bipolar, but I don't think that is being conclusively shown in follow-up studies. Basically, many more people have robust responses to Effexor than to other medications, so it's not unusual that some would turn out to be bipolar; plus the fact that antidepressants can sometimes cause a manic reaction in some people, even though they are not truly bipolar. If you just felt really good on it without the other signs of mania, I would take that as a positive sign for future response, not as a sign of impending bipolar disorder.
poster:Toby
thread:932
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19990914/msgs/954.html