Posted by Alice Fay on March 4, 2001, at 21:36:05
In reply to Re: New thread; effexor side effects, , posted by willow on March 4, 2001, at 10:19:32
Thank you Willow and all others for your prompt and helpful responses to my first e-mail about my problems going off Effexor and the side effects I am having from Effexor. Willow, yes, I am taking the Effexor XR. Yes, in response to another query, I have seen from side-effect lists that muscle tension can be a side-effect of Effexor. In my case, the elevated blood pressure and the extreme increase in muscle tension did not begin until a few weeks after I increased to 187 mg. (probably, when the higher dose began taking effect). I am pretty clear that the Effexor did markedly increase the muscle tension in my neck, back and one leg. I can see no other reason for this increased tension; the extent to which I was not used to experiencing.
Willow, I'm glad your headaches and muscle tension went away after a while and by splitting your doses. However, I do not think this is the drug for me, given the nature of how many and how serious my side-effects with this drug have been. I question whether my highly elevated BP and HR would go away, given what I have read in the literature. So I am continuing on with my process of trying to withdraw from the drug. It is unfortunate that my psychiatrist did not advise me to taper when I spoke to him on Friday. I did though, after reading about Effexor withdrawal problems at this web site, but apparently tapered too quickly over the weekend. I am still headachy, dizzy, with dull headache, and very nauseous. Fortunately I see the psychiatrist tomorrow, and plan to get meds for the headaches, nausea and get his advice re: tapering. I hope his is aware of the serious withdrawal phenomena, but if he is not I guess I'll be educating him. Thanks again to all who responded to me, and good luck to all of you. I am still very interested in hearing anyone else's withdrawal experiences and/or side-effects with Effexor. What a great service this is.
> When I first started the effexor XR I too had muscle pain, tension in jaw, and headaches. The headaches I fixed by splitting the dose into twice a day. I have had a chronic problem with my muscles so I was able to use methods I've had for combatting them. (pills, relaxation, and light stretching) They did all go away.
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> Alice Fay
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> Are you taking the XR version? I am and I've had an increase in my blood pressure and pulse. I've split my dose into twice a day and I think perhaps sometimes I may have forgotten that I've taken a dose and may have taken an extra one? I'm not sure. The doctor had me wear a monitor for 24 hrs to see if it was related to the time I take my medications. The lady who hooked it up said caffeine can increase both so I've bought decaffeinated coffee. I go tomorrow to discuss the results and will write back if I get any useful info.
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> Willow
poster:Alice Fay
thread:55468
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20010302/msgs/55583.html