Posted by tenuous on December 1, 2000, at 3:35:11
In reply to Re: Getting ready to start of Effexor, posted by felix on November 30, 2000, at 17:33:06
Effexor happened to be my magic drug: it balanced whatever was out of whack in my brain. I noticed a difference the first day, and had complete relief after about 5 weeks. The first 4 weeks I had hypo-manic symptoms: insomnia, excessive talking, high energy, decreased appetite, thought everyone else was an idiot, drove my car faster, etc. I also lost 5 pounds probably from the extra energy expended combined with the lower food intake. I still have a lower need for sleep (5-7 hours/night), but the other symptoms are better. I lost an additional 5 pounds the second month probably because I don't eat extra junk to console myself anymore. (I could lose another 5 - 10 pounds before I would get concerned about it.)
I also found an unexpected side effect: I only need about 1/5 the amount of antihistimine/decongestant med now for my chronic allergies. I'm guessing that the Effexor works on the same part of my brain as the allergy meds do. I also have a MUCH higher tolerance and craving for coffee, which is offset by a complete absence of desire to escape by using alcohol. (Must have been that self-medicating thing.) Anyway, I have only good things to say about Effexor. I hope you have good results with it too.
poster:tenuous
thread:49702
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20001130/msgs/49741.html