Posted by JohnL on October 14, 2000, at 6:52:48
In reply to effexor xr, posted by cs on October 13, 2000, at 19:42:19
> Hi all- Have been noticing some mild depression and sleeplessness. Dr. prescribed effexor xr which I took for 3 days, and I couldn't stand it. I was so agitated, spent the whole nights awake and crying. I added a xanax the third day and finally slept but don't want to ever take the effexor again. What anti-depressants are good for taking at night to help with sleep-I have heard of amityiptyline, and trazadone.
CS,
There are two distinct camps on this issue. The more common one is to stay with it, give it time. The other camp says that any adverse reaction such as yours--especially crying all night--should be discontinued immediately. That's the camp my doctor is in. He never never allowed me to continue if a medication made me worse right away. Even if it was just the first day, he would pull the plug. The reason? He has seen too many patients end their lives during those adverse moments. A bad reaction that causes all-night crying, agitation, and insomnia is an open invitation to a much worse outcome. The risks are too high, the risks are too severe. I don't know about your doctor, but mine would stop the Effexor immediately.Could the Effexor end up working if you stick out? Yes, it could. Could you instead continue to worsen? Yes, that could happen too. I personally am not willing to take such a gamble. Especially when there are so many other wonderful meds to choose from.
All medications do not require lengthy time periods to adjust to them. There are superior meds, and there are inferior ones. What is superior to one person will be inferior to another. It depends on each person's own unique chemistry. A superior med is characterized by fairly rapid good response with few side effects. An inferior one is characterized by fairly rapid bad response, intolerable side effects, or takes a long time to work, if it ever works at all. A superior med is one that matches the patient biochemically. An inferior one doesn't. We can only tell the difference through personal trial and error. Based on what you've experienced so far, I would think it's fair to say Effexor for you is an inferior choice. Your body will likely embrace a different medication instead. My doctor would pull the plug right away, and start me on another med.
We are lucky these days that there are so many good medications to choose from. There is absolutely no reason and no justification in my mind to stay with one that makes you feel worse, especially when there's no guarantee it will ever make you feel better either. Better to start off with one that doesn't make you feel worse right away. The stakes are too high to take this lightly.
John
poster:JohnL
thread:46298
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001012/msgs/46334.html